Latest news with #AdiDravidar
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Makkaludan Mudhalvar camps in Bhavani and Anthiyur from June 20 to 26
District Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara said that the third phase of the 'Makkaludan Mudhalvar' scheme camps will be held in Bhavani and Anthiyur areas from June 20 to 26. According to a press release, special camps are proposed to be conducted at the ward level in urban local bodies and at the village panchayat level in rural areas, bringing all relevant departments under one roof to address public grievances. In the first phase, held during December and January, camps were organised in the Corporation, municipalities, town panchayats, and village panchayats adjacent to urban areas. The second phase covered rural parts of the district. Now, in the third phase, camps are planned to be conducted across rural areas in all districts. A total of 44 services related to 15 government departments have been identified for inclusion in these camps, and necessary instructions have been issued. A total of 70 camps are planned across 14 panchayat unions in areas with a significant population of Adi Dravidar and tribal communities. The release urged the public to participate in the camps with documents and get the benefits.
The Hindu
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
CPI stages protest against dilution of free education scheme for SC, ST students
The Communist Party of India has sought the intervention of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy in setting right complaints regarding implementation of free education scheme for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in the Union Territory. In a petition submitted to the Chief Minister on Thursday, the party said private educational institutions were not strictly following the free education scheme for students belonging to the Adi Dravidar community in the Union Territory. Though the government was providing funds to private educational institutions for implementing the scheme, schools and colleges were demanding additional funds from the students. The government should ensure that funds were provided to the institutions so that they don't charge any additional fee from the students. The government should also hold a meeting between representatives of private educational institutions and officials from the Adi Dravidar and Education departments to sort out the issues in the implementation of the scheme, party Puducherry secretary A. M. Saleem said. Protest held Before the memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister, party held a demonstration near the Legislative Assembly to protest against the dilution in implementation of the free education scheme for socially marginalised sections.
The Hindu
06-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Minister inaugurates renovated tribal school hostel in Manalodai
Minister of Dairy Development T. Mano Thangaraj on Friday inaugurated the renovated hostel building of the Government Tribal Residential High School at Manalodai in Thiruvattar panchayat union, run by Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department. The hostel was renovated at a coast of ₹42.55 lakh under the Special Area Development Programme 2023-2024. Speaking at the event Mr. Mano Thangaraj said that the school was originally established in 1962 for the development and education of tribal population in the region. It was upgraded to a middle school in 1993 and further upgraded to a high school in 2021. He noted that for the past 63 years the institution has been functioning with dedicated teachers and staff. Currently the school has a total of 112 students with 51 boys and 61 girls from nearby tribal hamlets such as Valaiyamalai, Puravilaimalai, Villusaarimalai, Alamparai, and Padumpaarai. The Minister highlighted the various educational assistance being provided by the Tamil Nadu government and exhorted the students to focus on their studies to achieve greater heights in future. Kanniyakumari Collector R. Alagumeena, Padmanabhapuram Sub-Collector Vinay Kumar Meena and other officials were present at the event.
New Indian Express
02-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
TN Adi Dravidar Welfare dept launches ‘social labs' and ‘learn-a-lot' to empower hostel students
CHENNAI: In order to aid its students in reaching their full potential, the state's Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department is set to implement two major initiatives, Social Labs and Learn-a-Lot, aimed at the over 60,000 students residing in school and college hostels run by it across Tamil Nadu. While Social Labs is aimed at students in college hostels, focusing on bridging academic, professional and interpersonal skill gaps, Learn-a-Lot has been designed for students in school hostels, to enhance academic performance along with extracurricular, co-scholastic and life skills. According to officials, most of the students in the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare schools and hostels are from economically backward families earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh per annum and are first-generation learners. Even though the schools and hostels address their academic needs, there is a gap in providing them with the necessary guidance required for them to develop additional skills to unlock their full potential.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
The legacy and rebirth of M.C. Rajah Hostel: A symbol of Dalit student resilience
It's hard for any commuter moving through Saidapet's traffic snarls to miss the new towering 10-storey white structure, the recently constructed M.C. Rajah College Boys' Hostel. Though inaugurated on Ambedkar Jayanti this year, the hostel is yet to start running. Adjacent to the new structure stands the older original building that is now over 60 years old. It was one of Tamil Nadu's first Adi Dravidar hostels, named after the prominent Dalit leader M. C. Rajah. A marble plaque at its entrance bears the inaugurators' names — then-Chief Minister K. Kamaraj and Works Minister P. Kakkan. As the sparkling new ₹45-crore hostel building — which can accommodate 490 students — gets its final touches with admissions soon to start rolling out, Joy Andrew (29), a key organiser of the Thirunangai Press, which promotes literature written by authors from historically oppressed communities, outlines several student protests and grassroot efforts that pushed the government to build the current structure. Years of grassroots efforts that shaped policy The infamous 2010 student protest that blocked Anna Salai and continuous efforts by Thudi Iyakkam and Dalit student bodies from 2003 to 2019 ensured that the existing hostels got a facelift and basic amenities, including water purifiers, stainless steel vessels, and dining tables. Dr. Bharthi Prabhu, who leads Thudi Iyakkam, a non-profit organisation working for Dalit students in Tamil Nadu, says, 'There are these godowns in villages built to ripen mangoes; the hot and humid structure helps ripen the fruit. That's how the conditions of Adi Dravidar hostels were, with windows made of stifling steel/ iron, that barely budged, and creating a suffocating environment'. Mr. Prabhu's earliest memories of the M.C. Rajah hostel date back to 2003, when he organised Buddhist Cultural Awareness sessions and events. 'Basic needs like food, clean water, and bathroom facilities caused significant challenges undermining the dignity of SC/ST students coming to these hostels from all over the State.' Prominent figures like P. Kuganantham, the former city health officer, retired IPS AG Mourya, and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalan have stayed in the M.C. Rajah Hostel during their college days. Mr. Prabhu narrates that though decades had passed since Kuganantham moved out of the college, in 2018, when he visited the hostel, he saw that the students were still eating meals on bare cement floors. This sight urged him to arrange a wooden dining table in the hostel canteen area. With the support of the organisation, Ambedkar International Mission, he raised ₹50,000, and Mr. Prabhu also contributed to getting stainless steel vessels for the hostel. Over the years, Mr. Prabhu has drafted several proposals citing immediate structural and maintenance needs at these hostels. He also documented this initiative and took it to the then-CM Secretary, IAS Vijay Kumar. 'This led to a domino effect', he said. He visited all the Adi Dradivar College hostels in the city and submitted reports that detailed out their needs. A ₹13-crore budget was set aside to enhance these hostels, and facilities such as water purifiers, better quality food, stainless steel plates, dining tables and hygienic washrooms were emphasised. Collective efforts over the years and the advocacy efforts by MLA and VCK member, Sinthanai Selvan, resulted in the ruling party giving clearance to the construction of the new MC Rajah College Boys' Hostel, an upgrade long overdue. Factors that drove the protests Ilayaraja from Chengalpettu district, who stayed at the hostel between 2007-11, says, 'We used to carry food in buckets to our rooms from the canteen. Plates came later, after Mr. Prabhu's relentless efforts'. Mr. Ilayaraja was one of the student leaders who led the protests against the poor conditions of Adi Dravidar hostels. Recalling the protests, Mr. Ilayaraja said, 'Minister Tamilarasi tasted a small piece of mullangi (radish) from our plate'. It took us about a week to organise students from all the hostels. On the day of the protest, we freshened up and left for the spot. The adrenaline helped to a point, but once the police and other officials started pouring in, we were scared.' He said they wanted to question the diversion of the Special Component Fund meant for the social and economic development of the SC and ST population in India. The hostel only had a couple of tungsten bulbs, and students often used the washrooms at the Veterinary hospital opposite the hostel. Unable to eat the hostel food, most of them started taking up part-time jobs at catering services. 'There the food was way better and we all got a bit of pocket money'. Why these hostels matter for first-generational learners Mr. Ilayaraja, who has completed his in English and is now pursuing LLB, says, 'No one in my family or my village had studied a lot. So I always yearned to learn as much as possible'. Mr. Ilayaraja is a first-generation learner like many students who relied on Adi Dravidar hostels for accommodation, despite their stark conditions. 'Chennai opened up worlds for me. To be in a city where you get everything was truly a dream for someone who came from a small village. While education showed me my potential, I also realised that as Dalits, we are often excluded from political spaces and underrepresented. And this piqued my interest.' Since leading the Anna Salai protest, Mr. Ilayaraja has gone on to head several student unions and served as the Bahujan Samaj Party District President (Chengalpattu) for four years. Ten years on, the same conditions persist A decade later, little has changed for marginalised students pursuing higher education in the capital city. 'Who doesn't like Chennai?', chuckles Prunesh, 21, as he describes his hostel experience and love for the city. He stayed at the old hostel between 2021-2024 while pursuing his B.A. History degree at the Government Arts College at Nandanam. 'The hostel helped me to pursue my education in Chennai as accommodation is expensive, but the hostel in itself did not have a lot of facilities, and the food served was a major challenge', says Mr. Prunesh, who hails from Virudhachalam in Cuddalore, a coastal district to the south of Chennai. Mr. Ilayaraja's and Mr. Prunesh's woes echo several news reports that came out across the decade, highlighting the poor conditions that plague nearly all the 16 College hostels run by the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department for SC/ST students across the state. Systemic gaps that undermine hostel life for SC/ST students C. Lakshmanan, an author and Associate Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), spoke about how these welfare hostels, which are meant to be a home away from home, fall short due to several factors. 'Despite several schemes and policies being implemented to provide a safe and nurturing environment for students from marginalised communities, they fail to achieve their purpose due to poor maintenance of these hostels', he said. Mismanagement and non-utilisation of the funds allocated for Adi Dravidar hostels, reliance on contractual workers and lack of a permanent warden, and the SC/ST Welfare Directors failing to visit and monitor the conditions prevailing in these hostels are some of the key issues, underlined Lakshmanan. Author and Social Activist Shalin Maria Lawrence also underscored the non-utilisation of the funds allocated for Adi Dravidar hostels and spoke about the double stigmatisation the students often face. 'Many first generational learners who come to the city to pursue education, not only endure caste-based stigma but are marginalised further due to living in dilapidated hostels that lack basic amenities', she said. Students look to the new hostel as a model for change Joy, who also conducts the Ambedkar Reading Circle, notes that while some students regret missing out on the chance to stay in the new hostel, all agree and hope that the new hostel will set a precedent for Adi Dravidar Hostels. He says, 'Infrastructure and nurturing the right environment are crucial for these students who migrate to Chennai seeking education and aiming to defy caste stigma'.
