Tamil Nadu: Caste-Related Question In Periyar University Sparks Row, VC Orders Probe

Speaking about the issue, the Vice Chancellor said that the question paper was set by another university and he did not have any information regarding the paper.

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New Delhi: A question paper in the Periyar University in Tamil Nadu, with a caste-related question, has sparked controversy on Thursday, news agency ANI reported. The question paper for the first year MA History students had a question asking “what is the lower caste that belongs to Tamil Nadu” and had four options mentioning different castes.  

However, Vice Chancellor Jagannathan has assured that an investigation would be carried out into the matter.

The caste-related question – “Which one is the Lower Caste which belongs to Tamil Nadu” with four caste options – was asked to the first-year (second semester) Master in History students who were taking their exam in the subject ‘Freedom Movement of Tamil Nadu: From 1800 to 1947’.

Tamil Nadu | 1st-year MA History students of Periyar University in Salem got asked in the exam, "Which one is the lower caste that belongs to Tamil Nadu?" with 4 options mentioning different castes pic.twitter.com/kdJxQrMo5R

— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2022

Speaking about the issue, the Vice Chancellor said that the question paper was set by another university and he did not have any information regarding the paper.

“Question papers for exams are not prepared by Periyar University. Other university and college lecturers prepared the question paper. Usually, to avoid a question paper leak, we don’t read the question paper before the exam. I didn’t get any info regarding the controversial question. We will investigate this,” ANI quoted VC Jagannathan as saying.

“We are seeking a report from the controller of examination today who set the question paper. We are not considering conducting a re-exam,” the VC further added.