What could possibly connect Kabali and Kaala director Pa Ranjith and a pretty much unknown Govt Fine Arts student who committed suicide in Vellore three weeks ago? Other than the fact that they studied in the same college, one decade or more apart, the frustration that creeps in when an artist feels that his work is being stifled is something that Ranjith knows all too well. And in the case of Prakash P, the son of a hospital worker at the Vellore GH, that feeling seems to have snuffed out what little life remained in him.
Ranjith recalled to the media how he had faced the same issues during his student days, "I studied in the same college. Even now the college hasn't improved the infrastructure or students' material needs and teaching staff aren't qualified. During my days in this college, I was guided by my seniors. There was no proper theoretical and practical training even during my college days," he said with rage in his voice — the same rage that he had when he spoke out against the deaths of Rohith Vemula and Sasi Kumar.
The SFI has been holding a series of protests demanding action against the HOD and Principal who allegedly 'sidelined, insulted and all but pushed' Prakash to commit suicide. Naturally, people like Pa Ranjith and Thirumurugan Gandhi have found themselves on the side of the protestors.
The answer possibly lies in the chilling suicide notes (three of them) and video that Prakash shared before he hung himself on a tree, a little outside Vellore, on October 24.
Not only had Prakash calmly written about what needed to be done with his body after his demise, he had also talked about eye donation, how he would have liked to be laid to rest and also that he had made the video so that his body would be found quickly enough for all this to fall in place quickly.
'They are not teachers. They are Anti-nationalists'
Social activist Thirumurugan Gandhi and Ranjith indicated that Prakash's death was on the hands of the college and the government because there was no preventive mechanism to keep him safe, "These deaths are not new in this college. In 2010, a student called Sasi Kumar committed suicide inside the campus. if they had taken action and preventive measures. we could have avoided this topper's death," he said. Supporting the view that the HOD was to blame, he added, "This government have been supporting this kind of professor and are protecting them. I don't see them as qualified professors but as anti-nationalists."
Ranjith went as far as to dare the police to step up and do their job, or face the risk of more protests, "It is our duty to bring it to the notice of the government to avoid this kind of issue in the future. According to Prakash's FB video and his suicide note he had clearly stated the reasons for his suicide but still, the government hasn't reacted to it and no further steps have been initiated.I think questions have to be raised against the police department for not taking action against the accused."
Enquiry found that the teachers were not at fault: Ma Foi Pandiarajan
Under mounting pressure, TN Minister for Tamil, Art and Culture, Archaeology and Museums Ma Faoi K Pandiarajan said that he was more than willing to reopen the enquiry if needed. Speaking to Edexlive, he said, "No one from SFI had reached out to me.If the SFI group members want to reopen the enquiry I am willing to initiate the orders immediately."
He also affirmed the fact that the Disciplinary Committee initiated after his suicide had given the professors in question, clean chits, "According to the reports from the college disciplinary committee, we have received good remarks about Professor Ravi Kumar. Even a group of students from the college had said that the boy's comments on the professor are false and exaggerated and the boy had been irregular to college for a while."
