If recent incidents are any indication, even students are no longer safe inside classrooms or hostels in Tamil Nadu. In one shocking case, a Class 9 student was attacked with a machete in a Tirunelveli school. In another, a warden and headmaster was caught on video beating a young boy with a leather belt in the presence of fellow students and two women staff.
Tirunelveli has long been notorious for caste clashes, which often spill over even among schoolchildren. Organiser has been consistently reporting such incidents. In the latest case, on September 25, a Class IX student of a government-aided higher secondary school near Valliyur in Tirunelveli attacked his classmate with a machete inside the classroom. The provocation, it is learnt, was an abusive remark allegedly made against the assailant’s father. The victim belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, though police denied any caste angle in the assault.
According to reports, the victim, a resident of Tenkasi, had allegedly insulted his classmate’s father on September 24. Teachers and students intervened at the time and pacified the quarrel. However, the following morning, after prayers, the accused boy attacked him with a machete he had smuggled into the school. Another student sustained minor injuries while attempting to intervene.
Teachers rushed the injured boys to a private hospital. One of them, who had suffered deep wounds on his back, treated with six sutures. Both were later discharged. On receiving information, Eravadi police detained the accused student for questioning.
In another disturbing case, a warden of a children’s home near Coimbatore was arrested after a video went viral showing him hitting a boy with a leather belt in front of other students and women staff. The accused, S. Selvaraj (60) of Sakthi Nagar in Sarkar Samakulam panchayat union, near Kottaipalayam, was arrested by Kovilpalayam police. Selvaraj and his wife, S. Nirmala (58), have been running the Grace Happy Home Trust for several years, with Nirmala serving as the managing trustee.
Officials of the Social Welfare Department confirmed that the facility was a recognised children’s home, sheltering nine boys entrusted by the Child Welfare Committee. District Collector Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar ordered an inquiry after two videos surfaced, one of which showed the boy pleading with Selvaraj to stop the assault. The footage is believed to have been recorded by another inmate.
Revenue Department and District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) officials inspected the home and the government school attended by the children. Their inquiry revealed that Selvaraj had previously beaten an eight-year-old boy on August 8 as punishment for pushing another child. District Child Protection Officer M. Hafsa submitted a report confirming the ill-treatment, based on which Protection Officer Parimala Gandhi lodged a police complaint.
Police registered a case against Selvaraj and Nirmala under Sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 75 (punishment for cruelty to a child) and 82 (corporal punishment) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Selvaraj has since been remanded to judicial custody.
These are not isolated incidents. Across Tamil Nadu, there have been repeated cases of violence in Christian-run homes and caste-based conflicts among students. The disturbing question remains: who is poisoning the minds of children? Earlier, students were even caught carrying machetes and lethal weapons inside their schoolbags.
Two years ago, an SC student and his sister were brutally attacked in their home by a boy. Following the outrage, the state government set up a one-man commission under retired High Court Justice K. Chandru – a well-known Dravidian and Left supporter. Instead of focusing on preventing caste-based clashes, his recommendations controversially targeted Hindu cultural identity, suggesting a ban on wristbands, sacred ash, kumkum, and other Hindu symbols, while leaving Christian and Muslim identifiers untouched. This triggered strong backlash among Hindus, forcing the government to put the report in abeyance.
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