HC partially restrains T.N. from implementing G.O. on caste names

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday partially restrained the State from implementing a G.O. issuing detailed guidelines to remove caste-based names from public spaces.

A Division Bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C. Kumarappan, however, permitted the State to conduct an assessment to determine such places.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by S. Paramasivam, of Madurai, who had challenged the G.O.

The petitioner, also the State vice-president of the Hindu Advocates Front, said the G.O. had issued guidelines for identifying and renaming roads, streets, residential areas, bus stands, markets, waterbodies, and village panchayats that had caste-based names.

‘No complaint’

There had been no complaint about caste abuse by quoting the name of a street, road or waterbody all these years. It showed that the G.O. was unnecessary, and was issued all of a sudden by the government with an eye on the upcoming Assembly election in the State, he said.

The intention of the government was not to give equal treatment or to eradicate communal hatred, but to rename streets, roads, residential areas and waterbodies after the leaders and favourites of the ruling party, he said.

The G.O. had been issued with an intent to divide the people by promoting enmity among them ahead of the Assembly election, he alleged.

Though Annexure-IA has been captioned ‘Sample list of names’, the list diligently excludes great patriots from Tamil Nadu, who had sacrificed their lives and wealth in the freedom struggle. The names of spiritual leaders who instilled moral and spiritual qualities in society have been suppressed. The names of Nayanmarkal, Alwarkal, Samayakuravargal, and Siddharkal are conspicuously absent from the list, he said, and added that the G.O. declined to provide an opportunity for submitting objections or giving a hearing to the people of the localities that were to be given a new name.