The alleged irregularities in book purchases for Periyar Arivulagam, a public library in Tamil Nadu inaugurated weeks ago, have snowballed into a major controversy in the state. K Annamalai has reacted by demanding an independent and thorough probe into the allegations raised by acclaimed Tamil writer Perumal Murugan and into the records of the book procurement process from the previous administration.
The irregularities were initially highlighted by Murugan in an article published on the Tamil portal Sindhai. Murugan stated that he discovered roughly 1,800 books acquired at exorbitant prices, featuring fictitious authors, questionable publishers, and AI-generated content. He also pointed out dubious-sounding names of authors who were previously unknown, such as Vijaya Balu, Jothi Saravanan, Jothi Hariharan, Trisha Vijay, Thamarai Panneer, and Rani Panneer. The situation has triggered a fierce political battle between the ruling TVK and the DMK, with both parties pointing fingers over the questionable acquisitions.
The seven-storey library, built across seven acres at a cost of nearly Rs 300 crore in Coimbatore, was planned and constructed during the prior DMK regime and named after social reformer Periyar. It was inaugurated in a grand ceremony on October 16, which immediately sparked a credit dispute as the TVK did not acknowledge the project's DMK-era origins. Murugan's disclosures have added a new layer of scrutiny to the institution.
Annamalai characterized the alleged irregularities as a severe betrayal of future generations and called the findings shocking. He argued that public money misuse in this context represents a direct blow to the educational and intellectual advancement of young people and students preparing for competitive examinations. He urged that all documents tied to the procurement process, including purchase orders, invoices, delivery logs, and committee reports, be made public.
Furthermore, Annamalai questioned the complete list of recommended books, whether those specific books were actually purchased, and who verified the ISBNs, purchase dates, and delivery dates. He called for an independent inquiry to determine if the books were bought at fair prices and delivered as ordered, stating that turning a knowledge-sharing library into a site of corruption amounts to stealing knowledge itself.
Perumal Murugan, a Sahitya Akademi winner who had served on the book recommendation panel appointed by the previous government, published his findings on November 6 without clarifying if the questionable books bypassed the committee's awareness. In his article, he noted that most library books came from unfamiliar publishers, citing nearly 1,800 volumes from a publisher named Agal Vilakku, which he had never encountered in his four decades in the literary field. Many of these hardbound books carried price tags exceeding Rs 1,400.
Murugan highlighted specific errors, such as a book priced at Rs 1,445 misidentifying the ancient text Naladiyar as the work of a single poet rather than a collection of verses by Jain monks. Another book erroneously named a non-existent individual as the first chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Murugan also noted that books from Phoenix Publishers appeared to be generated using artificial intelligence, featured unverified ISBNs, lacked publisher contact details, and carried inflated price tags well above their modest market value.