Following closely on the heels of the suicide of Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad, a suicide which has correctly been identified as an institutional murder, three young girls in the Villipuram district of Tamil Nadu drowned themselves. 19-year old Sharanya, Priyanga and Monisha were students of the SVS Yoga Medical College, and were driven to desperately take their lives by the exorbitantly high fees charged by the college.
SVS college has a long history of dubious practices. It was set up in 2008 without fulfilling any of the norms and conditions prescribed. The very first step of procuring land allegedly involved a violation of rights: farmers’ lands were encroached upon, and 3 medical colleges were constructed on 12 acres of land. Though the AYUSH Council had granted permission for setting up the college in 2008, the Chennai High Court had subsequently raised objections. Since then, students have been fighting against the management and its multiple irregularities and violations. Instead of addressing and rectifying the gross violations pointed out by the students, the college administration resorted to all-out intimidation of the protesting students. The students however refused to buckle down to this intimidation. They sent petitions and appeals to as many as 14 departments and bodies of the State and Central government. The students also sent urgent messages with their concerns to the Dr. MGR Medical University and to the CM’s Office in Chennai. Yet, none of the 14 bodies responded to their concerns. In October 2015, 6 students even tried to self-immolate themselves in protest in front of the Villupuram Collector’s office. The Collector, instead of looking into the demands of the students and holding the erring management responsible, abused and scolded the students. She allegedly told them to commit suicide in their homes, rather than protest at the Collector’s office!.
The entire sequence of events leading to the death of three young students at Villipuram thus clearly shows that it was an institutional murder. All the 3 students came from extremely poor and deprived backgrounds. What is all the more shameful is that despite extracting huge amounts as fees from the students, the SVS college does not provide even the basic facilities required in a Medical college. The owner and chairperson on the SVS college, Vasuki Subramanium, is not a qualified doctor. She, along with her husband (who is a homeopathic doctor), her son and one local henchman effective rule the roost, and run the entire place. There is neither a hospital, nor the required number of doctors, professors and laboratories in the college. The 3 students who committed suicide paid Rs six lakhs each to join the college, apart from the huge fees they had to pay each year. The students who protested and who were unable to pay the money demanded by the college administration were subjected to massive intimidation and repression. Some students were even forced to do construction work in the campus and clean the college toilets.
Both the DMK as well as the AIADMK are implicated in the proliferation of such dubious private education shops masquerading as colleges all over Tamil Nadu. A previous Health Minister from the DMK had given permission to set up the SVS college, and the current Health Minister from the AIADMK had sided with the college administration despite all the complaints and petitions filed by the students. Another minister intervened to help the SVS college ensure that the Medical University acts in their favour. The powers-that-be in Tamil Nadu used every foul means possible to support the SVS administration at each and every step.
CPI(ML) has been at the forefront of the protests against the tragic suicides in Villipuram. Immediately after hearing the horrific news, CPI(ML), AISA and RYA organised protests across Tamil Nadu. On 26 January, AISA and RYA held a protest in Kallakurichi near where the SVS college is situated. Comprehensive and effective protests and campaigns were launched, even on social media. On 4 February, a protest demonstration was held in Chinnasalem town near the SVS college. The protests highlighted that this was an institutional murder, in which several authorities were deeply implicated, including the SVS Chairperson Vasuki, the Villupuram district collector, authorities of the Dr. MGR Medical University and the Tamil Nadu Health Minister. CPI(ML), AISA and RYA demanded that action be taken against all those who have misused their positions of power, leading to three tragic deaths. The situation at the SVS college is no aberration. In several private institutions in Tamil Nadu, similar problems have been highlighted, such as most recently in the Sairam college of Engineering, where students are being subjected to horrific moral policing, harassment and intimidation. CPI(ML), AISA and RYA thus also demanded that such private profiteering educational shops should be closed down, and the government must step in to open state-funded colleges and Universities, since provision of education is the government’s responsibility.
