Tamil Nadu
Justice Chandru’s Most Radical Idea: A ‘Social Justice Students Force’ In Every School
Justice Chandru's idea of a Social Justice Students Force is seen the most controversial of his suggestions
A former judge of the Madras High Court, Justice K Chandru, who had been appointed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government as the one-man committee on issues like the condition of juvenile homes and online rummy, is in the news these days after his suggestions to curb casteism in schools have run into controversy.
The most radical of the suggestions would however have to be the formation of a “Social Justice Students Force.”
Here’s what the Report’s Recommendation section has to say about the “Force”-
“16. Social Justice Students Force (SJSF) (சக நீொ மாணவர் பைட)
a. The Tamil Nadu Government must establish a student force called சக நீொ மாணவர்பைட (Social Justice Students Force) (SJSF), which will operate independently of the union government. The SJSF will consist of students from all communities, free from communal divisions, united in their efforts to combat social evils.
b. The primary objective of creating the SJSF is to combat social evils and to participate in community-level programs organized by the government. Special care should be taken to include students from minority groups, women, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.
c. The units of this force can be organized at the village level, encompassing all types of schools within that revenue village, and managed at every Block level.
d. The SJSF should have a uniform and conduct regular drills and exercises, in addition to inculcating social values such as inclusivity, equality, and non-discrimination.
e. A committee can be constituted by the government to plan and organize such a force, as well as to devise methods and means to raise funds for the force.”
What’s the issue with such a Force, you may ask?
The problem with this Force begins in the very first point, say critics. “Why the emphasis on mentioning that the Force should operate independently of the Union government ?”, they ask.
Critics have expressed fears that such a Force could be used as a means for the state government and ruling party members to indoctrinate students with the ‘Dravidian’ ideology, and make them play into the hands of the DMK.
Further, they ask if such a Force, under the control of the state government is necessary when we already have the National Service Scheme (NSS) and National Cadet Corps (NCC) at the national level. Both these organisations follow the same values and thus, it could be an unnecessary duplication of efforts.
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