COIMBATORE: A group of prominent writers, academics, publishers and artists has urged the Tamil Nadu govt to constitute an inquiry commission under the monitoring of Madras high court to investigate the alleged irregularities in book procurement for the newly opened Coimbatore Periyar Arivulagam. They demanded that the govt disclose the names of officials and committee members involved in recommending, selecting and approving the books and payments to the two publishers, and initiate legal action against those found responsible and seize the fake books from libraries.In a joint statement, the signatories alleged that 1,800 to 2,000 unauthentic books were purchased at inflated prices for Periyar Arivulagam. They stated that books published by Agal Vilakku and Phoenix Publication, reportedly operating from the same address, contained unauthenticated information, fictitious author names and factual errors. They alleged that the publishers had compiled material available online and released it as books under fictitious names, which were subsequently procured at several times their market value.The issue came to light following social media posts by writer Balasubramanian Ponraj on Oct 17 and artist Sundaran Murugesan on Oct 24. Writer Perumal Murugan highlighted the allegations in an online magazine article on Nov 6.The signatories questioned how the irregularities escaped scrutiny despite the state’s Transparent Book Procurement Policy 2024. A govt order issued on Nov 5, 2025, provided for procurement of books for special libraries, including Periyar Arivulagam, and six newly established district central libraries.The policy envisages multiple levels of scrutiny, involving a 137-member expert committee, a 13-member selection committee, a five-member price negotiation committee and a five-member review committee. The signatories said the scam would undermine genuine writers and publishers and deprive students of authentic knowledge. They warned that misleading publications could damage Tamil intellectual and academic discourse.Among those who signed the statement were former Madras high court judge Justice D Hariparanthaman, researchers S V Rajadurai and R Balakrishnan, besides several writers, filmmakers, publishers and activists.
