STREETS TO HAVE NO CASTE

The Stalin regime orders caste-based names to be wiped off all public places, critics cry bias

- By Kavitha Muralidharan

RENAMING HAS TYPICALLY STRUTTED down a different street in India, but Tamil Nadu is all set to change the name of the game. As it marks a century of Periyar’s Self-Respect Movement, the state is axing the markers of an older form of pride. Caste-based names will be erased from streets, localities, water bodies and public landmarks across all districts.

An October order stipulates that every municipal body and panchayat will comb through its jurisdictions, identify public spaces carrying caste-linked titles and rename them. The replacements are to be caste-neutral and drawn from Tamil poets, flowers, local icons, or historically prominent figures.

A PERIYARIST STRIKE