Tab on non-TN students ‎(Chennai Engineering Colleges)

They feel the move will alienate the student community and will throw cold water on the inclusiveness of the society.

“The police anyway take action after nabbing the culprit. This move is unwarranted. This amounts to branding the non-Tamils as criminals like branding the Irulas as thieves.

This is both unsafe and alienating,” says Prof Kalyani, who works among tribals and students. Kalyani also says the measure will not achieve any purpose.

For Madhumita Dutta, a social activist, the move is targeted at the inclusiveness of the society. “It is dangerous that they started it with migrant labourers and now extending to the student community.

Chennai has always been proud of being an inclusive society. We are losing it soon” she says.

Madhumitha points out that the educational institutions in Tamil Nadu have continued to attract students across the country. “Now the parents will think twice before putting their students into any institution in Tamil Nadu. Nobody would want to undergo this kind of humiliation.” 

Bharat Jain, originally from Rajasthan whose family has been in Chennai for four generations, feels the move is ‘personally humiliating.’ A practicing advocate, Jain says his family feels more at home in Chennai. “This is extremely sad and we strongly object to such a move,” Jain says.

Jain strongly feels the decision will hamper peaceful co-existence of various communities and will bring about divisions among communities. “We have been living as brothers and sisters for the past four generations. This will create a wedge between us” he rues.

The student community too seems to have not taken to the idea.

“An educational institution is where you learn to forget the differences. This measure will be a stark reminder of the differences. There are umpteen other ways to track down those involved in criminal activities,” says a student on condition of anonymity.

‘Get details from deemed varsities’

The state government should seek the database of students from North India only from deemed universities as a majority of them study there, opine academicians. State-run institutions have a few North Indian youth and several students from other southern states, they say.

According to a former vice-chancellor who did not wish to be named, it would be difficult for the state to create a database of students from other states as most of them study in private deemed universities, which come under the purview of University Grants Commission (UGC) and the human resource development (HRD) ministry.

“You are knocking on the wrong door. State universities can admit only about 15 per cent of students from other states under all India quota. So we need to ask deemed universities to provide the record of their students,” an administrator of a private engineering college said. 

Educationists also say that there have been no incidents of other state students in state universities and their affiliated colleges indulging in any kind of violence or disturbance to law and order.

“The state government does not have any control over deemed universities. For any details from these institutions, they need to go through the HRD ministry. Already Tamil Nadu has represented to the Union government asking for right to bring deemed universities under its control,” a senior academician said.

Commissionerspeak

* Apart from people in the city, outsiders should also furnish the name, office address, job description, previous place of residence with necessary identity proofs

* Hence, under section 144 of CrPC 1973, the city police commissioner has issued the order that comes into force from March 3 and those who fail to abide by the order are punishable under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

* The forms can be obtained from local police stations or traffic police office. They can also be downloaded from www.tnpolice.gov.in from Monday.