The controversy surrounding procurement of books for Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore | Explained
Controversy over inflated, allegedly AI-generated books for Periyar Arivulagam triggers DVAC probe, court orders, and statewide library audits.
The controversy caused a furore in Tamil Nadu, as the case heads into a Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption inquiry, court intervention and the scope of investigations has now expanded to include inventories in several other libraries.
Updated - November 11, 2026 05:43 pm IST
A view of Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore | Photo Credit: M. Periasamy
The story so far: A veritable pandora’s box of literary and political controversy was opened on November 6, 2026, when Sahitya Akademi winner Perumal Murugan wrote about several irregularities in the procurement of books for the newly-inaugurated Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore. He wrote, and later spoke online, about how thousands of exorbitantly-priced books had been procured for the library with questionable authorship, full of factual errors and were seemingly AI generated. He also pointed out that these books had been procured at inflated rates, many times higher than current market rates for similar publications.
It has since caused a furore in Tamil Nadu, as the case heads into a Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption inquiry, court intervention and the scope of investigations has now expanded to include inventories in several other libraries, and it has also started an intense political blame game with the prime actors being the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its predecessor, now in the Opposition, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Published - November 11, 2026 02:31 pm IST
Tamil Nadu / Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam / Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam / investigation / The Hindu Explains / Coimbatore
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