Book purchase controversy escalates at Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore

According to a report by The Hindu, Sahitya Akademi awardee Perumal Murugan wrote on 6 November 2026 that there were several irregularities in the purchase of books for the newly established Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore. He stated in writings and online discussions that thousands of high-priced books with dubious authorship, factual errors, and allegedly generated by artificial intelligence (AI) were purchased for the library. He also pointed out that these books were purchased at inflated prices, many times higher than the prevailing rates of similar publications in the market.

Following this sequence of events, a massive uproar has erupted in Tamil Nadu. The matter has now reached an investigation by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) and court intervention, and the scope of the probe has been expanded to include the lists of several other libraries. This controversy has also triggered an intense political blame game between the ruling Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) and its predecessor in opposition, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).