Salem: Struck in disbelief over the mysterious death of Dalit scholar Muthukrishanan, family members and friends describe him as a ‘brave man with an indomitable fighting spirit.’
“My son is not a coward to commit suicide. His body should be brought to Salem only after the Central government orders a CBI probe into his mysterious death. A post-mortem can be performed under the observation of a special medical team here,” said Muthukrishnan’s mother Alamelu, between sobs. She works as a daily wager.
His sister Jayanthi said that Muthukrishnan aspired to become an IAS officer. “My brother saw IAS Iraianbu sir, as his role model and aspired to become like him. He worked as a supplier in a hotel in Delhi in part time to meet his educational expenses. Even with that little earnings, he would send us money to take care of our needs,” she said.
Since his college days in Salem, JNU has been his go-to destination. Though a bright student, things did not fall in place that easily for Muthukrishnan as he managed to enter the portals of this prestigious institution only after a couple of failed attempts.
“It shows his fighting spirit to finally achieve, what he intends to,” says G. Boopalan, who studied B.A. with Muthukrishnan in Salem Government College.
“My friend Muthukrishna was a book worm and would always come first in studies during college days. He used to teach others the nuances of learning lessons in a simple manner and stood as an example for others to follow. Gifted with good English speaking skills, he always had a helping mind,” he added.
Muthukrishnan studied till plus-2 at Little Flower Higher Secondary School in Salem and pursued both B.A. and M.A. in History at the Salem Government College. An alumnus of the University of Hyderabad, Muthukrishnan took up M. Phil in Modern History in JNU.
Born to poor parents, his father Jeevanandam is a security guard in a private firm, while his mother is a daily wage earner and they have three other daughters.
Meanwhile, members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and VCK cadres staged a protest at the four road junction on Monday night demanding a judicial probe into the suspicious death of Muthukrishnan.
On Tuesday, DMK MLA R. Rajendran called on the family members of Muthukrishnan and gave away a solatium of Rs 1 lakh. Further members of VCK staged a fast, demanding a solatium of Rs 1 crore and a government job to one of the family members.
TN CM announces Rs 3 lakh solatium to scholar’s family
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami on Tuesday condoled the death of Muthukrishnan Jeevanantham, a JNU scholar hailing from Tamil Nadu, and announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to his family.
In a statement, Mr Palanisami said he was “deeply grieved” by the death of Muthukrishnan, who allegedly committed suicide on Monday in New Delhi.
“Considering the family circumstances of the deceased student, I have ordered a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to his family,” Mr Palanisami said, adding that all assistance would be rendered to immediately bring his body back to his native village in Salem.
