State told to respond on plea to publish 'Thirukkural' in Braille form

MADURAI:  The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday directed the State government to respond to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking publication of 'Thirukkural' by the government in Braille form in both English and Tamil languages.

A Bench comprising Justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad orally observed that the government is expected to supply Braille copies of 'Thirukkural' to persons with visual impairment free of cost. They adjourned the case for two weeks, to hear the government's stand.

The PIL was filed by P Ramkumar, who is 100% visually impaired, in 2018. Though 'Thirukkural' has been published in various forms and languages over the past centuries, Ramkumar alleged that the persons with visual impairment are unable to read 'Thirukkural' on their own since the government has not published it in Braille form.

Pointing out that 'Thirukkural' has become a mandatory subject in the school curriculum and is known worldwide, he stated that depriving visually challenged persons the right to read 'Thirukkural' is a gross violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India.