Madras HC lauds TN govt’s plan to distribute Sangam literature books in Braille free

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday lauded the efforts of Tamil Nadu government to convert books from the Sangam literature, such as Thirukkural, in Braille format, free of cost. A Bench comprising Justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad said this while closing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed four years ago by a man with visual impairment, P Ramkumar, to make Thirukkural available in Braille in both Tamil and English languages.

The judges observed that the inaccessibility of the Thirukkural to the persons with visual impairment would amount to discrimination as defined under Sections 2(h) and 3 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Responding to the court, the government counsel produced a communication sent by the Director of Tamil Development department, which said that the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) in Chennai is going to distribute 45 Sangam literature books including Thirukkural, Tholkappiyam, Patthuppaatu, Ettutthogai, Silapathigaram and Manimegalai in Braille free of cost.

“As of now, 75% of the work has been completed; and the remaining 25% will be completed by the end of December, 2022,” the communication said. If the persons with visual impairment send a copy of their ID card along with the required details to the CICT, the books would be delivered to their address for free, it added. Appreciating this, the judges directed the government to give wide publicity to the said service so that more people could benefit from it.