People should overcome fate by wisdom, says Thoothukudi collector

THOOTHUKUDI: The public should not rely on fate but should be overcome by wisdom, said District Collector Dr K Senthil Raj during a Pongal celebration at Perurani Samathuvapuram in Thimmarajapuram village panchayat of Thoothukudi union.

The collector, alongside the civic body and Additional Collector (Development) Thakkare Subam Gnanadev Rao, participated in the Pongal celebrations held at Perurani samathuvapuram here on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, the collector noted that samathuvapuram witnesses brotherhood and equality among the general public.
 
He appreciated the Thimmarajapuram village panchayat for availing of land to accommodate housing for transpersons and gypsies.  Earlier, Collector Senthil Raj along with the public had taken an oath to ensure social justice and develop an egalitarian society that promotes self-respect and rational view. "About a century ago, only people belonging to higher castes were allowed to have a cloth over their shoulders That discriminatory practice has been eradicated as people are more sensible now," he said.

Urging the public to follow the footsteps of social reformer Periyar, the collector appealed to the public not to rely on fate, but to overcome them through wisdom. If you have self-confidence, there is no need for a God, he said quoting rationalist Periyar.

Taking note of piling heaps of shawls offered to him by the public as a mark of a warm welcome, the collector requested them to present him with books instead, adding that every samathuvapuram shall have a library so that the people gain more knowledge.

It is true that the culture of granting shawls to the elders evolved after Periyar took the social reform against caste-based discrimination of permitting people from lower castes to tie a cloth/towel only at the waist and not on the shoulders.