A Counter-Perspective on Dr. Thirumavalavan's Stance
Whilst I deeply respect Dr. @thirumaofficial, I must respectfully dissent from his recent observations on the sanitary workers' protest. His position, though well-intentioned, is actually counterproductive to breaking stereotypes and promoting upward mobility for marginalised communities. 1/14 The protesters or their supporters aren't asking for marginalised communities to remain trapped in sanitation work forever. They're demanding permanent public employment status. This is the KEY to breaking the cycle of stereotyping that Dr. Thiruma wants to address. 2/14

The coordinated effort to discredit scholars who critically examine entrenched social hierarchies, particularly those interrogating Brahmanical dominance in fields like wildlife conservation and cultural studies, reflects a broader discomfort with academic inquiry that challenges the status quo. (1/11)
thesouthfirst.com/opinion/resist… Dr. Aiyadurai's research, including her seminar on "Intersecting Dalit and Cultural Studies: De-brahmanising the Disciplinary Space" and her book "Beings and Beasts," represents legitimate and necessary scholarly pursuit that academia desperately needs. 2/11

As a Criminologist, the Ajith Kumar custodial murder deeply disturbed me. Personal commitments caused a delay in writing this thread, but the systemic issues it exposes demand attention. This is a long thread, but I believe it offers crucial insights into police reform you might not have heard anywhere until now! 1/17 Ajith Kumar's horrific custodial murder in Tamil Nadu isn't isolated. It's a painful symptom of a fundamental flaw in our police force's training and professionalisation. Urgent, systemic reform, starting at the ground level, is desperately needed. 2/17

🧵 THREAD: An unexpected research methodology lesson today. Was on a hunt (not wildlife!) when heavy rain forced me to shelter in a tiny 9x5ft roadside shop.

What happened next became a perfect demonstration of mixed-methods research! 🌧️ #ResearchMethodology 1/10 The shopkeeper kindly let me stay. Shop sold tobacco products, snacks, soft drinks.

But what caught my eye: 22 different pan/tobacco brands! Kuber, Cash Gold, Vimal, Pan Bahar, Rajnighanda, S-7... incredible variety in such a small space 📦 2/10

Chennai's GIG workers lounge: well-intentioned but fundamentally flawed. Why should public or CSR funds create facilities that several billion-rupee worth companies should provide?

Don't let public resources subsidise private profit. (1/15)
#GigWorkers #LabourRights
The numbers tell the story: Zomato revenue ₹17,972 crores (2024), Swiggy ₹11,247 crores.

Yet workers buy their own vehicles, bear fuel costs, get no EPF/ESI. Where's their share of these massive revenues? (2/15)
#GigEconomy #WorkersRights

This latest tweet from @TamilnaduStats is a shameless and outrageous manipulation, shrinking the truth by drawing a longer line to dwarf reality, a blatant and wilful misuse of data that betrays the very principles of scientific data handling! The integrity of information is at stake here. (1/7) Yesterday, I gave this handle the benefit of the doubt, but it is now painfully evident that this is deliberate deception. This is not evaluating data; it is blatant cherry-picking at its most cynical and irresponsible. (2/7)

This post gets it wrong by using GSDP data!

Saying TASMAC's ₹48,344 Cr is just 1.53% of TN’s ₹31.55L Cr GSDP (2024-25) misses the point.

GSDP shows total economy size, not government money. This is a weak way to hide the real story.

Let’s clear this up! (1/4)

https://twitter.com/TamilnaduStats/status/1931331586152411224

The focus on GSDP hides TASMAC’s real impact. Its ₹48,344 Cr (2024-25 est.) is 1.53% of ₹31.55L Cr GSDP, but it makes up 26.8% of TN’s own tax revenue (₹1.80L Cr)!

This is a big part of the Govt's tax revenue, not a small detail.

Ignoring this is unfair to the truth. (2/4)

1/12 🌍 BREAKING: Council of Europe has just adopted a landmark treaty criminalising environmental destruction "tantamount to ecocide" - making severe environmental harm a prosecutable crime, not merely regulatory oversight.

India desperately needs similar laws. Here's why 🧵 2/12 ⚖️ The new Convention enables states to prosecute intentional conduct causing environmental disasters. Consider India's context:

❌Coal mining destroying tribal lands
❌Industrial pollution killing rivers
❌Illegal sand mining devastating ecosystems

All currently go unpunished.

1/14🧵: Disturbing pattern of custodial violence in Tamil Nadu revealed by RTI data. 304 prisoners entered Puzhal prison with fractures between Jan-Oct 2024 - all allegedly from "slipping in bathrooms" at police stations.

Let's analyse what's really happening here based on @Ahmedshabbir20 @thenewsminute story:
thenewsminute.com/tamil-nadu/tn-… 2/14 From a criminological perspective, this systematic breaking of limbs represents what researchers call "institutionalised violence" - torture that has become normalised within the organisational culture. These aren't isolated incidents but an established practice.

Tamil Nadu hides a dark secret: an unreleased government report shows massive illegal mining in Pudukottai. In one block, 36 quarries mined 63 lakh cubic metres; 10 times their licence! Nature’s plunder unfolds. 1/n #IllegalMining #TamilNadu #GreenCriminology Licensed for 6 lakh cubic metres, they stole 63 lakh. That’s ₹257 crore lost yearly from just 36 quarries. Multiply that statewide: environmental ruin and economic theft run wild. 2/n #EnvironmentalJustice #EconomicLoss

The Brutal Murder

On April 23, 1997, K. Leelavathi, a fearless #CPIM councillor in #Madurai, was hacked to death in broad daylight. Elected under women’s reservation, she was slaughtered by five armed men. Her crime? Fighting for her people. This is Tamil Nadu’s shame! (1/15) Her Courageous Fight

Leelavathi dared to challenge the water mafia, pushing for piped water in #Villapuram. Two days before the water supply’s launch, she was silenced forever. Her murder screams of vested interests and power politics. Who protected her killers? (2/15)

Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling smashes governors’ arrogance! Article 200 isn’t your personal fiefdom to choke state bills. BJP-linked governors, this is a thundering wake-up call—stop your shameless delays and political games NOW! Democracy won’t tolerate your tyranny. (1/8)

https://twitter.com/cpimspeak/status/1909498217223299188

To every BJP-aligned governor: You’ve got 1-3 months to act on bills—assent, withhold, or reserve. No veto power exists! Re-passed bills DEMAND assent. The Court will crush your defiance. Quit stalling state laws for your masters in Delhi—your time’s up! (2/8)

🧠 Breaking the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Monopoly: Why Humanities and Social Science Research Deserve Equal Funding

🌍 A critical thread on the importance of comprehensive research support in Tamil Nadu. 1/16
#ResearchMatters #SHAPE The Chief Minister's Research Grant is a positive approach to promoting research in state HEIs, but it raises a crucial question: Are we undervaluing the transformative power of humanities and social science research? Research is more than just STEM. 2/16

Listened to ANI EP-269 "Samosa Caucus 5.0" w/ Smita, Abhijit, Ranganathan, Sushant & Tehseen. Disclaimer: "Light-hearted, no intent to hurt." Cool, here’s mine: This thread’s sharp, not to harm, just to shred their divisive stupidity. Buckle up. (1/20) Smita starts: "TN & Karnataka so sensitive about language." Yeah, it’s called identity, not a circus act for your joker crew to prop up Union’s Hindi fetish. Trivializing it isn’t satire—it’s bias in a clown wig. (2/20)

Yuvaraj, convicted of beheading Scheduled Caste youth Gokulraj in 2015, is on parole for a family event. His casteist followers reportedly celebrated his arrival. This reflects a sick caste pride mentality & sets a dangerous precedent. Tamil Nadu must tackle this. (1/13) Madras HC upheld life sentences for Yuvaraj & 7 others in 2023, calling it a case of caste bigotry & inhumanity. Yet, his parole celebration shows casteist hegemony persists. Fighting Brahminical dominance isn’t enough—we must dismantle all caste power structures. (2/13)

Bad roads aren't just an inconvenience—they're a public health crisis.

🚨 In #Madurai, the 2.93 km stretch between #Jainhindpuram and #Keerathurai (which I have observed) has remained a mud road for ≈3 years, according to a resident who has lived in this locality for 2 decades!

Here's why this should concern us all. 🧵 (1/16)
Endless pipe-laying work has left this vital road untarred⁉️

The traffic on this stretch is heavy. Even in non-peak hours, at least: 🚗 1 car 🚖 3 autos 🏍️ 6 motorbikes …pass through every 10 meters.

During peak hours, these numbers increase 5–6 times, kicking up even more harmful dust. (2/16)

1/ The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to some of the world's most isolated and unique indigenous groups, including the Shompen, Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and Sentinelese. These communities are living links to our ancestral past. 2/ These tribes have lived in harmony with their environment for millennia, practicing sustainable lifestyles through hunting, gathering, and deep spiritual connections with their land. Their knowledge and practices are invaluable for understanding human history and ecology.

1/16🚗 Let's talk about the fascinating world of statistical sampling and why a snapshot isn't always the full picture. I observed traffic at a Chennai highway (from #Guindy Metro Station) for just 30 seconds today. Here's what I found and why it matters for research.🧵 2/16 On Friday, Jan 3, 2025, at 8:36 AM, a 30-second traffic video captured the following ~counts:
🚗 Cars: 37
🛵 Motorbikes: 74
🚛 Large commercial: 1
🚚 Small commercial: 10
🚌 Buses: 4
🚲 Bicycle: 1
🚕 Auto/Share Auto: 7
🚐 Van: 1
That's 135 vehicles in 30 seconds! 🚦
But can we use this to predict annual #traffic patterns? Let's explore the complexities.

If you don't have the patience to read 20 tweets, please don't engage here.

1/20 As a student of criminology, I must address the concerning public discourse surrounding the recent campus assault case in Chennai. The focus has deviated from the core issue: a violent crime.🧵 2/20 First, the troubling obsession with the accused's political affiliation. This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of criminal behaviour. Crime exists across all social, political, and economic strata. No group has a monopoly on criminal conduct.
#AnnaUniversity

A striking paradox emerges in the #CivilServices Exam (CSE). Of those becoming IAS officers, 77% are engineers, yet their Mains optional subjects are dominated by humanities and social sciences. This isn't just strategy—it's a telling commentary on our academic and competitive system. 🧵1/10
Vajiram & Ravi's data on popular optional subjects includes:

Public Administration
Geography
Sociology
History
Philosophy
Anthropology
Political Science & IR

Notice anything? Except Geography (partly physical and social science) and Agriculture, the rest belong squarely to humanities. No engineering subjects! 2/10

The death of S A Basha, founder of the banned outfit Al-Umma and a key figure in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts, has sparked sharp reactions online. While some leaders have shared condolences, many have criticised them for mourning a man they label as a 'terrorist.' 1/10 From a criminological perspective, it's important to remember that the law mandates punishment for crimes, not perpetual condemnation of the person. Basha was convicted and spent close to 25 years in prison. At 85, he died while on parole, having served the sentence prescribed by law. 2/10