Crime-City Chennai: A tale of two cities

For the innocent educated class in India, who like to read about various places in India and learn about various cultures, Tamil Nadu (TN) is ought to stand out. While southern India has grown significantly in the last two decades with two new metros marching ahead of Chennai, and while Bengaluru is perhaps a more apt representation of southern India, TN still catches the attention of the people who have never visited the southern states.

This has mainly to do with the media, obfuscation of data by successive TN governments, and an ecosystem of decades that projects TN as a land of virtues, immaculate people, deep culture and beautiful places, splendid law and order, etc. This has also to do with the friendly Tamilians who have settled outside TN for decades.

The reality, however, couldn’t be farther. Beneath the shine lies a dark patch in India with vitriolic hatred, sick separatism and India hatred, laughable law and order machinery, and people who have been caged in all these for nearly a century (more so since 1960s) under the guise of Tamil Pride.

It won’t be an understatement to compare TN with the Kashmir of the 1990s, considering the hate for non-locals. In Kashmir, the hatred was related to religion, which is also the case in TN – non-local Hindus are hated more, which alludes to the separatism wave in TN. To revisit “obfuscation”, not only in data but things like “Tamizh” (lack of knowledge that the exalted “lla” is used in several other languages like Marathi and Odia) and a Tamil religion with Hindu gods appropriated (Shri Karthik to Murugan, for example) just to prove they are different, will surprise and sadden you.

It is important for non-Tamilians to read and learn about the reality of Tamil Nadu, given life becomes hell for people who relocate there for jobs offered by national and multinational companies and surrounded by separatists – the labourers and young professionals always have the option to move away.

So, what really is happening in TN?

Is Tamil Nadu really the most developed state? Is Chennai the best metro? According to Sustainable Development Goals index by the GoI, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh rank higher (2020-21). However, given in NCRB (Crime Records), Tamil Nadu records are absent in crucial segments, and given the abysmal progress in rural TN, it is doubtful whether the state government actually provides real data to the index.

Here is an example. TN police boasts about being No.1 in several segments. However, when MDDTimes journalist visited a Police Station in a posh locality in Chennai, to his surprise he found highly arrogant staff. Most of them didn’t know English (Hindi is hated by most separatists in TN), laughed at the journalist and asked him to go away just because he didn’t know Tamil. There were no scanners or photocopiers. No acknowledgment for the complaints (forget FIR) and a lot of harassment – the same was highlighted in the molestation case involving a student of ACJ last month. Most of the times, the officers were absent.

When the journalist highlighted these to the Commissioner after months of perusal, the PS removed the achievement snippets from the Hall of Fame and tried to brush the case under carpet.

Another important thing to note is the delay in reporting of crime in media. Most of the media reporting crime in Chennai and TN do so (only) after a culprit is nabbed. What about the other cases? Is the state directing the media too?

Then, there is the case of separatism. For decades, TN has been let off by the central agencies and any development claimed by the state government is highlighted besides huge funds and schemes – all this just to placate the separatists just like what happened in Kashmir.

Further, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aren’t everything. Financially too, TN lags behind other states. This despite the legacy British companies – several Britishers had handed over their businesses to loyal local “businessmen”. Parrys is a bright example (Our History – E.I.D. – Parry (India) Limited (eidparry.com); note the gaps during 1947 and during merger with Murrugappa group) About Us – E.I.D. – Parry (India) Limited (eidparry.com)), so are several companies in TN.

And what escapes these data is that places are good or bad depending on the people. For example, a shop that earns a lakh of rupees per month may be a dream for most in Tamil Nadu, but a job with much less renumeration in the armed forces would be something to die for in Uttarakhand. For an outsider, a patriot obviously ranks much higher than a greedy shopkeeper. How and what are the people in Tamil Nadu. What else separates the “good” from the “bad”?

• First is racism – Are Tamilians superior racially? Racism is in its worst form in Chennai among all metros. All non-tamilians are their imaginary enemy and are meant to be harassed and looted. Houseowners usually increase the rent by at least 25% for outsiders. In office, largely incompetent people form groups and will not allow you to work. They will isolate and intimidate you, yell at you and then turn to Tamil to discuss about you. Managers will side with them and you are just a number to show diversity. It is particularly worse in MNCs because people don’t expect this in such companies.
• Violence – people in general are hostile and angry. At the drop of the hat, they churn out abuses and threats. Drunkards everywhere, even in early morning. Auto drivers run a nexus and will loot and abuse you.
• Misbehaviour is rampant. Some shopkeepers laugh at you and ask you to leave if you cant speak Tamil. Most can’t understand English even if they have a degree – the same goes for police, hospital and government staff.
• Crime – for glorious past of Chennai, google “Auto Shankar Thiruvanmiyur” (hint: you see his pic in the first scenes of Cuttputli). Psychopaths like him have even been glorified in TN. Then, there are cases of honour killing. This has nothing to do with the current CM Stalin. Even before him, a young boy was killed in broad light with sickles for an inter-caste marriage, with girl crying for help going in vain. Why, even a PM and CM have been killed in TN.
• Sexual harassment – pushes, jostling and groping is common in crowded places. They will choose outsiders for this, given no local will support you if you are an outsider.
• Police apathy – no one will attend to you if you are an outsider. Every case is a burden that is meant to be avoided, so they will ask you to write a complaint on plain paper and leave. At times, they get hold of the culprit to just extort money and close the case. The next time you visit the PS, your complaint is lost. Same goes for labour and other offices which outsiders see as the last resort. Such records are not official and never given to NCRB, making TN and Chennai the “safest” state and city.
• Further, there is discrimination, disrespect, religious hatred – annual pig thread ceremony, thread being cut off on the roads, beef festivals in institutions like IIT Madras, and general anti-Indian views thrust upon you if you are a non-Tamilian. Corruption and incompetence are at their peak. Climate is inclement all through the year, with minimal rains flooding most areas.

And what makes all this worse is that people in TN will defend all this – most of them.

So, what makes Chennai the “unsafest” city among the big cities? It is the cover-up and people defending the city against crimes – something you won’t see on this scale in other cities or states.

You see the timeline of any crime in Chennai on social media, you will find hordes of separatists defending the crime – calling it a one-off or laying the blame on the victim…if the auto driver had been a non-Tamilian or had the lady been a Tamilian, then well…

Here are some screenshots that will open your eye:

Have you seen any of these reports on mainstream national media? Any jallikattu type protests in Chennai? Does this mean Chennai is safe? Think and decide. #AvoidChennai

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