Madras High Court Bans Caste Indicators in School Names

The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to remove caste and community identifiers such as 'tribal' from the names of government schools, stating that such terminology perpetuates stigma among students. The court's ruling came during a suo motu hearing related to the socio-economic conditions following a hooch tragedy in Kalvarayan Hills, which resulted in numerous fatalities. Justices SM Subramaniam and C Kumarappan emphasized that labeling schools in this manner is inappropriate in modern society and undermines the principle of social justice that Tamil Nadu strives for. They expressed frustration that the government continues to use outdated terminology that could harm students' self-perception and educational experience. The court has asked the Chief Secretary to take appropriate actions to rename the schools simply as 'government schools' and to submit a status report on the ground realities in the affected areas. This ruling reflects broader concerns about the impact of caste-based naming conventions in public institutions.