VC stops bid to release dummy book on reformer

SLUG- Chattambi Swamikal book setT'puram: An attempt by authorities of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) to release dummy books as the biographical work on Chattambi Swamikal was thwarted by the vice-chancellor (in-charge) Ciza Thomas. Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar was supposed to release the 11-volume series in Sanskrit, authored by Prof AV Sankaran, at Panmana Ashramam in Kollam on Sunday.The attempt to dupe the governor and his audience fell flat when Thomas flipped through the set of books delivered to her and saw that only four volumes in the pack were printed and the rest had proper covers with dummy pages inside. After the fraud bid came to her notice, the VC wanted the university to cancel the book release scheduled on the sidelines of Chattambi Swami samadhi at the Ashramam.Prof Sankaran started writing ‘Theerthapadapuranam', a biography of Chattambi Swamikal in Sanskrit in 1980. He handed over the manuscript to the university in 1998. The delay in publishing the book was brought to the university's attention by the author's family, prompting the university to assign the publication responsibility to its publishing department. During the tenure of Oommen Chandy govt, a special grant of Rs 30 lakh was allocated to the university for publishing the book.The price of the 11-volume work was fixed as Rs 6,600 and all 11 volumes were delivered to the vice-chancellor's office in a single carton for release. Upon opening the carton before release, the vice-chancellor discovered that except for four volumes, the rest were merely blank sheets with just their printed covers.In the presence of the governor, the vice-chancellor expressed regret over the university's failure in publishing the book and assured that steps would be taken to release the biography by Aug. Many people, including members of Prof Sankaran's family, arrived at Panmana Ashram to purchase a copy of the book. The invitation to the event, which Arlekar was slated to inaugurate, included the book release as an event.Meanwhile, Save University Campaign Committee came out against the failure on the part of Sanskrit University officials and urged the governor to take exemplary action against those who were responsible for the fraud.
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