A Compilation of Rage: Chennai Speaks up for Anitha

Here’s how various YouTubers and celebrities from Chennai responded to Anitha’s suicide.

Chennai has raised its voice yet again for an issue that needs urgent attention.

(Photo: The Quint)

That’s actor Vijay Sethupathi addressing a crowd at Anitha’s wake, calling for the abolition of caste and class, and better awareness among the public, especially the younger generation. He hoped that the politicians take these protests further.

Unable to get admission in a medical college, 17 -year-old Anitha from Tamil Nadu killed herself on 1 September.

Anitha’s suicide has opened yet another Jallikattu-esque socio-emotional chasm. Here’s how various YouTubers and celebrities from Chennai responded to the issue.

‘We Killed Anitha’

‘Put Chutney’ were one of the first to put out their response on the issue. The speaker says Anitha’s suicide was a premeditated murder, and that it was the people and the leaders of Tamil Nadu that murdered her.

The issue that strings his rant is the inequality in the education system that is exacerbated by the NEET. He concludes by asking students not to kill themselves, while those who are truly guilty roam free dressed in white.

Get Angry, Please Talk

Smile Settai often delves into political issues and civic problems that rankle the common Tamilian.

In this monologue, the speaker calls for a more informed protest than the one witnessed during Jallikattu. A pertinent point he makes is the divide between those who feel an unqualified person should not be a doctor and those who believe a person capable of being a doctor shouldn’t be denied an opportunity to be one.

Please Don’t Kill Yourself!

Veteran actor Vivek urges the students and youth of Tamil Nadu to have courage and not kill themselves. Through examples of real life Tamilians – Kamal Haasan, Kamarajar, and Abdul Kalam, who had different dreams and struggled with their academic education but finally made it big – he seeks to instil hope in what would seem like a hopeless situation.

Anitha would have still been alive today had the Tamil Nadu education system not let her down. But, it is heartening to hear more and more voices being raised to seek justice for the scholar. The louder these informed voices, the more pressure there is on the authorities to take notice, and act.

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