A major public library project in India’s Tamil Nadu state has been plunged into controversy following allegations that its shelves were stocked with artificial intelligence (AI)-generated books, fictitious authors and publications containing serious factual errors.
The controversy centres on Periyar Arivulagam, a newly established library and science centre in Coimbatore, which was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on October 16, 2026.
The scandal emerged after renowned Tamil writer Perumal Murugan raised concerns about the quality, authenticity and pricing of books acquired for the facility.
Murugan, who was part of a committee involved in recommending books for public libraries, reportedly discovered publications containing elementary factual mistakes, questionable historical information and names of authors whose identities could not readily be established.
Among the disputed publications was a book titled Naladiyar: A Guide to Life, which allegedly misrepresented the authorship of the classical Tamil literary work.
Some of the books were reportedly priced at more than 1,400 Indian rupees (approximately KSh 2,000) for volumes containing about 300 pages.
Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has launched an investigation into the alleged irregularities in the procurement of books for government libraries.
School Education Minister A. Rajmohan confirmed that investigators had examined procurement records at Periyar Arivulagam and the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai.
According to the minister, approximately 3,000 books suspected to be linked to the alleged scam in Coimbatore had been boxed and sealed to preserve them as evidence.
Investigators also identified 523 books supplied by Agalvilakku Publishing House at Chennai’s Connemara Library, while inquiries were extended to other public libraries.
The minister further alleged that as many as 20 publishing-house names had been used as proxies in the supply chain.
One of the most concerning allegations involves economist Jean Drèze, who reportedly denied writing a book titled Democracy and People’s Right in the Contemporary World, despite his name being associated with the publication.
The investigation is expected to establish the authenticity of the books, the identities of their authors, the publishers involved and whether public funds were misappropriated.
The scandal has triggered a political confrontation between Chief Minister Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) administration and the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), whose government was in power when the disputed procurement process began.
Minister Rajmohan accused the previous administration of overseeing irregular purchases and described the allegations as India’s first AI-related scam.
He also pledged to recover every rupee allegedly lost through the transactions and promised that those found responsible would face legal action.
However, the DMK has rejected the political accusations and called for an independent investigation. Former minister Govi Chezhiyan defended the previous administration’s procurement procedures, arguing that books were selected through established committees that included writers and other professionals.
The DMK has also demanded transparency over the authors, publishers and procurement decisions.
The controversy is no longer limited to Coimbatore and Chennai.
On November 11, 2026, The New Indian Express reported that Tenkasi District Central Library had removed approximately 2,200 books published by Agalvilakku Publications from its shelves.
Library staff were transferring the publications, many reportedly priced above 1,000 rupees, to a separate storeroom as scrutiny of the publisher’s books intensified.
The development has raised further questions about how widely the disputed publications were distributed across Tamil Nadu’s public library network. The New Indian Express
The Tamil Nadu government says investigations will establish how the books were approved, how much public money was spent and whether officials or publishers colluded in the alleged irregularities.
Importantly, the allegations remain under investigation. The use of AI to produce the disputed books and the alleged financial fraud have not yet been conclusively established by investigators.
