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An Indian court has ordered the state’s anti-corruption agency to investigate allegations that a newly inaugurated public library in Tamil Nadu purchased hundreds of books suspected of being generated by artificial intelligence, in what the state’s education minister has called potentially “India’s first AI scam.”
The Madras High Court has directed investigators to examine procurement records at the Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore city and has ordered the freezing of bank accounts linked to Agal Vilakku Pathippagam, a little-known publisher accused of supplying the disputed titles. The library, named after social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy, was built at a cost of approximately 3 billion rupees ($34 million) and inaugurated on 16 October by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
A novelist raises the alarm
The controversy was set off by Perumal Murugan, a Tamil novelist whose works include Pyre and One Part Woman, both of which have received international recognition. Writing in an online magazine after visiting the library last month, Murugan alleged that nearly 1,800 books in the Tamil section had been supplied by Agal Vilakku Pathippagam. He said many carried unfamiliar authors’ names, unusually high prices and questionable International Standard Book Numbers.
Among the examples cited in the controversy is a book titled Naladiyar Vaazhvin Vazhikatti (A Guide to Life through Naladiyar), priced at 1,445 rupees for 300 pages, which describes Naladiyar as a Tamil poet and philosopher. In fact, Naladiyar is a classical Tamil work consisting of 400 four-line verses on morality and ethics, not a historical individual. Another disputed book reportedly attributes the ancient Tamil poem Madurai Kanchi to an incorrect author.
A separate book found at a public library in Madurai, Democracy and People’s Rights in the Contemporary World, published by Phoenix Publishing House, names renowned economist Jean Drèze as its author. Drèze told The Hindu newspaper earlier this week that he had not written the book, raising concerns that his name may have been used without his permission. He did not respond to a separate request for comment from BBC Tamil.
Publishers prove elusive
BBC Tamil visited a Chennai address listed by Agal Vilakku Pathippagam and by Phoenix Publishing House but found no signs identifying either business at the location. A woman at the address confirmed that Agal Vilakku operated there. The publisher’s proprietor, identified only as Mohan, declined to comment, saying the matter was before the courts.
It remains unclear whether artificial intelligence was actually used to produce any of the disputed books. The investigation ordered by the Madras High Court is intended, in part, to establish that question.
Political fallout and an internal audit
Tamil Nadu’s School Education Minister A Rajmohan has blamed the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led administration for ordering the books, describing the allegations as potentially unprecedented in Indian publishing. The DMK has rejected the accusations as politically motivated and has itself called for a full investigation into the purchases.
The state government has ordered an internal audit of public library collections across Tamil Nadu. Rajmohan said 523 books had already been removed from the historic Connemara Public Library in Chennai following preliminary checks that raised concerns about authenticity and quality. Disputed titles have also been pulled from Periyar Arivulagam while anti-corruption officials examine procurement records and inspect other libraries.
More than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have signed a joint statement demanding an independent inquiry, the public release of procurement records and a full audit of library collections statewide. The signatories also called for the recovery of public funds if the investigation finds that money was misused, and questioned how the disputed books could have passed through a selection process that reportedly involved expert committees, price negotiations and multiple levels of review.
The case has drawn wider attention to the challenges facing libraries and publishers as AI tools capable of generating entire books quickly and cheaply become more accessible — and as the false information and invented references such tools can produce grow harder to detect before purchase.