All professional colleges in Tamil Nadu will reopen from Monday,declared a state Government order on Thursday. The colleges were closed till further orders on Saturday last to quell a student unrest following a political suicide of a youth last Thursday. The youth,26-year-old K Muthukumar,immolated himself in Chennai,giving rise to a string of protests across the state. Coming at a time when a number of fasts and other forms of protests went relatively unnoticed,the agitated youth took to the streets,bolstering the strength of pro-Eelam political activists who have been demanding an immediate ceasefire in the war between Sri Lankan Government forces and rebels of the LTTE. Intelligence agencies also suspect the role played by parties like MDMK,PMK and VCK and their youth wing in instigating the youths to raise the pitch of their campaign to end war in neighbouring Sri Lanka. When protests spread from one college to another,the Chief Secretary announced the closure of all colleges and hostels in the state on Saturday,the day Muthukumar was cremated. The closure order was strictly implemented when all students were evicted,almost forcibly,from college hostels on Sunday morning.
