Tribal student from Pachamalai Hills in Tamil Nadu secures seat in law university
S. Bharath, a 17-year-old from a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community at Thonur village in Pachamalai Hills of Tiruchi district, has secured a seat in the Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU) after topping the list of students from 28 Government Tribal Residential Schools in the State who appeared for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT).
His achievement earned him a congratulatory message from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday (June 7, 2025). In a message on X, the Chief Minister said he hoped Mr. Bharath would use his training as a lawyer to help his community. He also said the student would have the support of the DMK's legal wing, and the mentorship of its secretary N.R. Elango till the completion of his studies.
Mr. Bharath studied at the Government Tribal Higher Secondary School in Chinna Illupur and secured an all-India ST rank of 964. He secured admission to the B. Com, LLB (Hons) course at TNNLU through the 7.5% reservation for ST government school students in Tamil Nadu.
He lost his mother at an early age, and is the eldest of three siblings. Mr. Bharath's father A. Selvakumar is a daily wage labourer.
'This is a milestone for Bharath, as it shows his capability in a competitive academic field. It will inspire future generations of our students to join the country's legal profession. We hope he will utilise his education to contribute to the welfare of the tribal community,' P. Arjuselvam, headmaster of the school run by the Tribal Welfare Department, told The Hindu.
The school has 185 students from the tribal community, and has been encouraging them to take competitive exams in various fields for the past two years. Mr. Bharath secured the TNNLU seat in the second round of counselling, and got it confirmed at the student help desk at Government Model Higher Secondary School in Thuvakudi on June 4.
He completed Class 12 in the Commerce stream, scoring 356 out of 600, and scored 353 out of 500 in Class 10 — both in Tamil medium. He was one of six students who prepared for the English-medium CLAT with the help of coaching classes conducted in partnership with private institutions, facilitated by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, and an orientation programme held at TNNLU before the exam.
The total cost of his law degree, including the seat-confirming fee of ₹20,000, will be sponsored by the department.
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