A circular of 'Big Nos' for girl students, purportedly issued by an engineering college in Chennai, has gone viral on Twitter, evoking anger at the draconian rules that forbid women from having accounts on Facebook and WhatsApp and from even talking to boys. 

The circular raked up a storm on twitter on Monday after it was shared by activist Kavita Krishnan, who told  IBTimes India that the list was shared by students of Sri Sairam Engineering College in Chennai. 

"The list was shared by students of the college on Facebook. But this is no exception. Many other colleges have similar draconian rules," Krishnan said. 

The list, titled 'Special Instructions for Girls', mentions several regressive rules under the caption 'Big NOs for Girls', which include - 'No tight pants and tops', 'Two sides of dupatta should be compulsorily pinned up', 'Should not have account on Facebook, WhatsApp', 'Should not talk to boy students'.

See entire list below.

The circular led to outrage on Twitter over the outdated rules for women, but the college authorities vehemently denied having issued any such circular. 

"This is the handiwork of some unwanted elements. We did not issue any such circular," Jayakumar, the principal of Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai, told  IBTimes India over the phone. 

"Our rules are always published in the college calendar at the beginning of the academic year. We do not hand out such circulars," he said. 

Asked if similar rules for girls relating to use of social media and talking to male students are mentioned in the college calendar, the principal said there are no such restrictions on women.

"We do not want to interfere in such matters. There are only basic rules as listed in every college," he said.

However, students of the Chennai engineering college have refuted the authorities' claims, stating that such regressive rules have been in place since several years.

"I am a student of Sairam Engineering college, and passed out two months ago. The points in the circular existed already even before the circular came out, except the social networking rule (which was introduced newly). To be precise, circular copies will not be given to students. It will be read by the faculty during class hours. A student must have created this picture and posted it online. But each and every point in the circular is 100% true. The rule of boys and girls not allowed to talk to each other was implemented in 2010 and is still there," a student of the Chennai college told  IBTimes India. 

The circular soon became a conversation piece on Reddit, where several students claimed that several such rules were in place in the college. 

Twitterati and Redditors reacted strongly to the list, that went viral on social media. 

Here are some Twitter reactions - 

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