LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 11 : 5 May 2011
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.

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Meena Kandasamy's Touch: The Aggression of Suppression

Raji Narasimhan, M.Phil.

Meena K.'s Touch cover page

Meena Kandasamy and Her Works

Meena Kandasamy hails from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A creative writer, poet, translator and activist, she is the angry voice of the oppressed. She says in an interview in iDiva of her lineage: "I come from a very mixed background-almost four different backward castes including a Dalit" (Kandasamy iDiva).

Born in 1984, Kandasamy published her debut poetry collection Touch in August 2006. Her second collection of poetry Ms Militancy was published in December 2010, and her collection of short stories Black Magic is awaiting publication. She is working on her debut novel The Gypsy Goddess.

Apart from creative writing, Kandasamy has translated the essays of the political leader of the Dalit Panthers: Thol. Thirumavalavan in Talisman: Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation (2003) and his speeches in Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of Liberation Panthers (2004). She has translated works of Kasi Anandan, a poet Laureate of Tamil Eelam and Essays of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy.

Kandasamy has written many essays on the drudgery of casteism and its consequences. Of all her works, her poetry speaks the loudest and is filled with fire as it brings out the anger in the hearts of the downtrodden communities.

On Defining Dalit Literature

'Dalit literature' is uniquely Indian as it is a byproduct of an evil caste system that existed for many years in this country. Although the constitution of India has abolished the caste system, it still lingers in many walk of life with its grasps as firm as ever on the minds of its people. It may be compared with the slavery in America and apartheid in Africa. The literature that arises as an outburst against casteism is Dalit literature. Meena Kandasamy's writing comes from these margins of the caste code dictated for many centuries. She uses her voice not only to expose the atrocities faced by the dalits, but also to represent the anger that boils within them as a reaction to these prejudices.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Raji Narasimhan, M.Phil.
PSGR Krishnammal College
Coimbatore 641004
Tamil Nadu
India
Raji.Narasimhan@gmail.com
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