Tamil Writer Tamil Selvan on Sahitya Akademi Award Controversy, CPM History, and Anti-Caste Movements

Writer S Tamil Selvan should have been welcoming the new year with a Sahitya Akademi award. The jacket of his book ‘Tamil sirukathaiyin thadangal’, which fetched him the honour, should have carried the line ‘Winner of Sahitya Akademi Award 2025’, a tag that could have stood out at the 49th Chennai Book Fair. As uncertainty hangs over the award, the former president of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association (TNPWAA), the cultural arm of CPM in the state, has completed a two-volume book tracing 100 years of CPM’s struggles in the delta region. In an interview with Vinothkumar N, Tamil Selvan speaks about documenting a century of anti-caste movements. Excerpts:

How do you feel about what happened with the Sahitya Akademi award?
A day before the Akademi’s press meet, I was informed I had been chosen but asked not to share the news until the official announcement was made. I did not expect to be selected. Since there were no expectations, withholding of the award has not affected me greatly. Also, this is not something that has happened only to me. It affects writers in 23 other languages who were also chosen this year.

In your book you have documented the first 50 years of the Tamil short story genre.
As a genre, the Tamil short story has crossed 100 years. In every decade, we find outstanding short stories written by literary masters as well as lesser-known writers. The stories have evolved in themes and language. What I find most interesting is that in the first 50 years, there were only about 10 women writers in this genre. Many of their stories were not widely read at the time. Take Kamala Vridhachalam, for instance, the wife of the late writer Pudhumaipithan, regarded as the ‘king of Tamil short story’. When I was researching the book, I could only find two or three of her stories. Today, her work has been compiled and published.

The number of women writers in this genre has since grown to about 30, with many Muslim women also entering the field. I am working on the second volume of the book, which will feature more women writers who were earlier unknown but deserve to be read.

You recently completed a book on 100 years of the anti-caste struggle spearheaded by CPM in the delta region.
The Communist Party was founded in India in 1920. Five years later, the self-respect movement came into being. RSS was also founded in the same year. All three movements have now crossed 100 years. Yet, while the Dravidian movement and RSS are well-funded ‘sophisticated’ platforms, communists are still speaking through megaphones. While the other two have shifted their focus towards the elite and middle classes, communist parties continue to remain for the working class.

Communists were banned twice in India, first between 1934 and 1937, and again from 1948 to 1951. They faced repression, ranging from killings to the curtailment of free expression. There is little documentation of these dark years, particularly in Tamil. I have tried to bridge that gap by presenting events in chronological order, drawing on writing by foreign observers and oral histories from senior communist leaders.

The communist movement was active in the delta region, then known as unified Thanjavur. The area prospered agriculturally, but many landlords employed economically weaker families as farm labour, treating them like slaves. It was in this context that B Srinivasa Rao was sent from Karnataka to Thanjavur by the party leadership to fight for the rights of peasants. After his arrival, working-class peasants began to resist abuse and violence. My two-volume work tells that story, while also tracing the history of the Communist Party in India, with a focus on Tamil Nadu.

Of late, DMK is also staking a claim to bringing down the caste atrocities in the delta region.
In the Kilvenmani massacre of 1968, 44 dalits were burned alive. In this episode, landlords and the DMK bore responsibility. One of the labour leaders, V Meenakshi Sundaram, had written a letter to then chief minister C N Annadurai, warning of the tension between landlords and labourers, and urging the state govt to intervene. The letter was not taken seriously. Twenty days later, the massacre occurred. Had the govt acted in time, it could have been averted.

During this period, Periyar also criticised the communists for taking what he described as the path of violence. When the labourers were subjected to violence by landlords, no one spoke up for them. But when they began to resist, their struggles were labelled as violence. It is true that DMK fought caste discrimination and that its anti-caste politics was based on the idea of equality. But it is the communists who took that ideology to the ground.

TNPWAA recently celebrated its golden jubilee. How has the organisation impacted the cultural sphere?
The question of whether working-class struggles can be reflected in literature has always been debated. There are sections who say, ‘art is for art’s sake’. They criticise working-class literature as campaigning. Today, fictional works that portray the working class have become a genre of their own, especially in the Tamil literary world. This was the major change brought by TNPWAA.

We hold literary meetings, readers’ circles and art exhibitions regularly across districts. TNPWAA introduced the idea of ‘kalai iravu’ (art night) as an alternative to New Year celebrations, where we hold book release functions, presentations of folk arts and special addresses by leaders. It is because of our efforts that the TN govt formed a welfare board for folk artists in 2007. Before that, people and organisations worked for their welfare in a fragmented manner. We brought them together under one platform.

TNPWAA also encourages writers and artists by presenting them awards in 16 categories. Every year, we conduct a week-long film festival in different districts, where we screen and hold discussions on world cinema. A couple of years ago, we started a film school, where we offer year-long training in cinematography, editing and direction for a nominal fee of 17,000. Students are provided one meal a day and free lodging. We are on our fourth batch.

Above all, we have helped create a culture where anyone can speak about literature and books on public platforms. I believe that is the association’s most important contribution.