Towards a
Non-Brahmin Millennium
From Iyothee Thass to Periyar
The
revised edition of the history of non-brahmin assertion to brahmin hegemony in
the old Madras Presidency argues that this complex and layered past has to be
critically re-claimed for our times. An analytical study of the gestation of
the movement, of its forebears like Iyothee Thass and his contemporaries, the
book also provides an incisive discussion on the contributions of Periyar E. V.
Ramasami, the path-breaking founder of the Self-Respect movement and offers a
textured history of a crucial decade – the 1920s to the 1930s – which witnessed
important achievements at building a historic bloc that knit together the
interests of non-brahmins and dalits. It goes on to analyse the Justice Party,
the first non-brahmin political initiative in government, revealing its
successes and significant limitations, and where the interests of the
non-brahmins and that of the adi dravidas diverged.
From Iyothee Thass to Periyar
V. Geetha and S.
V. Rajadurai
demy octavo hb
538pp ISBN 81-85604-37-1 Rs 650 rev ed with Afterword 2008
'The
manner in which we read a book like this exposes our own cultural locations..'
---
The Indian Review of Books
The
revised edition of the history of non-brahmin assertion to brahmin hegemony in
the old Madras Presidency argues that this complex and layered past has to be
critically re-claimed for our times. An analytical study of the gestation of
the movement, of its forebears like Iyothee Thass and his contemporaries, the
book also provides an incisive discussion on the contributions of Periyar E. V.
Ramasami, the path-breaking founder of the Self-Respect movement and offers a
textured history of a crucial decade – the 1920s to the 1930s – which witnessed
important achievements at building a historic bloc that knit together the
interests of non-brahmins and dalits. It goes on to analyse the Justice Party,
the first non-brahmin political initiative in government, revealing its
successes and significant limitations, and where the interests of the
non-brahmins and that of the adi dravidas diverged.
The
Self-Respect movement is discussed in detail, and translations from the
writings of Periyar give readers in English a glimpse of his humour and
scathing insights. The book demonstrates how the movement ‘conceptualized the
relationship between caste, gender and sexuality’ and includes the wonderfully
carnivalesque denunciations of caste, brahmin priesthood and the nation by
youthful Self-Respecters. It ends with a critical account of the anti-Hindi
agitations that inaugurated a new era of Dravidian nationalism.
The
Afterword discusses various
reactions to the book as well as current political developments that have
influenced the way some critics have viewed the Non-Brahmin movement.
Revisiting the debates of the 1930s can be ‘exciting as well as sobering’.
V.
Geetha writes in Tamil and in
English on contemporary Tamil history, culture and society and on gender. Among
her books published by Stree-Samya are Gender ; and Patriarchy.
S. V. Rajadurai (pseudonym for
K. Manoharan) is a well-known Tamil writer and translator who has long been
involved with the radical Left and the civil liberties movement.
Published By:Samya
Enquiries: 16 Southern Ave, Calcutta 700026 tel:033 2466 0812/ 033 6519 5737
email streesamya.manager@gmail.com website: www.stree-samyabooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment