Ravikumar (writer)

Ravikumar (born 1961) is a prominent Tamil intellectual and an anti-caste activist. He was a key figure in the formation of the little magazine, Nirapirikai. Nirapirikai inspired several new writers in the 1990s in Tamil Nadu.

Ravikumar, along with S. Anand, is one of the founders of the anti-caste publishing house Navayana. He also started People's Education Movement (Makkal Kalvi Eyakkam). He also runs two Tamil journals Dalit and Bodhi.

Ravikumar is the co-editor, along with R. Azhagarasan, of The Oxford India Anthology of Tamil Dalit Writing (2012). A. S. Panneerselvan wrote of this book in the Indian Express: "The material is of sterling quality ... However, two glaring problems with this anthology the conspicuous exclusion of some of the finest voices and the narrow interpretation of the growth of Dalit literature and politics do a disservice to the stated objectives." Ravikumar has also served as a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Bibliography

• Ravikumar (2009) Venomous Touch: Notes on Caste, Culture and Politics. Calcutta: Samya.
• Ravikumar and Azhagarasan, R Eds. (2012) The Oxford Anthology of Tamil Dalit Writing. New Delhi: OUP India. ISBN 978-0-19-807938-5

Further reading

• Satyanarayana, K & Tharu, Susie (2011) No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South Asia, Dossier 1: Tamil and Malayalam, New Delhi: Penguin Books.
• Satyanarayana, K & Tharu, Susie (2013) From those Stubs Steel Nibs are Sprouting: New Dalit Writing from South Asia, Dossier 2: Kannada and Telugu, New Delhi: HarperCollins India.