Daniel Selvaraj

Daniel Selvaraj or D. Selvaraj (Tamil: டி. செல்வராஜ்) (born 1935) is a Tamil Dalit writer from Tamil Nadu, India. He is the author of a number of novels, short stories, and plays in Tamil. He is a lawyer by profession and is involved in various Communist and left leaning writers' organisations like Democratic Writers Association India and the Progressive writers association of Tamil Nadu (TNPWA). He is currently Vice President and executive committee member of the TNPWA.^{[citation needed]}. He is also a former member of the Sahitya Akademi.^{[citation needed]}

Biography

Selvaraj was born in 1935 in Mavadi, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. His parents were plantation labourers who worked in the Kannan Devan tea plantations at the Kerala- Tamil Nadu border. He obtained his B.A degree in Tirunelveli and his law degree in Madras. He published his first short story in Janasakthi, the official magazine of Communist Party of India (CPI). During 1954-56, he also published regularly in the progressive literary magazine Shanthi run by T. M. Chidambara Ragunathan. As a writer he was influenced by the Communist ideals of P. Jeevanandham and became a member of the TNPWA. His short stories and novels appeared regularly in literary magazines like Neethi, Semmalar, Kannadasan and Thamarai. His first noted work was the novel Malarum Sarugum (1967) written on the background of the peasant agitation in the Tirunelveli district. It is considered to be the first Dalit novel written in Tamil. He followed it with Theneer (1973) which was about the plight of the tea plantation workers. He has written a number of plays, the most notable of which is yugasangamam (1968). Yugasangamam was awarded the best play award by Tamil Nadu Government's literary association and is currently a part of the curriculum at the Tamil studies department, Delhi University. He currently lives in Dindigul.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Bibliography

• Malarum charugum (Novel) (Malligai, 1967)
• Theneer (Novel) (New Century book house, 1973)
• Moolathanam (Novel) (1977)
• Agnikundam (Novel) (1980)
• Yugasangamam (Play) (1968)
• Jeeva - Biography of P Jeevanandham (Sahitya Akademi, 2005)
• Saamichidambaranaar - Biography of Tamil writers (Sahitya Akademi, 2006).
• Pradosham (Varam:Chennai, 2007)
• Thole (2009)

References

1. ^ Viswanathan, S. (11 August 2007). "Writing for a cause". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2416/stories/20070824506012000.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
2. ^ Viswanathan, S. (22 February 2002). "A trailblazer: T.M. Chidambara Ragunathan, 1923-2001.". The Hindu. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1903/19031010.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
3. ^ Madhusudhanan, The. "D. Selvaraj profile" (in Tamil). www.tamilonline.com. http://www.tamilonline.com/thendral/print.aspx?id=102&cid=18&aid=1474. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
4. ^ Kailasapathy, S.. "Essays on Tamilology" (in Tamil). www.noolaham.net. http://www.noolaham.net/project/04/350/350.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
5. ^ Ponnuthurai, S.. "Review of "Vee"" (in Tamil). www.noolaham.net. http://www.noolaham.net/project/01/64/64.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
6. ^ "Dalits in today's literature" (in Tamil). Tamil Virtual University. http://www.tamilvu.org/courses/diploma/d071/d0714/html/d0714552.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
7. ^ "D. Selvaraj profile at Tamilauthors.com" (in Tamil). www.tamilauthors.com. http://www.tamilauthors.com/writers/india/T.Selvaraj.html. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 

See also

Dalit literature

Persondata
Name	Selvaraj, Daniel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1935
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death