Periyar’s Long Walk North: Unearthing a Suppressed Legacy

The newly released book Periyar: Caste, Nation & Socialism—the third in the widely appreciated Conversation Series from People’s Literature Publication—is a landmark contribution to contemporary anti-caste literature and political historiography. Based on a sustained conversation between veteran Tamil intellectual SV Rajadurai and human rights defender and writer Vidya Bhushan Rawat, the book brings to light long-suppressed or underexplored aspects of Thanthai Periyar’s life, ideology, and political engagements beyond Tamil Nadu. It functions not only as a rich intellectual excavation but also as an urgent archival and political intervention challenging many mainstream distortions about Periyar, especially in the non-Tamil public domain.

At its core, this is a profound and wide-ranging dialogue that combines deep historical scholarship with clear ideological conviction. It revisits Periyar’s radical critique of caste and religion, his anti-Brahminism, atheism, rationalism, socialism, and his nuanced engagements with communism, land and labour politics, nationalism, and the language question. Through this extended exchange, the 85-year-old Rajadurai—supported by Rawat’s insightful and provoking questions—brings Periyar back into sharp contemporary relevance, not as a regional icon but as a national political thinker whose legacy continues to inform debates on social justice, caste, and democracy.

Rawat, who has long been engaged in dialogues with leading Ambedkarites and global human rights voices, describes his role in this book as that of a listener and provocateur—posing the difficult, often uncomfortable questions that many have overlooked. His effort, as he notes, was to draw out facets of Periyar’s work and thought that have remained underexplored, particularly in the Hindi-speaking belt and North India. The result is a powerful testament to the potential of sincere, critical conversations in preserving histories frequently ignored or marginalized by dominant Brahmanical academic frameworks.

Opening the Tamil Archive to a Wider World

One of the book’s most significant contributions is its success in making Periyar’s writings accessible beyond the Tamil-speaking world. For decades, original texts published in Kudi Arasu, Viduthalai, and Puratchi—journals edited by Periyar himself—remained buried in archives or institutional libraries such as the Dravidar Kazhagam’s Periyar Thidal in Chennai. Rajadurai, despite health challenges, and Rawat, through persistent collaboration, have unearthed and contextualized many of these writings, translating them for the first time into English and presenting them with analytical clarity.

This effort alone marks the book as a major intervention. Far too often, Periyar is reduced to a caricature—as merely an “anti-Brahmin iconoclast” or regional agitator. What emerges from this book, however, is a portrait of a visionary and deeply committed revolutionary who saw the caste system as a fundamental axis of oppression, and whose critique of Hinduism was rooted in a broader vision of egalitarian social reconstruction.

Reconstructing the Forgotten: Periyar in North India

Another remarkable feature of the book is its reconstruction of Periyar’s engagements in North India—visits to cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bombay, and Pune that have been largely absent from mainstream narratives. These details, made possible through archival research and persistent questioning, offer fresh insight into Periyar’s attempts to connect the Dravidian movement with broader national political currents. In doing so, the book fills a critical gap in the understanding of how southern anti-caste politics intersected with national movements for justice.

The book also addresses persistent misperceptions about Periyar’s approach toward Dalits, untouchability, and the Communist movement. Through detailed textual analysis, the authors provide a robust rebuttal to the claim that Periyar’s anti-Brahminism was merely a strategy to benefit dominant backward castes at the expense of Dalits. Rajadurai, supported by Rawat’s probing, shows that Periyar’s opposition to caste hierarchy was uncompromising, extending even to entrenched biases within non-Brahmin and intermediate caste groups.

Periyar and Ambedkar: Complementary Radicals

A highlight of the volume is the section exploring Periyar’s relationship with Dr BR Ambedkar. Drawing from rarely cited writings and speeches, the book reveals how Periyar praised Ambedkar’s efforts to shape India’s democratic and social justice framework. The conversation doesn’t gloss over differences—especially on religion and strategy—but argues that both thinkers were deeply committed to the annihilation of caste and shared a common goal of building a just society.

This section holds particular value for Ambedkarite readers and scholars, many of whom have been influenced by a widespread mischaracterization of Periyar as indifferent or even antagonistic to the Dalit cause. Rawat and Rajadurai’s work corrects this narrative and creates new pathways for engagement between Ambedkarite and Periyarist traditions.

Political Clarity, Scholarly Precision

What distinguishes Periyar: Caste, Nation & Socialism from many political biographies or ideological surveys is its powerful blend of scholarly rigour and political clarity. Rajadurai is not just an interpreter of Periyar’s legacy but a lifelong activist and organic intellectual. His encyclopedic knowledge of the Dravidian movement and meticulous use of archival material reflect a rare depth of engagement.

The text, despite its scholarly richness, avoids academic elitism. There is no dense jargon, no unnecessary abstraction. Every claim is substantiated with references, every quotation sourced. The conversation format, enriched by Rawat’s accessible style and inquisitiveness, makes the book engaging and digestible even for general readers interested in social and political movements.

Rajadurai’s achievement is especially impressive given his age and health concerns. The effort to trace and decode old, fragile Tamil journals and translate their contents speaks to a rare commitment to anti-caste knowledge production. It is a labour of love and political responsibility, and this volume will stand as a testament to that dedication.

Dismantling Brahmanical Distortions

This book is also a much-needed response to the rising Brahmanical backlash against Periyar’s legacy. It systematically deconstructs the smear campaigns that portray Periyar as anti-Dalit or anti-Hindu, and places him firmly within the traditions of radical humanism influenced by Buddhism, Marxism, and rationalist ethics.

For readers unfamiliar with Tamil Nadu’s political history, the book is a gateway into the complexities of the Dravidian movement. For those already engaged in Ambedkarite or Marxist thought, it opens up fresh terrain for dialogue. By grounding the discussion in original sources and building linkages with contemporary questions of caste and power, Rajadurai and Rawat succeed in connecting ideological legacies with present-day realities.

Periyar: Caste, Nation & Socialism is a monumental and timely work—an intellectual and political offering that not only rescues Periyar’s legacy from distortion but also expands the possibilities of anti-caste discourse in India. It is both a historical recovery project and a sharp political intervention.

Above all, it affirms the transformative potential of sincere, critical conversation—when rooted in mutual respect, political commitment, and intellectual honesty. As a dialogue between two committed voices—S.V. Rajadurai and Vidya Bhushan Rawat—this book is not just about Periyar; it is about preserving and carrying forward a tradition of resistance. For scholars, activists, and concerned citizens alike, it is essential reading.