Karthick Ram Manoharan
@KRManoharan
Followers
3,217
Following
560
Media
213
Statuses
2,114
PhD. SFHEA. Former @MSCActions Individual Fellow. Author of Periyar: A Study in Political Atheism (2022); Frantz Fanon: Identity and Resistance (2019).
Joined September 2020
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
メイドの日
• 481103 Tweets
ONGSASUN CONFLICT
• 285999 Tweets
Whindersson
• 231794 Tweets
kyungsoo
• 155105 Tweets
メイド服
• 125643 Tweets
Madres
• 117135 Tweets
Joost
• 107534 Tweets
Mother's Day
• 78278 Tweets
#PLEDIS_TREAT_JUN_BETTER
• 71613 Tweets
#WHEREISJUN
• 71418 Tweets
Felipe Neto
• 59999 Tweets
トニオさん
• 53275 Tweets
Bannon
• 48141 Tweets
TREAT YOUR ARTISTS EQUALLY
• 44296 Tweets
Copa América
• 39907 Tweets
Gill
• 38177 Tweets
密漁海岸
• 33085 Tweets
Bitget
• 31404 Tweets
露伴先生
• 30182 Tweets
Palermo
• 21154 Tweets
San Martín
• 20931 Tweets
الامم المتحده
• 20581 Tweets
#CSKvsGT
• 19104 Tweets
JUN DESERVES BETTER
• 18341 Tweets
Trenes Argentinos
• 18123 Tweets
Thala
• 12759 Tweets
#IREvPAK
• 10790 Tweets
Magna Carta
• 10307 Tweets
$ATS
• 10175 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
For the 144th birth anniversary of
#Periyar
I have compiled an academic reading list of relevant books and articles (all in English) on him. Open to suggestions for more additions.
11
163
444
Poetry has to be read contextually. "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" will mean one thing when uttered in London and something entirely different when in Chennai.
26
223
2K
A consolation for academics who are regularly late: Marx missed the deadline for publishing Capital by 16 years.
7
118
1K
The idea that Ilayaraja is rooted in Tamil cultural sensibilities and Rahman is not is anti-Muslim prejudice at its worst. Rahman's music has been used to promote communal harmony. Ilayaraja's has been used to promote caste supremacy. Give me the 'rootless' cosmopolitan any day.
31
132
941
At Cannes, Deepika Padukone has said that the day is not far when the Cannes film festival will be held in India. That will be the day when the Mumbai film festival is held in Iran.
12
34
541
"They have Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. We have Phule, Ambedkar and Periyar." - Kancha Ilaiah ✊
1
61
491
The Mughals were never here. Everyone knows that Akshay Kumar defeated Mahmud Ghori and drove away all other invaders. Following this, there was a reign of prosperity under Bahubali ruled Mahismati. Then came the colonials who were defeated and thrown out by Naatu Naatu.
16
106
464
Prof. Robert L. Hardgrave is no more. His "The Nadars of Tamilnad" is arguably the best study of a caste in Tamil Nadu, a very sound and sober work to understand the several nuances of caste dynamics in the modern world.
6
63
381
Marguerite Ross Barnett was born today. She was the first Black academic to study the Dravidian Movement and her book 'The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India' (1976) is a rigorous academic study of the complex interplay of region, caste and ideas. (1/3)
5
124
367
Gail Omvedt's works on caste, class, the peasant question, Phule, Ambedkar, Periyar (yes, she has a great paper on him too!) were landmark scholarly interventions. A huge loss for the Indian academia.
1
51
299
So it is confirmed that the Tamil musician Ilayaraja has written a foreword for a book comparing Ambedkar and Modi, and has said that the former would be proud of the latter. Funny guy. Ilayaraja has admirers among Hindu Right for long, and he too often leans towards them, but +
11
54
286
More GREAT news!!
"To promote the ideas of social reformer and Dravidar Kazhagam founder EVR Periyar across the country and outside, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to translate his written works into 21 Indian and foreign languages."
6
75
283
Thread: One of the best, if not the best, books on political economy of TN, and the positive impact of Dravidian politics was published in 2021 by
@CambridgeUP
This rigorous book highlights the largely inclusive nature of the 'Dravidian Model' while also offering suggestions for
8
73
284
The first translations (according to some sources) of Bhagat Singh's "Why I am an Atheist" and of BR Ambedkar's "Annihilation of Caste" were in Tamil. Both were commissioned by
#Periyar
and published in his party paper Kudi Arasu.
#Periyar145
is for all India.
5
70
281
Congratulations to Prof. Aloysius for being conferred the Iyothee Thass award from the Tamil Nadu government. Aloysius was one of the earliest to take the ideas of Thass to a wider academic audience. The author of several works on caste and anti-caste thinkers, Aloysius is also +
2
41
245
CJ Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan's "Tamil Brahmans" is arguably the best academic work on the community. Sadly, there is nothing in the book that corroborates the claims by one right-wing thinker (& echoed by others) that there was a forced exodus of the community from TN. +
10
87
238
And Happy News! My monograph 'Periyar: A Study in Political Atheism' will be published by
@OrientBlackSwan
in early 2022. The book looks at Periyar's critique of religion and tries to work out a Periyarist theory of political atheism. On that note, Merry Christmas folks! 😀
10
30
220
The more privileged you are, the much better is your diversity statement.
What unpopular academia opinion would get you in this situation?
439
82
575
4
21
219
My book 'Periyar: A Study in Political Atheism'
@OrientBlackSwan
was launched at
@wlv_uni
today with speaker
@CholamandalPann
, chaired by
@krvtweets
We discussed 'Periyar', Panneerselvan's biography 'Karunanidhi', Dravidian politics, and more. Get your copies dear friends!
9
27
211
Slavoj Zizek's article published on this holy day.
"in the absence of any ethical standards external to your belief in and love for God, the danger is always lurking that you will use your love of God as the legitimisation of the most horrible deeds."
0
60
210
At a very basic level, the high importance given to LORs shows that academia generally values who you know more than what you know. And often, who you know depends on who you are rather than what you have done.
1
18
206
As an author of a book on Fanon, I can say that I am mostly baffled by 90% of the 'decolonize' debates in the academia. For the good part, 'decolonial' has become another fancy adjective like 'critical' or 'radical'.
3
14
201
Had an awesome conversation with dear friend
@surajyengde
at NLS yesterday. Suraj covered issues of caste, class, race, solidarities, anti-caste thought and practice, Phule, Ambedkar, Periyar, and more. As the chair's compliment, I gave him a copy of my Periyar book.
1
11
192
What is funny is that people from TN who migrated to Mumbai for work and have been living in slums for several decades do not claim exodus. On the other hand, people with 5bhk houses at prime locations in Chennai do.
5
76
177
And on the 19th of October, will be giving a talk at University of Exeter's South Asia Centre
@SAsia_exeter
on Fanon and Periyar.
7
21
177
The ongoing dewesternization/decolonization of curriculum in India is going to prominently feature authors like these.
2
18
150
Join us! I will be speaking about Periyar's approach to anti-colonialism and nationalism at Cambridge University. Dr. Chinnaiah Jangam will speak on decolonizing caste. Promises to be a great event. Thank you
@PriyamvadaGopal
@CambridgePoco
Looking forward!
Our next seminar, 'Caste and the Limits of Decolonisation' is on Thursday 3 March at 5 PM GMT. Dr Jangam and Dr Manoharan's talks examine how anti-caste research and action reconfigures the nature and scope of anticolonialism and decolonisation. Register:
14
69
228
5
34
157
The day is not far when Romila Thapar will be replaced by Rajamouli in university history curriculum.
5
26
154
Still falling short of the amount needed for
#Periyar
#shortfilm
and we have extended duration of fundraiser. Rehearsal will begin from tomorrow and filming hopefully from 28th. Please share and support us dear friends. This promises to be a good one!
3
54
139
Finally saw Jawan. It's a Tamil movie, but everyone is speaking Hindi.
6
3
145
A decolonial suggestion to men in the UK suffering from the heat - wear lungis.
5
17
146
I am delighted and honored that my book on Periyar will be featured at the
@DravidianForum
's Reading Hub, with the keynote address from
@KanimozhiDMK
, honorable Member of Parliament. Join us at RMRL on 4 June at 6PM.
@CholamandalPann
@DhandaMeena
@CasteFreeH2020
@OrientBlackSwan
3
31
143
Here is
#Periyar
at the editorial office of 'Bezbozhnik', an anti-religious paper, in Moscow. And another image of him giving a speech.
Many many thanks to
@OleBirkLaursen
for this precious find!
2
31
141
Please do not send warm greetings, warm regards, any sort of warmth to people in Chennai. It is quite triggering. Anymore warmness, they will be fried. Be cool.
8
6
140
An important profile of Periyar Lalai Baudh, a radical social reformer from Uttar Pradesh.
4
48
138
Academics wondering what's the point in writing when the world is going south, don't worry and take consolation - there was no point in writing before either.
Que sera sera.
4
8
135
The Tamil Nadu State Development Policy Council (SDPC) under
@mkstalin
has a remarkable panel. Most delighted to see Prof
@JeyaranjanE
and Prof Vijayabaskar on board. Padma Shri Dr. Narthaki Nataraj is the first transwoman to be part of such a council in India.
#DravidianModel
1
29
132
I will be at Stanford University
@HumanAtStanford
as Bliss Carnochan International Visitor. Much grateful to have been nominated by
@csastanford
. Will be working on some new stuff related to the Dravidian Movement. Watch this space for updates!
21
6
135
The major job cuts and department closures across UK universities show that without socialism, or at least a social welfare policy at the bare minimum, all talks of diversity, inclusivity, decolonization, are just bah humbugs.
4
24
127
(1/3) Great news! Punitha Pandian, editor of Dalit Murasu for more than 20 years, has been appointed as vice-chairperson of the newly constituted Tamil Nadu State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He played no small role in intellectual debates on Periyar.
2
22
130
Subaltern Studies was a new way/method of looking at historiography, not of making a new history. To fault it for not creating a more radical impact for subalterns in society is like faulting deconstruction or poststructuralism for not denting any structure of the French state.
4
18
127
The difference between expertise and privilege is that with possession of the former, you talk with confidence about something you know very well about; with possession of the latter, you can talk with confidence about something you know nothing about. For example:
When our PM
@narendramodi
introduced a micro economy & digital currency there was a furore…it is going to be a disaster. In a couple of years the whole story changed & India became one of the largest users of micro economy in the world. This is
#NewIndia
-
@ActorMadhavan
852
4K
19K
3
19
128
A very important volume, featuring critical articles on less discussed (caste) subjects. Cover image is quite representative of the state of the vast majority of OBCs in India, contrary to lazy/ill-intentioned writing that they are the new elites or ruling class. Articles in +
3
29
126
"Vigneshwar belongs to the Gounder caste, classified as a Backward Class in Tamil Nadu, and Sneha is from the Devendrakula Vellalar caste, which falls under Scheduled Castes category." The couple allege that girl's family tried to kill them. Point here +
4
37
119
While not losing sight of differences, it is maybe more politically pertinent in our times to read and use Gandhi together with Marx, Periyar and Ambedkar rather than against each other.
4
15
122
Hot off the press! Special issue of J-Caste "Freedom From Caste: Anti-Caste Thought, Politics and Culture" co-edited by
@DhandaMeena
and me is available (open access) below. Major output from EU
@MSCActions
#CasteFree
project
@CasteFreeH2020
. Thread+
2
46
121
Ranajit Guha's inauguration of the Subaltern Studies project created an impact in Indian academia that none could equal. Sharing a remarkable interview of the irreplaceable Prof. Guha (where he reveals that he has been a Hegelian all along):
0
40
120
The first translation of Dr. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste was in Tamil. It was commissioned by Periyar and published serially in his party paper Kudi Arasu.
Today May 15 (1936) Babasaheb’s seminal work ‘Annihilation of Caste’ was first published
AoC was a speech meant for meeting of liberal Hindus—but organisers did not allow Ambedkar to deliver it due to ‘controversiality’
Liberals will not stand test of time; Babasaheb & AoC will
14
107
489
0
22
117
AS Krishnamachari "Iyengar", or ASK as he was known, was dismissive of those who accused Periyar of hatred towards Brahmins and called it out as slander. He wrote one of the best books on Periyar in Tamil.
More on my latest article
@frontline_india
24
41
115
LGBTQs are not the only people who approach the Indian Supreme Court for their rights. OBCs, SCs, STs also do. So do Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and others. So do women facing various forms of violence. So does practically every party in the opposition. All 'fascist' enablers?
4
10
115
My complimentary copy of this amazing volume was delivered today. My chapter "Being Dalit, Being Tamil: The Politics of Kabali and Kaala" features here. Overall, this volume provides great insights on contemporary Tamil cinema. Get your copies dear friends!
4
15
108
Here's a better take: There will be a significant reduction in cases of abuse, harassment, and bullying in academia if recommendation letters are abolished.
1
19
105
(1/2) There are people who will claim to oppose BJP but actively spread Hindutva narratives about Tamil Nadu (Hindus/Brahmins are in danger etc.) This is because their hatred for Dravidian Politics overrides any concern for secularism. Almost all are non-entities
2
24
104
"Secularism that is intelligible only to the liberal elites but has no place for the subalterns has no electoral future." Compelling article by
@vargheseKgeorge
3
20
105
Well until the 60s, some prominent Brahmin writers identified themselves as Aryans, in a racial sense. Few things happened in India, like Mandal, DMK coming to power, reservations etc. after which a vocal group claimed to be Jews. Will be addressing this in a presentation soon.
20
19
99
If your lecturer tells you that they are not here to teach you but learn from you, don't fall for their humility - ask a refund from your uni.
1
1
100
I am concerned that someone might call the setting-up of Ambani's Reliance superstore in a Western country as a case of decolonizing the retail business.
1
10
102
"while Hindutva is here to stay as a political force, it cannot ignore the politics of social justice" - so how will it fare in Tamil Nadu, where it faces challenge from Dravidian politics?
Read my article on
@frontline_india
5
22
98
Prof.
@Profdilipmandal
writes: "It must be explored if Indians are grabbing those positions that should actually go to the Blacks, Hispanics or Native Americans."
1
26
96
In comparison to those who label OBCs en masse as hegemonic, dominant, new elites, oppressors etc. do you see many/any 'anti-caste' scholars talking about this?
3
26
93
And now,
#Periyar
goes to Stanford! Will be speaking with
@viduthaIai
and
@nage5ri
on Dravidianism and Pan-Africanism at event hosted by
@csastanford
and
@AAASStanford1
. Details below. (It will be 8 February, 8-9am IST).
3
27
98
Happening tomorrow! Will be speaking about
#Periyar
and his 'Republic of Reason', his ideas of rationalism and nationalism, with
@sfi_uk
on
#RepublicDay
. Join us!
1
19
93
It is lovely to talk of decoloniality while living in the security of Western liberal democratic institutions, especially on tenure. However, for those who live in countries where decoloniality is taken to its logical conclusion, things are not so lovely.
1
16
90
Something for
#Periyar145
- my piece
@frontline_india
on his idea of Samadharma, its relation to socialism, its commitment to equality and secularism, etc. I also briefly discuss Section 295A, and how it was used against Periyar.
2
34
90
NLS will be hosting the redoubtable
@surajyengde
for its Public Lecture Series this Friday. Further details below. If you are in Bangalore, don't miss!
1
10
90
As an addendum, I am not a person who thinks that art should *only* be seen politically. But here you have an artist explicitly declaring his political position in favor of the Hindu Right. It is unavoidable to have political judgments on him, even if you want to like his music.
2
8
87
Met Dr.
@ptrmadurai
, Honorable Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, today and gave him a copy of my book on Periyar. I spoke to him about
@HorizonEU
@CasteFreeH2020
project on Periyar and future plans. We talked about contemporary academic interest in Dravidian politics. Elated!
4
7
90
(1/2) 1% or less of Professors in UK are Black, in a country where Blacks are around 4% of the population. This is (rightly) seen as structural racism. In India, where OBCs form 50% or more of the population, there are just 9 - not percentage, only 9 - OBC professors
3
31
89
Many upper-caste Hindus (Tilak, Ranade, Dayanand Saraswati etc) believed that upper-caste = Aryan = or > White people. Movements/thinkers that vocally countered these supremacist ideas (Phule, Dravidian movement etc) are attacked for ahistoricity and, well, 'reverse casteism'.
Thind argued to the Supreme Court that he was “Aryan,” and thus White. He argued his family was high-caste in India and distantly related to western Europeans. But the Supreme Court defined "Aryan" as a linguistic category, not proof of "common racial origin." 6/
8
75
651
4
10
88
Periyar said ‘There is no equal to Dr. Ambedkar in India.’ He held
#Ambedkar
in great regard and saw him as an inspiration for all oppressed communities. Here's an article of mine on the intellectual relation between the two leaders.
#AmbedkarJayanti
1
15
85
Atlee, 36, director and story writer of SRK starrer
#Jawan
, and the author of the political views you see in the film. His earlier films, all starring Vijay, also had some sort of 'anti-establishment' messages in them. Great that he is rocking Bollywood too!
2
5
85
Dear comrade Elon Musk: "decolonization" means people with phds from western unis, employed at western unis, with western citizenship, writing in a western language, publishing in a western press - claiming that non-western thought/practice is greater.
0
9
84
Short 🧵: In the matter of a year, there have been six books on Ambedkar, all of academic importance. In the last 50 years, there have been only three such books on Periyar in English (I am not including books on non-Brahmin movement, TN politics where Periyar also figures) -
2
17
82
For insights on how caste informs the Muslim identity in India check
@KhalidAAnsari4
's brilliant chapter ‘Pasmanda Politics and Muslim (Minority) Discourse in India’. in Gender, Caste and the Imagination of Equality. Ed. Anupama Rao. New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2018. 310–23.
5
15
78
Her book credits Periyar as being chiefly responsible for radicalizing the Dravidian Movement and identifies him as the key influencer in the politics of Tamil Nadu. (Predictably, her book was pounced on by 'some' Indian intellectuals.) It is a landmark book. (2/3)
1
16
80
(1/2) Periyar's birth anniversary will henceforth be observed as "Day of Social Justice" in TN, according to announcement by CM
@mkstalin
This is the best possible time for research on
#Periyar
and
#Dravidian
Studies. Hope many more scholars & students are encouraged!
3
17
83
What explains the angst against the state of affairs in Tamil Nadu? Worth posting this entire excerpt from the book. +
4
29
80
now his political position is quite explicit. Yet, it is not surprising to see some still defending him as some subaltern icon, just on the basis of his background, even though Ilayaraja has never identified with any such politics. This is identity politics gone haywire. +
3
8
77
On to Liverpool to discuss my book 'Periyar: A Study in Political Atheism'! Will be talking about political atheism vs political theology. Thanks
@andyddavies
🙂
2
7
82
I don't go to the archives. I take the archives with me where I go.
(37 volumes of Periyar Kalanjiyam, a comprehensive collection of writings and speeches of Periyar.)
3
5
81
Since
#Periyar
is back in controversy - when is he isn't! - do have a look at my book on Periyar for an intro to his political atheism, and how this informs his critical approach to caste, religion and nationalism.
3
8
82
Her (woefully inadequate) wikipedia page informs us that she was was the first Black woman to lead a major American university, as chancellor of Missouri–St. Louis from 1986 to 1990. Barnett had a PhD from Chicago and taught at Chicago, Princeton, Howard and Columbia. (3/3)
2
8
74
Delighted that my article on caste in Tamil cinema is among
@Himalistan
's "Ten great Southasian culture stories of 2023". I greatly enjoyed writing this piece, and hope that 2024 gives me more time to write on cinema!
1
10
75
Honored and privileged to have my book launched by the honorable MP
@KanimozhiDMK
at RMRL, who gave an excellent keynote speech. We had a great discussion over the event and talked about Periyar's relevance, future of scholarship on Periyar & Dravidian movement, & much more.
Happy to have released the book 'Periyar: A study in Political Atheism' authored by
@KRManoharan
today at Roja Muthiah Research Library. The panel discussion with
@DhandaMeena
and
@CholamandalPann
was prolific. Discussed the need for reviving Periyar's thoughts in various aspects
28
175
688
7
6
74
In his rejection of Western ideas of nation-state, borders, legality, science, and every bit of reason and rationality, His Holiness Swami Shri Nithyananda might be the greatest practicing decolonialist to walk the earth (when he descends from Mt. Kailasa, that is).
4
5
76
First page of the GO of TN's Economic Advisory Council of Chief Minister Stalin. The names are Esther Duflo, Raghuram Rajan, Aravind Subramanian, Jean Dreze, S. Narayan. The priorities are "faster economic growth, social justice and equity".
#DravidianModel
1
13
74
"Never solidarity before criticism." - Edward Said
Also Said said👇 in a 1995 interview.
0
12
75
From "Naxalbari zindabad" to "Constitution zindabad", the ultraradical left of JNU has come a very long way, but in a very short period of time.
0
6
74
In my (long) commentary on the latest issue of EPW, I revisit Robert Hardgrave's classic work 'The Nadars of Tamilnad' and review it in context of discussions on Subaltern Studies and caste. My tribute to the scholarship of Hardgrave and Ranajit Guha.
2
14
74
Will be speaking tomorrow on certain thematic commonalities between Phule-Periyar-Ambedkar over a webinar organized by
@epw_in
1
17
72
Reco letters are in your face examples of corruption and nepotism in the academia. People with great publications but no powerful letters struggle or go jobless while people with low/no publications get plum posts because they were in the right circuits. Merit = connections.
I'm begging employers to require recommendation letters only for candidates you choose to invite
20
45
627
0
6
73
Indian parents are so obsessed with marks that they can be called marksists.
1
5
70
Table of contents from my book "Periyar: A Study in Political Atheism". More details here
@OrientBlackSwan
3
8
71
Will be speaking at
@DravidianForum
on 24 December on Periyar's humanism. Will also be sharing some happy news about my research work on Periyar's remembrance day. Join us! With many thanks to
@ptrmadurai
@dharanisalem
@puhazh_gandhi
1
24
69
#AmbedkarJayanti
For more on Periyar's long intellectual comradeship with
#Ambedkar
and his approach to the Dalit question, do have a look at my article below. Some highlights in following tweets:
2
29
68
The statement "History will judge you" is the secular equivalent of "God will punish you". Both are made on the belief that History/God exist, they have a purpose, and that purpose is good. On
#WorldPhilosophyDay
, remembering Nietzsche who had a healthy skepticism about both.
1
8
70