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Fighting the Dalit fight on screen & in life, the (almost) politics of Tamil Nadu filmmaker Pa Ranjith
Ranjith, 41, has made a string of movies with strong Dalit characters and stories about lives of oppressed communities that have put anti-caste issues front & centre in Tamil Nadu cinema.
Prabhakar Tamilarasu, (Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Chennai: More than 30 years ago, a neatly dressed six-year-old boy in school uniform in a village on the outskirts of Chennai was advised by his mother to keep his caste a secret.
Her words remained etched in his young mind as he went to a post office in Karalapakkam village one evening.
“I was not allowed to touch the postbox then. I was asked to hand over the letter to my classmate standing there to drop it in,” movie director and political activist Pa Ranjith told ThePrint as he recalled his childhood. “Despite being a first rank student, I wondered in what way I wasn’t at par with my classmate and what gave him the privilege to touch the postbox.”
Ranjith says he only understood his childhood struggles after he read social reformer and political leader B.R. Ambedkar during his early college days.
Today, 41-year-old Ranjith is one of the most successful Dalit filmmakers in the Tamil film industry, nicknamed Kollywood, and has also been at the forefront of the fight for Dalit empowerment through his films and activism.
He’s made a string of game-changing movies with strong Dalit characters and stories about the lives of oppressed communities that have put anti-caste issues front and centre in Tamil Nadu cinema. He is also making his debut movie in Bollywood this year.
Ranjith has come a long way from when he was a young man standing outside a theatre screen in Chennai introducing himself to a YouTube channel as the director of his first film in 2012, “I am Ranjith, director of Attakathi (Carboard Knife) movie. By this movie, I am introducing myself as the director.”
Building a Dalit political movement
Cinema isn’t the only way Ranjith is championing the rights of oppressed castes in India.
Outside the big screen, he has also been building a wider Dalit political movement inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States under his Neelam banner.
As part of his efforts to empower the Dalit community and create awareness about Dalit oppression, Ranjith has launched a slew of forums including a library and a bookstore for Dalit literature. He has established a publishing house for Dalit writers and poets, and has a YouTube channel on Dalit lives.
He has also developed a cultural space called the Neelam Cultural Centre in Chennai that organises a host of activities from musical performances and films to seminars based on Ambedkar’s philosophy of social equality.
But now the question that many are asking lips is: Will Ranjith take the plunge and enter mainstream electoral politics?
Speculation began swirling when the activist-director got involved in a mainstream political movement for the first time following the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) state president K. Armstrong in July.
Ranjith and his supporters organised a rally to protest the killing and demand justice for the Dalit leader, saying his death was a political murder. Police said the Dalit leader’s murder was a “revenge killing”.
For the moment, Ranjith says he is undecided. He says he isn’t sure about entering electoral politics as he wants to strengthen the political movement he is building under the Neelam banner.
“I think it is a process, which will eventually happen. But, as of now, I have not decided about it,” Ranjith said. “I will not say I will not enter electoral politics. But I have not taken any decision on it for now.”
However, Ranjith has also been criticised for what some call his inconsistencies in handling mainstream politics. Writer and activist Shalin Maria Lawrence felt Ranjith lacked political clarity, although he had a strong vision in Dalit arts, culture and literature.
Ranjith says he doubts he can fulfill everybody’s expectations but he accepts constructive criticism and will work on it.
Politics of Pa Ranjith
Ranjith has been pushing boundaries with his activism.
The graduate from Chennai’s Government College of Fine Arts aggressively questioned Dalit MPs and MLAs in the state for not speaking about Dalit issues on the stage outside Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore, where the rally seeking justice for Armstrong’s murder ended on 20 July.
“Henceforth, when Dalit MPs and MLAs elected by reservation don’t speak up for Dalit issues, we will protest. How long will you continue to disappoint us?” Ranjith asked.
Though this wasn’t the first time Ranjith had spoken aggressively at a public forum, it was the first time he had spoken so loudly about mainstream politics.
Ranjith told ThePrint he felt compelled to speak as none of the Ambedkarite parties in the state stood up for justice for Armstrong.
“I should not have been in a place to talk for him (Armstrong). There are a lot of Ambedkarite parties and leaders, who were supposed to have spoken for him. Since they all gave up, I was forced to take it upon myself,” Ranjith reasoned.
Despite being angry with Dalit MPs and MLAs, Ranjith believes electoral politics is the way to change people’s lives.
Ranjith might not be ready to throw his hat into the electoral ring yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking on Tamil Nadu’s political parties.
He has been appealing to Ambedkarite parties such as Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Puthiya Thamilagam Katchi to unite against the two Dravidian majors to liberate Dalits from the clutches of caste.
However, Ambedkarite parties, mostly founded in the 1990s, disagree with Ranjith. They believe it isn’t possible to win elections with just Dalit votes.
Though they support Ranjith, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi general secretary and MLA Sinthanai Selvan told ThePrint the idea would not work in the present electoral system but would only pave the way for a divided society.
Activist journey
Ranjith’s activist journey began about six years ago when he first raised his voice on social issues after an inter-caste couple was killed for defying caste restrictions.
The bodies of 25-year-old Dalit N. Nandish and his 21-year-old wife S. Swathi were recovered from a river in November 2018. Nandish belonged to the Adi Dravidar community, a Scheduled Caste, and Swathi came from the Vanniyar community, a Most Backward Caste.
“At the time of recovering the body, Nandish was seen wearing a T-shirt with Ambedkar’s picture. It disturbed me a lot,” said Ranjith.
Since then, Ranjith has not missed any occasion to speak out against caste discrimination and caste killings in the state.
“My only thought is to stand up against any issue based on caste. Let it be social discrimination or inter-caste love, I would stand by my people,” Ranjith said.
However, Ranjith has also faced criticism for his stand on many issues including last month’s Supreme Court verdict approving internal reservation in the Scheduled Caste category.
Ranjith welcomed the Supreme Court’s order but was against the court’s call to exclude the “creamy layer” from Scheduled Caste and and Scheduled Tribe reservations.
Political activist Lawrence cited this as an example of a lack of clarity in his political stand.
“Soon after the court order, he welcomed it with a sense of urgency. But a day later, he backtracked and condemned the observation on creamy layer. This shows that he was struggling to take a stand on certain issues,” Lawrence said.
Ranjith responded to the criticism by saying he still supported internal reservations as he thinks from the perspective of the Arundhathiyar community, a sub-sect in the Scheduled Caste category, which has benefited from internal reservations.
“Arundhathiyars, who are at the lower rung of Scheduled Castes, are still deprived of a lot of rights. And reservation is needed for their social and educational upliftment. So, it was a conscious decision. I took the stand thinking of myself as a person from the Arundhathiyar community,” he said.
“There are a number of Dalit voices that exist now. So, everybody would want us to talk in their favour and their stand. But, backed by Ambedkar’s views, I take a stand based on an issue and the situation,” he said.
Ranjith is no stranger to controversy. In 2019, he criticised the Chola era king Raja Raja Cholan and termed his era as a dark age for Dalits. A case was filed against him for this speech in Thanjavur, but the Madras High Court quashed it in November 2021.
Pa Ranjith on-screen and off-screen
But Ranjith hasn’t been deterred. His roots in the creative arts literature have driven him to make Dalit-centric films.
He looks at literature through a critical lens and raises many questions that influence his films.
“In the Mahabharata, why did Ekalavya lose his thumb? Why did Aravan sacrifice himself to the goddess Kali for the Pandavas’ victory in the Mahabharata war? Thes were some of the questions that rose in my mind,” he said.
These questions motivated him to pursue untold stories about the lives of Dalits.
Kicking off his movie career as a director with Attakathi in 2012, Ranjith then brought the lives of people living in government-built housing units in North Chennai to the big screen in 2014 through Madras, regarded as one of the most important anti-caste Tamil films.
The commercial success of the first two movies gave him a ticket to direct Kollywood superstar Rajinikanth, not once, but twice in two back-to-back blockbusters – Kabali and Kaala (Black).
Kabali is the story of a Dalit who raised his voice against the oppression faced by Tamil labourers in Malaysia. Kaala shows the protagonist fighting for the people of the Dharavi slum settlement in Mumbai and protecting them from politicians and the land mafia.
His latest movie, Thangalaan (Son of Gold), explores the history of Dalits and their oppression by landlords and British colonial rulers through a fictional story of Dalit gold miners set against the backdrop of the Kolar Gold Fields.
Ranjith’s colleagues credit him with being politically correct in his movies.
“Not even in one place can you see him go wrong. There will be no misogyny, no gender bias in his movies,” film director Vetrimaaran said in a roundtable discussion on a YouTube Channel.
“In Kaala, the rowdies will remove the pants of a girl. When we were expecting that she would pick her pants, she would pick a rod and hit them back. ‘You cannot weaken me with this’ is what he means there.”
The consciousness of being politically correct, Ranjith said, stemmed from his creative background and vast reading about Ambedkar.
“Even as an art student, all my paintings were concept art, talking about the liberation of Dalits and the caste system in society,” said Ranjith, who is often seen flanked by books on Ambedkar and his philosophy.
Though Ranjith is now being identified as a filmmaker, he was originally a poet, story writer, artist and playwright who staged four modern plays on the “regressiveness” of humans and liberation of humankind.
“I don’t believe in just the aesthetic sense of art forms,” Ranjith said.
Nevertheless, the scope of telling stories through the big screen was limited since cinema is essentially a business.
That is when Ranjith decided to go beyond cinema and build an off-screen political movement inspired by the Black Lives Movement in the United States.
“The Black rights movement did not see art and activism separately. They expressed their happiness, sadness, celebrations and everything through their art form),” Ranjith said.
Ranjith now has dozens of forums that bring talent from music, art and literature under one umbrella for what he calls the common cause of “Dalit and humankind liberation”.
“Malcom X was an activist and Muhammad Ali was a boxer. But they shared a common stage for a common cause. I wanted to create such a common platform in Tamil Nadu,” said Ranjith.
People who have worked with Ranjith say he never preaches about what he reads but he practices what he says and reads about Ambedkar.
Screenplay director Thamizh Prabha, who worked with Pa Ranjith in two movies including Thangalan, said Ranjith has consciously chosen to speak for the empowerment of the Dalits.
“It is a basic thing for everybody to treat every other person equally. It is not something big to ask for. But, since a lot of them don’t do it, I see this as one of his great qualities,” said Thamizh Prabha.
With his political activism, Ranjith has been the main voice of a counterculture opposed to Tamil Nadu’s mainstream, culture.
“He is a disruptor just like Muhammad Ali who was part of the Black rights movement. This was the cultural and social space where the Ambedkarite movements started in Tamil Nadu but so far have failed. And Ranjith has rightly picked the path,” said Shalin Maria Lawrence.
Courtesy : The Print
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Police misconduct video goes viral following Dalit youth’s death in Lakhimpur.
NEW DELHI: In the UP’s Lakhimpur a video of a confrontation between police and villagers has gone viral, drawing sharp criticism of the police’s behavior. Shared on social media platform X, the video shows a police officer hurling abuses at a villager and physically assaulting him.
The officer can be heard saying, “The bastard will raise his hand on the police… of this mother— of this sister—”. The incident has sparked outrage over the police’s use of abusive language and excessive force.
This comes on the heels of another controversy in the district involving the death of Akash Raj, a 25-year-old Dalit youth. Akash had been arrested by Phardhan police on September 3 on charges of theft.
His family alleges that he was beaten in custody for three days, and his health deteriorated while in police detention. Despite being transferred to a hospital in Lucknow, Akash died on September 13.
Following his death, Akash’s family protested by placing his body on the Lakhimpur-Gola highway, demanding action against the officers responsible.
Former Samajwadi Party MLA Ramsaran also joined the protest. The family accused the police of brutality and sought the arrest of the officers involved. The protest led to a massive traffic jam on both sides of the highway, but by late evening, authorities were still struggling to clear the blockade.
The police, however, maintain that Akash was only questioned and later released to his family. They claim his health worsened at home, and they are awaiting the post-mortem report to determine the cause of death. The situation highlights the deepening distrust between the villagers and law enforcement.
Courtesy : The New Indian Express
Why did Vice President Dhankhar come under the target of Congress over reservation, know what is the whole matter
Congress hit back at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over Rahul Gandhi’s comment on reservation. Congress asked whether Dhankhar supports Rahul’s demand to remove the 50% limit on reservation for SC, ST and OBC. Dhankhar had described Rahul’s comment as ‘anti-constitutional mentality’.
Edited by Anil Kumar
- Dhankhar had indirectly targeted Rahul over the statement on reservation
- Statement on ending reservation abroad described as anti-constitutional mentality
- Congress asked the Vice President – Are you in support of our demand
New Delhi: Congress on Sunday hit back at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over his indirect attack on Rahul Gandhi over his comment on reservation. Congress asked the Vice President whether Dhankhar supports Rahul’s demand to remove the 50% limit on reservation for SC, ST and OBC. The Congress’ retort comes after vice president Dhankhar had earlier attacked Rahul, saying such remarks by a person holding a constitutional post reflected an ‘anti-constitutional mindset’.
Anti-constitutional mindset mentioned
Speaking at a public event in Mumbai, Dhankhar had said that a person holding a constitutional post saying on foreign soil that reservation should be abolished reflects the same anti-constitutional mindset. The stick of prejudices against reservation has been handed over. It is the same old anti-constitutional mindset. Dhankhar further said that there is a need for greater awareness about the Constitution of India, warning that some people have forgotten its soul.
Dhankhar said reservation is not against merit. He underlined its importance as the “soul of the country and the Constitution”. He said reservation policies are a form of affirmative action that “handles” marginalised communities, not deprives others of opportunities. The Congress was quick to respond to Dhankhar’s criticism, hitting back at the vice president and questioning his stand on the issue.
Congress hits back at Vice President
The party’s media and publicity department chief Pawan Khera said on Twitter that Rahul Gandhi has demanded the removal of the 50% cap on reservation for SC/ST and OBC. Vice President, do you support this demand of the Congress? This conversation took place after Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments during his US visit. In this, he commented on the possible future of reservation. Rahul had said that the Congress party would consider removing reservation only when ‘India would be a fair place’ which means that the current system is necessary in view of the existing inequalities.
About the author
Anil Kumar
Anil has been active in the media industry for more than a decade. The journey started with reporting from Dainik Jagran Chandigarh in 2009, and has reached NavbharatTimes.com via Dainik Bhaskar, Rajasthan Patrika, Amar Ujala, Jansatta.com. He is originally from Bihar but has studied in Delhi. He has experience of working on the central desk along with sports and education reporting. He has a special interest in politics, sports as well as foreign news.
Courtesy : Hindi News.
Byculla cartoonist depicts manual scavengers in Ganeshotsav tableau
MUMBAI: A household Ganpati in Byculla has depicted an elaborate tableau based on the struggles faced by sanitation workers, with particular focus on the Dalit community. Activists say that despite photo ops with politicians and ceremonial feet washing rituals, the plight of manual scavengers remains unchanged.
Gaurav Sarjerao of Yogeshwar Building in Ghodapdeo, Byculla, is a 27-year-old cartoonist and storyboard artist. He has shown a sanitation worker immersed in a gutter up to the neck. Women safai karmacharis are wielding brooms and wiping paan spit from walls — where ironically slogans proclaim ‘Do not spit here’.
Male workers are emptying trash with bare hands into a civic garbage van. On the opposite flank, a squeaky clean corporate tree-lined avenue with tall skyscrapers shines as the fruit of their efforts. A small idol of Ganesh looks askance, as if seeking introspection from citizens.
A particularly searing comparison between facilities shows a bare bodied safai worker in Mumbai, while his counterpart in Hong Kong is dressed in a fully protective suit resembling an astronaut’s outfit.
Gaurav said, “Since10 years, our family has celebrated Ganeshotsav with focus on social issues. This year, we are highlighting the struggles of sanitation workers. Even in today’s modern, tech-driven world, there are still people forced to clean sewers and manholes. Despite a Supreme Court ruling that bans manual scavenging and declares it illegal for anyone to enter manholes, many workers are still compelled to do so owing to a lack of proper machinery and facilities.”
He says the labourers receive scant respect. “Most come from marginalised communities, especially the Dalit caste, which adds a layer of social discrimination to their plight. We must push for better solutions to end this inhumane practice.”
Gaurav’s friends helped him complete the design in 12 days. The decoration and Ganesh idol are both eco-friendly. There are slogans saying, ‘As per the Supreme Court, manual scavenging is illegal. Still it is happening’, and ‘Every Dalit is not a sanitary worker but every sanitary worker is Dalit’. The team took guidance from Scoopwhoop and BBC’s documentary on the subject.
Courtesy : TOI
8 booked for thrashing Dalit man at temple
During the investigation, discrepancies were found in the victim’s account as it was discovered that the temple incident might not have taken place as described
Badami circle inspector Kariappa said that the FIR was registered on Saturday on the basis of a complaint by the victim, Arjun Madara.
He said: “Following Madara’s complaint, we registered a case against eight people under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and BNS sections 352 (intentional insult), 351 (criminal intimidation), and 118 (voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons).”
The complaint stated that Madar had gone to offer prayers at Dyamavva Gudi temple on September 10 when some people questioned his right to be in the temple as he was from a Dalit community. This allegedly led to a verbal altercation, which escalated when eight people tied him to a pole and thrashed him, the complaint said.
Kariappa said that during the investigation, discrepancies were found in Madara’s account. He said: “It was discovered that the temple incident might not have taken place as described. The victim was reportedly engaged in a conversation with a woman from the village when an upper-class Reddy advised him against it.”
“Madara allegedly reacted violently, leading to the assault and subsequent complaint of atrocity. The upper-class community has since socially boycotted him, and an investigation is ongoing,” he added.
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The first phase of this decade's census was expected to begin on April 1, 2020 but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic
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How Sitaram Yechury Cautioned Against Modi Regime’s Insurrection Against the Constitution
On the sad and solemn occasion of veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader Sitaram Yechury’s untimely passing away on September 12, the country and people in a state of mourning are reminded of his exemplary role as a parliamentarian in defending the constitution. What Yechury did assumes critical significance when people in several states of our country made the saving of the constitution a major electoral issue during the 18th general elections. They did so as part of their struggle to save it from the fatal assault of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Modi regime.
Yechury as a member of Rajya Sabha for two terms from 2005 till 2017 and a recipient of outstanding parliamentarian award became very strident in defending the constitution while speaking in the House in 2016 on a short duration discussion on the situation prevailing in the institutions of higher education with specific reference to Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad Central University (HCU). It may be recalled that in 2016 some students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were charged with sedition and Rohit Vemula, a Dalit student of HCU committed suicide after his fellowship was stopped and he faced recurrent caste discrimination on account of his Dalit identity.
In his speech Yechury said that discussing Ambedkar in a two-day session of the parliament would not be sufficient unless legislative measures were not enacted to protect the reservation facilities which get contracted because of the economic policies followed by Modi government. He located the issue in the context of its relentless attack on the constitution which he said amounted to an “insurrection.”
He very persuasively argued that on account of neo-liberal economic policies ruthlessly followed and carried forward after 2014, public sector undertakings were devastated and jobs available there got considerably shrunk or totally lost. As a result, he stated that the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes who by virtue of reservation facilities were getting jobs in those undertakings were helplessly witnessing a situation marked by loss of employment opportunities which otherwise they would have availed of.
Also read: A Fighter and a Thinker, Sitaram Yechury Leaves Behind a Towering Legacy
Yechury even went to the extent of pleading for reservation of jobs in the private sector. It may be recalled that President of India K.R. Narayanan in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day in 2002 pleaded that the private sector should adopt social policies like the diversity Bill and the affirmative action that a capitalist country like the US adopted and implemented. What Yechury stated in 2016 captured that vision of Narayanan whom he admired greatly. It is quite noteworthy that the same idea is now being accorded priority by leaders of the Congress party as part of their pursuance of social justice agenda.
Yechury’s utterances in the Rajya Sabha in 2016 that Modi regime and the BJP posed existential threat to the constitution and reservation in jobs got resonated during the 18th general elections when people interpreted Modi and BJP’s slogan “Ab ki Baar Charso Par”, this time 400 plus seats in the Lok Sabha, as an electoral strategy to alter the constitution and put an end to reservation. Such interpretation gained huge traction in several parts of India after some BJP leaders, many of whom contested parliamentary elections, claimed that the Modi regime required 400 plus seats to change the constitution.
It is quite extraordinary that people’s fear expressed in 2024 that the constitution might be lost was outlined by Yechury in 2016 in the Rajya Sabha and he called it “insurrection against the constitution of India.”
The coinage of the term “insurrection against the constitution” brings out his ability as a communist leader to make a catchy formulation to communicate with people and alert them about the diabolical danger to India because of the BJP politics with an intent, in his words, “to metamorphose a secular democratic Republic to a theocratic Hindu Rashtra.”
Yechury quoted Ambedkar who said in his last speech in the constituent assembly : “In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value.”
He recalled Ambedkar’s cautionary words that if one person one vote would not be transformed to one person one value the political structure would be torn apart.
Also read: Farewell Comrade Sita, Communist in Head and Heart
Yechury said that the constitutional vision of an equal society got trampled upon by the Modi regime by the manner in which it dealt with the JNU, the HCU and other institutions of higher education. He proceeded to add with anguish that the suicide of Vemula, charges of sedition slapped against the JNU students and condemning it as the den of anti-nationals would harm the future of youth who aspire to study in such reputed universities which produced excellent students in every field. His charge that the BJP employed nationalism to create religiosity and religious frenzy in sharp contrast to the constitution and our pluralistic ethos awakened Indians to come forward to protect the idea of India and our secular democratic republic.
He recalled how he as part of the JNU fraternity fought against the emergency of 1975 and mentioned that the same spirit was getting reflected in the struggle to protect the constitution, secularism and culture of protest and dissent. He indicted the Modi regime for violating the constitution by suppressing dissent and reminded that Indian philosophy in our history flourished through debate, discussion and disagreement and not through uniformity and dictation. In that context, he urged the Modi regime to remain responsible to the constitution and people.
That repeated plea of Yechury in 2016 to protect the constitution from those who are engaged in the acts of insurrection against it is of paramount significance when people have made it a huge electoral and national issue. Long Live Comrade Sitaram Yechury having boldly articulated the revolutionary stand in defence of our constitution in 2016 itself.
S.N. Sahu served as an Officer on Special Duty to President of India K.R. Narayanan.
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Thank you for your response.Sivaji.......
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