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Raj Gauthaman

ラージ・ゴータマン

Raj Gauthaman

Pen Names: Raj Gauthaman（Pen name used in academic and literary work. Birth name Susairaj Pushparaj.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
W. Pudupatti, (now Virudhunagar district), Tamil Nadu, India
Died
2024-11-13 （Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India） age 74
Nationality
India
Languages
Tamil

Career

Occupations
Writer, Cultural critic, Historian, Academic
Active Years
1980-2024
Affiliations
Government arts colleges in Pondicherry, Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Postgraduate Studies (Lawspet, Puducherry) - Head of Tamil Department
Influenced By
Friedrich Nietzsche, Mikhail Bakhtin, Ranajit Guha, Michel Foucault
Influenced
Scholars and thinkers in the Tamil Dalit movement, Contemporary critics and journals associated with the Nirapirikai group

Education

St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai
Faculty of Science (Zoology) / Department of Zoology
Degree: 学士（Zoology）
Period: 不明
Country: India
Undergraduate degree in Zoology. Exact graduation year unknown.
St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai
Faculty of Arts (Tamil literature) / Department of Tamil Literature
Degree: 修士（タミル文学）
Period: 不明
Country: India
Postgraduate degree in Tamil literature. Exact year unknown.
Annamalai University
Faculty of Sociology / Department of Sociology
Degree: 修士（社会学）、博士（PhD）
Period: 不明
Country: India
Postgraduate studies in sociology at Annamalai University. Completed doctoral research on writer A. Madhaviah; exact years unknown.

Awards

Pudhumaipithan Ninaivu Virudhu
2018
Organization: Tamil Canadian and Tamil American diaspora (community awarding)
Result: 受賞
Vishnupuram Award
2018
Work: Significant contributions to Tamil literature and cultural studies
Organization: Vishnupuram Ilakkiya Vattam
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dalit Panpaadu (Dalit Culture)

1993 Cultural criticism

A collection of essays critically analyzing Tamil culture from a Dalit perspective, marked by Marxian analysis and satirical tones.

CasteSubaltern perspectivesReassessment of cultural history

Dalit Paarvaiyil Tamil Panpaadu (Tamil Culture from a Dalit Perspective)

1994 Cultural history / Criticism

Re-reads mainstream Tamil cultural history from below, questioning canonical narratives and using dialogic devices to introduce ordinary voices.

Historic heterogeneityCanon critiqueSubaltern viewpoint

Siluvairaj Sarithiram

Novel (satirical, autobiographical elements)

A satirical novel told from a Dalit perspective, following the protagonist Siluvai across 25 years to critique political, social, and religious institutions.

SatireSocial critiqueIndividual vs institutions

Pattum Thogaiyum Tholkappiyamum Thamizh Samooga Uruvakkamum

2008 Historical study / Cultural analysis

Traces cultural foundations of Tamil society through Sangam literature and Tolkappiyam, analyzing how power and notions of righteousness shaped social hierarchies.

Ancient historySocial structureFormation of power

Aakol Poosalum Perungarkaala Nagarigamum

2010 History / Cultural study

Analyzes transformation from tribal societies to urban villages in the Sangam era, tracing changes in war, bards, pleasure women, and funerary customs.

UrbanizationSocial transformationRituals and customs

Bibliography

  • A Madhavaiah
  • Enbadhugalil Thamizh Kalaacharam (1992)
  • Dalit Panpaadu (1993)
  • Dalit Paarvaiyil Tamil Panpaadu (1994)
  • K Iyothee Thassar ayvugal
  • Aram Adhikaram
  • Dalitiya Vimarsana Katturaigal (2003)
  • Pattum Thogaiyum Tholkappiyamum Thamizh Samooga Uruvakkamum (2008)
  • Thamizh Samoogathil Aramum Aatralum (2008)
  • Aakol Poosalum Perungarkaala Nagarigamum (2010)
  • Aarambakatta Mudhalaliyamum Thamizh Samooga Uruvakkamum (2010)
  • Kanmoodi Vazhakkam Ellam Manmoodi Poga
  • Kalithogai Paripaadal: Oru Vilimbunilai Nokku
  • Pudhumaipithan Ennum Brahmaraakshas
  • Poi + Abatham = Unmai
  • Penniyam: Varalarum Kotpadugalum
  • Pathitruppatthu Aingurunooru
  • Pazhanthamizh Agaval Padalgalin Parimatram
  • Sundara Ramasamy: Karuthum Kalaiyum
  • Vallalarin Aanmeega Payanam
  • Siluvairaj Sarithiram
  • Kaalachumai (2003)
  • Londonil Siluvairaj

Adaptations

Translations by Author

  • Vilimbunilai Makkalin Porattangal (Tamil translation of work by Ranajit Guha and Susie Tharu)
  • Kilikkathaigal Ezhupathu (Tamil translation of Śukasaptati / Seventy Tales of the Parrot)
  • Anbu Enum Kalai
  • Kathakosa: Samana Kathaigal

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Marxian analysisSubaltern/Dalit perspective in cultural historyDialogic and satirical expression
Recurring Motifs
Caste and inequalityReinterpretation of historyVoices of the common and oppressed

Legacy

Raj Gauthaman is recognized for introducing Dalit perspectives into Tamil cultural and literary history, critically reassessing mainstream narratives. Through his scholarly and published works he provided significant viewpoints to Tamil studies and received multiple literary honors.

Academic Societies

  • Vishnupuram Ilakkiya Vattam

Quotes

  • “In the mind of a Hindu of any hegemonic caste, the identity of Dalits is treated as a negative identity. ... For him, protecting his caste purity is more important than partaking in class identity.”
    Source: “Dalit Culture” in No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South Asia Vol.I, ed. Satyanarayana & Tharu (2011) (2011)

Trivia

  • His younger sister is the acclaimed Tamil feminist writer Bama.
  • He retired in 2011 and continued writing and research thereafter.
  • Recipient of the Vishnupuram Award in 2018.