Khushbu Sundar is an Indian politician, actress, film producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil language films and in a few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She has appeared in over 185 films, and has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Cinema Express Awards, a Kalaimamani Award and a Kerala State Film Award.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, formerly known as the Dalit Panthers of India or the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam, is an Indian social movement and political party that seeks to combat caste based discrimination, active in the state of Tamil Nadu. The party also has a strong emphasis on Tamil nationalism. Its chairman is Thol. Thirumavalavan, a lawyer from Chennai, and its general secretary is the writer Ravikumar.
Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan, better known as Thol. Thirumavalavan is a political leader, scholar and activist from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is a Member of Parliament from Chidambaram. Leader and President of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as a bahujan leader, and formally entered politics in 1999. His political platform centres on ending caste-based discrimination and consequently the caste system. He has also expressed support for Tamil nationalist movements in Sri Lanka.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Tamil Nadu are the most progressive among all states of India. Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to introduce a transgender welfare policy, wherein transgender individuals can access free gender affirmation surgery in government hospitals and various other benefits and rights. The state was also the first to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants, and also the first state to include an amendment in its state police guidelines that expects officers to abstain from harassing the LGBTQIA+ community and its members. The state also became the first to ban conversion therapy as well as the first to introduce LGBTQIA+ issues in school curricula.
S. Abdul Hameed known by his pen name Manushya Puthiran is a poet and writer from Tamil Nadu, India.
Raja Sandow was an Indian actor, film director and producer. He began his career as an actor in silent films and later became a prominent actor and director in Tamil and Hindi films of the 1930s. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of early Indian cinema.>
Dalit literature is a genre of Indian writing that focuses on the lives, experiences, and struggles of the Dalit community, who have faced caste-based oppression and discrimination for centuries. This literature encompasses various Indian languages such as Marathi, Bangla, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Sindhi, Odia and Tamil and includes diverse narratives like poems, short stories, and autobiographies. The movement originated in response to the caste-based social injustices in mid-twentieth-century independent India and has since spread across various Indian languages, critiquing caste practices and experimenting with different literary forms.
Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti is observed on 14 April to commemorate the memory of B. R. Ambedkar, Indian politician and social reformer. It marks Ambedkar's birthday who was born on 14 April 1891. His birthday is also referred to as 'Equality Day' by some in India.
Navayana is an independent anti-caste Indian publishing house based in New Delhi, strongly influenced by Ambedkarite ideas. It was founded by S. Anand and D. Ravikumar in 2003. The first book it published was Ambedkar: Autobiographical Notes priced at Rs 40. Since then it has published acclaimed fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels and poetry anthologies. From 2009 onwards, Navayana broadened its publishing outlook to include social issues other than caste because ‘the struggle against caste cannot happen in isolation from other struggles for justice and equality’ as a statement on the website reads.
Pa. Ranjith is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi, before earning positive reviews for his second film, the political action-drama Madras (2014). He wrote and directed the action-drama films Kabali in 2016 and Kaala in 2018, both starring Rajinikanth.
Grace Banu is an Indian software engineer who is a Dalit and transgender activist. She was the first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in the state of Tamil Nadu. She lives in the Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu.
The Bhim Army, alternatively Bheem Army or the Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission is an Ambedkarite and Dalit rights organisation in India. It was founded by Satish Kumar, Vinay Ratan Singh and Chandra Shekhar Aazad in 2015. The organisation runs more than 350 free schools for Dalits and Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. The organisation is named after B. R. Ambedkar.
Thamizhachi Thangapandian, also known as Sumathy, is an Indian Tamil poet, lyricist, orator, politician and writer. She was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India, from Chennai South constituency in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. She worked as a lecturer in English at Queen Mary's College, Chennai before entering politics.
Dalit music or Bahujan music is music created, produced, or inspired by Bahujans and Dalits, people often discriminated against on the basis of caste, including Dalit rock, Bhim rap and Dalit pop as well as the music genres of the Ravidasis, including Chamar pop, Bhim Palana, Bhim geet and Punjabi Ambedkarite music.
Draupathi is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, directed, and produced by Mohan G. Kshatriyan. The film stars Richard Rishi and Sheela Rajkumar, with K. S. G. Venkatesh, Karunas, and Nishanth in supporting roles. The music of the film was composed by Jubin and cinematography was performed by Manoj Narayan and edited by Devaraj S. The film is a crowdfunding project.
Queer Chennai Chronicles, also known as QCC is an Indian LGBT literary organization that aims to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer literature through programs that encourage development of aspiring writers and through annual Queer LitFest, Chennai.
Priya Rajan is the forty-ninth and the incumbent mayor of Chennai city, Tamil Nadu. She is a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and was elected on 4 March 2022 after the 2022 Tamil Nadu local elections. She is the youngest and the third woman to become the mayor of the city.
Kasimedu is a hamlet in the neighbourhood of Royapuram, in Chennai district of Tamil Nadu state in the peninsular India. This hamlet is occupied by fishermen whose families depend on the fishing harbour and the fish market nearby. It stretches for about 2 km, near Ennore fishing harbour along the shore, north of Chennai Port. Large numbers of victims from Kasimedu fishing community were found during the tsunami observed on 26 December 2004. Kasimedu is located at about 5 km from Chennai Beach railway station. Near about 200 tons of fishes are brought to Kasimedu, daily. State Highway 114 passes through Kasimedu.
The Vaanam Art Festival is an annual cultural event organized by filmmaker Pa Ranjith's Neelam Cultural Centre. The festival aims to celebrate Dalit culture, promote social awareness, and provide a platform for artistic expression. It takes place in April, coinciding with Dalit History Month and the birth month of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
K. Armstrong was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Tamil Nadu. He was the state president of Tamil Nadu unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party. An Ambedkarite Buddhist, Armstrong was known as a prominent Dalit social and political activist in the state.
