Dr. T T Sreekumar is an Indian writer, social and literary critic, and political analyst. He is currently working in The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad as Head of the department, at the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and also serves as the Director of EMMRC. He is a bilingual author of several books and articles in Malayalam and English, and pens a fortnightly column since 2014 in Madhyamam.
Sreekumar did his M.phil. in Applied Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and his Ph.D. in STS (Science, Technology and Society) from The School of Humanities and Social sciences, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
Beginning his career as lecturer at Institute of Management in Government, Thiruvananthapuram in 1996, Sreekumar worked as doctoral instructor in HKUST and later joined National University of Singapore as faculty in 2004. He was the Professor and chair, Fellows program and Digital Communications at MICA, Ahamedabad during 2013–2016. In 2017, he joined The School of Interdisciplinary Studies, English and Foreign Languages University as Professor.
With wide teaching and research experience across South East Asia and South Asia, Sreekumar's papers on Asian modernity, [1] development, e-governance, [2] mobile ecology and rural network societies focus on socio-political critique of information technology and New Media. His book ICTs and Development in India: Perspectives on the Rural Network Society provides a critical analysis of the neoliberal glorification of the notion of ICT4D (Information and communication technologies for development).
A prolific writer and columnist in Malayalam, his books include Utharadhunikakkappuram (Beyond Postmodernism), Charitravum Adhunikathayum (History and Modernity), Civil samoohavum idathupakshavum (Civil Society and the Left), Nava Samoohikatha (New Sociality) and Vayanayum Prathirodhavum (Reading and Resistance). The fortnightly column in Madhyamam daily, Naalaam Kannu that he pens, offers critical views on Kerala's sociopolitical contexts. His staunch and direct critique of contemporary politics and culture makes him one among Kerala's prominent intellectual voices. Interviews with him have appeared in major Malayalam periodicals like Mathrubhumi [3] [4] (2012 Annual issue pg6-18) Chandrika [5] (December 2016).He received the C.B.Kumar Endowment Award of Kerala Sahitya Academy for the year 2020 for the book "Vayanayum Prathirodhavum".
List of Books
English
Malayalam
Sreekumar's contribution toward the sociopolitical critique of Information technology in Asia and the critical positions are propounded in his book ICTs and Development: Perspectives on the Rural Network Society (Anthem Books, 2011). He has also been the Chief Editor (2013-2017) of Journal of Creative Communications (peer-reviewed, international Sage Publication), and the Associate Editor (2014-2019) of Media Asia (Taylor & Francis). He is currently the editor of International Journal of Media Studies, published by EFL University. He also serves as a member of the editorial board and as a manuscript reviewer for several other prominent journals.
Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards, the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.
Malayalam journalism encompasses journalism published and broadcast in the Malayalam language. Modern Malayalam journalism can be traced to the publication of the Raajyasamaachaaram and the Pashchimodhayam under the direction of Hermann Gundert in June 1847. Kerala has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English and Malayalam.
N. S. Madhavan is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his novel, Lanthan Batheriyile Luthiniyakal and a host of short stories such as Higuita, Thiruthu, Chulaimedile Shavangal and Vanmarangal Veezhumpol, Madhavan also writes football columns and travel articles. He is a distinguished fellow of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several major awards including Odakkuzhal Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Muttathu Varkey Award, Mathrubhumi Literary Award, Crossword Book Award and Kerala State Students Federation Sahithyolsav Award.
Malayala Manorama is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has a readership of over 8 million. It is also the second oldest Malayalam newspaper in Kerala in circulation, after Deepika, which is also published from Kottayam. Manorama also publishes an online edition.
Madhyamam is a Malayalam-language newspaper published in Kerala, India, since 1987. It was founded by Ideal Publications Trust run by the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind wing in Kerala. It has nine editions in India and its Persian Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has nine in the Middle East.
P. Parameswaran, often referred to as Parameswarji, was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak from Kerala, India who was erstwhile Vice‑President of the Jan Sangh.
B. Sandhya is a retired officer of the Indian Police Service and a former Director General of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, Home Guard, and Civil Defence. She is also known for her literary contributions which have won her a number of awards including the Edasseri Award in 2007. She retired from the service with the rank of Director General of Police on May 31, 2023.
Media in Kerala, India are widely accessible and cater to a wide variety of audiences. Kerala has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English and Malayalam.
Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, popularly known as Akkitham, was an Indian poet and essayist who wrote in Malayalam. He was known for a simple and lucid style of writing, exploring themes of profound love and compassion in his works. Some of his prominent works included Irupatham Noottandinte Ithihasam, Balidarshanam , and Nimisha Kshetram.
U. A. Khader was an Indian author. He published in Malayalam, including novels, novellas, short stories, travelogues and non-fiction. His works have been translated to various languages including English, Hindi and Kannada. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for his novella Thrikkottur Novellakal and had earlier received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984 for Thrikkottur Peruma.
Thaha Madayi is a freelance journalist/writer and biographer from Kerala, India, writing in Malayalam language. He began contributing to Ballapankthi of Mathrubhumi weekly and has gone on to author many articles on significant topics, which appeared in leading Malayalam journals. He was instrumental in making visible Dalits and other marginalized groups through the literary genre of life-writing and has also published his interviews with many celebrities. He has made six documentary films and short films. He has presented cultural programs both on Radio and TV. He wrote the biographies of Kallen Pokkudan, Fabi Basheer, Gemini Shankaran, Mamukkoya, Punathil Kunjabdulla, Eranjoli Moosa, A Ayyappan and Captain Krishnan Nair.
P. K. Rajasekharan is a literary critic in Malayalam language, and is the winner of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism in 1997. Rajasekharan is an orator, author, and editor of various books. He was news editor of the Mathrubhumi newspaper.
C.S. Chandrika is an Indian author in Malayalam from Kerala who writes fiction and non-fiction and is also a social scientist, activist, and columnist involved in women's and human rights and environmental and development concerns.
Priya A. S. is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. She writes short stories, children's literature, translations and memoirs. She has translated Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things into Malayalam under the title Kunju Karyangalude Odeythampuran of which Roy herself has said that although there have been translations in several languages, no other translation is as important to her as this, as it is the language of the novel's central characters. She is a three-time recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
V. M. Devadas is a Malayalam novelist, short story writer and screenwriter from Wadakkancherry, Kerala, India.
Rekha Raj is a Dalit and feminist thinker, social activist and writer. She is one of the early Dalit feminists who wrote on caste and gender issues.
C. R. Rajagopalan was an Indian writer, teacher and environmental activist from Kerala. Rajagopalan worked for the monitoring and preservation of folklore and tribal culture. He has written several books on heritage and folklore studies. He received awards from Kerala Folklore Academy and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
Aryambika S. V. is a Malayalam language poet from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Yuva Puraskar by Sahithya Akademi and Kanakasree Award by Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
K. P. Sudheera is a Malayalam language writer from Kerala, India. She has published 80 works in various genres, including novels, poetry, travelogues, biographies, memoirs, translations, letters, and children's literature. Many of her works have been translated to Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages. Kerala Sahitya Akademi has honoured Sudheera in 2022 for her overall contributions.
S. Sivadas is an Indian children's writer in Malayalam. He is the author of around 200 books which include popular science, contemporary ecology, short stories, novels and other fictional stories with an emphasis on scientific outlook. He was a chemistry professor at CMS College Kottayam. He is a three-time recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.