Daniel Selvaraj
Daniel Selvaraj (14 January 1938 – 20 December 2019) was an Indian writer and lawyer who wrote in Tamil. He was born in Thenkalam, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, to plantation workers Daniel and Gnanam Ammal. He earned a B.A. from Hindu College, Tirunelveli (1959) and a law degree from Madras Law College (1962). He published novels, short stories, and plays, and was active in left‑leaning writers’ groups such as the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Association.
His first notable novel, Malarum Sarugum (1967), is regarded as Tamil’s first Dalit novel, followed by Thaeneer (1973) about tea plantation workers. His plays include Yugasangamam (1968), which won a government prize and is studied at Delhi University, and Paatu Mudiyum Munnae, staged across Tamil Nadu. He spent about ten years researching Thol, a novel about tannery workers in southern Tamil Nadu; Thol earned the Tamil Nadu government’s best novel award (2011) and the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil (2012).
Selvaraj was influenced by communist thinkers and helped shape Tamil literary movements. He edited the magazine Thamarai and contributed to several journals. In his later years he lived in Dindigul with his wife Bharathaputri, and their three children—Siddharthan, Sevagan, and Veda Gnanalakshmi—while enjoying time with five grandchildren.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:13 (CET).