Education

• PH.D. Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
• Thesis: ‘A Social History of Tamil Book-Publishing, c. 1850-1938’ (February 1995)
• M.A. History, Madurai Kamaraj University (1987-89)
• B.COM. University of Madras (1984-87)

Employment

• Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai (from August 2006)
• Associate Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai (from March 2003–August 2006)
• Assistant Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai (from June 2001–March 2003)
• Lecturer, Department of Indian History, University of Madras, Chennai (from December 2000–May 2001; on lien from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli)
• Lecturer, Department of History, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, April 1995–December 2000

Areas of Research

• Social History, Cultural History, Intellectual History
• Literary Historiography
• Social and Cultural Change,

Visiting Faculty/Fellowships

• April-June 2017 Senior Visiting Fellow, German Historical Institute London.
• May-June 2016 Visiting Fellow, Tagore Centre for Global Thought, King's India Institute, King's College London.
• 2013 Visiting Fellow, Department of English, University of Delhi
• 2011-2012 ICCR Chair Professor of Indian Studies, South Asian Studies Programme, National University of Singapore
• Fall 2010 Associate Fellow, South Asia Initiative, Harvard University
• Spring 2009 Visiting Professor, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago (declined due to domestic reasons)
• March 2007 Visiting Fellow, Department of History, University of Calcutta
• March 2007 Visiting Fellow Department of English, University of Delhi
• April-July 2006 Charles Wallace Visiting Fellow
• Centre of South Asian Studies University of Cambridge
• February-March 2005 UPE Visiting Fellow University of Hyderabad
• Fall Quarter 1999 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago
• December 1997-January 1998 Visiting Fellow Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris
• October 1996 Visiting Fellow Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris
• September-October 1996 Research Grant Charles Wallace India Trust, U.K.
• August 1992-January 1994 Junior Research Fellowship Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi
• 1999 Bursary to complete a manuscript on popular literature in Tamil, V.S. Sethuraman Centre for Culture Studies.

Awards

• 2022, Mahakavi Bharati Award (Government of Tamilnadu).
• 2022, Iyal Virudhu. Lifetime contribution to Tamil. (Canada Literary Garden).
• 2021, Bharati Award (Bharati Pasarai, Coimbatore)
• 2018, Vilakku Pudumaippithan Award. Lifetime contribution to Tamil. (Iyal Trust, USA)
• 2018, V.C. Kulandaiswamy Tamil Development Award (V.C. Kulandaiswamy Trust, Chennai)
• 2010, V.K.R.V. Rao Prize in Social Sciences (History 2007). Awarded by the Indian Council for Social Sciences (ICSSR) and the Institute of Social & Economic Change
• 2015, SRV Tamil Ilakkiya Virudhu
• 2017, K. Chinappa Bharati Endowment Award for 'Ezhuka, Nee Pulavan', Tamilnadu Progressive Writers & Artists Association
• 2018, Pudumaippithan Prize (2017), Vilakku Trust, USA (Lifetime contribution to Tamil)
• 2018, V.C. Kulandaisamy Endowment Prize for Tamil development
• 2021, Bharati Award, Bharati Pasarai, Coimbatore
• 2021, Iyal Virudhu (Canada Literary Garden) (Lifetime contribution to Tamil)

Festschrift Conference and Volume

• Festschrift Conference , February 2019
• Festschrift Volume, Chalapathy 50: Thodarum Payanam. Edited by P. Athiyaman, P. Saravanan and Krishna Prabhu (Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, 2022).

Membership in Think Tank:

• Member, Board of Advisors, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, 2013-15.
• Advisor, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, 2016-20.
• Trustee, Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust, 2019-

Membership in Decision-Making Bodies

• Member, Executive Council, Central University of Tamilnadu, 2013–16; 2016–19
• Member, Executive Council, Madras Institute of Development Studies, 2011–13; 2015–17; 2017–19
• Member, Finance Committee, Madras Institute of Development Studies, 2011–13; 2015–17; 2017–19
• Member, Governing Council, Madras Institute of Development Studies, 2007–09; 2011–13; 2015–17; 2017–19

Professional and Academic Positions

• Member, Academic Committee, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 2013–15.
• Member, First Academic Council, Central University of Tiruvarur, 2009–12.
• Member, Advisory Board, Indian History
• Member, Editorial Committee, Review of Development and Change.
• Member, Editorial Collective, Araichi (Tamil Research Quarterly), 1998–2000.
• Advisory Board Member, Centre for Cultural Studies, American College, Madurai.
• Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Kalachuvadu (Tamil literary monthly)
• Member, Ethics Committee, Fetal Care Research Foundation, Chennai.
• Member, National Focus Group on Indian Languages, National Curriculum Framework, NCERT, 2005–07.
• Member, Book Selection Committee, Directorate of Public Libraries, Government of Tamilnadu, 2007–09
• Member, Working Group, Art and Culture, State Planning Commission, Government of Tamilnadu, 2006–07
• Member, National Advisory Board, National Library, Kolkata, 2009–12
• Member, National Advisory Board, National Archives of India, New Delhi, 2009–12
• Member, Seminar Committee, World Classical Tamil Conference, 2009–2010
• Member, Board of Studies in Journalism and Communication, Univ. of Madras, 2010–13
• Member, Planning Board (Tamil), National Book Trust of India, 2007–10; 2012
• Tamil Editorial Support Group, National Translation Mission, Central Institute of Indian languages, Mysore, 2011

Books (English)

(as Author)
• 2022, The Brief History of a Very Big Book: The Making of the Tamil Encyclopaedia, Permanent Black and Ashoka University. (Edits complete. Expected to be released in November 2022).
• 2018, Tamil Characters: Personalities, Politics, Culture, Pan Macmillan.
• 2018, Who Owns That Song?: The Battle for Subramania Bharati's Copyright, Juggernaut Books, New Delhi.
• 2012, The Province of the Book: Scholars, Scribes, and Scribblers in Colonial Tamilnadu, Permanent Black, Ranikhet.
• 2006, In Those Days There Was No Coffee: Writings in Cultural History (New Perspectives on Indian Pasts, Series Editor: Saurabh Dube), Yoda Press, New Delhi.

(as Editor)
• 2020, (ed.) D. Veeraraghavan, Half a Day for Caste?: Education and Politics in Tamil Nadu, 1952-55, LeftWord, New Delhi.
• 2015, (ed.) S. Venkatesan, S. Balashanmugam, Chandrahasam, Vikatan Graphic, Chennai, 2015.
• 2014, (co-edited with Esther Fihl) Beyond Tranquebar: Grappling Across Cultural Borders in South India, Orient BlackSwan, Delhi.
• 2012, (trans.) Singai Ma. Elangkannan, Flowers at Dawn, Epigram Books, Singapore.
• 2011, (ed.) Red Lilies and Frightened Birds: 'Muttollayiram', Penguin Black Classics, Penguin, New Delhi.
• 2010, (ed.) Love Stands Alone: Selections from Tamil Sangam Poetry, Penguin Viking, New Delhi.
• 2009, Guest Editor (with Esther Fihl), Review of Development and Change, XIV (1-2), January-December, special double no.: 'Cultural Encounters in Tranquebar: Past and Present'.
• 2006, (ed.) A.K. Chettiar, In the Tracks of the Mahatma: The Making of a Documentary, Orient Longman, Hyderabad.
• 2006, (ed.) Chennai, Not Madras: Perspectives on the City, Marg, Mumbai.
• 2003, (trans.) Sundara Ramaswamy, J.J.: Some Jottings, Katha, New Delhi.
• 1999, (ed.) Guest Editor, South Indian Folklorist, Special number on 'Folklore in Print'.

Books (Tamil)

(as Author)
• 2022, Tirunelveli Ezhuchiyum Va.Oo.Chi.yum, 1908, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2022, Va.Oo.Chi.yum Bharatiyum, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2021, Va.Oo.Chi.yum Gandhiyum: 347 Rupai 12 Anna, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2020, Dravidar Iyakkamum Vellalarum, 1927-44, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (revised edition).
• 2018, Tamil Kalaikalanjiyathin Kathai, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2016, Ezhuga Nee Pulavan! Bharati Pattriya Katturaigal, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2016, Ashe Adichuvattil: Arignargal, Alumaigal, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2015, Bharati: Kavignanum Kappurimaiyum (Creativity and Copyright: The Nationalization of Subramania Bharati's Copyright), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2004, Mucchanthi Ilakkiyam (Popular Literature in Colonial Tamilnadu), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (third edition 2011).
• 2004, Mullai: Oar Arimugam, Mullai Pathippagam, Chennai (reprinted 2012).
• 2002b, Novelum Vasippum: Oru Varalattru Parvai (Early Novels and Reading Practices: A Historical View), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (second edition 2003).
• 2000b, Andha Kalathil Kappi Illai Muthalana Aaivu Katturaigal (collection of research papers on Tamil cultural history), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (third edition 2012).
• 1994a, Dravidar Iyakkamum Vellalarum, 1927-44 (The Dravidian Movement and the Vellalars, 1927-44), South Vision Books, Madras.
• 1990, (With A. Sivasubramanian). Binny Alai Velainirutham 1921 (The Binny Mills' Strike 1921), Ponni, Madras.
• 1987, V.O.C.yum Tirunelveli Eluchiyum (V.O.C. and the Tirunelveli Riots, 1908), Makkal Veliyeedu, Madras.

(as Editor)
• 2022, Va.Oo.Chi: Varathu Vantha Mamani, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2022, Va.Oo.Chi.yum Bharatiyum, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2021, D. Veeraraghavan, Saathikku Paathi Naalaa?: Rajajiyin Kalvi Thittam, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2018, U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer Kaditha Karuvoolam, Vol. 1, 1877-1900, Dr U.V. Swaminatha Iyer Library, Chennai.
• 2016, T.M.C. Ragunathan, Pudumaippithan Varalaru, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2016, A.K. Chettiar, Annal Adichuvattil (second revised edition), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2015, (ed.) Chendrupona Natkal (The Memoirs of S.G. Ramanujalu Naidu), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2014, Bharatiyin Suyasarithaikal: Kanavu, Chinna Sankaran Kathai (The Autobiographies of Subramania Bharati), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2010, Tilaka Maharishi by V.O.C. (unpublished biography of Tilak by V.O. Chidambaram Pillai), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2008, (trans.) Romila Thapar, Past & Prejudice, National Book Trust of India, New Delhi.
• 2008, Bharati Karuvoolam: 'Hindu' Nalithalil Bharathiyin Eluthukkal (uncollected writings of Subramania Bharati in the Hindu), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2006, Pudumaippithan Mozhipeyarppukal (third volume of the chronological and variorum edition of the complete works of Pudumaippithan), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (second edition 2014).
• 2005, Thuyarmiku Varikalai Indriravu Nan Ezhutalam (Tamil Translation of Pablo Neruda's poems), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2004, Bharatiyin 'Vijaya' Katturaigal (The uncollected writings of Subramania Bharati from Vijaya, 1909-1910), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2003, A.K. Chettiar, Annal Adichuvattil (The making of the documentary, Mahatma Gandhi), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2002a, Pudumaippithan Katturaigal (second volume of chronological and variorum edition of the complete works of Pudumaippithan), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (third edition 2014).
• 2000a, Pudumaippithan Kathaigal (first volume of chronological and variorum edition of the complete works of Pudumaippithan), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (eighth edition 2014).
• 1999, Va. Oo. Chiyin Sivagnana Bodha Urai (Critical edition of V.O.Chidambaram Pillai's commentary on Sivagnana Bodham), Tuticorin.
• 1998, Annai Itta Thee (Uncollected works of Pudumaippithan), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 1994c, Bharatiyin 'India' Karuthuppadangal, 1906-10 (Bharati's 'India' Cartoons, 1906-10), Madras.
• 1994b, V.O.C.yum Bharatiyum (V.O.C. and Bharati), Makkal Veliyeedu, Madras.
• 1988, Maraimalai Adigalar Natkurippugal (Diaries of Maraimalai Adigal, 1898-1950), Madras.
• 1984, V.O.C. Kadithangal (Letters of V.O.C., 1901-36), Sekar Pathippagam, Madras.

Research Papers (English)

• 2022, 'The Tamil Book-Publishing Industry and the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic' in P.G. Babu (ed.), Economic Policy in the Time of Covid-19 (Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan, 2022).
• 2021, 'Tamil Oratory is Modern' in Bernard Bate, Protestant Textuality and the Tamil Modern, Stanford University Press, Stanford, pp. xxi-xxxiii.
• 2021, 'A Magic System?: Print Publics, Consumption, and Advertising in Modern Tamilnadu' in Bhaswati Bhattacharya and Henrike Donner (eds), Globalising Everyday Consumption in India: History and Ethnography, Routledge, London, New York and New Delhi, pp. 53-74.
• 2021, 'Against the Hustings: Periyar, Elections, and Democracy' in Manas Ray (ed.), Crisis of Liberal Deliberation: Facets of Indian Democracy, Primus Books, New Delhi.
• 2021, 'The Tamil Encyclopaedia: A Print History, 1947-1968' in Vakkile Lokangal: Achadi Malayalathinte 200 Varshangal, Kottayam: Benjamin Bailey Foundation and Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.
• 2021, 'Travels Within the Self: M. Lakshmi and Her Letters from London', A Functioning Anarchy: Essays for Ramachandra Guha, Eds. Srinath Raghavan and Nandini Sundar. New Delhi: Penguin Random House, pp. 91-104.
• 2021, 'Intimate Enemies: Rajaji and Kamaraj', The Fourth Lion: A Festschrift for Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Eds. Venu Madhav Govindu and Srinath Raghavan. New Delhi: Aleph Book Company, pp. 68-79.
• 2020, 'Tamil Publishing Industry and the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic', MIDS Occasional Policy Paper: Covid-19 Series.
• 2019, 'Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.' In the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. Ed. David Ludden. New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.340
• 2018, 'The Birth of the Author: The Vernacular Public Sphere in colonial Tamilnadu' in Manu V. Devadevan (ed.), Clio and Her Descendants: Essays for Kesavan Veluthat, Primus, Delhi.
• 2018, 'From Pulavar to Professor: Politics and the Professionalization of Tamil Pandits', TRG Poverty & Education Working Paper Series, Max Weber Stiftung, London.
• 2018, 'D.K. and D.M.K.: The Double-Barrelled Gun', Seminar, August.
• 2018, 'A Magic System? Print Publics, Consumption, and Advertising in Modern Tamilnadu', MIDS Working Paper No. 230, June.
• 2018, 'From Erode to Volga: Periyar EVR's Soviet and European Tour, 1932' in Madhavan K. Palat (ed.), India and the World in the First Half of the Twentieth Century, Routledge, London & New York.
• 2016, 'Who Killed Perumal Murugan', in K. Satchidanandan (ed.), Words Matter: Writings Against Silence, Penguin Viking, Gurgaon.
• 2015, 'When Koilpatti Sneezed...'. Introduction to Cho. Dharman, Koogai: The Owl, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
• 2014b, 'Dravidian Movement and Saivites, 1927-1944', in Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar (eds), Caste in Modern India: A Reader, vol. 1, Ranikhet: Permanent Black.
• 2014a, '"This Great Benefit": Print and the Cultural Encounter in Eighteenth-Century Tranquebar' in Esther Fihl & A.R. Venkatachalapathy (eds), Beyond Tranquebar: Grappling Across Cultural Borders in South India, Orient BlackSwan, Delhi.
• 2013b, 'Readers, Reading Practices, Modes of Reading' in Francesca Orsini (ed.), The History of the Book in South Asia, Aldershot: Ashgate.
• 2013a, 'Epilogue: Exaggerated Obituaries' in The History of the Book in South Asia, Aldershot: Ashgate.
• 2011b, 'More Kshatriya Than Thou: Caste and Ritual Ranking in Colonial Tamilnadu', in Michael Bergunder, Heiko Frese and Ulrike Schroder (eds), Ritual, Caste, and Religion in Colonial South India, Delhi: Primus Books.
• 2011a, 'Bharati on Tagore', Seminar, No. 623, July.
• 2010e, 'Deliverance from Curse! Deliverance from Myth?: Agaligai in Pudumaippithan's Writings', in K. Satchidanandan, Myth in Contemporary Indian Literature, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
• 2010d, 'In Print, On the Net: Tamil Literary Canon in the Colonial and Post Colonial Worlds', in Sumit Gupta, Tapan Basu, Subarno Chattarji (eds), Globalization in India: Contents and Discontents, Pearson, New Delhi.
• 2010c, 'More Kshatriya Than Thou: Caste and Ritual Ranking in Colonial Tamilnadu', in Michael Bergunder, Heiko Frese and Ulrike Schroder (eds), Ritual, Caste, and Religion in Colonial South India, (Neue Hallesche Berichte 9) Halle: Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen.
• 2010b, 'In Search of Ashe', Economic and Political Weekly, 9-15 January.
• 2010a, '"In Those Days There Was No Coffee": Consumption, Popular Culture, and Middle-Class Formation in Madras' in Sanjay Joshi (ed.), The Middle Class in Colonial India, Oxford Univ. Press, New Delhi.
• 2009d, 'Excising the Self: Writing Autobiography in Colonial Tamilnadu', The Journal of South Indian History, 3 (1), July 2009.
• 2009c, 'Written on Leaves in the Malabarian Manner: Print Culture in Eighteenth-Century Tranquebar', in Review of Development and Change, XIV (1-2), January-December.
• 2009b, 'Grammar, the Frame of language: Tamil Pandits at the College of Fort St George', in Thomas R. Trautmann (ed.), The Madras School of Orientalism: Producing Knowledge in Colonial South India, Oxford Univ. Press, New Delhi.
• 2009a, 'Making a Modern Self in Colonial Tamilnadu', in Vijaya Ramaswamy & Yogesh Sharma (eds), Biography as History: Indian Perspectives, Orient BlackSwan, New Delhi.
• 2008a, 'Kalaikkalanjiyam: The Making of the Tamil Encyclopaedia, 1947-1968' in Swapan Chakravorty & Abhijit Gupta (ed.), Movable Type: Book History in India, Permanent Black, Ranikhet.
• 2007, 'Exaggerated Obituaries: The Tamil Book in the Age of Electronic Reproduction', in Nalini Rajan (ed.), Digital Culture Unplugged: Probing the Native Cyborg's Multiple Locations, Routledge, London, New York & New Delhi.
• 2006b, 'Subaltern Studies in the Tamil Context: Some Reflections' in N. Rajendran, (ed.), Sources: Construction & Reconstruction of South Indian History, ICHR, Bangalore.
• 2006a, 'Madras Manade: How Chennai remained with Tamilnadu', in A.R. Venkatachalapathy (ed.), Chennai, Not Madras: Perspectives on the City, Marg, Mumbai.
• 2005d, 'Andha Kalathil Kapi Illai: Tamilagathe Kapiyude Samskariga Charithiram', Pachakuthira, August (Malayalam translation of 2002c)
• 2005c, 'Enna Prayocanam: Constructing the Canon in Colonial Tamilnadu'. Indian Economic and Social History Review, 42(4), October-December, special number on Language, Genre and Historical Imagination in South India.
• 2005b, 'Review symposium: Literary Cultures in History', Indian Economic and Social History Review, 42(3)
• 2005a, 'Drinking Coffee: Contending with Modernity in Late Colonial Tamilnadu' in Satish Poduval (ed.), Re-figuring Culture: History, Theory and the Aesthetic in Contemporary India, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
• 2004c, 'Triumph of Tobacco: The Tamil Experience', in Jean-Luc Chevillard, Eva Wilden (eds.), South-Indian Horizons: Felicitation Volume for Francois Gros, Institut Francais de Pondichery & Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, Pondicherry.
• 2004b, 'In Those Days There was no Coffee: Coffee-Drinking and Middle-Class Culture in Late Colonial Tamilnadu,' in Sanjay Subrahmanyam (ed.), Land, Politics and Trade in South Asia, Oxford University Press (reprint of 2002c).
• 2004a, 'Street Smart in Chennai: The City in Popular Imagination', in C.S. Lakshmi (ed.), The Unhurried City: Writings on Madras, Penguin.
• 2003c, 'Caricaturing the Political: A Brief History of the Cartoon in Tamil Journalism', Art India, 8(4), Quarter 4.
• 2003b, 'In Print, On the Net: Tamil Literary Canon(s) in the Colonial and Post Colonial Worlds', in Sumit Gupta, Tapan Basu (eds.), Globalisation, Conflict and Identity, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.
• 2003a, 'When Gandhi Visited Madras', Hindu, 26 January
• 2002c, 'In Those Days There was no Coffee: Coffee-Drinking and Middle-Class Culture in Late Colonial Tamilnadu,' Indian Economic and Social History Review, 39(2-3), Dharma Kumar Memorial Volume.
• 2002b, 'Coining Words: Politics and Language in Late Colonial Tamilnadu' in Vasant Kaiwar & Sucheta Mazumdar (eds.), Antinomies of Modernity: Essays on Race, Orient, Nation, Duke University Press (reprint of 1995b). Indian reprint: Tulika, Delhi, 2003.
• 2002a, 'Fiction and the Tamil Reading Public', in Meenakshi Mukherjee (ed.), Early Novels in India, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
• 2001, 'What is it Worth?: Reflections on the Making of the Tamil Literary Canon', in G. Karunanithi & R. Balachandran (eds.), Literature and Society, M.S. University, Tirunelveli.
• 1999, 'Songsters of the Crossroads: Popular Literature in Colonial Tamilnadu', South Indian Folklorist,
• 1998, 'Almanacs and Railway Timetables: A Brief History of Tamil Book-Publishing' in Gum and Calico: Libraries of India, Alliances Francaises, Delhi.
• 1997, 'Domesticating the Novel: Society and Culture in Inter-War Tamilnadu', The Indian Economic and Social History Review, 34(1), January-April.
• 1996c, 'Lampooning the Raj: Subramania Bharati and the Cartoon in Tamil Journalism, 1906-1910', ICCTR Journal, V(1-2).
• 1996b, 'At the Margins: Saivite Intellectuals in the Dravidian Movement, 1927-44' in K.A. Manikumar (ed.), History and Society, Madras.
• 1996a, 'Subramania Bharati and the Modernisation of Tamil', South Indian Studies, 1, Jan.-June.
• 1995b, 'Plague: The Subaltern Experience', Radical Journal of Health, 1(3).
• 1995b, 'Coining Words: Politics and Language in Late Colonial Tamilnadu', Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East: South Asia Bulletin, XV (2), Duke University Press.
• 1995a, 'Dravidian Movement and Saivites, 1927-44', Economic and Political Weekly, 8 April.
• 1994, 'Reading Practices and Modes of Reading in Colonial Tamilnadu', Studies in History, X (2), July-December.
• 1991, (With M.S.S. Pandian and S. Anandhi) 'Of Maltova Mothers and Other Stories', Economic and Political Weekly, 20 April.
• 1989, (With P. Athiyaman) 'On Gandhi, Mayo and Emilsen', South Asia, 12(2).
• 1988, 'Colonial Education, Bureaucracy and a Genius', Economic and Political Weekly, 13 February.

General Articles (English)

• 2021, 'The Poet and the Patriot', The Hindu, 10 December.
• 2021, 'Vetrimaaran and Suriya's Vaadivaasal sets a New Benchmark', The Hindu, 30 July.
• 2021, 'The Poet of Similes', The Hindu, 18 June.
• 2021, 'The Black Soil Spoke', The Hindu, 10 April.
• 2021, 'The World Knew Him as Periyar's Editor', The Hindu, 10 April.
• 2021, 'Imayam: Scaling Literary Heights', The Hindu, 18 March.
• 2020, 'Arun Kolatkar in Chennai', The Hindu, 11 October.
• 2020, 'Bharatiyar, the Charioteer of Wisdom' The Hindu, 15 September.
• 2019, 'The New Nandan: The Critical Humanism of Pudumaippithan' in Ten Blooms of Humanism, Periyar International USA, Gurnee, Illinois.
• 2019, 'The Debut of 'Periyar', through a Story', The Hindu, 17 September.
• 2019, 'Sculpting the Iconoclast', The Hindu, 15 September.
• 2019, 'Sister Nivedita and Her Tamil Dedicator', The Telegraph, 23 August.
• 2019, 'What is in a Name, or an Initial?', The Telegraph, 27 June.
• 2019, 'The Plot Thickens: A Tamil Translation of a Novel that Bankim Did Not Write', The Telegraph, 1 May.
• 2019, 'Delhi's Inroads into Dravidian Heartland', Live Mint, 11 March.
• 2018, 'When a Brazilian Historian Met Tagore in New York', The Telegraph, 26 Dec.
• 2018, 'Snowy Encounter: A Tamil Journalist Snaps Netaji', The Telegraph, 30 October.
• 2018, 'When Dravidianism and Hindutva Met', The Hindu, 18 September.
• 2018, 'After Karunanidhi Can Stalin Sage be a Fitting Sequel like Godfather', https://theprint.in/opinion/after-karunanidhi-can-stalin-saga-be-a-fitting-sequel-like-godfather-ii/110132/ The Print.in, 2 September.
• 2018, 'Nooks of the Past: Close Encounters of the Buddhist Kind', The Telegraph, 13 August.
• 2018, 'Post Amma and Ayya: The New Tamil Potboiler, Live Mint, 10 August.
• 2018, 'Kalaignar Karunanidhi: A political artist who shaped Tamil politics for over 50 years', Scroll.in. https://scroll.in/article/889723/kalaignar-karunanidhi-a-political-artist-who-left-an-imprint-on-tamil-politics-for-over-50-years
• 2018, 'M.L. Thangappa: Shutting Up the Parrot', The Hindu, 10 June.
• 2018, M.L. Thangappa: Tribute. Scroll.in. (https://scroll.in/article/881097/tamil-poet-ml-thangappa-1934-2018-leaves-behind-a-prolific-and-unparalleled-legacy-of-translations)
• 2018, 'Tamil Writers No More Wait at Bus Stops', Biblio, April-June.
• 2018, 'Subramania Bharati vs Rabindranath Tagore', Hindustan Times, 12 May.
• 2018, 'Why Subramania Bharati, icon of Modern Tamil culture, remains little known to the rest of India' (https://www.firstpost.com/living/why-subramania-bharati-icon-of-modern-tamil-culture-remains-little-known-to-the-rest-of-india-4460461.html)
• 2018, 'In English language publishing in India (at least), women have shattered the glass ceiling' (https://scroll.in/article/878877/in-english-language-publishing-in-india-at-least-women-have-shattered-the-glass-ceiling)
• 2018, 'Ambedkar: The Enigma of Arrival', The Hindu, 14 April.
• 2018, (with M.L. Thangappa) 'Sharp like Shiva's Battle Axe', The Hindu, 13 Jan.
• 2017, 'Periyar's Tryst with Socialism', The Hindu, 18 Sep.
• 2017, 'Pudumaippithan' in Sahapedia (https://www.sahapedia.org/pudumaippithan-0)
• '2017, Manikodi' in Sahapedia (https://www.sahapedia.org/manikodi)
• 2017, 'Should Hindi be the Sole Official Language', The Hindu, 19 May.
• 2017, 'Catching a Sport by its Horns', The Hindu, 21 January.
• 2016, In Sickness and in Health, a Parallel in the Journeys of MGR and Jayalalithaa. https://thewire.in/politics/sickness-health-parallel-journeys-mgr-and-jayalalithaa. 5 October.
• 2016, 'Footprints of the Original "Anti-Nationals"', Outlook, 12 Dec.
• 2016, 'Jayalalithaa: How Will History Judge Her', The Mirror, 6 Dec.
• 2016, 'Jayalalithaa: The Iron Woman of Politics', The Mirror, 6 Dec.
• 2016, 'The AIADMK after Amma', The Hindu, 7 Dec.
• 2016, 'Cho Ramaswamy: The Old Guard', The Economic Times, 18 Dec.
• 2016, 'A Lesson from Periyar on the Tension between Elections and Social Transformation', The Wire.in, 17 September. http://thewire.in/66680/lesson-periyar-tension-elections-democratisation/#disqus_thread
• 2016, 'The Atheist and the Saint', The Hindu, 16 September.
• 2016, 'Save us from the Feral Hordes', The Hindu, 13 September.
• 2016, (with J. Balasubramaniam) 'From Kandadevi to Kallimedu', The Hindu, 12 August.
• 2016, 'The Charms of Coffee', Coffee Break, Coffee Board of India, Bangalore, 2016.
• 2016, 'Why the DMK Lost', The Hindu, 21 May.
• 2015, 'Subramania Bharati: In the Pioneer's Penumbra', The Week (Annual Number), 27 December.
• 2015, 'The Deluge and the Deluded', The Open Magazine, 21 December.
• 2015, 'Periyar's Brush with the Mocking Bird,' The Hindu, 22 August.
• 2015, 'Camphor in a Ring of Fire', The Hindu, 9 August.
• 2015, 'Amma's Apogee Moment', The Hindu, 12 May.
• 2015, 'The Clash of the Titans', The Hindu, 2 May.
• 2015, 'In Defence of the Chronicler of Kongu', The Hindu, 12 January.
• 2014, 'From Pettai to Nagar', in The City and South Asia, Harvard South Asia Institute, Cambridge, Mass.
• 2014, 'From a Footnote to the Forefront', The Hindu, 24 December.
• 2014, 'Interview with David Washbrook', The Hindu, 16 December.
• 2014, 'Room for a Lotus Bloom', India Today, 13 Oct.
• 2014, 'Arresting Portrait', The Hindu, 14 September.
• 2014, 'Encounters of the Social Kind', The Hindu, 17 August.
• 2014, 'A Great Poet, A Great War', The Hindu, 13 July.
• 2014, 'And it all Ended', The Hindu, 20 July.
• 2014, 'Did Srinivasa Ramanujan Fail in Math', The Hindu, 28 July.
• 2014, 'Academics in the Wells of Misery', The Times of India, 24 Feb.
• 2013, 'Seeing Madras in Hyderabad', The Hindu, 28 September.
• 2013, 'Tagore, Through Bharati's Eyes', The Hindu, 1 September.
• 2013, 'Let blind custom be buried...', The Hindu, 21 August.
• 2013, 'Crazy About Modernity' in Pradeep Sebastian & Chandra Siddan (eds), 50 Writers, 50 Books: The Best of Indian Fiction, Harper Collins, Noida.
• 2013, 'C.S. Subramanyam: Communist Chronicler', Economic and Political Weekly, 19 Jan.
• 2012, 'A British Journalist and the Tamil Poet', The Hindu, 11 Dec.
• 2011, 'Reading Amma's Mind', The Indian Express, 17 May.
• 2010, 'When the Bees Sing...' (excerpts from introduction to Love Stands Alone, Penguin, 2010), Hindu, 7 March.
• 2010, 'Tilak's Southern Lieutenant', Hindu, 17 January.
• 2009, 'Speaking of Anna', Perarignar Anna Nuttrandu Niraivu Vizha Malar, Govt. of Tamilnadu.
• 2009, 'An Irish Link', Frontline, 12-25 September.
• 2009, 'The "Classical" Language Issue', Economic and Political Weekly, XLIV (2), 10-16 January.
• 2008, 'After Me the Deluge: My Days at JNU', Alumni Association of JNU Souvenir 2008.
• 2008, 'Classical Language', Economic Times, 14 November.
• 2008, 'C.N. Annadurai: Letter and Spirit', India Today, 21 April.
• 2007, 'Tongue-Tied', India Today, 31 December.
• 2005, 'Jeyakanthan: Courting Controversy', Outlook (e-version), April.
• 2004, 'Novel as Critique', The Hindu, 5 January
• 2001, 'Economist Extraordinaire', The Hindu, Feb.
• 1999, 'Art in the Type Foundry', Nunkalai, March.
• 1997, 'Master Historian: A Meeting with Christopher Hill', Frontline, May.
• 1996b, 'Democratising Research', Hindu, 8 October.
• 1996a, 'Resisting Oppressive Laws with Impressive Cartoons', Economic Times, 14 July.
• 1995, 'Nationalising Anna', Economic Times, 5 July.
• 1994, 'Tamil Classics in Penguin', Periyar Era, November.
• 1993, 'A.K. Ramanujan', Economic and Political Weekly, 31 July.
• 1993, 'On the So-Called Splintering of Tamil Sensibility', The Book Review, February.

Research Papers (Tamil)

• 2022, 'Tamil Pathipulagamum Perumthottrum', in P.G. Babu (ed.), Perumthottrum Porulathara Kolkaiyum (Chennai: Madras Institute of Development Studies).
• 2020, 'Jebiyil Rajinama', Andhimazhai, September.
• 2019, 'Chettiar Midukkum Sarakku Midukkum: Irupatham Noottrandu Tamil Acchu Udagankalil Vilambaram: Oru Varalattrukkana Munvarivu', Kalachuvadu No. 238, September.
• 2018, 'Pathippum Poosalum: Ci.Vai. Thamotharam Pillaiyum U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyerum', Kalachuvadu No. 224, August.
• 2017, 'Aram Seya Virumbu, Aanal Seyyathe: Pudumaippithanum Nool Anbalippuraikalum', Koodu Aaivithal, No. 1, July-Dec. 2017.
• 2017, 'Ezhuthoviyarum Oliezhuthum: Tamil Aalumaikalin Pugaippadagal', Kalachuvadu, No. 207, March.
• 2016, 'Tamilarintha Mannarilai Endra Vasai', Kalachuvadu, No. 204, Dec.
• 2016, 'Bharatiyum Mudhal Ulaga Porum', Kalachuvadu, No. 204, Dec.
• 2016, 'Ravindra Digvijayam: Bharati Pattri Tagore', Hindu Deepavali Malar.
• 2016, 'Uthiratha Malargal', Introduction to P. Saravanan, Collected Prose Writings of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2014, 'Vayila Nalla Varuthu' in Perumal Murugan, Ketta Varthai Pesuvom, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil (Revised version of 2013).
• 2013, 'Vayila Nalla Varuthu: Perumal Muruganai Munvaithu Tamilil Ketta Varthaigal Pattriya Kurippukal', Kalachuvadu, No. 165, September.
• 2010, 'Tamilil Kandana Ilakkiyam' in P. Saravanan (ed.) Arutpa Marutpa: Kandana Thirattu, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2009, 'Ashe Adichuvattil...', Kalachuvadu 118, October. (Reprinted in A. Sivasubramanian, Ashe Kolaiyum India Puratchi Iyakkamum, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil, 2009.
• 2007, 'Maruthuva Akarathi Thanta Medhai', Kalachuvadu 85, January.
• 2006b, 'Bharatiyin Tharasu', Kalachuvadu 84, December.
• 2006a, 'Bharatam Thanta Bakiratar', Kalachuvadu 73, January.
• 2005c, 'Uthiratha Malargal: Urainadai U.Ve.Sa.' in Perumalmurugan (ed.), U.Ve.Sa: Panmuka Alumaiyin Peruruvam, Nagercoil (reprint of 2005a).
• 2005b, 'Tamil Novelin Nilaiperu, 1900-1950', in Ba. Mathivanan, R. Cheran (eds.), Tamilini 2000: Manattu Katturaigal, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam.
• 2005a, 'Uthiratha Malargal: Urainadai U.Ve.Sa.', Kalachuvadu 63, March.
• 2004a, 'Bharati Elutha Thaviriya Ettaiyapura Valalaru', Dinamani Deepavali Malar.
• 2004b, 'Tamil Adaiyalathin Thiru', Kalachuvadu, September.
• 2004e, 'Anandanum Andalum: Pudumaippithan Pathippitha Dinamani Malargal', in Vaikarai and K. Chandrasekaran (eds), Azhipadum Tamilar Vizhakkal, Chennai. (reprint of 2003b)
• 2003d, 'Mullai: Oru Varalattru Pathivu', in Mu.Palaniappan, Mullai Ilakkiya Kalanjiyam, Mullai Pathippagam.
• 2003c, 'Elutha Thavariya Pudumaippithan', Kumudam Theeranadhi, September.
• 2003b, 'Anandanum Andalum: Pudumaippithan Pathippitha Dinamani Malargal', Ira Ilavarau Manivizha Malar.
• 2003a, 'Panchangamum Railway Guideum: Naveena Tamilaga Pathippulagam', Kalachuvadu, Jan.-Feb.
• 2002b, 'Vanathu Amaran: Pudumaippithan Samakala Mathippeedugal', Kalachuvadu, Sep.-Oct.
• 2002a, 'Novelin Nilaiperu, 1900-1950' in B. Mathivanan (ed.), Tamil-ini Katturaigal, Nagercoil.
• 1999, 'Va. Oo. Chiyum Saiva Siddhantamum', Yugam Marum, London: reprinted from Araichi, No. 47.
• 1997, 'Va. Oo. Chiyum Saiva Siddhantamum', Araichi, No. 47.
• 1997, 'Emakku Tholil Kavithai: Bharatiyin Eluthu Valkai', Kalachuvadu, No. 19.
• 1996., 'Bharatiyum Mozhiyin Naveenamayamakkamum', Kalachuvadu, No. 13, March.
• 1994b, 'Bharatiyin Karuthupadangal', Kalachuvadu, No. 9, December.
• 1990a, 'Suyamariyathai Iyakkamum Saivarum, 1927-44', Araichi, No. 35, April.
• 1989, 'Pugaiyilai: Payanpadum Panpadum', Araichi, No. 32, July.

General Papers (Tamil)

• 2022, Palyanai Manneer ... Foreword to Tamil translation of Thomas R. Trautmann, Elephants and Kings: An Environmental History (Chicago: Chicago University Press).
• 2022, 'Thyagiyanar Thalamuthu', Hindu Tamil Thisai, 10 March.
• 2022, 'Vaaraamal Vantha Maamani', Hindu Tamil Thisai, 26 Feb.
• 2022, 'Natarajan Pugazhudambu Eithiya Kathai', Hindu Tamil Thisai, 31 Jan.
• 2021, 'Narmadha Ramalingam: Nalla Nool Veliyeettalar', Kalachuvadu, Feb.
• 2020, 'Inaroozhthum ...', Kalachuvadu, March
• 2020, 'S.D. Viveki: Dravida Iyakkathin "Oru Siriya Thunaikkol"', Kakkai Cirakinile, 9(1), Jan.
• 2019, 'Va.Oo.Chiyai Emattinara Gandhi?', Hindu Tamil Thisai, 3 Oct.
• 2018, 'Thirai ennum Kollippavai', Kalachuvadu No. 225, September.
• 2018, 'Caldwell: Or Ethirvinai', Hindu Tamil Thisai, 28 August.
• 2017, 'Pudumaippithanum Nool Anbalippuraigalum', The Hindu (Tamil), 25 April.
• 2016, 'A.K. Chettiar: Marakkappatta oru Sathanaiyalar', The Hindu (Tamil), 10 September.
• 2016, (with J. Balasubramaniam) 'Kandadevi muthal Kallimedu varai', The Hindu (Tamil), 19 August.
• 2016, 'Tamil Annaiyin Thathupillai', Kalachuvadu, No. 196, April.
• 2015, 'Ragunathanin Pudumaippithan', The Hindu (Tamil), 30 Dec.
• 2015, 'Tamil Mozhi Valarthal: Oar Ilakkiya Pulanaivu Katturai', Kalachuvadu No.189, September.
• 2015, 'Arignar Anjuvar; Ariyathaar Thunivar', The Hindu (Tamil), 5 July.
• 2015, 'Bharati: Kavignanum Kappurimaiyum', Kalachuvadu No.186, June.
• 2015, 'Bharati Parattiya Novel', Kalachuvadu No.185, May.
• 2014, 'Mugam malarum thamarai', India Today, 15 Oct.
• 2014, 'Chinna Sankaran enra Subramania Bharati', The Hindu Deepavali Malar.
• 2014, '"Tamilar Thalaivar" Periyar', The Hindu (Tamil), 17 Sep.
• 2014, 'Ramanujan kanakkil thottrara?', The Hindu (Tamil), 25 July.
• 2014, 'R.A. Padmanabhan: Bharatikku Thondu Seivon Savathillai', Kalachuvadu No.171, March.
• 2013, 'Medaiyil Veesiya Puyal', Andhi Mazhai, August.
• 2012, 'Marxiya Varalattrasiriyar Iruvar', Kalachuvadu, 155, Nov.
• 2011, 'Kalachuvadu Pathippagam: Nirappappadum Idaiveligal', Kalachuvadu, 150, June 2012.
• 2011, 'Ayothidasarai Sanditha Kosambi', Kalachuvadu, 140, Aug.
• 2010, 'Sangappavum Thangappavum', The Sunday Indian (Tamil), 14-27 June.
• 2009, 'D. Veeraraghavan', Kalachuvadu, March.
• 2009, 'Kamil Zvelebil', Kalachuvadu, February.
• 2004, 'Itharkenkol Peruvagai Padaikkindrire', India Today, 6 October
• 2004, 'Koorai Aeri Kozhi Pidikkathavan...', Kalachuvadu, July.
• 2004, 'Melai Kan Konda Konal Parvai', Kalachuvadu, May.
• 2003, 'Ci.Su. Mani', Kalachuvadu, July-Aug.
• 2003, 'Neerottam', Kalachuvadu, July-Aug.
• 1998, 'Thiruppumunaiyil Thi.Mu.Ka.', India Today, 3 Sep.
• 1995, 'Unakkuma Tamil Moochu?', India Today (Tamil annual literary number).
• 1994, 'Kanakku Vazhakku' (a monthly column on cultural politics), Arangettram, Dec. 1993 - Sep. 1994.
• 1990, 'Marupathippugal: Oru Kurippu', Araichi, No. 36, July.

Translations

• Unpublished, Poems of Cheran, 1983-86.
• Unpublished, Selections from Sangam literature and Andal.
• Forthcoming, Translation of Andal. Sreedevi K. Nair (ed.) Women's Writing, Oxford University Press.
• 2019, Pazha. Athiyaman, 'Periyar, the Hero of Vaikom', The Hindu, 24 December.
• 2019, Pazha. Athiyaman, 'A Struggle Against Social Orthodoxy', The Hindu, 2 October.
• 2018, M.V. Shobhana Warrier, 'Thamizhaga Panjalaikalil Pen Thozhilalargal Porattangal, 1914-1939', Koodu Aaivithal, No. 2, Jan.-June.
• 2016, Sunil Amrith, 'Singarathin Ulagangal', in Pa. Singaram, Puyalile Oru Thoni, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2016, Perumal Murugan, 'Growing Out of the Cocoon', thewire.in and various other online magazines. Also in Perumal Murugan, Songs of a Coward, Penguin.
• 2012, (trans.) Singai Ma. Elangkannan, Flowers at Dawn, Epigram Books, Singapore.
• 2011, Translation from Cho. Dharman's Kukai in K. Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu (eds), No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South India, Dossier 1: Tamil and Malayalam, Penguin, New Delhi.
• 2010, Translations of Periyar on caste and religion in Ramachandra Guha (ed.), Makers of Modern India, Penguin-Viking, New Delhi.
• 2008, (trans.) Romila Thapar, Past & Prejudice, National Book Trust of India, New Delhi.
• 2008, A.K. Chettiar, 'I Meet Subhas Babu', The Oracle, XXX (1), January.
• 2005, (trans.) Thuyarmiku Varikalai Indriravu Nan Ezhutalam (Tamil Translation of Pablo Neruda's poems), Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2005, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, 'Tandoori Thodatha Tamil Unavu', Kalachuvadu, 69, September.
• 2003, Sundara Ramaswamy, J.J.: Some Jottings, Katha, New Delhi.
• 2003, Steve Hughes, 'Cinema and Audience in Tamilnadu in the 1920s: A Sociological View', in Ravikumar (ed.), Migai Nadum Kalai, Nagercoil (reprinted from Kalachuvadu 16, Dec. 96 - Feb. 97.
• 2003, Ramachandra Guha, 'Cricket and Colonialism', Kalachuvadu, March-April.
• 2000, D.D. Kosambi, 'Marxism and Ancient Indian History', Kalachuvadu.
• 1994b, Raj Gowthaman, 'Contemporary Dalit Literature in Tamil: A Comment', Indian Literature, May-June.
• 1994a, Sundara Ramaswamy, J.J.: Sila Kurippugal (some extracts), Indian Literature, May-June.
• 1987b, Translations from Pablo Neruda, Palam, May.
• 1987a, Bharatidasan, Tranquillity: A Mute Play, Apollo Veliyeedu, Madras.
• 1986b, Poems of Cheran, GUYS.
• 1986a, 'Elegies on V.V.S. Iyer' (by Bharatidasan and Namakkal Ramalingam Pillai), R. Srinivasan et al., V.V.S. Aiyar: Critical Studies, Institute of South Indian Studies, Madras.

Forewords and Afterwords

• 2015, 'Maamani!', in Maamani, Ungalil Oruvan, Manivasagar Pathippagam, Chennai.
• 2014, 'Vayila Nalla Varuthu' in Perumal Murugan, Ketta Varthai Pesuvom, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil
• 2013, '"Dilip" Veeraraghavan (1958-2009)' in D. Veeraraghavan, The Making of the Madras Working Class, LeftWord Books, New Delhi.
• 2012, 'Seeniyayi Inikkum Kavithokai', Payani, Varichudinum Parpavarillai, Kalachuvadu Pathippagam, Nagercoil.
• 2005a, Ve. Manickam, Danapathi Pillai Varalaru, Tirunelveli.
• 2005b, 'Ashokamitran: The Aesthetic of the Ordinary', Afterword to Ashokamitran, Mole!, Orient Longman.
• 2004,, Devibharati, Puzhudhikkul Chithirangal, Nagercoil.
• Bhakthavatsala Bharati, Tamilar Manidaviyal, Chennai.
• 1997, T. Paramasivan, Ariyappadatha Thamilakam, Tirunelveli.
• 1995, M.L. Thangappa (trans), Bharatidasan's The House of Darkness, Madras.
• 1991, Mamani, Arivuchurangam Appaduraiyar, Madras.
• 1990, T. Kovendhan (trans), Milton's Samson Agonistes, Madras.
• 1985, T. Kovendhan, Pudunanooru, Madras.

Book Reviews

• 2020, 'At last, A Biography of India's Grand Old Man'. Dinyar Patel, Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism, https://thewire.in/books/dadabhai-naoroji-dinyar-patel-book-review (thewire.in, 21 August)
• 2019, 'A Subtle Feast of Words to be Valued'. Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Translating the Indian Past and Other Literary Histories in The Tribune, 8 September.
• 2019, 'Lost and Found'. C.T. Indra & R. Rajagopalan (eds) Culture, Language and Identity; Language, Culture & Power, in The Book Review, August 2019.
• 2019, 'The Summer of 1911'. Prashant Kidambi, Cricketing Country, in The Tribune, 23 June.
• 2019, 'Verses Born Out of Doubt and Torn Identity', A.K. Ramanujan, Journeys: A Poet's Diary in The Tribune, 28 April.
• 2019, 'Making Her Mark on History', Kumkum Roy & Naina Dayal, eds, Questioning Paradigms, Constructing Histories: A Festschrift for Romila Thapar, in The Tribune, 11 March.
• 2019, 'Straightforward Chronological Approach', Rajmohan Gandhi, Modern South India: A History from the 17th Century to Our Times, in The Tribune, 13 January.
• 2018, 'A Turn in the South', Charles Allen, Coromandel: A Personal History of South India, in The Telegraph, 16 March.
• 2017, David Shulman, Tamil: A Biography, in The Hindu, 19 Feb.
• 2015, Romila Thapar, The Past Before Us, in Journal of South Asian History and Culture, 6 (4).
• 2012, 'A Beached Whale', E. Annamalai, Social Dimensions of Modern Tamil, in The Book Review, Feb.
• 2011, S.M. Abdul Khader Fakhri, Dravidian Sahibs and Brahmin Maulanas: The Politics of the Muslims of Tamil Nadu, 1930-1967 in Indian Economic and Social History Review, 48 (4), Oct.-Dec.
• 2011, 'Dalit Movement and Literary Phenomenon', Tamil Dalit Literature: My Own Experience, edited by David C. Buck and Kannan M., The Hindu, 13 Sep.
• 2010, Vijaya Ramaswamy, Historical Dictionary of the Tamils and Rani Siva Sankara Sarma, The Last Brahmin: Life and Reflections of a Modern-day Sanskrit Pandit in Indian Economic and Social History Review, 47 (3), July-Sep.
• 2010,, 'A Periyar Bonanza' in The Hindu, 17 Aug.
• 2010, 'A Stalwart of the Dravidian Movement', R. Kannan, Anna: the Life and Times of C.N. Annadurai, The Hindu, 21 April.
• 2010, 'Understanding Hinduism', Wendy Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History, in The Hindu, 30 March.
• 2009, The Oxford India Srinivas, in The Hindu, 10 Nov.
• 2009, 'Earthly Paradises', Gail Omvedt, Seeking Begumpura, in The Book Review, Aug.-Sep.
• 2009,, S. Muthiah (ed.), Madras: Chennai, in The Hindu, 21 April.
• 2009,, Su. Venkatesan, 'Kaval Kottam', in Kalachuvadu, February.
• 2009,, P.C. Joshi (ed.), Puratchi 1857, in The Hindu, 27 January.
• 2007, Mushirul Hasan, Wit and Humour in Colonial North India, in The Hindu, 16 October
• 2007, Neela Padmanabhan, Ayyappa Panikkar, in The Hindu, July.
• 2007, K. Indrapala, The Making of an Ethnic Identity, in The Hindu, 26 September.
• 2006, Narasaiah, Kadalvazhi Vanikam, in The Hindu, 27 February.
• 2006b, Rimi B. Chatterjee, Empires of the Mind: A History of the Oxford University Press in India, in The Hindu,
• 2006a, Orsay M. Gopalakichnane, Anandaranppillai V-Natkurippu, in The Hindu, 21 March.
• 2005e, Ilasai Manian (ed.), Bharati Darisanam, in The Hindu, 15 November.
• 2005d, Stuart Blackburn, Print, Folklore, and Nationalism in Colonial South India, in Indian Economic and Social History Review, 42(3).
• 2005c,, M. Kannan (ed.), Dalit Literature: My Experience, in The Hindu, Sep.
• 2005b,, Kanakalatha Mukund, The View from Below, in The Hindu, 10 May
• 2005a,, J.B.P. More, Puducheriyil Bharatiyar, in The Hindu, 22 February.
• 2004e, J.B.P. More, Muslim Identity, Print Culture and the Dravidian Factor in Tamilnadu, in The Hindu, 12 October
• 2004d, Kanaiyazhi Kalanjiyam II & IV, in The Hindu, 20 July
• 2004c,, Vijayabharati, Amaran Kathai, in Kalachuvadu, September.
• 2004b, H. H. Mustafa (ed.), Sufikkal, Darhakkal, in India Today (Tamil), 8 Sep.
• 2004a, Abhijit Gupta, Swapan Chakravorty (eds.), Print Areas: Book history in India, in The Book Review, May-June.
• 2003, M. Karunanithi, 'Nenjukku Needhi III', The Book Review, October.
• 2003 Stalin Gunasekaran (ed.), 'Viduthalai Velviyil Tamilagam', India Today, 29 January
• 2003, A.K. Mehrotra (ed), An Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English, in Review of Development and Change, 8(1), Jan.-June 2003.
• 2002, K.K. Pillay, Tamilaga Varalaru Makkalum Panpadum, in India Today,
• 2002, 'Manithan Yaar', review of Partha Chatterjee, The Princely Impostor, in Dinamani Kathir, 21 July.
• 2001, 'A Writer Among Academics', in The Indian Review of Books, February -March.
• 2000, 'Monumental Scholarship', in The Indian Review of Books, November-December.
• 2000, 'The Tinsel World and Lived Experience, review of Ashokamitran, 'Iruttilirundu Velicham', The Book Review, December.
• 1999b, 'Anticipating Ambedkar', in The Indian Review of Books, April-May.
• 1999a, 'The Underside of History', in The Indian Review of Books, August -September.
• 1998, 'Dalit Lives', in The Indian Review of Books, May-June, 1998 (also reprinted in The Hindu, 17 May).
• 1997d, Tharkala Tamil Marabuthodar Agarathi in India Today, August.
• 1997c, Sumit Sarkar, Writing Social History, in The Indian Review of Books, November-December.
• 1997b, G. Aloysius, Nationalism without a Nation in India in The Indian Review of Books,
• 1997a, 'Towards a Social History of Tamil Cinema', S. Theodore Baskaran, The Eye of the Serpent, in The Hindu, 16 March.
• 1996, Gabriella Ferro-Luzzi, The Taste of Humour in Contributions to Indian Sociology, July-Dec.
• 1995b, Aa.Ma. Sami, Tamilil Islamiya Ithalgal in Kalachuvadu, No.12, December.
• 1995a, 'Madras: Not Benighted?', Economic and Political Weekly, 4 March.
• 1993, Probal Dasgupta, The Otherness of English in Social Action, July-September.
• 1992, Norman Cutler, Paula Richman (eds.), A Gift of Tamil in Tamil Pozhil, 66(12), March-April.

Interviews

• 2022, Hindu Tamil Thisai, June.
• 2021, Interview with E.V. Ramakrishnan, Anyonyam, April. Original English version: Indian Cultural Forum.
• 2020, 'From Print Shop to Print History', The Print Week, 9 September.
• 2020, 'Nehru Did Not Keep Secrets' (An interview with Madhavan K. Palat), The Hindu, 5 Jan.
• 2019, 'Karpanaiyai vida unmai namba mudiyathathaga irukkirathu', Vikatan Thadam, July.
• 2019, 'Achu Pori Indiyavukku Vanthathu Oru Vibathu', Andhi Mazhai, June 2019.
• 2017, Kumkumam, 13 October.
• 2016, 'From the Pages of Time' (Interview with Whitney Cox), The Hindu, 1 October.
• 2016, 'DMK Failed to Capitalize on Resentment', http://thewire.in/37253/dmk-failed-to-capitalise-on-resentment-historian-venkatachalapathy-on-jayalalithaas-return/
• 2013, Interview with Kalanthai Peer Mohamed, The Hindu, 5 August. (Rejoinder, The Hindu, 21 August)
• 2011, The Sunday Indian, 30 May-12 June.
• 2009, Kumudam, 21 Oct.
• 2008, Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika, 23 May
• 2008, Puthagam Pesuthu, January
• 2007, Ananda Vikatan, July
• 2006, Deemtharikida, January
• 2003, Kalachuvadu 50, Nov.-Dec.
• 1994, Sarada, September

Completed Projects

• Traditional intellectuals in a colonial context: A study of Tamil scholars (UGC - Minor Research Project), 1998-2000.
• Pudumaippithan: A Documentation (Funded by IFA, Bangalore), 1999-2001.
• Popular Literature in Colonial Tamilnadu (Bursary awarded by V.S. Sethuraman Centre for Culture Studies, Chennai), 1999-2003.
• The Indo-Danish Encounter with special reference to Print, Tranquebar Initiative, National Museum of Denmark, 2007.
• (with J. Balasubramaniam) Dalits and the Making of the Public Sphere in Colonial Tamilnadu: A Documentation of Tamilan, 1907-1914 (funded by ICSSR & GoTN through MIDS)

Work-in-Progress

• India's Politics in its Vernaculars. EU-funded project, 2020-2025. Principal Investigator: Anastasia Piliavsky, King's College London. (as Member, Work Group).
• A biography of Periyar (1879-1973)
• A multi-volume biography of and documentation on V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872-1936). Thus far seven volumes have been published. Two more to be published by early 2023.
• Studies in the social history of the Dravidian movement.
• The making of middle-class culture in colonial Tamilnadu.
• Editing the collected works of Pudumaippithan (thus far four volumes published; two more are under preparation).
• Editing the correspondence of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer. First volume published in July 2018. Three more volumes under preparation.

Named Lectures/Keynote Addresses

• October 2021, 'Anti-Caste Thought: Theory, Politics and Culture', International Conference, University of Wolverhampton.
• March 2021, International Women's Association Endowment Lecture, Chennai
• December 2018, Chittaranjan Das Memorial Lecture, Sikshyasandhan, Bhubaneshwar
• June 2018, Keynote, Victorian Indian Identities, IIT Madras.
• April 2018, Raja Sir Muthiah Chettiar Endowment Lecture, Department of Modern Indian Languages, Delhi University.
• March 2018 , Tiruppur Rathinasamy Samiammal Endowment Lecture, Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore
• February 2018, Keynote, 'Global Trends and Innovations in Libraries and Information Centres', School Education & Public Libraries, Govt. of Tamilnadu
• January 2018, Lecture, K. Rajarathinam Endowment, Department of Economics, University of Madras.
• December 2017, Prof. Rajendran Endowment Lecture, Loyola College.
• June 2017, Special Lecture, Indian Academic of Sciences, 28th mid-year meeting, Bangalore.
• March 2017, Pudumaippithan Endowment Lecture, Department of Tamil Literature, University of Madras
• January 2017, 29th Mamudipudi Venkatrangaiya Memorial Lecture, Andhra Pradesh History Congress
• January 2017, Sectional President (Historiography), Andhra Pradesh History Congress
• November 2016, International Conference of Kerala Studies, University of Calicut
• March 2015, Bharati Endowment Lecture, Department of Tamil Literature, University of Madras.
• March 2015, Sankara Parvathy Endowment Lecture, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Madras.
• February 2015, William Meyer Endowment Lecture, Department of Indian History, University of Madras.
• November 2014, Keynote, 'Chennai in the 1930s', Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago.
• September 2014, 4th Devan Memorial Lecture, Devan Endowments & the Madras Book Club, Chennai.
• February 2014, 5th Dilip Veeraraghavan Memorial Lecture, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT), Chennai.
• September 2013, Distinguished Visiting Speaker, New Zealand India Research Institute, New Zealand.
• September 2013, Keynote Speaker, Annual Symposium, The New Zealand South Asia Centre, University of Canterbury.
• September 2013, Keynote Speaker, 'Tamil Society in the Nineteenth Century', Department of Journalism and Science Communication, Madurai Kamaraj University.
• September 2013, Keynote Speaker, Publishing Next 2013, Goa.
• August 2013, C.V.S. Sarma Memorial Lecture, S.N. School of Communication, University of Hyderabad.
• May 2013, Keynote Speaker, Ninth Berkeley Tamil Conference, 'Reading Tamil Publics: Questions of Audience', University of California, Berkeley.
• May 2012, Plenary Speaker, Annual Tamil Studies Conference, University of Toronto.
• July 2011 , B.S. Kesavan Centenary Lecture, National Library, Kolkata.
• November 2010, Ondaatje Annual Lecture, University of Toronto.
• February 2007, Keynote Address, World Mother Languages Day, Dravidian University, Kuppam.
• May 2007, Keynote Speaker, First Norman Cutler Conference on South Asian Literatures, University of Chicago.

Available on request