From ultra left to campaigner for Tamil Brahmins

Madurai lawyer K. S. Pandiarajan cut his teeth in politics in the ultra left in his student days. He became a full-time activist of one of the many CPI(ML) groups in the 1980s. He studied law to further the cause of a radical social change. But his break with his party came when he was passed over for a role in the leadership despite being a senior and committed full-time worker. According to him, he was told that his Brahmin roots were a disqualification.

Mr. Pandiarajan’s drift began. He felt the central leadership of the party did not go by such caste considerations and this was unique to Tamil Nadu. His roots are in Tiruchendur, where his grandfather was a priest in the temple. His father moved to Madurai to work as a schoolteacher. As Mukkani Brahmins, his family had modest means. All his education was at government institutions where he developed his love for Tamil. He assumed that ardent fervour for social change in his party would strike through all barriers. But that was not to be.