A new book details the ways reading rooms in Tamil Nadu have shaped the DMK’s politics

Periyar’s argument that a social organisation would be more effective than a political party in uplifting the Tamils was persuasive. Keeping in mind Periyar’s concern that electoral compulsions could sidetrack reform activities, the DMK held numerous public meetings in its first year on its core issues – seven conferences on women’s empowerment, especially seeking reforms in Hindu laws across Madras State, and one conference on the Tamil language in Coimbatore.

The DMK went beyond just public meetings to deepen its engagement with both the people and its cadres regarding the Dravidian-Tamil identity, as well as to expand its organisational base. A key initiative in this effort was the establishment of padippakams (reading rooms) alongside the branch offices (kilai) of the party. Annadurai saw these reading rooms as vital tools for fostering engagement, spreading political ideas, and strengthening the party’s support and cadre base. A host of other activities, such as the publication of journals, pamphlets, and books, and street plays, dramas, and films took place in the reading rooms.

HV Hande’s remark to me that Annadurai was the last man in Tamil Nadu who “repaired the heads of people” highlights his profound impact on political consciousness through ideological and intellectual efforts. It is also important to remind ourselves that the culture of publishing and reading rooms in Tamil Nadu has a long-standing history that dates back to the 19th century. During this period, the printing press became a critical means of disseminating ideas aimed at challenging the cultural oppression of Brahminism.

As outlined by AR Venkatachalapathy (1994), reading practices in colonial Tamil Nadu underwent significant transformations, reflecting the socio-economic changes in the region. Initially, reading was primarily oral, often taking place in communal activities of a religious or scholarly nature. Palm leaf manuscripts, delicate and requiring skilled recitation, served as the primary medium. Access to these manuscripts was limited, and reading was typically guided by scholars or teachers in public spaces such as temples.

By the mid-19th century, the arrival of print culture – following the removal of restrictions on Indian-owned printing presses in 1835 – made printed books more accessible. However, traditional scholars viewed printed texts with suspicion, and they coexisted with palm leaf manuscripts. There was reluctance to accept printed books as authoritative, leading to conflicts between the oral tradition and the burgeoning print culture. Despite this, printed books gradually penetrated into Tamil society, though oral culture remained predominant.

The tensions between traditional and print-based reading intensified in the late nineteenth century when scholars reliant on oral traditions felt challenged by the authority of printed texts. Standardised printed texts undermined their mastery over manuscripts. Nonetheless, oral recitation and memorisation retained influence, as many traditional scholars remained uncomfortable with the shift to print.

The rise of the middle class in the early twentieth century made silent reading, largely driven by the popularity of novels, popular for the first time. This was a new mode of reading, and associated with leisure, departing from public, oral practices. Younger readers, particularly students, began reading novels privately, away from the moral scrutiny of elders. Silent reading, providing an immersive and solitary experience, became linked to middle-class lifestyles.

Despite this, oral and group reading continued to thrive, especially among the lower classes during the 1920s and 1930s. Popular literature, such as in chapbooks and ballads, was still consumed in communal settings, with audiences gathering in marketplaces or homes to hear recitations. Group readings during religious or social occasions, such as funerals, also sustained the oral tradition. While middle-class readers embraced silent reading, they could not impose this practice on the broader population.

By the mid-20th century, silent and oral reading coexisted in Tamil Nadu. The lower classes continued to engage in communal reading, particularly of popular texts, and newspapers became integral to this dynamic. A literate person would often read aloud for others in public settings like tea shops or village squares.

Around a third (30.9%) of the State was literate (42.9% of males and 18.8% females) as per the average of three decadal censuses between 1951 and 1971. As a result, the reading rooms fulfilled two primary objectives: the first was to train cadres on the principles of the party and enable them to become able spokespersons for its ideology, who would then engage with the public.

Secondly, Annadurai conceived reading rooms as debating forums and learning spaces. Senior leaders of the party were made responsible for conducting monthly public-speaking workshops at branch offices to help groom the young cadres. Many reading rooms also served as night schools for children and middle-aged non-literates.

Over time, the DMK became a party of writers and orators, and writing and public speaking were considered basic qualifications of a quintessential party member, emulating their founder, Annadurai. Apart from writing for the consumption of the general public, Annadurai wrote a series of letters primarily meant for his party’s cadres, titled Thambikku Annavin Kadithangal, which loosely translates to “letters to brethren”. Recalling Hande’s remark, Annadurai himself flooded the local regional sphere, or the Tamil ecumene, with a range of oral and written messages for people’s consumption.

The second objective of the reading rooms was to spread the Dravidian-Tamil ethos of social justice, self-respect, and the greatness of the Tamil language and the Sangam civilisation to the public who frequented the reading rooms. Often, this took place on a daily basis. The reading rooms housed reading material, pamphlets, newspapers, books, and other publications run by Periyar, Annadurai, Karunanidhi, and other senior DMK leaders. At times, popular sub-regional periodicals, mostly in the Tamil language, were included. A few English dailies, like The Hindu, were also kept.

There were no entry barriers, making the social background of the visitors diverse, encompassing all non-Brahmin lower castes and Dalits who lived around the reading room. In a personal interview, Tamil scholar Suba Veerapandian recalls his experience with reading rooms during his school days in the early 1960s. He says they were easier to access than a library, which would have rules or admission procedures. He describes two reading rooms: one, a hundred-square-foot room down the street from his home called Thannermalai Thirunellai Padippakam, which he regarded as a general reading room for newspapers and weeklies. The other, located in the street behind his home, functioned in the carshed of the house of DMK leader CT Chidambaram, who would be elected MLA from the Karaikudi constituency in 1971.

The second reading room housed material on the Dravidian movement, where he was introduced to Samaneedhi (Equal Justice), a journal run by MG Ramachandran, who would later break away from the DMK to launch the AIADMK. He said that the two reading rooms gave him knowledge about his society and exposure to the world in Tamil, the language he was comfortable in. Veerapandian’s remark about Tamil being the principal language of discourse will be discussed in detail in the next chapter on DMK’s responses to political developments in Madras State and the subsequent politicisation of Tamils.

Thirunavakkarasu told me about a network of reading rooms in the northern areas of Madras city, frequented by supporters and colleagues of NV Natarajan, one of the founders of the DMK. From the late afternoons and early evenings through late at night, the reading rooms became sites of politicisation, knowledge-sharing, information dissemination, and cadre training.

The reading rooms had a party member – generally from a non-Brahmin middle or lower or depressed caste who had passed the senior secondary school examination – responsible for regularly reading aloud from newspapers, journals, or pamphlets, in most cases, every day.

The reading room run by CT Chidambaram exemplifies how they paved the way for the DMK to grow. Establishing reading rooms in the name of the DMK or its members helped expand the party’s outreach and create healthy intra-party competition among members. Both the young and old visited the reading rooms, but while older visitors participated in newspaper reading sessions and discussions, the younger visitors, comprising students, studied and did their homework, aided by party members in charge.

Excerpted with permission from The Dravidian Pathway: How the DMK Redefined Power and Identity in South India, Vignesh Rajahmani, Context/Westland.