HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rakkiaiah (alternatively Rokkiah, born Rajathi Samsudeen in 1968) is an Indian Tamil writer, activist, and politician known by the
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Salma and the
nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
Rajathi, and often referred to as Rajathi Salma. Her works have received international acclaim and she is renowned as a sensation in contemporary
Tamil literature Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the T ...
. She is a member of the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; ; DMK) is an Indian political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it is currently the ruling party, and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry, where it is currently the main ...
and involved in women's and
transgender rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...
activism. Between 2007 and 2011, she served as the chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. Salma is also the founder of a non-government women's rights organisation named "Your Hope is Remaining".


Biography


1968–1994: Early life

Salma was born in the Thuvarankurichi near
Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...
,
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
to a conservative Rowther Muslim family. At a very early age, she became interested in reading. She was unable to pursue her interest in literature due to oppressive rules in her house which restricted her movement. On one occasion she was able to sneak out with a cousin and a male friend to watch a
Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
film, '' Avalude Ravukal'', in the theater; the film depicted the life of a teenage prostitute although Salma was oblivious of the topic at the time. Upon finding out about the adventure, her parents were infuriated. They pulled her out of school before she turned 15 and secluded her at home. Her cousin and her friend did not face heavy consequences and eventually her friend began sneaking books to her from the village library. As a result, during her teen years Salma became an avid reader and writer. She was enamored with
Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...
, having read the translated works of
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...
and
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
, and her icons became figures like
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
and
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
instead of film stars. At the age of 13, Salma was betrothed to a cousin named Malik but was able to postpone the marriage until she was 19, when her mother persuaded her to marry by feigning a heart attack. Following marriage, Salma was granted the name of Rokkiah Begum and had two children. Her interest in literature continued in her married life and was seen as akin to insanity by her family. At the age of 22, Salma wrote her first poem, ''Oppandham'', as an outlet for her frustration and anger with her situation. Forced to hide her passion from her family, she would write while sitting on the toilet, on pieces of paper ripped from calendars and notebooks. She was subjected to abuse by her husband because of her desire to write and he would often destroy her work if he found it. Her mother eventually helped her by smuggling out poems from her home and getting them published in a Tamil weekly.


1994–2006: Literary career and political debut

Around 1994–98, Salma had become a well-known figure in Tamil literary circles. She was signed with the Kalachuvadu publishing house and was invited to a number of literary conventions around Tamil Nadu which she visited under the guise of medical visits. Since a woman travelling alone was frowned upon in her social setting, her mother accompanied her on her first event in the city of
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. Her family, however, continued to be apprehensive of her activities and regarded them as subversive. Her poems were described as unconventional as they covered social issues and did not refrain from mentioning women's sexuality, which eventually invoked the wrath of the social orthodoxy in her conservative neighbourhood as well as of her family, especially as she wrote poetry under her birth name and nickname of Rajathi. Their reaction caused her to adopt the pen name of Salma, appropriated from a character in a
Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and Visual arts, visual artist; he was also considered a philosopher, although he himself reject ...
novel. She published her first anthology of poems, ''Oru Malaiyum, Innoru Malaiyum'' under this name in 2000. In the same year, she was invited to a major three-day literary event called the World Tamil Conference set in Chennai. She attended, but refused to go on stage fearing that if a picture were to be published in the press it would raise controversy in her village and family. She also began writing a novel, which she completed by 2001 but was hesitant about publishing. In 2001, Salma contested the '' panchayat'' (local body) elections in
Ponnampatti Ponnampatti is a panchayat town in Tiruchirappalli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics At the 2001 India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and c ...
and was subsequently elected as the ''panchayat'' leader. In her testimony she states that her family was not opposed to her contesting as it was a constituency reserved for women and they intended to control it through her; but instead she carved out an opportunity for herself. She was able to eventually leverage her position and become independent as she began serving as an elected official, chairing meetings and educating women in her community. In 2002, she was invited to an international women's rights conference held in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. She published her second anthology of poems, ''Devathai'', in 2003, and acceded to publishing her novel, ''Irandaam Jaamangalin Kadhai'' in 2004. The novel was described as a semi-autobiographical work, and depicted the life and hardships faced by a young girl called Rabia born in an orthodox Muslim minority community who staunchly clung to their traditions and ritual observance. Salma states that she was impressed by the chief minister Karunanidhi, whom she calls the "poet of progress" for having instituted the 50% reservation quota for women in local body elections and for paying attention to women's issues, which ultimately led her to join the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; ; DMK) is an Indian political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it is currently the ruling party, and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry, where it is currently the main ...
in 2004. After joining the party, she was appointed as the deputy secretary of the party's women's wing. In the
2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election The thirteenth legislative assembly election, of Tamil Nadu was held on 8 May 2006. It was held for all 234 constituencies to elect the government in the state for the following five years. The votes were counted three days later on 11 May 2006 ...
, the party nominated her to contest as the candidate from the Marungapuri constituency. She lost the election by 1,200 votes, polling at 55,378 votes cast in her favor against 57,910 votes cast in favor of the winning candidate. During the campaigning, her opponent had circulated sexually explicit material from her writings in an attempt to swing some voters in his favor. Some of her male party workers had also reportedly hindered the campaigning efforts, to which she had later exclaimed that "some things never change for women".


2006–Present: Later career

Despite the loss, she was appointed as the chairperson of the State Social Welfare Trust, as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was able to attain a majority in the
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...
and form a government. During her tenure as chairperson, Salma was noted for her advocacy for the establishment of a number of welfare schemes and for launching several initiatives which were considered landmark schemes for transgender rights. She was also instrumental in launching an awareness campaign for the Domestic Violence Act and holding training programmes among police personnel, counselors, judges and women. In 2010, Salma founded the Chennai-based non-government organisation "Your Hope is Remaining", and began working as a social worker among rural women in an effort to promote
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
. In 2011, she lost her position as the chairperson of the State Social Welfare Trust when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was voted out of power. In the meantime, her anthology of short stories ''Saabam'' was published in 2009, which was translated by N Kalyan Raman into English as ''The Curse: Stories.'' In 2016, she published her second novel ''Manaamiyangal,'' which narrated the parallel lives of two women named Mehar and Parveen. In a review by the ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'', the novel was described as having captured
Hélène Cixous Hélène Cixous (; ; born 5 June 1937) is a French writer, playwright and Literary criticism, literary critic. During her academic career, she was primarily associated with the Centre universitaire de Vincennes (today's University of Paris VIII) ...
's "feminine practice of writing". It was translated from Tamil to English by Meena Kandasamy under the title of ''Women, Dreaming''.


Social and political beliefs


On women's issues and feminism

Salma holds the position that writing itself is a political act as one draws from society which in turn becomes a means of conveying political thought. Her writings themselves have been described on multiple occasions as one capturing a feminine perspective in them. According to her, the popular notion of a "well-defined morality" for a woman leads to the suppression of her body and mind, and that from her perspective, morality is about love, about whether one prioritises making people happy and not hurting them. She states that women are expected to get married and become homemakers, whereas looking after the family should be the joint responsibility of both partners, and adds that women need the freedom to choose and act without fear, and that they do not need a man's permission to do so. Regarding face covering for women, she has taken the position that dressing is a personal choice of women and that no one has the right to dictate what one can or can not wear. On asked whether she considers herself a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, Salma states that she does not identify herself as a feminist but is not opposed to being called one. According to her, while women have many more opportunities compared to the past, they still are not seen at equals of men by society at large. She has also come out in support of the
MeToo movement in India The IndianMeToo movement, #MeToo movement began in late 2018 (and continues to the present day) to manifest in areas of the Indian society including the government, the media, and the Bollywood film industry. In India, the Me Too movement is s ...
, stating that it was long overdue and has given women the courage to speak up against
workplace harassment Workplace harassment is belittling or threatening behavior directed at an individual worker or a group of workers. Workplace harassment has gained interest among practitioners and researchers as it is becoming one of the most sensitive areas of ef ...
. Since 2015, Salma has come out in explicit support for the LGBT movement in India as well.


On religious conservatism

Salma has been severely critical of Muslim religious orthodoxy in both her writing and advocacy. In particular, she has condemned the
All India Muslim Personal Law Board All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in India that represents the interests of Muslims in matters of personal law. It was formed in 1973 with the objective of protecting and promoting the appli ...
for enabling misogynistic attitudes and the tradition of triple talaq to persist among the Muslim community in India. According to her, religious fundamentalist leaders have attempted to appropriate culture as a whole and in the process resorted to intimidation of writers such as Taslima Nasrin,
M. F. Husain Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011) was an Indian painter and film director who painted Narrative painting, narrative paintings in a modified Cubism, Cubist style. He was one of the founding members of Bombay Progressiv ...
and
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
. She also holds that democracy in India is faltering as dissidents are being characterised as '' Urban Naxals'' and targeted with violence and state repression. Salma has attributed the rise of the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
as the reason for increase in caste based violence in Tamil Nadu, accused the party of attempting to ferment hatred against every Muslims and of attempting to control culture by resorting to the same tactics by targeting artists like Perumal Murugan, Puliyoor Murugesan, Gunasekaran Sundarraj and
Khushbu Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian politician, actress, film producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil language films and in a few Telugu cinema, Telugu ...
.


Reception, recognition, and awards

Salma's life has been extensively documented by Kim Longinotto in her documentary ''Salma'', which is described as a journey of an under-educated housewife who was subjected to an effective form of house arrest and became an acclaimed Tamil literary figure. Longinotto herself described Salma as an "extraordinary beacon of hope". The documentary, which was screened in 2013, received several awards and was seen in eleven countries. The Indian magazine ''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' accorded Salma the title of "Symbol of Perseverance" in one of its feature articles. Her works have been translated by the acclaimed Lakshmi Holmström and featured along with the likes of Sukirtharani, Malathi Maitri, and
Kutti Revathi S. Revathi (pen name: Kutti Revathi) is an Indian lyricist, poet, activist and doctor. She has published three books of poetry and is the editor of ''Panikkudam'', a literary quarterly for women's writing and also the first Tamil feminist magaz ...
. Salma received the fourth edition of the Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award at the
Jaipur Literature Festival The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), often hailed as the "''greatest literary show on Earth''," is a renowned annual cultural and literary festival held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Established in 2006 by writers Namita Gokhale and William Dalry ...
in 2019.


Bibliography


Anthology of poems

* ''Oru Maalaiyum Innoru Maalaiyum,'' (''An Evening and Another Evening,'' 2000) * ''Pachchai Devathai,'' (''Green Angel,'' 2003)


Novels

* ''Irandaam Jaamangalin Kathai,'' (''The Hours Past Midnight,'' 2004) *''Manaamiyangal'' (''Dreams'', 2016)


Collections

* ''Sabaam'' (Curses, 2009 & 2012)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salma 1968 births Living people Tamil poets Tamil Muslims 21st-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian women writers Women writers from Tamil Nadu