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.

A seminal work

Dravidathal Veezhnthom (We Fell Because of Dravidianism) is a seminal book written by Gunasekaran that started influencing this thinking. He was drawn to Tamil nationalism as a distinct ideology separate from Dravidianism. Dravidianists insist that they do stand for the rights of Tamils but the word, Dravidian, is essential and connotes the ideology of standing for an ethnic group that is non-Brahmin. It originally included all southern linguistic groups, but the practical purpose today is social and political.

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Tamil nationalists, however, say a pan south-Indian identity is a dilution. For them, the “outsider” is not the Brahmin who is a native Tamil speaker but speakers of other languages, including Telugu. They specifically campaign against Telugu speakers who are numerous in the State.

Mr. Pandiarajan has continued taking up progressive causes and offered his legal skills. He dallied with political organisations that sought to marry Tamil nationalism with Marxism but felt they too adhered to the core ideas of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy.

‘Deserving of support’

Mr. Pandiarajan feels Dravidianism blames Brahmins for everything, which has driven them further into the arms of the BJP. But, he says, the BJP will not condemn the “allergy” towards Brahmins, “many of whom are poor and deserving of support and sympathy”.

Mr. Pandiarajan doesn’t see the BJP as truly defending the rights of Brahmins or giving them representation. In his words, only the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) is doing it. He joined the party in 2016. He recalls the words of NTK leader Seeman who has said that with the Brahmin sledgehammer, his party will strike at Dravidianism.

Dravidianists have been highly critical of Mr. Seeman. They see his Tamil nationalism as dubious, even dangerous — one that opens the gates for the BJP in the State. They see him as advocating Brahminism and his criticisms of Christianity as a sure sign of his Hindutva leanings. Mr. Seeman’s position has evolved over the years. In the initial stages, he was respectful of Periyar and used to praise him. Not any more.

Mr. Pandiarajan is campaigning among Tamil Brahmins that the NTK is “their” party, which, he believes, is the only one in the State that is against what he calls discrimination practised against Tamil Brahmins. He cites the six Brahmins nominated by the NTK in the 2026 election. He asks Tamil Brahmins to accept all caste groups becoming temple priests. He advocates that Tamil Brahmins take to Tamil fully, giving up on Sanskrit. His daughter, Yalini, a techie, has built a following on social media for her advocacy of NTK policies.