The discourse of social justice has been much contested in India ever since the time of the Mandal Commission report. Nearly four decades on, debates on culture and identity remain strong. Rather than studying the concept of social justice in isolation, in distinct social, political or economic terms, Rethinking Social Justice offers a more transdisciplinary approach to envisioning a just society that encompasses the intersecting issues of caste, capital, nationalism, gender, region, urban planning and visual representation. Divided into five broad thematic sections—Politics of Culture and Identity; Critical Social History; Nation and the Region; Political Economy; and Cinema and Society—this volume brings together perspectives from across disciplines to rethink the question of social justice, in the process opening up a view of the panorama of Indian politics. This collection is an homage to M. S. S. Pandian who, through his writings on political economy, Dravidian politics, film studies, and social and intellectual history, interrogated questions of caste, identity and cultural elitism in his broader quest for social justice. In this volume, eminent scholars—friends and colleagues of Pandian—enter into a dialogue with Pandian’s life-work, cut short by his untimely demise in 2014. They build upon his legacy to not only critically evaluate politics and society, but also subject mainstream culture to an equally critical evaluation. Social scientists, activists, journalists, policymakers and film critics will find immense value in this insightful collection of essays. Contents: Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations List of Tables and Figures Foreword Partha Chatterjee Introduction The Legacy of a Dravidian Scholar S. Anandhi, Karthick Ram Manoharan, M. Vijayabaskar and A. Kalaiyarasan I —— Politics of Culture and Identity 1. The Manifesto and the Modern Self Reading the Autobiography of Muthulakshmi Reddy S. Anandhi 2. Lohia’s Immanent Critique of Caste and Religion Arun Kumar Patnaik II —— Critical Social History 3. Divinity, Denial and the Embodied Self Changing Perspectives on Untouchability and the Case of the Hagiographies of Dalit Bhaktas Sundar Kaali 4. ‘Self’ Rather than the ‘Other’ Towards a Subjective Ethnography of the Kani Community M. Arivalagan 5. Mudumalai’s Logics Governmentalising ‘Forests’ and Conservation Subjects Ajit Menon III —— Nation and the Region 6. Rereading Anna’s Arya Mayai Reflections on C. N. Annadurai and the Cultural Politics of the Dravidian Movement V. Ravi Vaithees 7. An Ethic beyond Anti-colonialism A Periyarist Engagement with Fanonism Karthick Ram Manoharan IV —— Political Economy 8. Re-envisioning a City Chennai as Exhibition/Museum/Backyard A. Srivathsan and M. S. S. Pandian 9. Emerging Labour Regimes and Mobilities in Tamil Nadu M. Vijayabaskar 10. Politics of Dravidian Populism Understanding Developmental Outcomes in Tamil Nadu A. Kalaiyarasan 11. Tenancy Reforms in Tamil Nadu A Study from the Cauvery Delta Region J. Jeyaranjan V —— Cinema and Society 12. Mastering the Traumatic Hey Ram and its Cultural Narcissism Venkatesh Chakravarthy 13. Political Surplus in Retrospect On the Decline of Cinematic Sovereignties M. Madhava Prasad