Meena Kandasamy

Meena Kandasamy
Meena in 2012
Born	Ilavenil Kandasamy 1984 (age 32–33)
Pen name	Meena
Occupation	Writer, activist, translator
Nationality	Indian

Ilavenil Meena Kandasamy (born 1984) is an Indian poet, fiction writer, translator and activist who is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Most of her works are centered on feminism and the anti-caste Caste Annihilation Movement of the contemporary Indian milieu.

As of 2013, Meena has published two collections of poetry namely, Touch (2006) and Ms. Militancy (2010). Two of her poems have won accolades in all-India poetry competitions. From 2001-2002, she edited The Dalit, a bi-monthly alternative English magazine of the Dalit Media Network.

She has also represented India at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program and was a Charles Wallace India Trust Fellow at the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.

Apart from her literary works, she is vocal about various contemporary political issues relating to caste, corruption, violence, and women's rights in more ways than one. She has an influential and regular social media presence, through her Facebook and Twitter handles. She also writes columns for platforms like Outlook India and The Hindu, occasionally. This was primarily brought to light during the beef controversy at the Osmania University in Hyderabad in 2012.

Born in 1984 to Tamil parents, both university professors. Named as Illavenil by her parents, she developed an early interest in poetry, and later adopted the name Meena. Meena completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in Socio-linguistics from Anna University, Chennai. Meena wrote her first poetry at the age of 17 and also started translating books by Dalit writers and leaders into English at that age.

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