Meena Kandasamy

Meena Kandasamy (b 1984, India) is an author, translator and anti-caste activist.

Her work is extensive, spread over a variety of genres from novels and poetry to translations of older Tamil texts. It is heavily coloured by her political attitudes; she has been called a polemicist for the intensity of her activism.

She has a doctorate in sosiolinguistics from the Anna University in Chennai.

Her most recent book is the essay anthology The Orders Were to Rape You: Tamil Tigresses in the Eelam Struggle from 2021.

Her novels have been shortlisted for, amongst other awards, the British Women’s Prize for Fiction and the international Dylan Thomas Prize.