In the past few decades Tamil has become an important component of the South Asian diaspora. As one of the few classical languages of the world that is still a living one, Tamil continues to remain a vehicle of secularism while celebrating diverse religious and political traditions. It has served Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, and Christianity, while articulating politics from the time of the ancient kings, through colonialism, to modern times. The essays in this volume offer a nuanced view of "Being Human; Being Tamil" in the context of South Asia and the diaspora. They explore the multiple ways of being Tamil, and the cultural, religious, and poetic linkages that have contributed to the emergence and articulation of Tamilness in a global context.
R Cheran is currently an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology at the University of Windsor. His publications include History and Imagination: Tamil Culture in the Global Context (2007), New Demarcations: Essays in Tamil Studies (2009), Pathways of Dissent: Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka (2010), and Empowering Diasporas: Dynamics of Post War Tamil Transnational Politics (2011).
Dalbir Singh is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Drama Centre as well as the Centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Toronto. His publications have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Canadian Theatre Review, Critical Perspectives on Canadian Theatre, She Speaks, and Red Light: Superheroes, Saints and Sluts.
Chelva Kanaganayakam was a professor in the Department of English at the University of Toronto and the Director for the Centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Toronto. His major publications include Moveable Margins: The Shifting Spaces of Canadian Literature (2005), Counterrealism and Indo Anglian Fiction (2002), Lutesong and Lament: Tamil Writing from Sri Lanka (2001), Dark Antonyms and Paradise: The Poetry of Rienzi Crusz (1997), Configurations of Exile: South Asian Writers and Their World (1995), and Structures of Negation: The Writings of Zulfikar Ghose (1993).
Sudharshan Durayappah teaches at the University of Toronto, Scarborough and the Royal Ontario Museum. His research interests include Hinduism in the Diaspora, Trans-Asian Religious routes of the 7-9th century AD, Iconography and Tamil devotional poetry.
