All Grants | Cycle 4 –
Steevez is a photographer, curator and bookmaker based in Chennai, whose work investigates memory, identity and urban transformation through documentary photography, photobooks and innovative exhibitions. A graduate of Spéos Photographic Institute, Paris and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, Steevez has exhibited his work internationally at venues such as the Vincennes Images Festival (Paris), Indian Photography Festival (Hyderabad), Design Fabric (Mumbai), Queeristan (Mumbai) and XXL Gallery (Mumbai) as part of the Aravaani Art Project group show. His photobook dummy, Last Seen, was displayed at the Chennai Photo Biennale 2024-25. He is also a recipient of the Hyundai Art for Hope 2025 grant. His images have been featured in various publications, including Caravan, Scroll, Mongabay, Cosmopolitan India and L’Oeil de la Photographie. Additionally, through collective initiatives like PEP Collective, he has curated exhibitions and workshops that foster visual activism and creative dialogue.
Links
Profile Links
Steevez’s Instagram (@TheSteevez)
Research Links
Dalit Murasu Archives
Podcast, Talks and Video Links
Is the Camera Needed to Produce Visuals (The Photobook Podcast, 27 March 2025).
Chennai Photo Biennale Artist Presentations (Chennai Photo Biennale, 2025).
Summary of Research Proposal Supported by 10×10 Photobooks Grant:
Documenting Resistance: Analyzing the Visual Archives of Dalit Murasu in Chronicling Tamil Dalit Struggles
*This research grant is supported by Dayanita Singh. It is for a researcher residing in India and addressing the history of the photobook in India.
Introduction and Rationale:
Tamil Dalit communities have long been at the forefront of asserting their dignity and rights in the face of systemic oppression. Over the past 75 years, their history has been documented through powerful images that capture both the brutality inflicted upon them and their resilient acts of protest. This project focuses on the visual archive of Dalit Murasu, a Tamil magazine that has preserved striking photographs and graphic layouts documenting key moments of Dalit resistance. These images offer irrefutable evidence of the intense oppression Dalits have faced and serve as a counter-narrative to mainstream media that has often overlooked these stories. Additionally, this research seeks to examine the Dalit perspective on the Dravidian model, which has been a dominant socio-political framework in Tamil Nadu. While the Dravidian movement has played a crucial role in anti-caste politics, it has often been critiqued by Dalit intellectuals for its Brahmin–Non-Brahmin binary, which does not fully address the specific oppressions faced by Dalits. Dalit Murasu offers a critical intervention in this discourse, highlighting how caste operates within the broader Dravidian framework and amplifying Dalit voices that challenge both casteism and majoritarian narratives. Further, by the time Dalit Murasu was launched in 1997, the rise of Hindutva across India had already begun reshaping political discourse, intensifying caste and religion-based violence. Against this backdrop, the magazine functioned as an alternative voice from the margins, resisting the mainstream Hindutva ideology that sought to homogenize identities. Through its documentation of atrocities and struggles, Dalit Murasu provided a critical counterpoint, preserving testimonies of caste oppression and political resistance that continue to hold relevance today.
The Archive and Its Significance:
Dalit Murasu was established in 1997 by Punitha Pandiyan, a Dalit activist turned journalist. For 16 years, it acted as a mouthpiece for Dalits, providing a platform for Dalit writing and ideology in Tamil Nadu. Due to financial constraints, the magazine was suspended in April 2012 but resumed publication in May 2013. It was the only magazine that spoke for Dalits after Oru Paisa Thamizhan, published by Pandit Iyothee Thas, a renowned Dalit activist of the 1880s. The pages of Dalit Murasu capture incidents such as the Melavalavu massacre—when a Dalit Panchayat president and several supporters were brutally attacked after securing reserved electoral positions—and the Manjolai labourers massacre, in which protestors for better wages suffered deadly repercussions. The archive also includes visual records of honor killings, like the Kannagi–Murugesan case, and accounts of more recent violent outbreaks in areas such as Seshasamudram and Ambalapattu. While these events are mentioned briefly here, the images in the archive encapsulate the intensity of these atrocities without the detailed verbal descriptions found in mainstream accounts. These visuals are critical not only as historical records but also as evidence for social justice and legal redress. By preserving these images, Dalit Murasu ensures that the painful history of Dalit oppression is not forgotten, providing a resource for communities and scholars seeking to understand and challenge systemic injustice.
Research Focus and Objectives:
This project aims to analyze the visual language of Dalit Murasu and explore how its imagery articulates the struggle for dignity and rights in the face of relentless caste violence. The key objectives are to:
• Highlight Visual Narratives: Examine how selected images in the archive capture moments of both state-sanctioned violence and community resistance. These visuals, though they mention landmark incidents like the Melavalavu massacre or honour killings, are analyzed for their emotive power and ability to convey complex social realities.
• Contextualize the Archive: Situate these visual testimonies within the broader socio-political context of Tamil Nadu and South Asia, linking them to the historical trajectory of caste-based conflict. This research draws on both archival sources and scholarly accounts to illustrate how these images serve as a form of protest and historical documentation.
• Examine Dalit Murasu’s Political Intervention: Investigate how Dalit Murasu engaged with dominant political ideologies, including its critical stance on both the Dravidian model and the rise of Hindutva. The magazine’s visual and textual content provides insights into how Dalits navigated these political frameworks while asserting their own agency and narratives.
• Preserve and Reclaim Neglected Histories: Argue for the necessity of integrating the Dalit Murasu archive into the mainstream discourse on protest photography in print. These visuals, long neglected by dominant media narratives, provide an unfiltered account of Dalit struggles that can empower marginalized communities and foster public debate.
Methodology:
The project will employ a combination of archival research, visual analysis, and field engagement:
• Archival Research and Visual Analysis: A systematic review of digitized issues of Dalit Murasu (for example, via platforms like Keetru) will be conducted. Through methodologies adapted from visual studies, the analysis will focus on compositional elements, framing, and juxtaposition within the images, revealing how they communicate both the terror and the resilience of Dalit resistance.
• Historical Contextualization: The research will integrate secondary sources and academic literature to provide context for the documented events. While brief mentions of atrocities such as the Melavalavu and Manjolai massacres will be made, the emphasis will be on the visual portrayal of these events.
• Field Engagement and Comparative Perspectives: As the curator of the Nitham photography exhibition, part of Dalit History month, organized by Neelam Cultural Centre by Director Pa. Ranjith—where I have showcased stories of oppression from across the globe—my experience with protest visuals will be incorporated to compare and contrast the images from Dalit Murasu with other forms of protest photography. This experience offers a practical framework for understanding the impact and potency of visual narratives in mobilizing public sentiment.
Relevance to 10×10’s Flashpoint! Project:
The themes embedded in the Dalit Murasu archive—protest, resistance, and social conflict—are central to the 10×10 Flashpoint! call. This research preserves an underrepresented history by providing compelling visual evidence of caste-based violence and by challenging dominant narratives that often silence marginalized voices. By analyzing how Dalit Murasu produced an alternative voice amid the rise of Hindutva and within the Dravidian framework, this study contributes to both academic scholarship and ongoing struggles for justice.
Conclusion:
In summary, the visual archive of Dalit Murasu is a powerful testimony to the enduring resistance of Tamil Dalits. By analyzing these images, this project not only documents the historical realities of caste-based violence but also reclaims the narratives of a community that has long been marginalized by mainstream media. With the support of the 10×10 Photobook Research Grant, this study will highlight how visual testimonies can transform our understanding of protest photography in print, ensuring that these crucial stories of oppression and resilience are preserved for future generations.