Madras Day: ‘Welcoming all, is Chennai’s trait... just dynamics changed’

CHENNAI: Karan Karki, a Tamil writer whose works consistently position the lives of Chennai’s working-class, urban poor, and caste struggles in the modern setup, reflects on how the city has treated its workers across time, the space the metropolis provides, and more as he indulged in a conversation with the DT Next on the occasion of Madras Day. Here are the edited excerpts:

Chennai in the late 80s and early 90s — what kind of opportunities did the city give to those from outside?

Thirty years ago, Chennai was very different. A person who had nothing could still find a place to stay. Now, you just can’t. Rapid urbanisation means leaving the working class behind and running the race. And the result? First, the sense of innocence is gone, and the space for survival has shrunk. Unless you are already educated or well-off, it is very hard to survive here. Either you live on the platform or go broke.

The cost of housing, the way neighbourhoods are structured, everything has changed, and it is all designed in a way that makes the working class and the urban poor appear disposable.

You say Chennai was more welcoming back then than now?

Not like that, it’s just the dynamics that have changed. Imagine how Chennai, especially north Chennai, which has carried every negative stereotype, would be this crowded if it was not welcoming? The city welcomed people; it still does. But the way it handles those people is the key.

We are seeing terms like “rehabilitation” and “resettlement.” I wouldn’t call them progress in the sense of real upliftment. They are just displacements in another name. By moving people away to distant colonies, they are deprived of their social networks, neighbourhood support, and their ability for a collective voice.

What modernisation has paved the way?

It made upward mobility more accessible, that’s for sure. The British, though they came to loot, also set up a structure that gave not just Dalits but the poor a certain dignity. That basement is where this Corporation was built. However, the perils came later.

Look now, in recent protests, I don’t want to name them, but people knew. Voices were raised, amplified even, yet the government did not hear them. In the past, there were corporation workers, a very dignified job, though the work itself might be dissected with a social lens. Now, even that sense of dignity is gone. Trampling continues, and the working class continues to fight for their rights, just as they did back then.

What role do you see for political awareness here?

To be honest, we don’t yet have a clear awareness. But Tamil Nadu is far ahead, and a revolution will always arise here. People recognise their leaders and their movements. You can see more first-generation degree holders turning to law. Why is that? Because they know it will give them the power they want — the voice they want.

Ambedkar paved the way, and people understood that. Yet I have to say, there is still a long way to go.

In an interview, you mentioned there is a need to write on Chennai’s modern history. What is it about? What’s next for you?

I am writing a novel titled Veedugal Kaapagam. I think the title explains what it is about.