R. N. Joe D'Cruz
Born1969
Uvari, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)Novelist, Ship management
SpouseSasikala

R. N. Joe D'Cruz is a Tamil writer, novelist and documentary film director from Tamil Nadu, India. He won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2013 in the Tamil language category for his novel Korkai. He is the Tamil Nadu state president of Samskrita Bharati.[1][2]

Joe D'Cruz has also been a managerial-executive in the shipping industry for a long time and is currently a member of the National Shipping Board of the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India.[3]

Life

Joe D'Cruz was born in a Roman Catholic Paravar family in Uvari, a coastal village in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. He did his schooling in Uvari and Idaiyangudi.[4] He graduated with an M.A.(Economics) at Loyola College, Chennai and did his M.Phil at St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. He is married to Sasikala and has two children.[5] He has been working in the shipping industry for more than two decades.

Works

Joe D'Cruz published a Tamil poetry compilation, Pulambazhkal, in 2004. His Sahitya Akademi award-winning novel Korkai was originally published in 2009 and prior to that his 2005 novel Aazhi Soozh Ulagu was awarded the Tamil Nadu state government literary award[6] and Tamil Literary Garden award. Both his novels are based on history and the lives of Parathavar fishermen of Tamil Nadu.[7] The first novel Aazhi Soozh Ulagu dealt with the lives of fishermen who used catamarans and their conversion to Christianity. The second novel titled Korkai refers to Korkai, an ancient port city ruled by Early Pandyan Kingdom.[8] It is about the 20th century community of pearl and conch divers there.

He also filmed documentary films such as Vidiyatha Pozhuthukal (2008), Towards Dawn (2010).[5] His films mostly based on sufferings of Tamil fishermen. He wrote the dialogue for Tamil movie Maryan. He opposed Kudankulam nuclear power project, arguing it will affect the livelihood of the fishermen.[9][10]

He has also expressed his reservations on the upcoming International Container Transhipment Terminal at Enayam, Kanyakumari District. He is in favour of developing existing ports over initiating new port projects in India.[3]

Support for LGBTQIA+ Community

Joe D'Cruz along with writer Aravindan Neelakandan supported the initiatives of Gopi Shankar Madurai and served on the advisory board of Srishti Madurai under Anjali Gopalan, Bracha Ettinger.[11]

Views

The Indian Express[12] reported that Joe D'Cruz received threats and hate-mail after he expressed support for the BJP PM Candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Narendra Modi, on his Facebook page. A translation of his work ‘Aazhi Soozh Ulagu’ into English, was also halted in retaliation by his publisher Navyana and the translator Geetha.[13][14][15][16][17]

He turned as a strong critic of the Bharatiya Janata party, three years later.[18][19] In an interview with The Hindu, he claimed to have realised that because Modi rose up through the grassroot levels, it was a myth that he would become a strong Prime Minister, and that the BJP leadership appears to be focused in reinforcing the caste structure and Manu Smriti. He also criticized the BJP for emboldening political forces to kill people for eating beef.[19] In June 2017, he claimed that there is "No place for poor" in the agenda of Prime minister Narendra Modi.[20] He criticized the proposed Maritime Container Terminal at Enayam by the BJP government and said the promoters of the project were claiming that the Enayam coastline was a natural harbour but the coast is vulnerable to natural calamities.[21]

Bibliography

Novels

  • Aazhi Soozh Ulagu
  • Korkai
  • Asthinapuram
  • Verpiditha Vilai Nilangal
  • Kavanam thedum Kadaloram
  • Padaipugalin Uraiyadal

References

  1. ↑ "TN Sanskrit Learning Gets Face in Joe D'Cruz". New Indian Express. 6 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "People have been misled on Sanskrit for 60 years". The Hindu. 12 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 Kolappan, B. (30 October 2017). "Joe D'Cruz appointed to Shipping Board". Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  4. ↑ "என் ஊர்!" (in Tamil). Ananda Vikatan. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 "ஆர்.என்.ஜோ–டி–குரூஸ்". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Joe D'Cruz wins Sahitya Akademi award". Deccan Chronicle. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Sailing high as a writer". The Hindu. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "KORKAI". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Parathavas have come full circle". The New Indian Express. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sons of the sea show true grit". The Hindu. 2 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "It's a great honour to be awarded for book on gender variants: Gopi Shankar | Madurai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Celebrity Tamil novelist supports Narendra Modi, gets threat". The Indian Express. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  13. ↑ "Pro-Modi stand stops D'Cruz book release". The Hindu. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  14. ↑ Mehernaz Patel (15 April 2014), "It is fundamentalism of the people who wear liberal mask: Joe D'Cruz on cancellation of book translation due to his support for Narendra Modi", DNA
  15. ↑ "Navayana defends D'Cruz book release decision", The Hindu, 14 April 2014
  16. ↑ The Unraveling of Joe D’Cruz, Navayana, retrieved 6 April 2020
  17. ↑ The Storm in the D’Cruz Ocean, Navayana, archived from the original on 15 April 2014
  18. ↑ Kolappan, B. (30 October 2017). "Joe D'Cruz appointed to Shipping Board" – via www.thehindu.com.
  19. 1 2 Kolappan, B. (6 August 2017). "'Modi govt. bolstering caste structure'" – via www.thehindu.com.
  20. ↑ "No place for poor in PM agenda, says Joe D' Cruz". The New Indian Express.
  21. ↑ "Joe D'Cruz not on BJP Enayam page". The New Indian Express.
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