Political Theology of ThaniNayagam

Abstract

Drawing upon the caṅkam indigenous literature and the scholarly work of ThaniNayagam, this article constructs a political theology by employing Tamil humanism and samūka aṟam as hermeneutical lenses. It aims to contribute to the decentralisation of the genealogy of political theology and to challenge the dominance of the European episteme and coloniality of knowledge production. ThaniNayagam employed indigenous literature as a means of resisting colonial residue in postcolonial nations, advocating for the internationalisation of Tamil Studies during the postcolonial historical period. In Sri Lanka, he not only resisted coloniality but also the state oppression of the Tamils, who are both Hindus and Christians, implicitly opposing imperialism. This paper is an attempt to create a political theology that arises from a multi-religious and multi-cultural environment, uniting Tamils through their shared identity to sustain resistance against oppression.