Volume VI Special Issue V June 2026

Name of Author : Gayathri A, Prof. Nagya Naik B H

Title of the paper : Inter caste Marriage and the Struggles of Double in Perumal Murugans Pyre

Abstract: Perumal Murugans Pyre 2016 presents a haunting narrative of inter caste marriage in rural Tamil Nadu, exposing the deep rooted violence implanted in caste hierarchies. This research paper analyzes the novel using Dr. B. R. Ambedkars ideas on intercaste marriage, focusing on the hardships faced by those who cross caste boundaries and the struggles of the couple at the center of the story. The protagonists Kumaresan and Saroja personify the tension between love and social rigidity, where their marriage becomes a site of both personal hope and communal hatred. The study argues that Pyre reveals how caste functions not merely as a social identity but as a mechanism of control that punishes deviation through exclusion, humiliation and violence. It explores how Sarojas experience as a woman intensifies this struggle, placing her at the intersection of caste and gender oppression. By putting the novel within the discourse of caste annihilation and social reform, this paper highlights Perumal Murugans critique of endogamy and his representation of inter caste marriage as both resistance and tragedy.

Keywords : Endogamy, Annihilation, Transgression, Resistance, Tragedy.

DOI :

Page Number : 87-90