About us

Our initiative is part of a shared history of radical political practice. A group of young graduates came together to start a publishing venture in Madras during the early 1970s with a commitment to standby and address the activists and organizers of democratic movements in the state of Tamil Nadu. Over the years, this initiative assumed different names – Paattalikal Veliyeetu (Workers’ Publications), Chennai Book House, South Asian Books and later as South Vision Books – but retained its unflinching commitment to act in support of the struggles of the oppressed. Publishing activities in the early 1990s, especially in the case of regional languages stood at cross roads facing expansion as well as rise in the prices, which made books costlier. One way to offset its impact was to innovate to make progressive literature accessible to all sections of the people, which we did, through Peoples’ Publishing Price mechanism. The Social Science Collective as a Trust was formed to sustain such people centered innovations in making progressive literature accessible to the people.

The Trust will also initiate and support activities involving translation, editing and publications of various kinds cutting across disciplines and forms. The Trust would constantly engage itself in all such spheres of activities to empower the oppressed sections of society, while striving to act as resource base to those involved in people’ struggles, in all their chosen ways. We wish to carry forward the formative vision of this venture from the 1970s with changing times while remaining partisan to the cause of the oppressed classes in all our activities. This website is a humble effort in this direction. We invite all those who share our concerns to help, support and participate in making our effort evolve as a Collective in reality.