From death row to award-winning author, C. Selvam expresses remorse, reflects on the families of his victims
C. Selvam, a death-row convict turned author, has been awarded the Iyal Award for his prison memoir 'Oru Thooku Kaithiyin Vaakumoolam'. The book reflects on his transformation through literature while serving time for a 1994 murder conviction.
Why it matters
The story highlights the role of literature in rehabilitation and the complex intersection of criminal justice and personal redemption.
From death row to award-winning author, C. Selvam expresses remorse, reflects on the families of his victims left C. Selvam began writing in 2019 with a pen and notebook given to him by Mukilan, a fellow inmate and an activist who was at the forefront of protests against Sterlite and other campaigns. B. Vengadesh B. Vengadesh https://th-i.thgim.com/public/news/national/tamil-nadu/nolidm/article71600197.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/Screenshot%202026-10-18%20at%203.01.35%E2%80%AFPM%20copy.jpg.jpeg Oru Thooku Kaithiyin Vaakumoolam, a prison memoir by the death-row convict, has been selected for the Iyal Award, which is instituted by the Canada-based Tamil Literary Garden CHENNAI Oru Thooku Kaithiyin Vaakumoolam, a prison memoir by death-row convict C. Selvam, is a testament to the transformative power of reading, even on a mind hardened by violence. “I started reading in the early years of my prison life. But I turned my attention to serious literature and novels after we were sentenced to death. Reading serious literature is different from reading ordinary books.
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