Very cheap small books were brought to markets in nineteenth-century Madras towns and sold at crossroads, allowing poor people travelling to markets to buy them. Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding the access to books.

From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination began to be written about in many printed tracts and essays. Gulamgiri of Jyotibaphule exposed the ill-treatment to the low castes. Dr Ambedkar and E V Ramaswamy Naicker wrote powerfully against untouchability.

Chhote aur bade ka sawal of Kashibaba exposed the link between caste and class exploitation. Sudarshan chakr published a collection called Sacchikavitayan about Kanpur mill worker.

These books highlighted how people were exploited by the upper caste people. These books were read all over India. Efforts were made by the social reformers to improve the conditions of poor workers through print.

These narratives contained issues related to class oppression. So poor’s problems also came to the fore.