Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Erode Venkata Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), also called Periyar, Thanthai Periyar or E. V. R. by his followers, was an Indian philosopher, politician, independence and social activist. He started the Self-Respect Movement or the Dravidian Movement and proposed the creation of an independent state called Dravida Nadu, uniting the states of South India. He was also the founder of the socio-cultural organization, Dravidar Kazhagam. Periyar started his weekly magazine, "Kudi Arasu" to express his views against the Congress party and Mahatma Gandhi.