The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) at Madurai on 17 October 1972 as a breakaway faction from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after M. Karunanidhi expelled him from the party for demanding an account as the party treasurer. The party is adhering to the policies of socialism and secularism based on the principles of C. N. Annadurai (Anna) collectively coined as Annaism by M.G.R. The party has won a seven-time majority in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
Pattali Makkal Katchi is a party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyar caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It contests the elections with the "Ripe Mango" symbol.
Rishibala Naval, known professionally as Simran, is an Indian actress, producer, choreographer and playback singer who works predominantly in Tamil language films also appeared in, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada, Malayalam films. One of the most prolific actresses of Tamil cinema, Simran is the recipient of numerous accolades including three Filmfare Awards South and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award.
Viswanathan Shanta was an Indian oncologist and the chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai. She is best known for her efforts towards making quality and affordable cancer treatment accessible to all patients in her country. She dedicated herself to the mission of organizing care for cancer patients, study of the disease, research on its prevention and cure, spreading awareness about the disease, and developing specialists and scientists in various subspecialties of oncology. Her work won her several awards, including the Magsaysay Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award given by the Government of India.
Janaki Devi Bajaj was an Indian independence activist who was jailed for participating in Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932.
Krishnammal Jagannathan is an Indian social activist from the state of Tamil Nadu. She and her husband, Sankaralingam Jagannathan, protested against social injustice and they are Gandhian activists. Her work includes upliftment of the landless, and the poor; she has sometimes fought against governments as well as big industries. She was earlier involved in the Indian independence movement, along with her husband, and was also a close associate of Vinoba Bhave. In 2008 she received the Right Livelihood Award, which she shared with her husband. She was given the Padma Bhushan; India's third highest civilian award; in 2020.
Tiruppur Subrahmanya Avinashilingam Chettiar was an Indian lawyer, politician, freedom fighter and Gandhian. He served as the Education Minister of Madras Presidency from 1946 to 1949 and was responsible for introducing Tamil as the medium of instruction. He is also credited with having commissioned the creation of the first Tamil encyclopedia.
Sarojini Varadappan was an Indian social worker from the state of Tamil Nadu. She was the daughter of former Chief Minister of Madras, M. Bhaktavatsalam.
The Working Women's Forum (WWF) is a women's organisation in southern India. It was founded in 1978 by Jaya Arunachalam in Madras (Chennai). The WWF aims to empower poor women in southern India by providing microcredit, a trade union, health care and training. It works with the poor women working in the informal sector, such as street vendors, silkworm growers and silk weavers, handicraft producers, washerwomen and fisherwomen.
Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan Ravi mononymously called as Radha Ravi is an Indian actor and politician who played supporting roles throughout his career. He is the son of actor M. R. Radha and the uncle of Vasu Vikram and half-brother of Radhika. He is a former chief member of the Tamil Nadu Film Artistes' Association. He is known for his roles as antagonists in Tamil films and a he acted in the serial Chellamae. He is also known for his controversial criticism of other film personalities.
Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 1 January 1988 to 5 December 2016, she was the 5th and longest-serving general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their "Amma" (Mother) and "Puratchi Thalaivi".
Biswanath Pattnaik was a Gandhian, Sarvodaya and Bhoodan leader. He won the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008 for his social, medical, and education work in the tribe-dominated areas of Kujendri and Baliguda, Odisha state, India.
Rajammal Packiyanathan Devadas was an Indian nutritionist, educationist and a former chancellor of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, popularly known as Avinashilingam Deemed University. She was a member of the State Planning Commission of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Commission for Women and the elected vice president of the World Food Conference. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1992.
Sudha Kongara Prasad, known professionally as Sudha Kongara, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil. She made her directorial debut with the Tamil film Drohi. In 2016, she directed the bilingual Irudhi Suttru for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil. She subsequently directed the film's Telugu remake, Guru (2017). In her career, working over 3 languages, she has won two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and two SIIMA Awards.
Supriya Sahu, born on 27 July 1968, is an Indian bureaucrat belonging to the 1991 batch of the Indian Administrative Service. Presently, she holds the position of Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu. She is currently posted as Additional Chief Secretary to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Jothimani Sennimalai, also known mononymously as Jothimani, is an Indian politician, writer, and social worker. A member of the Indian National Congress, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Karur, Tamil Nadu in 2019. Having joined politics at a young age, Jothimani served separate terms as the General Secretary and Vice President of Indian Youth Congress and Tamil Nadu Youth Congress respectively.
Vanathi Srinivasan is an Indian politician and a lawyer from Tamil Nadu. She has practiced law in Madras High Court since 1993. She is a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Coimbatore South Assembly constituency. She currently serves as national president of the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She is member of central election committee of party since 2022.
Vani Bhojan is an Indian actress, who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. She made her Telugu film debut with Meeku Maathrame Cheptha in 2019 and her Tamil film debut with Oh My Kadavule in 2020.
Shashikala Sinha is an Indian scientist. She is known for her role as a project director in the Endo-Atmospheric Interceptor Missile Advanced Area Defence programme, part of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme. As of 2019 she is graded as a 'Scientist H' in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and leads a team of around 300 scientists.
Pappammal was an Indian organic farmer from Tamil Nadu. At the age of 105, she was argued to be the oldest farmer still active in the field. She was regarded as an agricultural pioneer and worked with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University's department of education. She worked every day on her 2.5 acres of land. Due to her contributions to organic farming, the government of India honoured her in 2021 with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
