Kalakshetra Foundation,formerly simply Kalakshetra,is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts,especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in Chennai,India,the academy was founded in January 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale and her husband George Arundale. Under Arundale's guidance,the institution achieved national and international recognition for its unique style and perfectionism. In 1962,Kalakshetra moved to a new 40-hectre campus in Besant Nagar,Chennai.
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.
Khushbu Sundar is an Indian politician,actress,film producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil language films and in a few Telugu,Malayalam,Kannada and Hindi films. She has appeared in over 185 films,and has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards,two Cinema Express Awards,a Kalaimamani Award and a Kerala State Film Award.
Radhika Sarathkumar is an Indian actress,film producer,film director and politician who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema,TV serials and web series as well as Hindi,Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a recipient of a National Film Award,two Nandi Awards,three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and six Filmfare Award South.
Swaminathan Gurumurthy is the editor of the Tamil political weekly magazine Thuglak. Gurumurthy is a part-time director on the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
K. R. Ramaswamy,referred to by the media as Traffic Ramaswamy,was an Indian public interest litigator and social activist from Chennai,Tamil Nadu. He was a mill worker,a founder member of Tamil Nadu's Home Guard,and a self-appointed traffic policeman.
Thiruthurapoondi Thiruvenkatam Vivekananda Dhinakaran is an Indian politician and founding General Secretary of Amma Makkal Munneetra Kazagam. In the past he was the Treasurer of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party and served as the Member of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. He was expelled from the AIADMK in August 2017. He also served as former Member of the 15th Tamil Nadu Assembly from Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (2017-2021). He is the nephew of V. K. Sasikala. He won the highly anticipated RK Nagar by-election in December 2017. On 15 March 2018 Dhinakaran launched his political party named Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam.
Sattanathapuram Venkataraman Shekher is an Indian actor,film director,screenwriter,politician and also a playwright in Tamil-language plays. In 2006,he was elected as an MLA for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) from Mylapore. He is the founder of Federation of Brahmin associations of South India (FEBAS).
Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami,often referred to by his initials E.P.S.,is an Indian politician who is the current leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He served as the 7th chief minister of Tamil Nadu,from 2017 to 2021. He has been the General Secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) since 28 March 2023. Previously,Palaniswami has served as the interim general secretary (2022–23),joint co-ordinator (2017–22) and headquarters secretary (2016–22) of AIADMK.
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.
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Dr Vasudevan Maitreyan is an Indian oncologist and politician from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,He was a member of the Rajya Sabha,the upper house of the Parliament of India for 3 terms from January 2002 to June 2004 and again from July 2007 to July 2019.
Vivekanandan Krishnaveni Sasikala,also known by her married name Sasikala Natarajan,and often referred to by her initials VKS,is an Indian politician. She was a close associate of J. Jayalalithaa,the late chief minister of Tamil Nadu,who headed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) from 1989 until her death in 2016. After Jayalalithaa's death,the party's general council elected her as a temporary secretary general of AIADMK. Before being imprisoned in the Central Prison in Bangalore,Sasikala appointed Edappadi K. Palanisamy as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Palanisamy and other ministers removed her from the post and expelled her from the party in September 2017. Her dismissal was upheld by the Madras High Court in December 2023.
Gayathri Raguram(born 22 April 1984) is an Indian politician for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party and a former choreographer and actress who has worked in the South Indian film industry.
Mahua Moitra is an Indian politician and former investment banker. She won the 2019 Indian general election as an All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) party candidate from Krishnanagar and served as a Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2023 until being expelled. She was re-elected to parliament in the 2024 Indian general election. She was noticed nationally and internationally for her ‘Early signs of fasicism’speech address to Indian Parliament.
The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam is an Indian regional political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is founded by the former member of parliament T. T. V. Dhinakaran at Melur on 15 March 2018 as a breakaway faction from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after his expulsion him from party. The headquarters of the party is located at Westcott Salai,Royapettah,Chennai.
By-elections to eighteen state assembly constituencies were held in Tamil Nadu on 18 April 2019 together with 2019 Indian general election. It was considered to be mini-assembly election battle for the power in Tamil Nadu. The ruling government had to prove its majority while the opposition was trying hard to get maximum seats. There were 22 seats vacant in the Tamil Nadu assembly,By-election took place in two phases and in the first phase for 18 assembly constituencies together with Lok Sabha general election on 18 April 2019 in the state. Remaining 4 assembly constituencies election was held on 19 May. The counting of votes was conducted on 23 May,and on the same day the results were announced. Then the by-elections for 2 seats Vikravandi and Nanguneri were conducted on 21 October 2019
The Sixteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election was held on 6 April 2021,to elect representatives from the 234 constituencies in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election,ending the decade-long reign of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The DMK's leader M. K. Stalin became the eighth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,and the 12th Chief Minister since the 1956 reorganization. He replaced Edappadi K. Palaniswami of the AIADMK.
The Pollachi sexual assault case refers to a case of rape and extortion of numerous women by a gang in Pollachi,Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The gang would entice women into isolated places after befriending them on social media and sexually assault them and filmed the act. The videos were later used to blackmail the women for sexual favors or money. The gang came into spotlight after the family of a 19-year-old college student who claimed to had been sexually assaulted and blackmailed complained to the police. According to media accounts,at least 200 women are sexually assaulted in the very same manner and the victims were college and school teachers,doctors,higher secondary school students from all over the state. On the mobiles of the accused,police said they discovered dozens of video recordings of women being abused at a farmhouse belonging to one of the accused and some were leaked.
