List of Tamil people

This is a list of notable Tamils.

Kings and rulers

Tamil dynasties

Other royal families

Rulers of Ramnad
- Ramanatha Sethupathi (?-1979), last Raja of Ramnad estate
- Rajeswari Nachiyar, only daughter of last Raja Ramanatha Sethupathi, present titular ruler of Ramnad estate
- Rajkumar Sethupathi, actor, brother of last Raja Ramanatha Sethupathi and Latha, married leading actress in the 1980s Sripriya
- Latha, actress, sister of last Raja Ramanatha Sethupathi and actor Rajkumar Sethupathi
Rulers of Pudukkottai
- Rajagopala Thondaiman (1922–1997), last ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai
- R. Rajagopala Thondaiman (1958–?), present head of the royal house of Pudukkottai, son of Radhakrishna Thondaiman, nephew of last ruler Rajagopala Thondaiman
- Charubala Thondaiman (1958–), wife of R. Rajagopala Thondaiman, member of the INC, former mayor of Tiruchirappalli (2001–2009)

Presidents and Governor General

Indian presidents

C. Rajagopalachari (1878–1972), former Governor-General of India, 1948–1950
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), prominent philosopher and writer; received the Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President; first President from South India
R. Venkataraman (1910–2009), former President of India, 1987–1992; formerly the Vice President of India
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015), former President of India; Bharat Ratna awardee; "Missile Man of India"

Other countries' presidents

S.R. Nathan (1924–2016), President of Singapore (2002–2011)
Veerasamy Ringadoo (1920–2000), President of Mauritius (1992–1992)
Angidi Veeriah Chettiar (1928–2010), acting President of Mauritius (2002–2002)
Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay (1945–), acting President of Mauritius (2002–2002)

International positions

Radhika Coomaraswamy (1953–), Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
James Appathurai (1968–), spokesperson for NATO
Roy Padayachie (1950–2012), Minister of Public Service and Administration of the Republic of South Africa; also served in the economics desk of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and as deputy head of local government portfolio; consultant to UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank^[1]

Independence movement

Indian independence movement

Dheeran Chinnamalai (1756-1805)
Rettamalai Srinivasan (1860–1945)
V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936)
Subramanya Bharathi (1882–1921), poet and social reformer
V. Kalyanasundaram (1883–1953), scholar
Subramaniya Siva (1884–1925), writer
Jeevanandham (1907–1963)
Champakaraman Pillai (1891–1934)
Tiruppur Kumaran (1904–1932)
U. Muthuramalingam Thevar (1908-1963)

Independence movements in other countries

Thillaiaadi Valliammai (1898–1914), South African militant
V.T. Sambanthan (1919–1979), one of the three founding fathers of Malaysia
Velupillai Prabhakaran (1954–2009), founder and leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, fighting for an inpendent Tamil state in Sri Lanka, Tamil Eelam

Contributions to Tamil people

Marshal Nesamony (1895–1968), responsible for Kanyakumari district merger with Tamil Nadu
Varadarajan Mudaliar (1926–1988), known as Vardha Bhai; the Tamil movie Nayakan was based on his life story

Governors of states

C. Rangarajan (1932–), Governor of Andhra Pradesh (1997–2003)
T.V. Rajeswar (1926–), IPS Officer, Governor of Sikkim (1985–1989), West Bengal (1989–1990) and Uttar Pradesh (2004–2009)
E.S.L. Narasimhan (1945–), IPS officer, Governor of Chhattisgarh (2007–2010), Andhra Pradesh (2007–incumbent) and Telangana (2014–incumbent)
P. Sathasivam (1949–), Chief Justice of India (2013–2014), Governor of Kerala (2014–)

Chief Ministers

Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu

K. Kamaraj (1903–1975), Bharat Ratna awardee
M. Bhaktavatsalam (1897- 1987)
V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000)
O. Panneerselvam (1951–)
C. N. Annadurai
M. G. Ramachandran (1977-1987) , Bharat Ratna awardee
Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Jayalalithaa (1948-2016)
M. Karunanidhi (1924-2018)

Chief Ministers of Pondicherry

V. Venkatasubha Reddiar (1909–1982), first Indian Chief Minister of Pondicherry; his son V. Vaithilingam was also the chief minister of Pondicherry
Subramanyan Ramaswamy
V. Vaithilingam (1950–), son of former chief minister of Pondicherry V. Venkatasubha Reddiar
P. Shanmugam (1927–2013)
N. Rangaswamy (1950–)
V. Narayanasamy (2016–)

Central Ministers

R.K. Shanmukham Chetty (1892–1953), former Finance Minister of independent India
Jana Krishnamurthi (1928–2007), former Union Law Minister
K. Santhanam (1895–1980), former Railway Minister of independent India
Satyavani Muthu (1923–1999), former Union Cabinet Minister
Vazhappady K. Ramamurthy (1940–2002), former Union Cabinet Minister of Petroleum
M. Arunachalam (1944–2004), former union Cabinet Minister of Labour
P. Chidambaram (1945–), former Finance Minister of India
A. Raja (1963–), former Communications and Information Technology Minister of India
Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan (1947–), former Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment of India
K. Venkatapathy (1947–), former Minister of State for Law and Justice of India
S. Regupathy (1950–), former Minister of State for Forests and Environment
Gingee N. Ramachandran (1944–), former Union Minister of State, Finance
M.K. Azhagiri (1951–), former Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers
S. S. Palanimanickam (1950–), former Minister of State for Finance of India
S. Jagathrakshakan (1950–), former Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
T. R. Baalu (1941–), former Minister of Shipping and Road Transport and Highways
Mani Shankar Aiyar (1941–), former Union Cabinet Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas
Subramanian Swamy (1939–), former Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Law
R. Velu (1940–), former Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways
V. Radhika Selvi (1976–), former Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs
V. Narayanasamy (1947–), former Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Nirmala Sitharaman (1959–), present Minister of Defence Ministry^[2]^{[better source needed]}
Anbumani Ramadoss (1968–), former Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India
Pon Radhakrishnan (1952–), present Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping

Political leaders in other countries

Moses Veerasammy Nagamootoo (1947–), Prime Minister, Guyana
S Jayakumar (1939–), former Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore
Tharman Shanmugaratnam (1957–), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Singapore
Vivian Balakrishnan (1961–), Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Singapore
S Rajaratnam (1915–2006), former Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore
S Dhanabalan (1937–), former Minister (various portfolios), Singapore
J. B. Jeyaretnam (1926–2008), ex-opposition leader and MP, Singapore
Ramasamy Palanisamy (1949–), Deputy Chief Minister of Penang state, Malaysia
Nagalingam Shanmugathasan (1920–1993), founding General Secretary of the Ceylon Communist Party, Sri Lanka
Bala Tampoe (1922–2014), Tamil trade unionist, Sri Lanka
Pillayan alias Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (1975–), former Chief Minister of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
P. P. Devaraj (1929–), former Cabinet Minister of Sri Lanka
Radhakrishnan, Deputy Minister for Industry Affairs of Sri Lanka
Visvanathan Rudrakumaran, Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam
Samy Vellu (1937–), former Works Minister and Leader of Malaysian Indian Congress, Malaysia
K.R. Somasundram (1930–), politician and member of Malaysian Indian Congress, Malaysia
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (1926–2008), founder of Reform Party of Singapore
Radhakrishna Padayachi (1950–2012), Deputy Minister for Communication, Republic of South Africa
Rathika Sitsabaiesan (1981–), Member of Parliament, Canada
Gunasagaran Gounder, prominent politician and a member of Fiji Labour Party, Fiji
Perumal Mupnar, prominent politician and a member of Fiji Labour Party, Fiji
S.J.V. Chelvanayakam (1898–1977), leader and father figure of Sri Lankan Tamils
Savumiamoorthy Thondaman (1913–1999), leader of Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka and had served the Sri Lankan Cabinet
N. Shanmugathasan (1920–1993), prominent Communist politician, Sri Lanka
Joseph Pararajasingham (1934–2005), Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka
Lakshman Kadirgamar (1932–2005), former Foreign Minister, Sri Lanka
Veerasingham Anandasangaree (1933–), Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka
Murugesu Sivasithamparam (1923–2002), Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan (1933–), Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka
Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam (1944–1999), Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka
Appapillai Amirthalingam (1927–1989), leader of the opposition, Parliament of Sri Lanka
Douglas Devananda (1957–), leader of EPDP and Minister of Rehabilitation, Sri Lanka
Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani (1903–1974), Tamil journalist, writer, publisher, social activist
Patrick Pillay, Minister of External Affairs of the Seychelles
Jean-Paul Virapoullé (1944–), member of the Senate of France, representing the island of Réunion
E.E.C. Thuraisingham (1898–1979), first local Member in British-ruled Malaya

Political families

Tamil Nadu

P.T. Rajan family

P.T. Rajan (1892–1974), former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency
- P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan (1932–2006), former minister in the state cabinet; son of P.T. Rajan

P. Subbarayan family

P. Subbarayan (1889–1962), former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (1926–1930)
- Mohan Kumaramangalam (1916–1973), former Minister of Steel and Mines, son of P. Subbarayan
  - Rangarajan Kumaramangalam (1952–2000), member of parliament (Lok Sabha); son of Mohan Kumaramangalam, grandson of P. Subbarayan
  - Lalitha Kumaramangalam (1957–), member of the National Executive of the BJP; daughter of Mohan Kumaramangalam, granddaughter of P. Subbarayan
- Parvathi Krishnan (1919–2014), was member of the Communist Party of India; daughter of P. Subbarayan

C.P. Ramaswami Iyer family

Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer (1879–1966), Member of Madras Legislative Council

M. Bhaktavatsalam family

M. Bhaktavatsalam (1897–1987), Chief Minister of Madras state (1962–1967)
- - Jayanthi Natarajan (1954–), former Minister of State for Environment and Forests, daughter of Rukmini, granddaughter of M. Bhaktavatsalam

Rajaji family

C. Rajagopalachari alias Rajaji (1878–1972), Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (1937–1940)

E.V.K. Sampath family

- E.V.K.S. Elangovan (1948–), son of E. V. K. Sampath

Kumari Ananthan family

H. Kumari Ananthan (1933–)
- Tamilisai Soundararajan (1961–), daughter of Kumari Ananthan
H. Vasanthakumar (1950–), brother of Kumari Ananthan

G.K. Moopanar family

G.K. Moopanar (1931–2001), Indian politician and founder of the Tamil Maanila Congress
- G.K. Vasan (1964–), State leader of the Indian National Congress, former Union Minister of Shipping, son of G.K. Moopanar

M. Karunanidhi family

M. Karunanidhi (1924–), leader of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- M.K. Alagiri (1951–), former Central Minister, son of Karunanidhi
- M.K. Stalin (1953–), former Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, son of Karunanidhi
- Kanimozhi (1968–), former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), daughter of Karunanidhi
- Murasoli Maran (1934–2003), former Central Minister, nephew of Karunanidhi
- Dayanidhi Maran (1966–), former Central Minister, grand-nephew of Karunanidhi

Dr. S. Ramadoss family

S. Ramadoss
- Anbumani Ramadoss

Sri Lanka

Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy family

Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy (1783–1836), Gate Mudaliyar, Member of Legislative Council
- Muthu Coomaraswamy (1833–1879), Member of Legislative Council, son of Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy
  - Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877–1947), grandson of Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy

Arunachalam Ponnambalam family

Arunachalam Ponnambalam (1814–1887), son in law of Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy
- P. Coomaraswamy (1849–1906), first son of Arunachalam Ponnambalam
- P. Ramanathan (1851–1930), second son of Arunachalam Ponnambalam
  - Arunachalam Mahadeva (1885–1969), son of P. Ramanathan
    - Baku Mahadeva (1921–2013), grandson of P. Ramanathan
- P. Arunachalam (1853–1924), third son of Arunachalam Ponnambalam

S. Pararajasingam family

S. Pararajasingam, senator, son in law of P. Arunachalam, married Pathmavathy (daughter of P. Arunachalam)

V.P. Ganeshan family

V.P. Ganeshan, founder of the Democratic Workers' Congress, film producer and actor
- Mano Ganesan (1959–), Member of Parliament, Provincial Councillor, son of V.P. Ganeshan
- Praba Ganesan (1964–), Member of Parliament, Provincial Councillor, son of V.P. Ganeshan

Savumiamoorthy Thondaiman family

Savumiamoorthy Thondaiman (1913–1999), founder and leader of the Ceylon Workers' Congress, government minister, Member of Parliament
- - Arumugam Thondaiman (1964–), leader of the Ceylon Workers' Congress, Member of Parliament, grandson of Savumiamoorthy Thondaiman

G.G. Ponnambalam family

G.G. Ponnambalam (1901–1977), founder and leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, government minister, Member of Parliament, Member of State Council
- Kumar Ponnambalam (1940–2000), former leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, presidential candidate (1982), son of G.G. Ponnambalam
  - Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam (1974–), present leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, son of Kumar Ponnambalam, grandson of G.G. Ponnambalam

Arumugam Canagaratnam family

Arumugam Canagaratnam (873-?), Member of Legislative Council
- Cathiravelu Sittampalam (1898–1964), government minister, Member of Parliament, son of A. Cathiravelu, nephew of A.Canagaratnam
- Cathiravelu Ponnambalam, first mayor of Jaffna, son of A. Cathiravelu, nephew of A. Canagaratnam

Military leaders

Army

General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam (1913–2000), 7th Chief of Army Staff (1966–1969)
General Krishnaswamy Sundararajan (1930–1999), 14th Chief of Army Staff (1986–1988)

Navy

Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson, 12th Chief of Naval Staff, India, 1982–1984
Admiral Sushil Kumar, 16th Chief of the Naval Staff (India) (1988–2001)

Air Force

Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishna Swamy (1943–), 19th Chief of Air Staff (2001–2004)

Award winners

Nobel Prize winners

C. V. Raman, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1930
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1983
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2009

Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian honour.

K. Kamaraj, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India
C.V. Raman, first Asian Nobel Laureate to win prize in the science field
C. Subramaniam, for Public Affairs, 1998
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi, first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna; first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award
C.Rajagopalachari, first governor general of India
Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, second President of India
M.G.Ramachandran, film actor and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

Padma Vibhushan

The Padma Vibhushan is India's second highest civilian honour.

Arcot Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar, for Medicine, 1963
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, for Science & Engineering, 1968
K. V. Kalyana Sundaram, for Public Affairs, 1968
Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, for Civil Service, 1970
T. Swaminathan, for Civil Service, 1973
T. Balasaraswati, for Arts, 1977
V. Arunachalam, for Literature & Education, 1990
Raja Jesudoss Chelliah, for Public Affairs, 2007
Balu Sankaran, for Medicine, 2007
V. Krishnamurthy, for Civil Service, 2007

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is India's third highest civilian honour.

Sivaji Ganesan, 1984
Kamal Haasan, Arts
Ilaiyaraaja, veteran musician and Tamil music director
A. R. Rahman, Oscar-winning Musician from Chennai; referred to as the Mozart of Madras
Arogyaswami Paulraj, wireless technology pioneer
Shiv Nadar, Indian industrialist and philanthropist
Jayakanthan, author

Padma Shri

The Padma Shri is India's fourth highest civilian honour.

Sivaji Ganesan (1966), Arts
K. Balachander (1987), Arts
Kamal Haasan (1990), Arts
Vairamuthu (2003), Literature and Education
B. Palaniappan (2006), Medicine
Sivanthi Adithan (2008), Literature and Education
Actor Vivek (2009), Arts
Mecca Rafeeque Ahmed (2011), businessman and entrepreneur

Ramon Magsaysay Award

The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1957 in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, the late president of the Philippines. It is often considered to be Asia's Nobel Prize.

M.S.Swaminathan, for Community Leadership, 1971
M.S. Subbulakshmi, for classical carnatic genre, 1974
Jockin Arputham, for Peace and International Understanding, 2000
Palagummi Sainath, journalist – 2007
Kulandei Francis, 2012

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema, given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema.

Sivaji Ganesan, 1996
K.Balachander, 2011

Param Vir Chakra

The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military honor.

Major Ramaswamy Parmeshwaran (1946–1987), awarded in 1987 (posthumous) for IPKF operations in Sri Lanka

Sahitya Akademi Award

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India's highest sporting honour.

Viswanathan Anand, for chess (1991–92); first recipient of the award

Jnanpith Award

Akilan, Jnanpith Award, 1975
Jayakanthan, Jnanpith Award, 2002

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Vyjayanthimala, Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1982

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship

Guinness World Records

L. Athira Krishna, Guinness World Record holder
Suresh Joachim, Canadian actor, producer, and multiple-Guinness World Record holder
V.S. Kumar Anandan, his many records include swimming the Palk Strait, from Sri Lanka to India and back in 51 hours, in 1971
Kutraleeswaran, swam across English Channel in 1994 when he was just 13 years old; the same year, he swam across six channels to break Mihir Sen's record of swimming across five channels in a calendar year
Rajasekharan Parameswaran, Guinness World Records^[3] holder.

Arjuna Award

The Arjuna Award was instituted in 1961 by the Government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in national sports.

Kutraleeswaran, youngest Arjuna Award winner

Oscar awards

A. R. Rahman, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2009

Social workers

M.B.Nirmal, founder and chairman of Exnora International
Krishnammal Jagannathan
Naraina Pillai
Anjali Gopalan, first Indian Tamil woman awarded with the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, "Knight in the order of the legions of Honor", the highest award from France, 2013
Harish Iyer, Mumbai based blogger^[4] and LGBT rights activist^[5]
Chinna Pillai, started Kalanjiam, a microcredit movement in villages
Traffic Ramasamy A self-appointed traffic policeman, public interest litigator and social activist from Chennai.

Business and administration

Tamil billionaires

Tamil executives and business people

Palani G. Periasamy, Chairman of PGP Group of Companies
Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, Inc.
Kalanidhi Maran, founder and head of Sun TV Network; owner of SpiceJet Airline and owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL Team
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata & sons
Subramaniam Ramadorai, adviser, Prime Minister of India
Valiama Narain
Ramamurthy Thyagarajan

Educationalists

L. S. Kandasamy, teacher at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Jeppiaar, Founder, Sathyabama University
V. L. Ethiraj, Founder, Ethiraj College for Women
Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, Founder, Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan
Munirathna Anandakrishnan, Former Chairman, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur & Former Vice-Chancellor, Anna University
Bala V. Balachandran, Founder, Dean & Chairman, Great Lakes Institute of Management
V. M. Muralidharan, Chairman, Ethiraj College for Women
Subra Suresh, President of Carnegie Mellon University, Former Dean of the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Former Director of the National Science Foundation^[6]
Ramayya Krishnan, Dean of Heinz College and H. John Heinz III, W. W. Cooper and Ruth F. Cooper Professor of Management science and Information systems at Carnegie Mellon University

Philanthropists

Diplomats

Gopalapuram Parthasarathy, diplomat and author in India
Yogendra Duraiswamy, Sri Lankan diplomat
Tamara Kunanayakam
Arunachalam Mahadeva
Anton Muttukumaru
Manicasothy Saravanamuttu
H. W. Thambiah
Krishnan Srinivasan
K. Raghunath
Beno Zephine N L

Journalists and broadcasters

J. S. Tissainayagam, journalist, first winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism
George Alagiah, BBC reporter and journalist
James Coomarasamy, BBC reporter and journalist
Darshini David, BBC reporter and journalist
Tim Kash, MTV and BBC reporter and journalist
Taraki Sivaram, political analyst and a senior editor for Tamilnet.com
E. Saravanapavan, managing director of the Uthayan and Sudar Oli Tamil newspapers
N. Ram, editor-in-chief of The Hindu newspaper owned by Kasthuri and Sons
Cho Ramaswamy, editor of the Tamil political journal Tughlaq
Thenkachi Ko. Swaminathan, Deputy Director of All India Radio, 'Indru oru thagaval Fame'

Scientists

Mylswamy Annadurai, scientist with the Indian Space Research Organization; Director of ISRO Satellite Centre
Shiva Ayyadurai, as a high school student in 1979, he developed an electronic version of an interoffice mail system, which he called "EMAIL" and copyrighted in 1982

Social anthropologists

Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah

Academicians

Arumugam Vijiaratnam, became the first Pro-Chancellor of Nanyang Technological University in 1992 and served until 2005
Bala V. Balachandran, founder and dean of Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India; professor at Northwestern University
V. L. Ethiraj, founder of Ethiraj College for Women
Malcolm Adiseshiah (1910–1994), economist; former Deputy Director General of UNESCO; founder of MIDS (Madras Institute of Development Studies)
V C Kulandaiswamy, educator and technologist; formerly Vice Chancellor of Anna University, IGNOU and Tamil Virtual University
M. Varadarasan, winner of sahitya Academy Award; Ex-Vice Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University
Prof Philip Jeyaretnam, professor of law; member of Public Service Commission
Prof Sittampalam Shanmugaratnam, former Head of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the National University of Singapore
Arjun Appadurai, contemporary social theorist; educator; founder of the School of International Relations, JNU, New Delhi
Dr. H.S.S. Lawrence, educator; formerly Director of School Education, Tamil Nadu; UNESCO Expert to the Government of Afghanistan
C.K. Prahalad, Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Ross School of Business of the University of Michigan
Prof B.P. Sanjay, Vice-Chancellor of First Central University in Tamil Nadu at Tiruvaroor
M. S. Ananth, Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Xavier Thaninayagam, known for setting up the International Association for Tamil Research (IATR) and organising the first World Tamil Conference
Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer, appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
Sanjay Subrahmanyam, awarded the Infosys Prize in the field of humanities (history) in 2012
Indira Samarasekera, 12th and current president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist known primarily for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics

Agriculture

G. Nammalvar, Indian organic farming scientist
M. S. Swaminathan, agricultural scientist and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee

Botanists

Computer science

Ramanathan V. Guha, known for his work on Cyc, Schema.org, Meta Content Framework, Resource Description Framework; developed the first version of RSS
Madhu Sudan (1966–), professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; member of MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Hari Balakrishnan, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; member of MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Arogyaswami Paulraj (1944–), Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University; a pioneer of wireless smart antenna technology
Shiva Ayyadurai
Ravindran Kannan, a principal researcher at Microsoft Research India
T. V. Raman
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

Finance and economics

Marti Subrahmanyam, professor at New York University (NYU); on board of directors of Infosys and ICICI
Bala V. Balachandran, professor at the Kellogg School of Management
Ravi Jagannathan, economist and professor at the Kellogg School of Management
H.V.R. Iyengar, ex-Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1957–1962)
S. Jagannathan, ex-Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1970–1975); executive at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
M. Narasimham, banker; ex-Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1977); executive at the World Bank and IMF
S. Venkitaramanan, ex-Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1990–1992)
K. Ramachandran, Director and CFO of Barclays Wealth, India (2008–)
T.N. Srinivasan (1933–), economist; Samuel C. Park, Jr. Professor of Economics at Yale University
Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor and economist, Government of India
Sendhil Mullainathan, co-founder of Ideas-42
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Ramon Navaratnam
Raj Chetty, listed in 2008 by The Economist as one of the top eight young economists in the world
Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Indian economist

Law

K. Sripavan, Chief Justice of Sri Lanka; former Deputy Solicitor General; judge and president of the Court of Appeal; Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Rajesh Sreenivasan
Karthy Govender, Commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission; law professor at the University of Natal
Kamala Harris, U.S. Attorney
K.S. Rajah, former Supreme Court Judge – Singapore
Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; South African of Indian origin and Tamil descent; first non-white woman on the High Court of South Africa; has served as a judge of the International Criminal Court and President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
M. Patanjali Sastri, Second Chief Justice of India
V. Bhashyam Aiyangar, lawyer and jurist
A. Vaidyanatha Iyer(1890–1955), Tamil Indian activist; participated in the Indian independence movement and organized the temple entry movement in the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai; President of the Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangh
Mythili Raman, Tamil American lawyer; current acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
Sri Srinivasan, United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Mathematics

Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920), known for his contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions
Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha, known for his book Vedic Mathematics
Ramachandran Balasubramanian, Indian number theorist; Director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, India
Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–1950), known for his work in number theory
Kollagunta Gopalaiyer Ramanathan (1920–1992), known work in number theory
Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer (1918–2001), mathematician and Tamil rights activist from Sri Lanka; recipient of the Order of Australia
C. S. Seshadri, Director of the Chennai Mathematical Institute; Trieste awardee
S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, mathematician and fellow of the Royal Society, Abel Prize winner
C. P. Ramanujam (1938–1974), worked on number theory and algebraic geometry
T. S. Vijayaraghavan (1902–1955), worked on Pisot–Vijayaraghavan number
Ravindran Kannan, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Yale University; joint winner of the 1991 Fulkerson Prize in discrete mathematics for work on the volumes of convex bodies
Kannan Soundararajan
Conjeeveram Seshadri
Ramaiyengar Sridharan
Chidambaram Padmanabhan Ramanujam
Srinivasacharya Raghavan
Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan
A. A. Krishnaswami Ayyangar, exponent of Vedic mathematics
Mudumbai Seshachalu Narasimhan, mathematician and fellow of the Royal Society (1996)
K. R. Parthasarathy, Professor Emeritus at the Indian Statistical Institute of New Delhi
Ramaiyengar Sridharan, mathematician at Chennai Mathematical Institute; awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in Mathematical Science
Raman Parimala, known for her contributions to algebra

Medicine

Balamurali Ambati, world's youngest doctor at age 17^[7]
Rangaswamy Srinivasan, ultraviolet excimer laser / LASIK inventor at IBM Research
V.S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist; Director Professor at UC San Diego
S.S. Ratnam, pioneer in Singapore in-vitro fertilisation; Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry
Ganapathi Thanikaimoni, palynologist at French Institute of Pondicherry; awarded the Fyson Prize in Natural Science
Govindappa Venkataswamy, founder of Aravind Eye Hospital
Ravi Iyengar, professor and founder of the Iyengar Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Gunamudian David Boaz, Indian Tamil psychologist

Engineering (scientists)

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, 1930 Nobel Prize Winner in physics
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1983 Nobel Prize Winner in physics
Dr. K. Kasturirangan, former Chairman of ISRO; director of the National Institute of Advanced studies (NIAS)
Raja Ramanna, former Chairman of Department of Atomic Energy; presided over India's first nuclear test in 1974
Dr. P.K. Iyengar, former Chairman of Department of Atomic Energy
M.R.Srinivasan, former Chairman of the Department of Atomic Energy
R. Chidambaram, scientific adviser to the Prime Minister of India and ex-Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission
S.R. Ranganathan, devised the five laws of library science
A. Sivathanu Pillai, defence scientist; CEO of the Indo-Russian Brahmos company
G. N. Ramachandran (1922–2001), made major contributions to biology and physics
R. V. Perumal, former Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre
Ramanuja Vijayaraghavan (1931–), physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Udaya Kumar, designer of the Indian rupee sign
Vallampadugai Srinivasa Raghavan Arunachalam
Poondi Kumaraswamy, only person to have received both the Homi Bhabha Fellowship 1967–69 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship 1975–77, two of the country's top research awards; hydrologist
P.S.Krishnaprasad, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Maryland
S. Somasegar, recipient of the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award
S.Vanajah, the only woman among four finalists who outlasted 11,000 other Malaysians who applied for the astronaut selection process in 2003
Ramamurti Shankar, John Randolph Huffman Professor of Physics at Yale University
B.C. Shekhar, modernised Malaysia's natural rubber industry
Raman Sundrum, developed a class of models called the Randall-Sundrum models
Siva Sivananthan, awarded the "Champion of Change" (Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Innovators category) by the White House

Zoologists

Mahadeva Subramania Mani, entomologist

Music

Tamil music

Muthu Thandavar, one of the Tamil Trinity
Marimutthu Pillai, one of the Tamil Trinity
Arunachala Kavi, one of the Tamil Trinity
Kollangudi Karuppayee
Nagore E.M. Hanifa

Carnatic music

Ranjani & Gayatri
Papanasam Sivan
Sikkil Gurucharan
Lalgudi Jayaraman
Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar
T.M. Krishna
Madurai Mani Iyer
Veena Dhanammal
E. Gayathri
D.K. Pattammal
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Muthuswami Dikshitar
N. Ramani
L. Athira Krishna
Aruna Sairam
T. Brinda
T. Muktha
T. Viswanathan
R. Vedavalli
Sirkazhi Govindarajan
Maharajapuram Santhanam
Sanjay Subrahmanyan
T.M. Krishna
T.M. Soundararajan
Nithyashree Mahadevan
Nisha Rajagopalan
Chinmayi
Mahathi
Aruna Sayeeram
Alathur Brothers, Alathur Brothers Srinivasa Iyer (1912–1964) and Sivasubramania Iyer (1916–1980)
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar
Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar
Patnam Subramania Iyer
G.N. Balasubramaniam
S. Sowmya
M.L. Vasanthakumari
Charumathi Ramachandran
Vasundhara Devi
Vyjayanthimala
Abraham Pandithar, musicologist and siddha medicine practitioner from Madras Presidency, British India

M.S.Subbulakshmi

Film music

K.V. Mahadevan (1918–2001), composer; winner of the National Film Award for Best Music Direction (1968 & 1980)
T.K. Ramamoorthy (1922–2013), composer
Ilayaraja
Gangai Amaran (1947–), composer, singer, director
Chandrabose (?-2010), composer
Sankar Ganesh, composer
Deva (1950–), composer, singer
S. A. Rajkumar (1964–), composer
Sirpy (1962–), composer
A. R. Rahman (1967–), composer, singer, winner of Academy Award for Best Original Song, National Film Award for Best Music Direction (1993, 1997, 2002 & 2003)
Yuvan Shankar Raja (1979–), composer, singer, winner of Cyprus International Film Festival Award in 2006 for Raam
Harris Jayaraj (1975–), composer
D. Imman (1983–), composer, singer
Srikanth Deva, composer, singer
Bobo Shashi, composer, singer
Karthik Raja (1973–), composer
Bharathwaj (1960–), composer, singer
G. V. Prakash Kumar (1987–), composer, singer, actor
Vijay Antony (1975–), composer, singer, actor
Anirudh Ravichander (1990–), composer, singer
James Vasanthan, composer
Santhosh Narayanan (1983–), composer
Mohamaad Ghibran (1980–), composer

Western music

M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam), British musician
Clarence Jey (Clarence Jeyaretnam), Sri Lankan American record producer
Yogi B (Yogeswaran Veerasingam), Malaysian hiphop artist, founder of Poetic Ammo
Kamahl (Kandiah Kamalesvaran), Australian cabaret/easy listening singer
Tharini Mudaliar, Australian singer and violinist
Jacintha Abisheganaden, Singaporean singer
Rudra, Singaporean death metal band
Shruti Haasan, western singer, daughter of Tamil actor Kamal Haasan
Blaaze, rap artist and playback singer
Lord Kossity
Siva Kaneswaran, band member of The Wanted
Arjun Coomaraswamy, UK RnB singer^[8]
Dinesh Kanagaratnam, Sri Lankan hiphop artist
Hiphop Tamizha, Tamil rap duo
Sofia Ashraf (rapper)

Dance

Cinema

Directors

Actors and actresses

Music composers

See: Film music

In Hollywood

Sendhil Ramamurthy, actor in NBC drama Heroes; half Tamil
Ashok Amritraj, filmmaker, producer
Sunkrish Bala, actor in ABC show Notes from the Underbelly
Mindy Kaling, actor in NBC sitcom The Office; half Tamil
Aziz Ansari, actor
Chandran Rutnam, award-winning director for the movie A Common Man at the Madrid International Film Festival

Other entertainers

Aziz Ansari, comedian
Padma Lakshmi, model and television host
Romesh Ranganathan, british comedian

Sports and games

Athletics

Mariyappan Thangavelu, winner of the gold medal in Paralympics, high jump
Santhi Soundarajan, first World Peace Sports Festival Ambassador from India; first Tamil woman to win a medal at Asian Games
Mani Jegathesan
Sathish Sivalingam

Carrom

A. Maria Irudayam, world carrom champion and Arjuna Award winner for carrom (1996)
R. Arokiaraj, carrom champion
B. Radhakrishnan, carrom champion

Volleyball

A. Palanisamy, first Arjuna Award winner for volleyball (1961)
G.E. Sridharan, Arjuna Award winner
Kumaran, played for Indian team and currently playing for IOB, Chennai
Sivabalan, played for India and currently playing for IOB, Chennai

Chess

Viswanathan Anand, world chess champion; first Indian to earn the title of Grandmaster
Manuel Aaron, first Indian to earn the title of International Master
Murugan Thiruchelvam, chess player from United Kingdom
Krishnan Sasikiran, Grandmaster and Arjuna Award winner for chess (2002)
S. Vijayalakshmi, six-time women's national champion of India; first woman Grandmaster from India; Arjuna Award winner for chess (2000)
Aarthie Ramaswamy, woman Grandmaster and under-18 girls' world chess champion
Baskaran Adhiban, chess Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu
S.P. Sethuraman, chess Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu

Cricket

India

Buchi Babu Naidu (1868–1908), "father of South Indian cricket"
Cota Ramaswami (1896-presumed dead), represented India in both international cricket and tennis
M.Baliah Naidu (1895–1948), represented India in international cricket
M.J. Gopalan (1909–2003), represented India in both international hockey and cricket
C.R. Rangachari (1916–1993), pace bowler, Indian Cricket Team
M. Suryanarayan (1930-), batsman,Indian Test Cricketer
C.D. Gopinath (1930–), batsman, Indian Cricket Team
Ravichandran Ashwin, all rounder, Indian Cricket Team
S. Venkataraghavan (1945–), ex-Captain of Indian Cricket Team and Test and ODI umpire
K. Srikkanth (1959–), ex-Captain and current Chief Selector of Indian Cricket Team
T.A. Sekhar (1956–), pace bowler, Indian Cricket Team
Thiru Kumaran (1975–), pace bowler, Indian Cricket Team
T.E. Srinivasan, batsman, Indian Cricket Team
L. Sivaramakrishnan (1965–), spin bowler, Indian Cricket Team
V.B. Chandrasekhar, batsman, Indian Cricket Team
Bharat Arun (1962–), pace bowler, Indian Cricket Team
Murali Kartik (1976–), spin bowler, Indian Cricket Team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors
Sadagoppan Ramesh (1975–), batsman, Indian Cricket Team
Subramaniam Badrinath (1980–), batsman, Indian Cricket Team, Chennai Super Kings
Murali Vijay (1984–), batsman, Indian Cricket Team, Chennai Super Kings
Lakshmipathy Balaji (1981–), pace bowler, Indian Cricket Team, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders
Dinesh Karthik (1985–), wicketkeeper, Indian Cricket Team, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians
Washington Sundar (2017–), All-rounder, Indian Cricket Team, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Other countries

Muttiah Muralitharan (1972–), highest wicket taker in test and ODI cricket from Sri Lanka
Angelo Mathews, Sri Lankan all rounder and captain
Russel Arnold, Sri Lankan cricketer and journalist
Roy Dias, former Sri Lankan test cricketer/vice captain; a Tamil of Negombo Chetty
Sridharan Jeganathan (?–1996), former NCC and Sri Lankan test cricketer/off spin bowler; first Sri Lankan test cricketer to die
Vinodhan John, pace bowler, first Sri Lankan Tamil Test cricketer 1982
Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran, Sri Lankan One Day International (ODI) cricket player
S. Illangaratnam, Sri Lankan cricketer, stalwart of Moratuwa and Bloomfield cricket clubs prior to the Test era
Mahadevan Sathasivam, one of the best cricket batsmen produced by Ceylon
Kandiah Thirugnansampandapillai Francis, international Test and ODI umpire from Sri Lanka
Nasser Hussain (1968–), former Essex and England cricketer, test captain
Sanjayan Thuraisingam (1969–), pace bowler, Canadian Cricket Team
Alvin Kallicharan, former West Indies Guyana cricket captain
Mahendra Nagamootoo, former West Indies and Guyana cricketer, nephew of Alvin Kallicharan
Veerasammy Permaul, West Indies and Guyana cricketer

Football

Peter Velappan (1935–), General Secretary of Asian Football Confederation; member of FIFA Strategic Studies Committee & Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup^{[citation needed]}
Peter Thangaraj (1938–2008), Olympion; Goalkeeper of Indian football team that won the Gold Medal at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games
Syed Sabir Pasha, represented Indian football team in the early 1990s; also played for and coached Indian Bank-Chennai

Hockey

Vasudevan Baskaran, captain of the Indian hockey team that won Olympic Gold in 1980 Moscow Olympics; Arjuna Award winner (1979–1980)
Dhanraj Pillay (1968–), ex-Indian hockey team Captain, Arjuna Award winner (1995); winner of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (1999–2000)
Adam Sinclair, member of the Indian hockey team at the 2004 Athens Olympics

Mountain climbing

M. Magendran, conquered the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest

Racing

Narain Karthikeyan, Coimbatore, India's first Formula 1 driver
Karun Chandhok, Formula 1 driver
S. Karivardhan, car constructor and National Champion
Naren Kumar, four time National Rally Champion
J. Anand, three time National F3 Grand Prix winner
Ajith Kumar, mechanic, F2 racer, Moto gp racer

Squash

Nicol David, former world number 1

Tennis

Vijay Amritraj, international champion and actor
Anand Amritraj, international player
Ashok Amritraj, international player
Prakash Amritraj, international player
Ramanathan Krishnan, international player
Ramesh Krishnan, international player
Nirupama Vaidyanathan, international player

Entertainers

Vyjayanthimala, Bharatanatyam dancer; introduced semi-classical dance in Bollywood^[9]
Rukmini Devi Arundale, Bharatanatyam dancer; founder of Kalakshetra
Balasaraswati, Bharatanatyam dancer
Alarmel Valli, Bharatanatyam dancer
Chitra Visweswaran, Bharatanatyam dancer
Padma Subramanyam, Bharatanatyam dancer
Pithukuli Murugadas, musician
K.B. Sundarambal, actress andsinger
Sirkazhi Govindarajan, vocalist and Carnatic music exponent
Vethathiri Maharishi, founder of the World Community Service Center
Dr.Sirkazhi G. Sivachidambaram, vocalist and Carnatic music exponent
Aziz Ansari, Comedian

Religion and spirituality

Bodhidharma (5th/6th century), Buddhist monk and 28th patriarch of Buddhism; traditionally credited as the leading patriarch and transmitter of Zen to China; spread Shaolin Kung Fu in China
Ayya Vaikundar (1809–1851), founder and preceptor of the Ayyavazhi sect
Ramalinga Swamigal (1823–1873), popularly known as Vallalar
Ramanuja (1017–1137), philosopher and saint of Vaishnavism
Appayya Dikshidar (1520–1593), philosopher, followed the Advaita school of Indian philosophy
Anandabharati Aiyangar (1786–1846), poet
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)
Yogaswami (1872–1964)
Bangaru Adigalar (1941–)
Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963), proponent of Yoga and Vedanta
Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (1924–2014), Cardinal Priest of S Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri, Vatican City
Dayananda Saraswati (1930–2015), founder of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam
Yogiraj Shri Vethathiri Maharishi, founder of The World Community Service Center, an organisation striving for world peace from 1911
Bala Prajapathi Adikalar, Pattathu Ayya of Swamithope pathi and leader of the Ayyavazhi religion
Bishop Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (1874–1945), the first Anglican Indian bishop, consecrated as the first bishop of the diocese of Dornakal in 1912
Thirumuruga Kirupananda Variyar
D.G.S. Dhinakaran, Christian Evangelist; founder of Jesus Calls Ministries
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Perumal Rasu, philosopher and painter
Laxmisena, of the Mel Sithamur Jain Math, primary religious head of the Tamil Jain community^[10]
Sadhu Kuppuswami, instrumental in the establishment of the Sangam organisation in Fiji
Swami Vipulananda, Hindu social reformer, literary critic, author, poet, teacher and ascetic from the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka

Tamil literature

Classical literature

Thiruvalluvar, poet and author of the Tirukkuṛaḷ
Tirumular, poet and author of Tirumantiram
Kambar, author of Ramavataram
Avvaiyar, author of Ātticcūṭi
Eelattu Poothanthevanar, classical Sri Lankan poet of the Sangam period

Spiritual literature

Murugan

Nakkeerar author of Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai
Arunagirinathar, author of Thiruppugazh

Shaivism

Sekkizhar, author of Periapuranam
Manikkavasagar, author of Thiruvasagam and one of the Nayanmars
Siva prakasar, author of Nanneri
Thirumular, author of Thirumandhiram

Vaishnavism

Nammalvar, author of Tiruvaymoli and one of the Alwars
Thirumazhisai Alvar, author of Tiruchanda-virutham and one of the Alwars
Andal, author of Tiruppaavai and one of the Alwars
V. Akilesapillai, scholar, poet and author of Thirukonasala Vaipavam from Sri Lanka

Christian

Johnson Gnanabaranam

Islam

Umaru Pulavar (1605–1703), the author of Seerappuranam, Islamic spiritual work on the life of Nabi under the commission of Seethakaathi, the altruist son of entrepreneur Periya Thambi Nainar Marakkayar.

Jain

Illango Adigal, poet and author of Silappathikaram
Tirutakakatevar, author of Jivaka Chintamani
Mandalapuruder, author of Vira Mandalaver is Sudamani Nigandhu
Svarupananda Desikar

Modern literature

India

Ramachandra Guha, social and political writer
Bharathidasan (1891–1964), poet and rationalist
Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram, wrote revolutionary Tamil poems in common language
Pudhumaipithan (1906–1948), fiction writer
Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai, first Tamil novelist
Akilan, novelist
Ramalingam Pillai
Thi.Janakiraman, novelist
Mahavidwan Vasudeva Mudaliar, scholar
Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899–1954), novelist and journalist
Jayakanthan (1934–), writer and novelist
G.P. Rajarathnam (1909–1979), Tamil-born Kannada poet and writer
T.P. Kailasam (1884–1946), playwright and writer in Kannada literature from Karnataka
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (1891–1986), Kannada writer and recipient of Jnanpith Award
Kannadasan (1927–1981), popularly called as Kavi Arasu; poet and film lyricist; winner of National Film Award for Best Lyrics (1969)
Vairamuthu (1953–), poet and film lyricist; winner of National Film Award for Best Lyrics (1986, 1993, 1995, 2000, and 2003)
Leena Manimekalai
Indira Soundarajan, novelist and short story writer
Ashoka Mitran (1931–), novelist and short story writer
R.K. Narayan (1906–2001), English novelist and essayist
Makaral Karthikeya Mudaliar, scholar
Pa. Subramania Mudaliar, scholar
D.V.Gundappa, Tamil-born Kannada Poet & Writer-His famous literary work-Mankuthimmana Kagga
Varadarasanar, novelist
Sandilyan, novelist
Pa. Vijay, film lyricist; winner of National Film Award for Best Lyrics (2005)
Vaali, film lyricist
Sujatha Rangarajan (1935–), novelist, haiku poet, film screenplay writer
T.K. Doraiswamy (Nakulan) (1921–2007), poet, novelist, translator, professor of English Singapore writer; President of Singapore Law Society
Gopal Baratham (1935–2002), Singaporean writer and neurosurgeon
Edwin Thumboo (1933–), Singaporean writer
Shyam Selvadurai, Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist
R. Raghava Iyengar
K.S. Maniam
Rani Manicka, won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2003 for South East Asia and South Pacific region
Kavikko Abdul Rahman
Makkal Pavalar Inqulab, left-leaning poet
Mu Metha
Kavi Ka. Mu. Sheriff, film lyricist
Manushyaputhiran
Rajathi Salma, novelist
Balakumaran (5 July 1946 – 15 May 2018)[1] was an Indian Tamil writer, author of over 200 novels, 100 short stories,etc

Other countries

Ronnie Govender, won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Kessie Govender, playwright, actor and theatre director; founded the Stable Theatre
Kandappu Murugesu, Sri Lankan poet

Others

Arumuka Navalar (1822–1879), pioneer of Tamil prose; champion of Hinduism from Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Siva prakasar, Saiva Siddantha, scholar, wrote 32 books in Tamil (Nanneri, Thiruchendur ula)
Maraimalai Adigal, scholar and activist
U.V. Swaminatha Iyer (1855–1942)
Paventhar Bharathidasan, poet, also known as "Puratchi Kavignar"
Kalyanasundara Mudaliar, writer
Varadarasanar, novelist
Erode Tamilanban, poet
Solomon Pappaiah, scholar and debate judge
Pudhumaipithan, revolutionary writer from the Tirunelveli Saiva Pillai community
Jayakanthan, writer
Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai, poet
Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai, writer
Perumal Rasu, writer, poet, painter
Ramanuja Kavirayar, poet
Gagan Narang, Olympic medalist (shooting)

Modern art

K.K. Raghava
S. Chandrasekaran, nominated for the APBF Signature Art Prize 2008 as one of the top ten

References

^ http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/roy-padayachie
^ Nirmala Sitharaman
^ Rajasekharan Parameswaran, Rajasekharan Parameswaran. "Guinness World Records". guinness world records. GWR.
^ Bose, Sushmita (December 12, 2008). "Living in Times of Terror, Reaching out in Cyberspace". Khaleej Times. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
^ "The Solid Seven: India's most influential Gays & Lesbians". Pink-Pages. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
^ "Leadership at Carnegie Mellon University". www.cmu.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
^ http://www.howstuffworks.com/9-youngest-in-their-fields.htm#page=6
^ http://tamilculture.ca/londons-rb-sensation-arjun/
^ Raheja, Dinesh (May 6, 2002). "Bollywood's Dancing Queen". Rediff. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
^ "Glossary | Terms | Eastern Terms | Bhattaraka". Herenow4u.net. January 16, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.

[1] ttp://www.sahistory.org.za/people/roy-padayachie

[2] Nirmala Sitharaman

[3] Rajasekharan Parameswaran, Rajasekharan Parameswaran. "Guinness World Records". guinness world records. GWR.

[4] Bose, Sushmita (December 12, 2008). "Living in Times of Terror, Reaching out in Cyberspace". Khaleej Times. Retrieved December 17, 2012.

[5] "The Solid Seven: India's most influential Gays & Lesbians". Pink-Pages. Retrieved December 17, 2012.

[6] "Leadership at Carnegie Mellon University". www.cmu.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2015.

[7] ttp://www.howstuffworks.com/9-youngest-in-their-fields.htm#page=6

[8] ttp://tamilculture.ca/londons-rb-sensation-arjun/

[9] Raheja, Dinesh (May 6, 2002). "Bollywood's Dancing Queen". Rediff. Retrieved January 2, 2011.

[10] "Glossary | Terms | Eastern Terms | Bhattaraka". Herenow4u.net. January 16, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.

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