- Periyar E.V. Ramasamy (1879-1973) fought for Dravidian self-respect, hit against Brahmins
- A forgotten idol, he started the Dravidar Kazhagam, the offshoots of which are DMK, AIADMK and MDMK of today
- Much of the rationalism and atheism he professed is now forgotten. Even the Dravida parties have extreme religiosity. Periyar’s work is unavailable in English, or even Tamil.