Kalignar M. Karunanidhi

Kalignar M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018) was a Tamil writer, playwright, and five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, known for his lifelong advocacy of the Tamil language and Dravidian culture. He was instrumental in securing classical-language status for Tamil and served as chairman of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai, which published his work on classical Tamil history. A prolific author of plays, screenplays, novels, and a multi-volume autobiography, he is widely honoured as Mutthamizh Arignar — scholar of all three facets of Tamil.