Erode Venkata Ramasamy (Tamil: ஈரோடு வேங்கட இராமசாமி ) (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), affectionately called by his followers as Periyar (Tamil: பெரியார்), Thanthai Periyar or E. V. R., was a businessman, politician, Indian independence and social activist, who started the Self-Respect Movement or the Dravidian Movement and proposed the creation of an independent state called Dravida Nadu comprising South India. He is also the founder...
