Protest

Coral Mill strike in Tuticorin

Led by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva, Coral Mill workers in Tuticorin struck against poor pay and harsh conditions.

Arrest of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Tirunelveli unrest

The arrest of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva on sedition charges set off unrest in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.

Annie Besant interned

The Madras government interned Annie Besant at a hill station for her Home Rule activities, provoking protests across India.

Gandhi conceives the Rowlatt hartal in Madras

While staying with C. Rajagopalachari in Madras, Gandhi conceived a nationwide hartal against the Rowlatt Act, observed on 6 April 1919.

Buckingham and Carnatic Mills strike

Workers of the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras went on a prolonged strike against Binny and Co. over wages and conditions.

First May Day celebration in India

Singaravelar organised the first May Day celebration in India at Madras and launched the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan.

Neill Statue Satyagraha

Nationalists in Madras campaigned for the removal of the statue of Colonel James Neill from Mount Road.

Simon Commission boycott in Madras

Protesters in Madras demonstrated against the Simon Commission, and T. Prakasam famously defied police during the protest.

South Indian Railway strike

Workers of the South Indian Railway struck against planned layoffs of over 3,100 employees, disrupting transport across South India.

Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha

C. Rajagopalachari led a march from Tiruchirappalli to Vedaranyam to break the salt law, the Tamil counterpart of the Dandi March.

Death of Tiruppur Kumaran

Freedom fighter Tiruppur Kumaran died of injuries from a police assault during a protest march, holding the national flag.

Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway strike

Railway workshop workers at Perambur began a strike against retrenchment that spread across the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway.

Abhiramam convention against the Criminal Tribes Act

Muthuramalinga Thevar organised a convention at Abhiramam demanding repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act.

Tamilar Padai march from Tiruchi to Madras

Known as the Tamilar Padai, anti-Hindi protesters marched from Tiruchirappalli to Madras, addressing meetings in towns and villages en route.

Thevar jailed during Pasumalai mill strike

Muthuramalinga Thevar was jailed for seven months while leading a strike at the Mahalakshmi Mills in Pasumalai near Madurai.

Tamil Nadu Women's Conference backs anti-Hindi agitation

To display women's backing for the protests against compulsory Hindi, a Tamil Nadu Women's Conference met in Madras.

Deaths of Natarajan and Thalamuthu in custody

Anti-Hindi protesters L. Natarajan and Thalamuthu died after being jailed, and were claimed as the first martyrs of the anti-Hindi movement.

Quit India Movement in the Tamil districts

Congress leaders in the Tamil region were arrested as the Quit India Movement began, followed by strikes, sabotage and police firing.

Potti Sriramulu dies fasting for Andhra State

Potti Sriramulu died in Madras after a long fast demanding a separate Telugu-speaking state, prompting the creation of Andhra State.

Kallakudi agitation against the name Dalmiapuram

The DMK protested at Kallakudi against the renaming of the town as Dalmiapuram after an industrialist.

Travancore Tamil agitation for merger with Madras

Tamils in southern Travancore-Cochin campaigned under Marshal Nesamony for the merger of Tamil-majority taluks with Madras State.

Sankaralinganar fasts to death for renaming the state Tamil Nadu

Gandhian Sankaralinganar began a fast in Virudhunagar demanding that Madras State be renamed Tamil Nadu and died after 76 days.

Chinnasamy self-immolates against Hindi imposition

DMK member Chinnasamy set himself on fire at Tiruchi, the first of the language martyrs of the second anti-Hindi struggle.

1965 anti-Hindi agitation

Student-led protests against Hindi becoming the sole official language turned into statewide riots, with police firing and self-immolations.

DMK agitation against Navodaya schools

The DMK protested the National Policy on Education's Navodaya schools, seen as a route for Hindi imposition; the schools were not opened in Tamil Nadu.

Vanniyar reservation agitation

The Vanniyar Sangam led a road blockade agitation in northern Tamil Nadu demanding separate reservation for the Vanniyar community.

Jayalalithaa fasts on the Marina over Cauvery water

Seeking Cauvery water from Karnataka for the kuruvai crop, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa went on a fast of about 80 hours beside the MGR memorial.

Self-immolation of K. Muthukumar

Journalist K. Muthukumar set himself on fire in Chennai in protest against the killing of Tamil civilians in the Sri Lankan war.

Protests against the Kudankulam nuclear plant

Fishing villages around Idinthakarai led a sustained movement against the Kudankulam nuclear plant, which nonetheless began operating in 2013 and 2014.

Student protests over Sri Lankan Tamils

Colleges were shut after students throughout Tamil Nadu protested over alleged war crimes against Sri Lankan Tamils.

Pro-jallikattu protests at Marina Beach

Mass protests led largely by students and youth at Marina Beach forced an ordinance and then a state law allowing jallikattu.

Neduvasal protests against hydrocarbon extraction

Villagers of Neduvasal in Pudukkottai district protested against a central plan to extract hydrocarbons from farmland.

Thoothukudi anti-Sterlite police firing

Police fired on protesters marching against the Sterlite copper smelter in Thoothukudi, killing 13 people; the state ordered the plant closed.

Violence at Kaniyamoor school over student's death

Protests over the death of a Class 12 student at a private residential school in Kallakurichi district turned violent.