Women

Channar revolt over the upper cloth

Nadar women in southern Travancore, including today's Kanyakumari district, struggled for decades for the right to cover their upper bodies.

First girls' school opens in Tirunelveli

The first school for girls in the Tirunelveli region was opened in 1821.

First women students admitted to Madras Medical College

Mary Scharlieb and three other women entered Madras Medical College in 1875, among the first women to study medicine in India.

First Tamil novel, Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, published

Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai published Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, regarded as the first novel in the Tamil language.

Sarah Tucker College opens in Palayamkottai

In 1895 the Sarah Tucker High School at Palayamkottai became a college, the earliest women's college in South India.

Ida Scudder opens a dispensary in Vellore

Ida Scudder, an American medical missionary, started a dispensary with one bed in Vellore, from which the Christian Medical College grew.

Muthulakshmi Reddy graduates from Madras Medical College

Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first woman admitted to Madras Medical College in 1907, graduated in 1912 and became one of India's first women doctors.

Madras College for Women (Queen Mary's College) founded

In 1914 Dorothy de la Hey opened the Madras College for Women on the Marina, the first women's college in the city, which took the name Queen Mary's in 1917.

Death of the young satyagrahi Thillaiyadi Valliammai

Valliammai, a 16-year-old daughter of Tamil immigrants from Thillaiyadi, died after imprisonment in Gandhi's South African satyagraha.

Women's Christian College founded in Madras

Twelve missionary societies from Britain, Canada and the USA jointly founded the Women's Christian College in Madras in 1915.

Women's Indian Association founded at Adyar

Margaret Cousins, Annie Besant, Dorothy Jinarajadasa and others founded the Women's Indian Association at Adyar to campaign for women's rights.

Annie Besant interned

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

Union Mission Medical School for Women opens at Vellore

Ida Scudder began training women doctors at Vellore with the Union Mission Medical School for Women, opened in 1918.

Madras grants voting rights to women

The Madras Legislative Council resolved to extend the franchise to women, among the first provinces in British India to do so.

Thyagaraja memorial temple at Thiruvaiyaru consecrated

Bangalore Nagarathnamma built a temple over the samadhi of the composer Thyagaraja at Thiruvaiyaru, the site of the annual Aradhana festival.

Muthulakshmi Reddy becomes first woman legislator in India

Doctor and reformer Muthulakshmi Reddy was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council, becoming the first woman legislator in British India.

First Provincial Self-Respect Conference at Chengalpattu

The first provincial conference of the Self-Respect Movement at Chengalpattu passed resolutions against caste and for women's rights.

Muthulakshmi Reddy resigns over Gandhi's arrest

Muthulakshmi Reddy resigned from the Madras Legislative Council in protest against the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi during civil disobedience.

Muthulakshmi Reddy starts Avvai Home

Muthulakshmi Reddy founded the Avvai Home in Madras to shelter and educate orphaned and destitute girls.

Proposal to rename sadir as Bharatanatyam

E. Krishna Iyer moved a resolution at the Madras Music Academy to rename the dance form sadir as Bharatanatyam.

Death of Annie Besant at Adyar

Annie Besant, Theosophical Society president and Home Rule leader, died at Adyar in Madras.

Rukmini Devi's first public Bharatanatyam performance

At the Theosophical Society's Diamond Jubilee convention, Rukmini Devi Arundale danced Bharatanatyam in public for the first time.

Kalakshetra founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale

Rukmini Devi Arundale founded Kalakshetra at Adyar, Madras, an academy for Bharatanatyam and the arts.

Sevasadanam released, M. S. Subbulakshmi's film debut

K. Subramanyam's reformist film Sevasadanam was released, marking the screen debut of M. S. Subbulakshmi.

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.

Christian Medical College Vellore begins MBBS course

Ida Scudder's medical school at Vellore became a university-affiliated medical college and began offering the MBBS degree.

Lakshmi Swaminathan leads Rani of Jhansi Regiment

Madras-born doctor Lakshmi Swaminathan was appointed to lead the women's Rani of Jhansi Regiment of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army.

Meera released with M. S. Subbulakshmi

Meera, directed by Ellis R. Dungan with M. S. Subbulakshmi in the lead and a script by Kalki, reached screens; a Hindi version came later.

Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act enacted

The Madras legislature outlawed the dedication of girls to temples as devadasis, ending a long reform campaign.

Cancer Institute (WIA) established at Adyar

The Women's Indian Association, led by Muthulakshmi Reddy, set up the Cancer Institute at Adyar in Madras.

M. S. Subbulakshmi sings at the United Nations

On UN Day 1966, Carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi sang at the United Nations General Assembly, the first Indian to do so.

Women first recruited into the Tamil Nadu Police

The first batch of women police, a sub-inspector, a head constable and 20 constables, was recruited in Tamil Nadu in 1973.

Mother Teresa Women's University founded at Kodaikanal

The Tamil Nadu government established Mother Teresa Women's University at Kodaikanal, a state university dedicated to women's education.

First HIV cases in India detected in Madras

India's first documented HIV infections were found among sex workers in Madras by microbiologist Suniti Solomon and her student Sellappan Nirmala.

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme

Tamil Nadu began cash assistance for poor pregnant women, a pioneering state maternity benefit scheme named after Muthulakshmi Reddy.

Janaki Ramachandran ministry and President's rule

V. N. Janaki became Tamil Nadu's first woman Chief Minister, but her ministry was dismissed within weeks and President's rule followed.

Equal property rights for women and 30% job quota

Tamil Nadu amended Hindu succession law to give daughters equal rights in family property and reserved 30% of government jobs for women.

Moovalur Ramamirtham marriage assistance scheme

The DMK government started cash assistance for the marriage of daughters of poor families, named after reformer Moovalur Ramamirtham.

AIADMK factions merge under Jayalalithaa

The two AIADMK factions merged and accepted J. Jayalalithaa as general secretary; she became the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Clash in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on budget day

DMK and AIADMK members clashed in the Assembly as Karunanidhi rose to present the budget; Jayalalithaa left vowing to return only as Chief Minister.

Jayalalithaa becomes Chief Minister for the first time

The AIADMK-Congress alliance swept the June 1991 election and J. Jayalalithaa became Chief Minister, the youngest in the state's history at the time.

Cradle Baby Scheme launched against female infanticide

The Jayalalithaa government introduced the Cradle Baby Scheme, allowing parents to leave unwanted infant girls with the state anonymously.

All-women police stations set up

The Jayalalithaa government opened police stations run entirely by women to handle complaints from women, starting in Chennai.

Chief Minister's Girl Child Protection Scheme

The state began depositing money in the names of girl children in poor families to counter gender discrimination and keep girls in school.

Mahalir Thittam extends women's self-help groups statewide

The state funded Mahalir Thittam to form women's self-help groups in all districts, after an IFAD-assisted pilot in Dharmapuri from 1989.

M. S. Subbulakshmi becomes the first musician awarded the Bharat Ratna

Madurai-born Carnatic singer M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be given the Bharat Ratna, the country's top civilian award.

Pleasant Stay verdict and the Dharmapuri bus burning

Jayalalithaa was sentenced to a year's imprisonment in the Pleasant Stay hotel case; in the violence that followed, three agricultural students were burnt to death in a bus at Dharmapuri.

Santhi Soundarajan stripped of her Asian Games silver

The Pudukkottai athlete won silver in the 800 m at the Doha Asian Games but lost the medal after a sex verification test.

Marriage assistance with gold for the thirumangalyam

Jayalalithaa revised the marriage assistance schemes to add 4 grams of gold for the thirumangalyam and raised aid for graduates to Rs. 50,000.

Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa win Commonwealth squash gold

The Chennai pair won the women's doubles at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, India's first Commonwealth medal in squash.

Udumalaipettai honour killing of Shankar

Dalit youth Shankar was hacked to death in a busy street in Udumalaipettai for marrying Kausalya, a woman from a dominant caste.

Amma Two-Wheeler scheme for working women

Prime Minister Modi launched a 50 percent subsidy, up to Rs. 25,000, for working women buying scooters, on Jayalalithaa's 70th birth anniversary.

Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case

Arrests in Pollachi exposed a gang accused of sexually assaulting and blackmailing many women, causing statewide outrage and protests.

Free bus travel for women in town buses

Among his first orders as Chief Minister, M. K. Stalin made travel free for women in ordinary state-run town buses.

Bhavani Devi becomes India's first Olympic fencer

At Tokyo 2020, C. A. Bhavani Devi of Chennai became the first fencer from India to qualify for and take part in the Olympics.

Illam Thedi Kalvi launched

A volunteer-led programme was launched to help school children recover learning lost during COVID-19 school closures.

Pudhumai Penn scheme for college girls

The state began paying Rs. 1,000 a month to girls from government schools who go on to higher education.

Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai launched

The state began paying Rs. 1,000 a month to more than a crore women heads of families.

R. Vaishali becomes a grandmaster

By passing the 2500 rating mark, Chennai's Vaishali qualified as India's third woman grandmaster, alongside her brother Praggnanandhaa.

Anna University campus sexual assault case

A student was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus; the sole accused was convicted and sentenced to life in 2025.

Life sentences in the Pollachi sexual assault case

All nine accused in the Pollachi case were found guilty by a Mahila court in Coimbatore and given life imprisonment.

Vijay government's first orders

On taking office, Chief Minister Vijay signed orders on free household electricity, a women's safety task force and anti-narcotics police stations.

Vettri Payanam expands free bus travel for women

Free bus travel for women was widened by the Vijay government to express and deluxe services, without any income ceiling or cap on journeys.