Tamil Nadu: The Land
of Protests

With over 47 protests per day, Tamil Nadu leads India in protests. Here are the Top 10 historic protests of the state.

Vedaranyam March, 28th April, 1930

24 days after Gandhi's Dandi March, C Rajagopalachari picks up a handful of salt at Vedaranyam. Unlike Dandi, 4 women took part in the march too!

Anti Hindi-Imposition Protest I, 21st April, 1937

Periyar, backed by his Justice Party, vehemently opposed CM Rajaji's government order
that made learning Hindi compulsory in 125 schools.

Anti Hindi-Imposition Protest II, 26th January, 1965

50,000 students, urged by the DMK, opposed the 'Official Languages Act' which made Hindi the official language, instead of English. A student self-immolates.

MGR's Fast for Rice, 1982

MGR sat on a 7 hour fast, asking the centre to sanction more rice for his midday meal scheme. He won, but got Indira Gandhi furious.

Jayalalitha's Fast for Cauvery, 19th July, 1993

The then CM went on an indefinite fast, which ended with the Centre conceding to form a monitoring committee for water sharing, on the fourth day.

Karunanidhi's Fastest Fast,
28th July, 2009

The then 85 year old CM, Karunanidhi began his fast at 6 AM for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Ended it by 12 noon. True story.

Pro Jallikattu Protests,
8th - 23rd January

Lakhs of people gathered across the state, and around the Marina Beach in Chennai, forcing the Supreme Court to make Jallikattu legal.

Tamil Nadu Farmer's Protests, 14th March - 5th April

100 farmers outside Jantar Mantar stripped, ate mice, drank urine, held skulls and ate their feces, seeking waiver of the Rs 36,000 crore loan.

Anti-Sterlite Protests,
12th February - 22nd May

Over 2 lakh residents of Tuticorin gathered to force Sterlite Copper Plant to shut down. On the 100th day, violence broke out. 13 people were shot dead by the police.