Editing Tamil Nadu (section)

== Administration and politics ==
=== Administration ===
{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:right; margin-right:1em"
|+ Administrative officials
|-
!Title
!Name
|-
|[[Governor of Tamil Nadu|Governor]]
|[[R. N. Ravi]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/r-n-ravis-appointment-as-governor-triggers-mixed-reactions-in-tamil-nadu/articleshow/86120566.cms|title=R. N. Ravi is new Governor of Tamil Nadu|access-date=13 September 2021|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=11 September 2021|archive-date=13 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913000031/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/r-n-ravis-appointment-as-governor-triggers-mixed-reactions-in-tamil-nadu/articleshow/86120566.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu|Chief minister]]
|[[M. K. Stalin]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/mk-stalin-sworn-in-as-chief-minister-of-tamil-nadu/article34504106.ece|title=MK Stalin sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu|access-date=23 June 2021|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=7 May 2021|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623181732/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/mk-stalin-sworn-in-as-chief-minister-of-tamil-nadu/article34504106.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Chief Justice]]
|[[Kalpathi Rajendran Shriram|K. R. Shriram]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/justice-shriram-kalpathi-rajendran-sworn-in-as-chief-justice-of-madras-high-court/article68689507.ece|title=Justice K.R. Shriram sworn in as Chief Justice of Madras High Court|date=27 September 2024|access-date=27 September 2024|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>
|}
{{Further|Local government bodies in Tamil Nadu}}
Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the [[Government of Tamil Nadu|state executive]], [[legislature|legislative]] and [[High Courts of India|head of judiciary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tamil-Nadu|title=Tamil Nadu|publisher=[[Britannica]]|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=20 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120141242/https://www.britannica.com/place/Tamil-Nadu|url-status=live}}</ref> The administration of the state government functions through various secretariat departments. There are 43 departments of the state and the departments have further sub-divisions which may govern various undertakings and boards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tn.gov.in/department|title=List of Departments|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331152823/https://www.tn.gov.in/department|url-status=live}}</ref> The state is divided into 38 [[Districts of Tamil Nadu|districts]], each of which is administered by a [[District Collector]], who is an officer of the [[Indian Administrative Service]] (IAS) appointed to the district by the Government of Tamil Nadu. For revenue administration, the districts are further subdivided into 87 revenue divisions administered by Revenue Divisional Officers (RDO) which comprise 310 [[Tehsil|taluks]] administered by [[Tehsildar|Tahsildars]].<ref name="AS"/> The taluks are divided into 1349 [[revenue block]]s called ''Firkas'' which consist of 17,680 revenue villages.<ref name="AS">{{cite web|url=https://www.tn.gov.in/government|title=Government units, Tamil Nadu|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207162622/https://www.tn.gov.in/government|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Administrative divisions of India|local administration]] consists of 15 [[City Municipal Corporations of Tamil Nadu|municipal corporations]], 121 [[Template:Municipalities of Tamil Nadu|municipalities]] and 528 [[town panchayat]]s in the urban areas, and 385 [[panchayat union]]s and 12,618 [[Village Panchayat|village panchayats]], administered by Village Administrative Officers (VAO).<ref name="LG"/><ref name="AS"/><ref>{{cite report|url=https://mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/Statistical_year_book_india_chapters/ch42.pdf|title=Statistical year book of India|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 January 2023|page=1|archive-date=16 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316170002/https://mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/Statistical_year_book_india_chapters/ch42.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Greater Chennai Corporation]], established in 1688, is the second oldest in the world and Tamil Nadu was the first state to establish town panchayats as a new administrative unit.<ref>{{cite news|author=Sriram V.|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-the-2nd-oldest-corporation-in-the-world/article5180124.ece|title=Chennai - the 2nd oldest Corporation in the world|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=29 September 2013|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="oldestcorp">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/02/stories/2003040200100300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040128034716/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/02/stories/2003040200100300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2004-01-28|title=The first corporation |date=2003-04-02|access-date=14 April 2012|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/introduction.htm|title=Town panchayats|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=19 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219001439/https://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/introduction.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LG">{{cite web|url=https://knowindia.india.gov.in/profile/local-government.php|title=Local Government|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 January 2023|page=1|archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004071216/https://knowindia.india.gov.in/profile/local-government.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Legislature ===
[[File:Fort_St._George,_Chennai_2.jpg|thumb|[[Fort St. George]] is the seat of the [[Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly]]]]

In accordance with the [[Constitution of India]], the [[Governor of Tamil Nadu|governor]] is a state's ''[[de jure]]'' head and appoints the [[Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu|chief minister]] who has the ''[[de facto]]'' executive authority.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://interstatecouncil.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CHAPTERI.pdf|title=Chapter I, Constitution of India|date=June 2015|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 May 2024|page=5}}{{Dead link|date=February 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Durga Das Basu]]|title=Introduction to the Constitution of India|year=2011|edition=22|pages=241, 245|publisher=[[University of Michigan]]|isbn=978-81-8038-559-9}}</ref> The [[Indian Councils Act 1861]] established the Madras Presidency legislative council with four to eight members but was a mere advisory body to the governor of the presidency. The strength was increased to twenty in [[Indian Councils Act of 1892|1892]] and fifty in [[Indian Councils Act 1909|1909]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-Councils-Act-1892-India|title=Indian Councils Act|publisher=Britannica|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=1 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201040438/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-Councils-Act-1892-India|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-Councils-Act-of-1909|title=Indian Councils Act, 1909|publisher=Britannica|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=26 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226203954/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-Councils-Act-of-1909|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tamil Nadu Legislative Council|Madras legislative council]] was set-up in 1921 by the [[Government of India Act 1919]] with a term of three years and consisted of 132 Members of which 34 were nominated by the Governor and the rest were elected.<ref name="SL">{{cite web|url=https://assembly.tn.gov.in/history/statelegislature.php|title=History of state legislature|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110150502/https://assembly.tn.gov.in/history/statelegislature.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Government of India Act 1935]] established a [[bicameralism|bicameral legislature]] with the creation of a new [[Tamil Nadu Legislative Council|legislative council]] with 54 to 56 members in July 1937.<ref name="SL"/> 

The [[1st Madras Assembly|first legislature]] of Madras state under the [[Constitution of India]] was constituted on 1 March 1952 after the [[1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election|1952 elections]]. The number of seats post the re-organization in 1956 was 206, which was further increased to 234 in 1962.<ref name="SL"/> In 1986, the state moved to a [[unicameralism|unicameral legislature]] with the abolition of the Legislative Council by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Abolition) act, 1986.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/little-hope-for-revival-of-tns-legislative-council/articleshow/84956355.cms|title=Little hope for revival of Tamil Nadu's legislative council|date=2 August 2021|newspaper=[[Times of India]]|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=24 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224105455/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/little-hope-for-revival-of-tns-legislative-council/articleshow/84956355.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is housed in the [[Fort St. George (India)|Fort St. George]] in Chennai.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assembly.tn.gov.in/history/history_fort.php|title=History of fort|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=3 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603082644/https://assembly.tn.gov.in/history/history_fort.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The state elects 39 [[Member of Parliament (India)|members]] to the [[Lok Sabha]] and 18 to the [[Rajya Sabha]] of the [[Parliament of India|Indian Parliament]].<ref>{{cite report|title=Electoral statistics|url=https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/Statistical_year_book_india_chapters/ELECTROAL%20STATISTICS-WRITEUP.pdf|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 June 2024|page=2|archive-date=3 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603082518/https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/Statistical_year_book_india_chapters/ELECTROAL%20STATISTICS-WRITEUP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Law and order ===
[[File:A building in Chennai.JPG|thumb|[[Madras High Court]], the highest judicial authority in the state]]

The [[Madras High Court]] was established on 26 June 1862 and is the highest judicial authority of the state with control over all the civil and criminal courts in the state.<ref name="HC">{{cite web|url=https://ecommitteesci.gov.in/division/high-court-of-madras/|title=History of Madras High Court|publisher=[[Supreme Court of India]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=15 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815125725/https://ecommitteesci.gov.in/division/high-court-of-madras/|url-status=live}}</ref> It is headed by a [[Chief Justice]] and has a bench at Madurai since 2004.<ref name="HC"/> 

The [[Tamil Nadu Police]], established as Madras state police in 1859, operates under the [[Department of Home, Prohibition and Excise|home ministry]] of the Government of Tamil Nadu and is responsible for maintaining law and order in the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tnpmcbe.in/history.html|title=Tamil Nadu Police-history|publisher=[[Tamil Nadu Police]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217150604/https://tnpmcbe.in/history.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, it consists of more than 132,000 police personnel, headed by a [[Director General of Police]].<ref>{{cite report|url=https://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/police_e_pn_2023_24.pdf|title=Tamil Nadu Police-Policy document 2023-24|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 January 2023|page=3|archive-date=5 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105161838/https://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/police_e_pn_2023_24.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://eservices.tnpolice.gov.in/CCTNSNICSDC/OrganisationChart|title=Tamil Nadu Police-Organizational structure|publisher=[[Tamil Nadu Police]]|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208193015/https://eservices.tnpolice.gov.in/CCTNSNICSDC/OrganisationChart|url-status=live}}</ref> Women form 17.6% of the police force and specifically handle [[violence against women in Tamil Nadu|violence against women]] through 222 special all-women police stations.<ref name="PS"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/data/women-police-personnel-face-bias-says-report/article7554550.ece?theme=true|title=Women police personnel face bias, says report|author=Rukmini S.|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=29 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016041856/http://www.thehindu.com/data/women-police-personnel-face-bias-says-report/article7554550.ece?theme=true|archive-date=16 October 2015|url-status=live|date=19 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://womenpoliceindia.org/state/tamil-nadu|title=Tamil Nadu, women in police|publisher=Women police India|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=29 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629230940/http://womenpoliceindia.org/state/tamil-nadu|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, the state has 1854 police stations, the highest in the country, including 47 railway and 243 traffic police stations.<ref name="PS">{{cite report|url=https://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/police_e_pn_2023_24.pdf|title=Tamil Nadu Police-Policy document 2023-24|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 January 2023|page=5|archive-date=5 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105161838/https://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/police_e_pn_2023_24.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-02/PSRanking2022EngliishFinal_16022023.pdf|title=Police Ranking 2022|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 September 2023|page=12|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328173137/https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-02/PSRanking2022EngliishFinal_16022023.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The traffic police under different district administrations are responsible for the traffic management in the respective regions.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.tn.gov.in/tcp/acts_rules/Town_Country_Planning_Act_1971.pdf|title=The Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1972)|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 September 2015|archive-date=16 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616025502/http://www.tn.gov.in/tcp/acts_rules/Town_Country_Planning_Act_1971.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The state is consistently ranked as one of the [[Indian states ranking by safety of women|safest for women]] with a crime rate of 22 per 100,000 in 2018.<ref>{{cite report|title=Crime in India 2019 - Statistics Volume 1|url=https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/CII%202019%20Volume%201.pdf|access-date=12 September 2021|publisher=[[Government of India]]|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528004416/https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/CII%202019%20Volume%201.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
{{Main|Elections in Tamil Nadu|Politics of Tamil Nadu}}
[[File:K_Kamaraj_1976_stamp_of_India_(cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[K. Kamaraj]] served as the [[Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu|chief minister]] from 1954 to 1963]]

Elections in India are conducted by the [[Election Commission of India]], an independent body established in 1950.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eci.gov.in/about/about-eci/the-setup-r1/|title=Setup of Election Commission of India|date=26 October 2018|publisher=[[Election Commission of India]]|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124025555/https://eci.gov.in/about/about-eci/the-setup-r1/|url-status=live}}</ref> Politics in Tamil Nadu was dominated by national parties till the 1960s. Regional parties have ruled ever since. The [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] and [[Swaraj Party]] were the two major parties in the erstwhile Madras Presidency.<ref name="encyclopp">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Political Parties|last=Ralhan|first=O.P.|year=2002|publisher=Print House|pages=180–199|isbn=978-8-1748-8287-5}}</ref> During the 1920s and 1930s, the [[Self-Respect Movement]], spearheaded by [[Theagaroya Chetty]] and [[E. V. Ramaswamy]] (commonly known as Periyar), emerged in the Madras Presidency and led to the formation of the Justice party.<ref>{{cite book|title=Political and Social Conflict in South India; The non-Brahmin movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916–1929|last=Irschick|first=Eugene F.|year=1969|oclc=249254802|publisher=[[University of California Press]]}}</ref> The Justice Party eventually lost the [[1937 Madras Presidency legislative assembly election|1937 elections]] to the [[Indian National Congress]] and [[Chakravarti Rajagopalachari]] became the chief minister of the Madras Presidency.<ref name="encyclopp"/> In 1944, Periyar transformed the Justice party into a social organisation, renaming the party [[Dravidar Kazhagam]], and withdrew from electoral politics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/75-years-of-carrying-the-legacy-of-periyar/article29255010.ece|title=75 years of carrying the legacy of Periyar|date=26 August 2019|access-date=1 December 2023|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=24 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224112854/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/75-years-of-carrying-the-legacy-of-periyar/article29255010.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[File:The_President,_Dr._A.P.J._Abdul_Kalam_addressing_the_nation_on_the_eve_of_58th_Republic_Day,_in_New_Delhi_on_January_25,_2007.jpg|thumb|left|[[APJ Abdul Kalam]] served as the [[List of presidents of India|eleventh]] [[President of India]]]]

After independence,  Rajagopalachari served as the last [[Governor General of India]] before India became a republic.<ref>{{cite web|date=December 10, 2015|title=Remembering C Rajagopalachari: 10 interesting facts about India's last Governor-General|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/c-rajagopalachari-276533-2015-12-10|access-date=18 June 2022|work=[[India Today]]|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328110726/https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/c-rajagopalachari-276533-2015-12-10|url-status=live}}</ref> [[C. N. Annadurai]], a follower of Periyar, formed the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK) in 1949.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-09-03-1971/marican-genesis%20dmk.pdf|title=Genesis of DMK|journal=Asian Studies|page=1|first=Y.|last=Marican|access-date=24 December 2023|archive-date=10 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210185715/https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-09-03-1971/marican-genesis%20dmk.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Congress dominated the political scene in Tamil Nadu in the 1950s and 1960s under the leadership of [[K. Kamaraj]], who led the party after the death of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and ensured the selection of [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] and [[Indira Gandhi]] as [[Prime Minister of India|prime ministers]].<ref name="CM">{{cite web|url=http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/history/cmlist.htm|title=Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu since 1920|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=3 August 2021|archive-date=26 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726082924/http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/history/cmlist.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year=1990|page=[https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/164 164]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=[[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting]], [[Government of India]]|asin=B003DXXMC4}}</ref> 

The [[Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu|anti-Hindi agitations]] led to the rise of [[Dravidian parties]] and the first such government was formed in [[1967 Madras State Legislative Assembly election|1967]].<ref>{{cite report|title=The Madras Legislative Assembly, 1962-67, A Review|url=https://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/3rd_1962/Review%203_62-67.pdf|publisher=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=24 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224112855/https://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/3rd_1962/Review%203_62-67.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1972, a split in the DMK resulted in the formation of the [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (AIADMK) led by [[M. G. Ramachandran]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/a-look-at-the-events-leading-up-to-the-birth-of-aiadmk/article37046741.ece|title=A look at the events leading up to the birth of AIADMK|date=21 October 2021|access-date=1 December 2023|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=3 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203143001/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/a-look-at-the-events-leading-up-to-the-birth-of-aiadmk/article37046741.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> These two Dravidian parties continued to dominate the electoral politics in the state with the national parties often aligning as junior partners.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wyatt|first=A.K.J.|title=New Alignments in South Indian Politics: The 2001 Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu|journal=[[Asian Survey]]|volume=42|issue=5|pages=733–753|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=2002|doi=10.1525/as.2002.42.5.733|df=dmy-all|hdl=1983/1811|url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/new-alignments-in-south-indian-politics-the-2001-assembly-elections-in-tamil-nadu(ccd8e236-7d18-4981-92b0-5a1d63ff695d).html|hdl-access=free|access-date=24 December 2023|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212070038/https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/new-alignments-in-south-indian-politics-the-2001-assembly-elections-in-tamil-nadu(ccd8e236-7d18-4981-92b0-5a1d63ff695d).html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[M. Karunanidhi]], who became the leader of the DMK after Annadurai and [[J. Jayalalithaa]], who succeeded as the leader of AIADMK after M. G. Ramachandran dominated the state politics from the 1980s to early 2010s, serving as chief ministers combined for over 32 years.<ref name="CM"/><ref>{{cite news|date=10 February 2017|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/Jayalalithaa-vs-Janaki-The-last-succession-battle/article17284902.ece|title=Jayalalithaa vs Janaki: The last succession battle|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=11 February 2017|archive-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210193617/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/Jayalalithaa-vs-Janaki-The-last-succession-battle/article17284902.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

The state has produced three [[President of India|Indian presidents]], namely, [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/a-winner-at-the-end-why-amartya-sen-should-become-the-next-president-of-india/cid/1024890|title=Why Amartya Sen should become the next president of India|access-date=30 November 2023|first=Ramachandra|last=Guha|newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Calcutta)|The Telegraph]]|date=15 April 2006|archive-date=28 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228073532/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060415/asp/opinion/story_6099278.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> [[R. Venkataraman]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Sanjoy|last=Hazarika|title=India's Mild New President: Ramaswamy Venkataraman|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=17 July 1987|access-date=6 January 2009|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDD1239F934A25754C0A961948260&n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/India|archive-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812204533/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/17/world/man-in-the-news-india-s-mild-new-president-ramaswamy-venkataraman.html?n=Top%2FNews%2FWorld%2FCountries+and+Territories%2FIndia|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[APJ Abdul Kalam]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream|last1=Ramana|first1=M. V.|last2=Reddy, C.|first2=Rammanohar|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8-1250-2477-4|page=169}}</ref>