Thol. Thirumavalavan

Thirumavalavan or Thol. Thirumavalavan (born 17 August 1962), is Dalit activist, Member of Parliament in 15th Lok Sabha and the current President of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi l party in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as a Dalit leader, and entered politics in 1999. His political platform centres on ending the caste-based oppression of the Dalits, which he argues can best be achieved through reviving and reorienting Tamil nationalism. He has also expressed support for Tamil nationalist movements and groups elsewhere, including Sri Lanka.

He did his Bachelor's course in chemistry, masters degree in Criminology and completed law at Madras Law College. He worked in the government's Forensic Department as a scientific assistant, which he later resigned in 1999 to contest polls. He contested the 1999 and 2004 general elections unsuccessfully and won the 2009 general elections from the Chidambaram constituency. He won the 2001 state assembly elections in alliance with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a post he resigned in 2004 quoting ideological differences with DMK. He has written a few books and has acted in a few Tamil movies.