

Venkatarama Ramalingam (Tamil: வேங்கடராம ராமலிங்கம்), or V. Ramalingam Pillai (October 19, 1888 – August 24, 1972), was a Tamil poet from Tamil Nadu, India and independence fighter. He is well known for his poems about independence.

The poem “கத்தியின்றி ரத்தமின்றி யுத்தமொன்று வருகுது சத்தியத்தின் நித்தியத்தை நம்பும்யாரும் சேருவீர்…” was very famous among freedom fighters.

Ramalingam Pillai, popularly known as Namakkal Kavignar, was born on October 19, 1888 at Mohanur, Namakkal District in Tamil Nadu. His father was working in police department at Mohanur and his mother was a pious lady. He was the eighth child of his parents. Ramalingam had his school educations in Namakkal and Coimbatore. He did his BAin 1909, from Bishop Heber College at Trichy. Initially he worked as a clerk at Namakkal Tahsildar’s office and later worked as a primary school teacher.

He wrote hundreds of poems with patriotic fervor. He also participated in the Salt Satyagraha against British government in 1930 and went to jail for one year.


He received the “Padmabhushan” award in 1971 from Indian Government.