He fought for the emancipation of women, against child marriage, opposed the caste system, and advocated reforms of the society and religion.

He worked as a journalist with many newspapers, including Swadesamitran, The Hindu, Bala Bharata, Vijaya, Chakravarthini and India.

In 1908, the British Government issued an arrest warrant for Bharathi which pushed him to live in exile in the French-controlled Pondicherry for about ten years until 1918.

He was attacked by an Indian elephant at Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple whom he fed daily and died a few months later on 11 September 1921.

Subramaniyan was born on 11 December 1882 in a Tamil Brahmin family in the town of Ettayapuram in Tirunelveli district, Madras Presidency (present day Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu) to Chinnaswami Iyer and Lakshmi Ammal.

At the age of 11, he was given the title of "Bharathi" (meaning blessed by the goddess of learning Saraswati) for his excellence in poetry.

During his stay in Varanasi, he was exposed to Hindu spirituality and nationalism and learned new languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi and English.

On his journey back home, he met Sister Nivedita, who was Swami Vivekananda's spiritual heir.

He later attended the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta held under Dadabhai Naoroji, which demanded Swaraj and boycott of British goods.

[4] By April 1907, he started editing the Tamil weekly India and the English newspaper Bala Bharatham along with M.P.T.

[1] These newspapers served as a means of expressing Bharathi's creativity and he continued to write poems in these editions.

His writings included diverse topics ranging from nationalism to contemplations on the relationship between God and Man.

This section was primarily led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, which was supported by Bharathi, Chidambaram Pillai and Varathachariyar.

[4] During his exile, Bharathi had the opportunity to meet other revolutionary leaders of the Indian Independence movement like Aurobindo, Lajpat Rai and V. V. Subrahmanya Iyer, who had also sought asylum under the French.

He also translated Vedic hymns, Patanjali's Yoga Sutra and Bhagavat Gita to Tamil language.

[11] Bharathi used simple words and rhythms, unlike the previous century works in Tamil, which had complex vocabulary.

He penned thousands of verses on diverse topics like Indian Nationalism, love, children, nature, glory of the Tamil language, and odes to prominent freedom fighters.

He fought for the emancipation of women, against child marriage, vehemently opposed the caste system, and stood for reforming society and religion.

[4] Apart from this he also wrote various patriotic songs, religious verses, short stories and translations of speeches of reformist leaders.

[17] A statue of Bharathi, a memorial complex and a photo exhibition related to his life history are on display at Etayapuram, his birth place.