Karaikudi Rama Subbaiah (14 November 1908 - 21 May 1997) was an Indian politician and a forerunner of the Dravidian movement.

[1] Subbaiah was born on 14 November 1908 in a Nattukottai Nagarathar family in Arimalam (in Pudukkottai district).

He became a close confidant of Tamil poet Bharathidasan, who had joined the Self-Respect movement the same time as he did.

Others who were close to Subbaiah's family included Kunjitham Gurusamy, Pattukkottai Alagiri, N. D. Sundaravadivelu, Moovalur Ramamirtham and Poovalur Ponnambalanar.

"camatarma vilās"; meaning "Socialist Villa"),[3] and even provided a marble plaque with the name etched on it.

[2] In 1932, amidst much opposition, Subbaiah conducted "Ramanathapuram district's "Self-Respect Movement Conference" in Karaikudi.

[2] On 27 December 1938, the Self-Respect movement held the Madras Province's fourth "Tamils Conference", during which 28 people got elected as members of the organisation's state working committee.

[2] Subbaiah stayed with the Self-Respect movement as it metamorphosed into the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) on 27 August 1944.

[2] Subbaiah also played an important role in drawing many youth to the DMK in the Karaikudi region.

Those mentored by him include R. M. Veerappan (later founder of MGR Kazhagam) and poet Sami Palaniappan (Tamil lyricist Palani Bharathi's father).

In the 1957 Madras Assembly election, he unsuccessfully contested against M. A. Muthiah Chettiar (of the INC) in Karaikudi constituency.

Indhira (Subbaiah's daughter; b. September 1942) too died early aged 32, leaving behind two sons.

[10] As of 2024, four children of Subbaiah were alive: Tamil film director S. P. Muthuraman (b.1935), Kanagalaksmi (b. December 1936), Swaminathan (b.1946) and Dravidian ideologue Suba Veerapandian aka Subavee.(b.1952).

[11] In 1985, Subbaiah's biography titled நானும் என் திராவிட இயக்க நினைவுகளும் [translit.Nāṉum eṉ Tirāviṭa Iyakka niṉaivukaḷum; meaning Me and my Dravidian Movement Memories] came out after being edited by Subavee.

Love, - Suba Veerapandian " " Have you ever seen the miraculous sight of 'Toil' taking a shape and working [enthusiastically]?

Karunanidhi held the birth centenary celebration of Subbaiah on 10 May 2008, during his fifth term as Chief Minister.

[12] In a statement dated 8 September 2021, Dravidar Kazhagam president K.Veeramani requested Chief Minister M.K.Stalin to name a proposed college in Karaikudi after Subbaiah.