Tamil Renaissance refers to the literary, cultural, social reform and political movements that took place in the Tamil-speaking districts of Southern India starting in the second half of the 19th century and lasting to the culmination of the anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s.
Brahmins reaped huge advantages from the reward-for-merit policy of the British Raj and eventually emerged as the foremost elite group among the native Indians.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the domination of Brahmins turned into a monopoly, as some favoured members of their own community over others in government appointments.
The second half of the 19th century also saw the rebirth of Tamil pride, based on a distinct non-Aryan Dravidian identity.
Indian independence activists like Subramanya Bharathy, Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, V. V. S. Aiyar, Subramania Siva, V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar and M. P. Sivagnanam were accomplished Tamil writers.