The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced that the Vaikom Award for Social Justice for the year 2025 will be presented to Thenmozhi Soundararajan, a U.S-based Dalit civil rights activist.

The State government instituted the award in the memory of the late social reformer ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy for his role in the Vaikom Satyagraha, to honour individuals or organisations from other States who work for the welfare of the marginalised communities and bring about meaningful social change.