V.V.S. Iyer

Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar
Portrait of V. V. S. Aiyar
Born	2 April 1881 Trichinopoly, Madras Presidency, India
Died	3 June 1925(1925-06-03) (aged 44) Papanasam Falls, Madras Presidency, India
Cause of death	Drowned in Papanasam Falls under mysterious circumstances
Nationality	Indian
Other names	V. V. S. Aiyar
Education	Lincoln's Inn, London
Known for	Indian Independence Movement, India House, literary works

Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar (2 April 1881 – 3 June 1925), also known as V. V. S. Aiyar, was an Indian revolutionary from Tamil Nadu who fought against the British occupation of India. His contemporaries include Subramanya Bharathi and V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, who subscribed to the militant form of resistance against the British. He went into exile in Pondicherry, then under French rule, when his militant activities attracted a warrant for his arrest from the British colonial government.

Aiyar was also a Tamil writer and is considered as the father of modern Tamil short story. He also translated the Ramavatharam of Kambar and Tirukkural into English. V.V.S Aiyar is mentor of Vanchinathan.

Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar was born on 2 April 1881 in the suburb of Varahaneri in Tiruchi. After his early education, he studied in St. Joseph's College and took his B.A in History, Politics, and Latin; he studied for the Law profession and passed the Pleader (junior lawyer) examination from the Madras University in 1902. He then practised as the pleader in the District courts of Tiruchi. Aiyar then moved to Rangoon in 1906 and started practising as a junior in the Chambers of an English Barrister. From Rangoon, he left for London in 1907 and enrolled in Lincoln's Inn aiming to becoming a Barrister at Law. While in London, Aiyar came into contact with Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, an Indian revolutionary, at the India House. Under Savarkar's influence Aiyar began to take an active role in the militant struggle for Indian independence. Aiyar had a son and two daughters.