<P> Politics in South India is characterised by a mix of regional and national political parties . Justice Party and Swaraj Party were the two major parties in the erstwhile Madras Presidency . The Justice Party eventually lost the 1937 elections to the Indian National Congress and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari became the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency . During the 1920s and 1930s, the Self - Respect Movement emerged in the Madras Presidency spearheaded by Theagaroya Chetty and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (commonly known as Periyar). In 1944 Periyar, who had started the Self - Respect Movement transformed the party into a social organisation, renaming the party Dravidar Kazhagam, and withdrew from electoral politics . The initial aim was the secession of Dravida Nadu from the rest of India on independence . After Independence, C.N. Annadurai, a follower of Periyar formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 1948 . The Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu led to the rise of Dravidian parties which formed its first government in 1967 in Tamil Nadu . In 1972, a split in the DMK resulted in the formation of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by M.G. Ramachandran . Dravidian parties continue to dominate Tamil Nadu electoral politics; the national parties usually aligned as junior partners to the major Dravidian parties, AIADMK and DMK . </P> <P> Indian National Congress dominated the political scene in Tamil Nadu in 1950s and 1960s under the leadership of K. Kamaraj, who led the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru and ensured the selection of Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi . Congress continues to be a major party in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala . The party ruled with minimal opposition for 30 years in Andhra Pradesh before the formation of Telugu Desam Party by Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao in 1982 . Two prominent party systems in Kerala are the United Democratic Front, led by the Indian National Congress and the Left Democratic Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For the past fifty years, these two coalitions have been alternately in power and E.M.S. Namboodiripad, the first elected chief minister of Kerala in 1957 is credited as the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world . Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal are significant parties in Karnataka . </P> <P> C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General of India post independence, was from South India . The region has produced six Indian Presidents namely Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, V.V. Giri, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, R. Venkataraman, K.R. Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam . Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and H.D. Deve Gowda were from the region . </P> <P> South Indian women traditionally wear a sari, a garment that consists of a drape varying from 5 yards (4.6 m) to 9 yards (8.2 m) in length and 2 feet (0.61 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m) in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff . Ancient Tamil poetry such as the Silappadhikaram describes women in exquisite drapery or sari . The sari is to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff as according to Indian philosophy, the navel is considered as the source of life and creativity . Madisar is a typical style worn by Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu . Women wear colourful silk sarees on special occasions such as marriages . </P>

Largest state in south india in terms of land