Akilandam, better known by his pen name Akilan, was an Indian writer and novelist who wrote in Tamil. He was attracted by Gandhian philosophy during his school days and he discontinued his college education at Pudukkottai to join the freedom struggle. Later, after Indian independence, he joined the Railway Mail Service, after which he joined the All India Radio and became a full-fledged writer. His stories began to appear mostly in small magazines. He was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award and the Jnanpith Award by the Government of India for his novels Vengayin Mainthan and Chitra Pavai in 1963 and 1975 respectively.