Ponneelan, born in 1940 in Manikatti Pottal, Kanyakumari district, is the pen name of Kandeswara Bhaktavatsalan, a Tamil writer from Tamil Nadu, India. He is a Marxist and was influenced by Tamil Communist leader P. Jeevanandham in his younger days. He worked as a teacher and later retired as the deputy director of school education for Tamil Nadu. In 1994, he won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his Tamil novel "Pudhiya Dharisanangal." Currently, he is the state president of the Tamil literary organization Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumandram. From 2005 to 2008, he served as a member of the Central Board of Film Certification (censor board). He also wrote the script for the 2008 film "Ayyavazhi."