Virakesari is one of the leading Tamil daily newspapers in Sri Lanka. It is the oldest and the largest circulated Tamil Newspaper in Sri Lanka. Virakesari is owned by Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Private) Limited, one of the leading print and web media organizations in Sri Lanka.
Virakesari was founded by PPR. Subramanian in the first half of the 20th century. Subramanian was an entrepreneur and journalist from the village of Avanipatti in Tamil Nadu, India.
Upon immigrating from India to British Ceylon, he saw the conditions of the Indian Labourers and decided that he would establish a newspaper to promote justice and equality for those people by publishing a newspaper with a distinct voice of its own.
The first edition was published on 6th August 1930 under the masthead Virakesari meaning "Victorious Lion". Subramanian guided the publication for over 20 years, during which the publication focused on the rights and grievances of the Plantation workers, capturing the attention of the Tamil speaking population. Today, this newspaper is the most widely circulated and read newspaper by the entire Tamil speaking population in Sri Lanka.