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Tamil Nadu

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Tamil Nadu
Le temple de Brihadishwara (Tanjore, Inde) (14354574611).jpg
Shore Temple (16217100293).jpg
Aerial view of Sri Rangam temple near Tiruchirapalli 1.jpg
Nilgiri hills view from Doddabetta Peak.jpg
Hogenakkal Falls Close.jpg
Statue of Thiruvalluvar.jpg
Pamban Bridge Train Passing.jpg
Etymology: Homeland of Tamils
Nickname: 
"Land of Temples"
Motto
Vāymaiyē vellum (Truth alone triumphs)
Anthem: "Tamil Thai Valthu"
(Invocation to Mother Tamil)
The map of India showing Tamil Nadu
Location of Tamil Nadu in India
Coordinates: 11°31′44″N 78°45′03″E / 11.529000°N 78.750900°E / 11.529000; 78.750900
Country India
RegionSouth India
Before wasMadras State
Formation1 November 1956
Capital
and largest city
Chennai
Largest MetroChennai metropolitan area
Districts38 (5 divisions)
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Tamil Nadu
 • GovernorR. N. Ravi
 • Chief MinisterM. K. Stalin (DMK)
State LegislatureUnicameral
 • AssemblyTamil Nadu Legislative Assembly[1] (234 seats)
National ParliamentParliament of India
 • Rajya Sabha18 seats
 • Lok Sabha39 seats
High CourtMadras High Court
Area
 • Total130,058 km2 (50,216 sq mi)
 • Rank10th
Dimensions
 • Length1,076 km (669 mi)
Elevation
189 m (620 ft)
Highest elevation2,636 m (8,648 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • TotalIncrease 72,147,030
 • Rank6th
 • Density550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
48.4%
 • Rural
75.13%
Demonyms
Language
 • OfficialTamil[3]
 • Additional OfficialEnglish[3]
 • Official ScriptTamil script
GDP
 • Total (2021–2022)Increase24.85 lakh crore (US$310 billion)
 • Rank2nd
 • Per capitaIncrease254,855 (US$3,200) (9th)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-TN
Vehicle registrationTN
HDI (2019)Neutral increase 0.709 High[5] (11th)
Literacy (2011)Neutral increase 82.9% (13th)
Sex ratio (2021)1088/1000 [6] (31th)
Websitetn.gov.in
Symbols of Tamil Nadu
TamilNadu Logo.svg
Song"Tamil Thai Valthu"
(Invocation to Mother Tamil)
LanguageTamil[3]
BirdEmerald dove
ButterflyTamil Yeoman
FlowerGloriosa lily
FruitJackfruit
MammalNilgiri tahr
TreePalm Tree
State Highway Mark
SH IN-TN.png
State Highway of Tamil Nadu
TN SH1 - TN SH223
List of State Symbols

Tamil Nadu (/ˌtæmɪl ˈnɑːd/; Tamil: [ˈtamiɻ ˈnaːɽɯ] (listen), abbr. TN) is the southern-most state of India. The tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population, Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language—one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world—is widely spoken in the state and serves as its official language. The capital and largest city is Chennai.

Located on the south-eastern coast of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu is defined by the lush Western Ghats and the semi-arid Deccan Plateau in the west, the discontinuous Eastern Ghats in the north, the fertile Eastern Coastal Plains lining the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait to the south-east, the Laccadive Sea at the southern cape of the peninsula—Kanyakumari, and the river Kaveri bisecting the state. Politically, Tamil Nadu is bound by the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, and the union territory of Puducherry, as well as an international maritime border with the Northern Province of Sri Lanka at Pamban Island.

Historically, Tamil Nadu had been continuously inhabited by modern humans from 15,000 BC. The at-large Tamilakam region dominated by the Tamil-speaking population was under several regimes over centuries, such as the Sangam era (300 BC–AD 300) rulers of the Chera, Chola, and Pandya clans, the Pallava dynasty (3rd–9th century), and the later Vijayanagara Empire (14th–17th century), all of which shaped the state's cuisine, culture, and architecture. European colonization began with establishing trade ports in the 17th century, with the British controlling much of South India as the Madras Presidency, an administrative province of British India. After the Indian Independence in 1947, the region became the Madras State of the Republic of India, and in 1956, the state borders were redrawn linguistically by the States Reorganisation Act (1956) into the current shape. The state was renamed as Tamil Nadu, meaning "Tamil Country", in 1969.

As the most urbanised state of India, Tamil Nadu boasts an economy with gross state domestic product (GSDP) of 24.85 lakh crore (US$310 billion), marking the second-largest economy amongst the 28 states of India. It has the country's 9th-highest GSDP per capita of 225,106 (US$2,800),[7] and ranks 11th in human development index.[5] Tamil Nadu is also one of the most industrialised states, with the manufacturing sector accounting for more than one-third of the state's GDP.[8] Home to a number of ancient relics, historic buildings, religious pilgrimage spots, hill stations, forts, and three World Heritage Sites, Tamil Nadu's tourism industry is the largest among the Indian states. 15% of Tamil Nadu's forests are protected areas, hosting diverse wildlife. The Tamil film industry, nicknamed as Kollywood, plays an influential role in the state's popular culture.

Discover more about Tamil Nadu related topics

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. It is the state's primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London.

Deccan Plateau

Deccan Plateau

The large Deccan Plateau of the Indian Subcontinent is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges.

Eastern Ghats

Eastern Ghats

The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut through by four major rivers of peninsular India, viz., Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri. Deomali with 1672 m height is the tallest point in Odisha. Arma Konda/Jindhagada Peak with 1680 m is the highest point in Andhra Pradesh. BR hill range located in Karnataka is the tallest hill range in Eastern Ghats with many peaks above 1750 m height. Kattahi Betta in BR hills with the height of 1822 m is the tallest peak in Eastern Ghats. Thalamalai hill range in Tamil Nadu is the second tallest hill range. Araku range is the third tallest hill range.

Eastern Coastal Plains

Eastern Coastal Plains

The Eastern Coastal Plains is a wide stretch of landmass of India, lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. It is wider and leveled than the Western Coastal Plains and stretches from Tamil Nadu in the south to West Bengal in the north through Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Chilka Lake is a brackish water lake along the eastern coastal plain. It lies in the state of Odisha and stretches to the south of the Mahanadi Delta.

Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka, and the north westernmost point of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the largest water region called a bay in the world. There are countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal in South Asia and Southeast Asia. During the existence of British India, it was named the Bay of Bengal after the historic Bengal region. At the time, the Port of Kolkata served as the gateway to the Crown rule in India. Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world and Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tiger, are located along the bay.

Cape (geography)

Cape (geography)

In geography, a cape is a headland or a promontory of large size extending into a body of water, usually the sea. A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline, often making them important landmarks in sea navigation. This also makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions, which results in them having a relatively short geological lifespan. Capes can be formed by glaciers, volcanoes, and changes in sea level. Erosion plays a large role in each of these methods of formation.

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of 162,975 km2 (62,925 sq mi) and tenth-most-populous state, with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the north-west, Chhattisgarh to the north, Odisha to the north-east, Tamil Nadu to the south, Karnataka to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east. It has the second longest coastline in India after Gujarat, of about 974 km (605 mi). Andhra State was the first state to be formed on a linguistic basis in India on 1 October 1953. On 1 November 1956, Andhra State was merged with the Telugu-speaking areas of the Hyderabad State to form United Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, these merged areas of Hyderabad State were bifurcated from United Andhra Pradesh to form the new state Telangana. The present form of Andhra is similar to Andhra state, but some mandalas like Bhadrachalam are still included in Telangana. Amaravati serves as the capital of present Andhra with the largest city being Visakhapatnam.

Chera dynasty

Chera dynasty

The Chera dynasty, IPA: [t͡ʃeːɾɐ], was an ancient Tamil dynasty who are credited as the creators of land of Kerala as they have unified various regions of the western coast and western ghats to form the early Chera empire.

Chola dynasty

Chola dynasty

The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasty in the world history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Ashoka of the Maurya Empire. As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territories until the 13th century CE. The Chola Empire was at its peak and achieved imperialism under the Medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE.

Architecture of Tamil Nadu

Architecture of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is known for its ancient temple architecture known as the Dravidian architecture. Nearly 33,000 ancient temples, many at least 800 to 2000 years old, are found scattered all over Tamil Nadu. As per Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board, there are 38,615 temples. Most of the largest Hindu Temples reside here. Studded with complex architecture, variety of sculptures, and rich inscriptions, the temples remain the very essence of the culture and heritage of Tamil land, with historical records dating back to at least 3,000 years.

Colonial India

Colonial India

Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices. The search for the wealth and prosperity of India led to the colonisation of the Americas after Christopher Columbus went to the Americas in 1492. Only a few years later, near the end of the 15th century, Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama became the first European to re-establish direct trade links with India by being the first to arrive by circumnavigating Africa. Having arrived in Calicut, which by then was one of the major trading ports of the eastern world, he obtained permission to trade in the city from the Saamoothiri Rajah. The next to arrive were the Dutch, with their main base in Ceylon. Their expansion into India was halted after their defeat in the Battle of Colachel to the Kingdom of Travancore, during the Travancore–Dutch War.

British Raj

British Raj

The British Raj was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia; it is also called Crown rule in India, or Direct rule in India, and lasted from 1858 to 1947. The region under British control was commonly called India in contemporaneous usage and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, which were collectively called British India, and areas ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British paramountcy, called the princely states. The region was sometimes called the Indian Empire, though not officially.

History

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula.[9] In Attirampakkam near Chennai, archaeologists from the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education excavated ancient stone tools which suggest that a hominid population existed in the Tamil Nadu region somewhere around 1,000 years before homo sapiens arrived from Africa.[10][11] A Neolithic stone celt (a hand-held axe) with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu. According to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. According to Mahadevan, the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, and therefore that the "Neolithic people of the Tamil country spoke a Harappan language". The date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE.[12][13][14] In Adichanallur, 24 km (15 mi) from Tirunelveli, archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) unearthed 169 clay urns containing human skulls, skeletons, bones, husks, grains of rice, charred rice, and celts of the Neolithic period, 3,800 years ago.[15] The ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site, Tamil Brahmi, is "very rudimentary" and date it somewhere between the 5th century BCE and 3rd century BCE.[16][17] About 60 per cent of the total epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu, and most of these are in the Tamil language.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] In Keezhadi near Madurai, excavations have revealed a large urban settlement dating to the 6th century BCE, during the time of urbanisation in the Gangetic plain. During this dig, some potsherds were uncovered with a script similar to Indus script, leading some to conclude it was a transition between the Indus Valley script and Tamil Brahmi script used in the Sangam period.[26]

Sangam period (500 BCE–300 CE)

Keeladi, a Sangam Era Excavation Site, Sangam period[27]
Keeladi, a Sangam Era Excavation Site, Sangam period[27]

The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature. Numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about eight centuries, from 500 BCE to 300 CE. The recent excavations in Alagankulam archaeological site suggests that Alagankulam is one of the important trade centers or port cities of the Sangam Era.[28]

Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called Vendhar and several tribal chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination Vel or Velir. Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar.[29] The kings were known as the Moovendar, the three crowned kings, and were the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas. The Cheras controlled the western part of Tamilkam, what is today western Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Pandyas controlled the south, what is today southern Tamil Nadu. The Cholas had their base in the Kaveri delta and controlled what is today northern Tamil Nadu. Although these dynasties were never conquered by outside powers, there were still significant diplomatic contacts between them and kingdoms to the north. They were mentioned on the pillars of Ashoka.[30]

These rulers sponsored some of the earliest Tamil literature. The oldest Sangam work we have knowledge of is the Tolkappiyam, a book of Tamil grammar. Most Sangam literature dealt with themes of love and war. In these poems, a glimpse of Tamil society at the time can be glimpsed. The land was fertile, and people pursued different occupations depending on what regions they were in. Their gods included figures such as Seyyon and Kotravai, who were worshipped at different places.[31] The rulers patronised Buddhism and Jainism, and starting in the CE period references to Vedic customs begin to grow.[32]

Significant trade was also undertaken with the outside world. Much commerce from the Romans and Han China converged in the Tamil region, and the seaports of Muziris and Korkai were very popular destinations.[33] One of the most prized goods from Tamilkam was spices such as black pepper, but other spices, pearls and silk were also widely traded there.[34]

Starting in 300, however, there was a significant drop in Sangam literature. Some have attributed this to the Kalabhras, a dynasty which conquered much of Tamilkam during that time. Historians have speculated these rulers were antagonistic towards the astika schools which were dominant in later centuries, which is why later texts always portray their rule in a bad light, if at all.[35] During their rule, Samanar traditions greatly impacted literature written during this time. Literacy was widespread and epics such as the Cilappatikaram were written. The most prominent of these works is the Tirukkuṟaḷ written by Valluvar, a collection of couplets covering all aspects of life from ethics to love. This text is still treated with great reverence by those in the present-day.[36] Around the 7th century CE, the Kalabhras were overthrown by the Pandyas and Cholas,[37] who continued to patronise Buddhists and Jains before the Saiva and Vaishnava revivalism in the Bhakti movement.[38]

Middle Kingdoms (600–1300 CE)

During the 4th to 8th centuries, Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallava dynasty under Mahendravarman I and his son Mamalla Narasimhavarman I.[43] The Pallavas ruled parts of South India with Kanchipuram as their capital. Tamil architecture reached its peak during Pallava rule. Narasimhavarman II built the Shore Temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Much later, the Pallavas were replaced by the Chola dynasty as the dominant kingdom in the 9th century and they in turn were replaced by the Pandyan Dynasty in the 13th century. The Pandyan capital Madurai was in the deep south away from the coast. They had extensive trade links with the southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors, as well as contacts, even formal diplomatic contacts, reaching as far as the Roman Empire. During the 13th century, Marco Polo mentioned the Pandyas as the richest empire in existence. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli are the best examples of Pandyan temple architecture.[44] The Pandyas excelled in both trade and literature. They controlled the pearl fisheries along the south coast of India, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world.

The Descent of the Ganges, also known as Arjuna's Penance, at Mamallapuram, is one of the largest rock reliefs in Asia.
The Descent of the Ganges, also known as Arjuna's Penance, at Mamallapuram, is one of the largest rock reliefs in Asia.

Chola Empire

The Chola Empire at its greatest extent, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I in 1030
The Chola Empire at its greatest extent, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I in 1030

During the 9th century, the Chola dynasty was once again revived by Vijayalaya Chola, who established Thanjavur as Chola's new capital by conquering central Tamil Nadu from Mutharaiyar and the Pandya King Varagunavarman II. Aditya I and his son Parantaka I expanded the kingdom to the northern parts of Tamil Nadu by defeating the last Pallava king, Aparajitavarman. Parantaka Chola II expanded the Chola empire into what is now interior Andhra Pradesh and coastal Karnataka, while under the great Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose to a notable power in southeast Asia. Now the Chola Empire stretched as far as Bengal and Sri Lanka. At its peak, the empire spanned almost 3,600,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi). Rajaraja Chola conquered all of peninsular South India and parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola's navy went even further, occupying coasts from Burma (now) to Vietnam, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya, Philippines[45] in South East Asia and Pegu islands. He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

Relics from Chola period (from left to right): Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram; copper alloy statue of Hindu god Natarajan; and bronze statue of his consort Parvati
Relics from Chola period (from left to right): Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram; copper alloy statue of Hindu god Natarajan; and bronze statue of his consort Parvati
Relics from Chola period (from left to right): Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram; copper alloy statue of Hindu god Natarajan; and bronze statue of his consort Parvati
Relics from Chola period (from left to right): Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram; copper alloy statue of Hindu god Natarajan; and bronze statue of his consort Parvati

The Cholas were prolific temple builders right from the times of the first medieval King Vijayalaya Chola. These are the earliest specimen of Dravidian temples under the Cholas. His son Aditya I built several temples around the Kanchi and Kumbakonam regions. The Cholas went on to becoming a great power and built some of the most imposing religious structures in their lifetime and they also renovated temples and buildings of the Pallavas, acknowledging their common socio-religious and cultural heritage. The celebrated Nataraja temple at Chidambaram and the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, held special significance for the Cholas which have been mentioned in their inscriptions as their tutelary deities. Rajaraja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola built temples such as the Brihadeshvara Temple of Thanjavur and Brihadeshvara Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the Airavatesvara Temple of Darasuram and the Sarabeswara (Shiva) Temple, also called the Kampahareswarar Temple at Thirubhuvanam, the last two temples being located near Kumbakonam. The first three of the above four temples are titled Great Living Chola Temples among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Vijayanagar and Nayak period (1336–1646)

The Muslim invasions of southern India triggered the establishment of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire with Vijayanagara in modern Karnataka as its capital. The Vijayanagara empire eventually conquered the entire Tamil country by c. 1370 and ruled for almost two centuries until its defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by a confederacy of Deccan sultanates. Subsequently, as the Vijayanagara Empire went into decline after the mid-16th century, many local rulers, called Nayaks, succeeded in gaining the trappings of independence. This eventually resulted in the further weakening of the empire; many Nayaks declared themselves independent, among whom the Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjore were the first to declare their independence, despite initially maintaining loose links with the Vijayanagara kingdom.[44] The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were the most prominent Nayaks of the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the well-known temples in Tamil Nadu such as the Meenakshi Temple.

An aerial view of the Meenakshi Temple from the top of the southern gopuram, looking north. The temple was rebuilt by the Vijayanagar Empire.
An aerial view of the Meenakshi Temple from the top of the southern gopuram, looking north. The temple was rebuilt by the Vijayanagar Empire.

Power struggles of the 18th century (1688–1802)

By the early 18th century, the political scene in Tamil Nadu saw a major change-over and was under the control of many minor rulers aspiring to be independent. The fall of the Vijayanagara empire and the Chandragiri Nayakas gave the sultanate of Golconda a chance to expand into the Tamil heartland. When the sultanate was incorporated into the Mughal Empire in 1688, the northern part of current-day Tamil Nadu was administrated by the Nawab of the Carnatic, who had his seat in Arcot from 1715 onward. Meanwhile, to the south, the fall of the Thanjavur Nayaks led to a short-lived Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. The fall of the Madurai Nayaks brought up many small Nayakars of southern Tamil Nadu, who ruled small parcels of land called Palayams. The chieftains of these Palayams were known as Palaiyakkarar (or 'polygar' as called by British) and were ruling under the nawabs of the Carnatic.

Europeans started to establish trade centers during the 17th century in the eastern coastal regions. Around 1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat,[46] while the Danes had their establishment in Tharangambadi also known as Tranquebar.[47] In 1639, the British, under the East India Company, established a settlement further south of Pulicat, in present-day Chennai. British constructed Fort St. George[48] and established a trading post at Madras.[49] The office of mayoralty of Madras was established in 1688. The French established trading posts at Pondichéry by 1693. The British and French were competing to expand the trade in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu which also witnessed many battles like Battle of Wandiwash as part of the Seven Years' War.[50] British reduced the French dominions in India to Puducherry. Nawabs of the Carnatic bestowed tax revenue collection rights on the East India Company for defeating the Kingdom of Mysore. Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah surrendered much of his territory to the East India Company which firmly established the British in the northern parts. In 1762, a tripartite treaty was signed between Thanjavur Maratha, Carnatic, and the British by which Thanjavur became a vassal of the Nawab of the Carnatic which eventually ceded to the British.

In the south, Nawabs granted taxation rights to the British which led to conflicts between British and the Palaiyakkarar, which resulted in series of wars called Polygar war to establish independent states by the aspiring Palaiyakkarar. Puli Thevar was one of the earliest opponents of the British rule in South India.[51] Thevar's prominent exploits were his confrontations with Marudhanayagam, who later rebelled against the British in the late 1750s and early 1760s. Rani Velu Nachiyar, was the first woman freedom fighter of India and Queen of Sivagangai.[52] She was drawn to war after her husband Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar (1750–1772), King of Sivaganga was murdered at Kalayar Kovil temple by British. Before her death, Queen Velu Nachi granted powers to the Maruthu brothers to rule Sivaganga.[53] Kattabomman (1760–1799), Palaiyakkara chief of Panchalakurichi who fought the British in the First Polygar War.[54] He was captured by the British at the end of the war and hanged near Kayattar in 1799. Veeran Sundaralingam (1700–1800) was the General of Kattabomman Nayakan's palayam, who died in the process of blowing up a British ammunition dump in 1799 which killed more than 150 British soldiers to save Kattapomman Palace. Oomaithurai, younger brother of Kattabomman, took asylum under the Maruthu brothers, Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu and raised an army.[55] They formed a coalition with Dheeran Chinnamalai and Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, which fought the British in Second Polygar Wars. Dheeran Chinnamalai (1756–1805), Polygar chieftain of Kongu and ally of Tipu Sultan who fought the British in the Second Polygar War. After winning the Polygar wars in 1801, the East India Company consolidated most of southern India into the Madras Presidency.

Thiruvilliputhur Andal Temple Gopuram has been adopted as the official Seal of Tamil Nadu.
Thiruvilliputhur Andal Temple Gopuram has been adopted as the official Seal of Tamil Nadu.

The Pudukkottai Thondaimans rose to power over the Pudukkottai area by the end of the 17th Century. The Pudukkottai kingdom has the distinction of being the only princely state in Tamil Nadu, and only became part of the Indian union in 1948 after independence.[56]

Vellore Mutiny and Indian Rebellion (1801–1947 CE)

At the beginning of the 19th century, the British firmly established governance over the entirety of Tamil Nadu. The Vellore mutiny on 10 July 1806 was the first instance of a large-scale mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company, predating the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by half a century.[57] The revolt, which took place in Vellore, was brief, lasting one full day, but brutal as mutineers broke into the Vellore fort and killed or wounded 200 British troops, before they were subdued by reinforcements from nearby Arcot.[58][59]

The British Raj was formed after the British crown took over the control governance from the company and the remainder of the 19th century did not witness any native resistance until the beginning of 20th century Indian Independence movement. During the administration of Governor George Harris (1854–1859) measures were taken to improve education and increase the representation of Indians in the administration. Legislative powers are given to the Governor's council under the Indian Councils Act 1861 and 1909 Minto-Morley Reforms eventually led to the establishment of the Madras Legislative Council. Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two severe famines in the Madras Presidency, the Great Famine of 1876–78 and the Indian famine of 1896–97 killed millions of Tamils.[60] The famine led to the migration of many Tamil peasants as bonded labourers for the British to countries like Malaysia and Mauritius, which eventually formed the present Tamil diaspora.

Tamil Nadu provided a significant number of freedom fighters to the Independence struggle such as V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Bharatiyar.[61] The Tamils (particularly Tamil Malaysians) formed a significant percentage of the members of the Indian National Army (INA), founded by Subhas Chandra Bose to fight the British colonial rule in India.[62][63] Lakshmi Sahgal from Tamil Nadu was a prominent leader in the INA's Rani of Jhansi Regiment.

In 1916 Dr. T.M. Nair and Rao Bahadur Thygaraya Chetty released the Non-Brahmin Manifesto[64] and helped to form the Justice Party, an organisation that sought to reduce Brahmin domination of the civil service. The party won the legislative assembly elections of 1921, which was boycotted by the Congress. This party implemented reservations in government jobs and education for non-Brahmins in 1926, and stayed in power for 13 years. The other main movement was the self-respect movement of E. V. Ramaswamy, better known as Periyar. Periyar campaigned for an end to what he saw as Aryan domination of culture and life in Tamil Nadu. To this end, he became an advocate of rationalism, and campaigned against the caste system, religion, and superstition.[64]

Further steps towards eventual self-rule were taken in 1935 when the British Government passed the Government of India Act 1935. Fresh local elections were held and in Tamil Nadu the Congress party captured power defeating the Justice party. In 1938, Periyar along with C. N. Annadurai launched an agitation against the Congress ministry's decision to introduce the teaching of Hindi in schools. Thereafter, the Justice party was taken over by Periyar who renamed it Dravidar Kazhagam and took it out of electoral politics. The group became an advocate for a separate Dravida Nadu (lit. land of the Dravidians) during discussions of the partition of India.[65]

Post-Independence (1947–present)

When India became independent in 1947, Madras presidency became Madras State, comprising present-day Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Canara district of Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning "Tamil country".[66]

Discover more about History related topics

History of Tamil Nadu

History of Tamil Nadu

The region of Tamil Nadu in the southeast of modern India, shows evidence of having had continuous human habitation from 15,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. Throughout its history, spanning the early Upper Paleolithic age to modern times, this region has coexisted with various external cultures.

Attirampakkam

Attirampakkam

Attirampakkam or Athirampakkam is a village located 60 kilometers away from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The oldest known stone tools in India were discovered near the village, which became the type site for the Madrasian culture.

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. It is the state's primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London.

Celt (tool)

Celt (tool)

In archaeology, a celt is a long, thin, prehistoric, stone or bronze tool similar to an adze, hoe, or axe.

Indus script

Indus script

The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not they constituted a writing system used to record the as-yet unidentified language(s) of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Despite many attempts, the 'script' has not yet been deciphered, but efforts are ongoing. There is no known bilingual inscription to help decipher the script, and the script shows no significant changes over time. However, some of the syntax varies depending upon location.

Mayiladuthurai

Mayiladuthurai

Mayiladuthurai is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of 281 km (175 mi) from the state capital, Chennai.

Iravatham Mahadevan

Iravatham Mahadevan

Iravatham Mahadevan was an Indian epigraphist and civil servant, known for his decipherment of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions and for his expertise on the epigraphy of the Indus Valley civilisation.

Harappan language

Harappan language

The Harappan language is the unknown language or languages of the Bronze Age Harappan civilization. The language being unattested in any readable contemporary source, hypotheses regarding its nature are reduced to purported loanwords and substratum influence, notably the substratum in Vedic Sanskrit and a few terms recorded in Sumerian cuneiform, in conjunction with analyses of the undeciphered Indus script.

Adichanallur

Adichanallur

Adichanallur is an archaeological site in Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India that has been the site of a number of very important archaeological finds. Korkai, the capital of the Early Pandyan Kingdom, is located about 15 km from Adichanallur. Carbon dating of samples excavated in 2004 from the Adichanallur site has revealed that they belonged to the period between 1000 BC and 600 BC. In 2005, around 169 clay urns containing human skeletons were unearthed that date back to at-least 3,800 years. In 2018, research on copper metal remains remains were dated at Manipur University to 1500 BC. But dating was not accepted as accurate.

Archaeological Survey of India

Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General.

Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement.

Keezhadi excavation site

Keezhadi excavation site

Keezhadi excavation site is a Sangam age settlement that is being excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India and the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology. This site is located 12 km southeast of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, near the town of Keezhadi in Sivagangai district. It comes under the Thiruppuvanam Taluk of Sivagangai district. This is a large-scale excavation carried out in Tamil Nadu after the Adichanallur archaeological site. The settlement lies on the bank of the Vaigai River and it reflects the ancient culture of Tamil people. Epigraphist V. Vedachalam, who served as a domain expert for the excavation, dated the excavated remains between 6th century BCE and 3rd century CE.

Geography

Topographic map of Tamil Nadu
Topographic map of Tamil Nadu
Western Ghats traverse along the western border of Tamil Nadu.
Western Ghats traverse along the western border of Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km2 (50,216 sq mi),[2] and is the tenth-largest state in India. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the north-west and Andhra Pradesh to the north. To the east is the Bay of Bengal and the state encircles the union territory of Puducherry. The southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula is Kanyakumari which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.

The western, southern, and the northwestern parts are hilly and rich in vegetation. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet at the Nilgiri Hills. The Western Ghats traverse the entire western border with Kerala, effectively blocking much of the rain-bearing clouds of the south-west monsoon from entering the state. The eastern parts are fertile coastal plains and the northern parts are a mix of hills and plains. The central and the south-central regions are arid plains and receive less rainfall than the other regions.

Tamil Nadu has the country's third-longest coastline at about 906.9 km (563.5 mi).[67] Pamban Island and a group of smaller limestone shoals make up the northern portion of Ram Setu, which was formerly a natural bridge linking India with Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu's coastline bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when it hit India, which caused 7,793 direct deaths in the state. Tamil Nadu falls mostly in a region of low seismic hazard with the exception of the western border areas that lie in a low to moderate hazard zone; as per the 2002 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) map, Tamil Nadu falls in Zones II and III. Historically, parts of this region have experienced seismic activity in the M5.0 range.[68]

Climate

Tamil Nadu is mostly dependent on monsoon rains and thereby is prone to droughts when the monsoons fail. The climate of the state ranges from dry sub-humid to semi-arid. The state has two distinct periods of rainfall:

The annual rainfall of the state is about 945 mm (37.2 in) of which 48 per cent is through the northeast monsoon, and 32 per cent through the southwest monsoon. Since the state is entirely dependent on rains for recharging its water resources, monsoon failures lead to acute water scarcity and severe drought.[69] Tamil Nadu is divided into seven agro-climatic zones: northeast, northwest, west, southern, high rainfall, high altitude hilly, and Kaveri Delta (the most fertile agricultural zone).

Flora and fauna

There are about 2,000 species of wildlife that are native to Tamil Nadu. Protected areas provide safe habitat for large mammals including elephants, tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, gaurs, lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri langurs, Nilgiri tahrs, grizzled giant squirrels and sambar deer, resident and migratory birds such as cormorants, darters, herons, egrets, open-billed storks, spoonbills and white ibises, little grebes, Indian moorhen, black-winged stilts, a few migratory ducks and occasionally grey pelicans, marine species such as the dugongs, turtles, dolphins, Balanoglossus and a wide variety of fish and insects.

Indian Angiosperm diversity comprises 17,672 species with Tamil Nadu leading all states in the country, with 5640 species accounting for 1/3 of the total flora of India. This includes 1,559 species of medicinal plants, 533 endemic species, 260 species of wild relatives of cultivated plants and 230 red-listed species. The gymnosperm diversity of the country is 64 species of which Tamil Nadu has four indigenous species and about 60 introduced species. The Pteridophytes diversity of India includes 1,022 species of which Tamil Nadu has about 184 species. Vast numbers of bryophytes, lichen, fungi, algae, and bacteria are among the wild plant diversity of Tamil Nadu.

Common plant species include the state tree: palmyra palm, eucalyptus, rubber, cinchona, clumping bamboos (Bambusa arundinacea), common teak, Anogeissus latifolia, Indian laurel, grewia, and blooming trees like Indian laburnum, ardisia, and solanaceae. Rare and unique plant life includes Combretum ovalifolium, ebony (Diospyros nilagrica), Habenaria rariflora (orchid), Alsophila, Impatiens elegans, Ranunculus reniformis, and royal fern.[70]

National and state parks

Tamil Nadu has a wide range of biomes extending east from the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in the Western Ghats through the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests and Deccan thorn scrub forests to tropical dry broadleaf forests and then to the beaches, estuaries, salt marshes, mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs of the Bay of Bengal. The state has a range of flora and fauna with many species and habitats. To protect this diversity of wildlife there are Protected areas of Tamil Nadu as well as biospheres which protect larger areas of natural habitat often include one or more national parks. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve established in 1986 is a marine ecosystem with seaweed seagrass communities, coral reefs, salt marshes, and mangrove forests. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve located in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills comprises part of adjoining states of Kerala and Karnataka. The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is in the southwest of the state bordering Kerala in the Western Ghats. Tamil Nadu is home to five declared national parks located in Anamalai, Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Gulf of Mannar, Guindy located in the center of Chennai City and Vandalur located in South Chennai. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Mukurthi National Park and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve are the tiger reserves in the state.

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Geography of Tamil Nadu

Geography of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is the tenth largest state in India and covers an area of 130,058 square kilometres (50,216 sq mi). It is bordered by Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the northwest, Andhra Pradesh to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Indian Ocean to the south. Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari), the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean is located in Tamil Nadu.

Kerala

Kerala

Kerala is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canara, and Thiruvithamkoor. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is the 21st largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state.

Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka, formerly Mysore State, is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act and renamed Karnataka in 1973. The state corresponds to the Carnatic region. Its capital and largest city is Bengaluru.

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of 162,975 km2 (62,925 sq mi) and tenth-most-populous state, with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the north-west, Chhattisgarh to the north, Odisha to the north-east, Tamil Nadu to the south, Karnataka to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east. It has the second longest coastline in India after Gujarat, of about 974 km (605 mi). Andhra State was the first state to be formed on a linguistic basis in India on 1 October 1953. On 1 November 1956, Andhra State was merged with the Telugu-speaking areas of the Hyderabad State to form United Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, these merged areas of Hyderabad State were bifurcated from United Andhra Pradesh to form the new state Telangana. The present form of Andhra is similar to Andhra state, but some mandalas like Bhadrachalam are still included in Telangana. Amaravati serves as the capital of present Andhra with the largest city being Visakhapatnam.

Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka, and the north westernmost point of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the largest water region called a bay in the world. There are countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal in South Asia and Southeast Asia. During the existence of British India, it was named the Bay of Bengal after the historic Bengal region. At the time, the Port of Kolkata served as the gateway to the Crown rule in India. Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world and Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tiger, are located along the bay.

Puducherry (union territory)

Puducherry (union territory)

Puducherry, also known as Pondicherry or Pondichéry, is a union territory of India, consisting of four small geographically unconnected districts. It was formed out of four territories of former French India, namely Pondichéry , Karikal (Karaikal), Mahé and Yanaon, excluding Chandannagar (Chandernagore), and it is named after the largest district, Puducherry, which was also the capital of French India. Historically known as Pondicherry, the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 20 September 2006.

Arabian Sea

Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Peninsula, on the southeast by the Laccadive Sea and the Maldives, on the southwest by Somalia, and on the east by India. Its total area is 3,862,000 km2 (1,491,000 sq mi) and its maximum depth is 4,652 meters (15,262 ft). The Gulf of Aden in the west connects the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Oman is in the northwest, connecting it to the Persian Gulf.

Eastern Ghats

Eastern Ghats

The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut through by four major rivers of peninsular India, viz., Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri. Deomali with 1672 m height is the tallest point in Odisha. Arma Konda/Jindhagada Peak with 1680 m is the highest point in Andhra Pradesh. BR hill range located in Karnataka is the tallest hill range in Eastern Ghats with many peaks above 1750 m height. Kattahi Betta in BR hills with the height of 1822 m is the tallest peak in Eastern Ghats. Thalamalai hill range in Tamil Nadu is the second tallest hill range. Araku range is the third tallest hill range.

Coastline of Tamil Nadu

Coastline of Tamil Nadu

The coastline of Tamil Nadu is located on the southeast coast of Indian Peninsula, and forms a part of Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. It is 1076 km long and is the second longest coastline in the country after Gujarat. Chennai, the capital of the state and an important commercial and industrial center in the country is located in the northern part of the coast with Kanniyakumari, forming the southern tip where Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea meet. It also shares maritime border with Sri Lanka across the Palk strait in Gulf of Mannar. The coastal corridor consists of 14 districts with 15 major ports and harbors, sandy beaches, lakes and river estuaries. Tamil Nadu is the only state in India with territory on both the eastern and western coastlines.

Pamban Island

Pamban Island

Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is an island located between peninsular India and Sri Lanka, on the Rama Setu archipelago. The second largest island in the latter, Pamban Island belongs to India and forms the Rameswaram taluk of the Ramanathapuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest island in Tamil Nadu by area. The principal town in the island is the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the south-west and India in the north-west.

Monsoon

Monsoon

A monsoon is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscillation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) between its limits to the north and south of the equator. Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The term is also sometimes used to describe locally heavy but short-term rains.

Governance and administration

Madras High Court, Chennai
Madras High Court, Chennai

The governor is the constitutional head of the state while the chief minister is the head of the government and the head of the council of ministers.[71] The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head of the judiciary.[71] The present governor, chief minister and the chief justice are R. N. Ravi,[72] M. K. Stalin[73] and Munishwar Nath Bhandari[74] respectively. Administratively the state is divided into 38 districts. Chennai, the capital of the state is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in India and is also one of the major metropolitan cities of India. The state comprises 39 Lok Sabha constituencies and 234 Legislative Assembly constituencies.[75]

Tamil Nadu had a bicameral legislature until 1986, when it was replaced with a unicameral legislature, like most other states in India. The term length of the government is five years. The present government is headed by M.K.Stalin of the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) party after his recent victory in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Elections in 2021 . The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly is housed at the Fort St. George in Chennai. The state had come under the President's rule on four occasions – first from 1976 to 1977, next for a short period in 1980, then from 1988 to 1989 and the latest in 1991.

Tamil Nadu has been a pioneering state of E-Governance initiatives in India. A large part of the government records like land ownership records are digitised and all major offices of the state government like Urban Local Bodies – all the corporations and municipal office activities – revenue collection, land registration offices, and transport offices have been computerised. Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law and order have been maintained largely successfully.[76] The Tamil Nadu Police Force is over 140 years old. It is the fifth-largest state police force in India (as of 2015, total police force of TN is 1,11,448) and has the highest proportion of women police personnel in the country (total women police personnel of TN is 13,842 which is about 12.42%) to specifically handled violence against women in Tamil Nadu.[77][78] In 2003, the state had a total police population ratio of 1:668, higher than the national average of 1:717.

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Government of Tamil Nadu

Government of Tamil Nadu

Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, like most other states in India.

Tamil Nadu Legislature

Tamil Nadu Legislature

The Tamil Nadu Legislature is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Legislature is composed of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Governor of Tamil Nadu

Chief minister

Chief minister

A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state in India; a territory of Australia; a province of Sri Lanka or Pakistan; a federal province in Nepal; an autonomous region of Philippines; or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-governance. It is also used as the English version of the title given to the heads of governments of the Malay states without a monarchy.

Madras High Court

Madras High Court

The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High Court in Kolkata and Bombay High Court in Mumbai. The Madras High Court is one of four charter high courts of colonial India established in the four Presidency Towns of Madras, Bombay, Allahabad and Calcutta by letters patent granted by Queen Victoria, dated 26 June 1862. It exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai, as well as extraordinary original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, under the letters patent and special original jurisdiction for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India. Covering 107 acres, the court complex is one of the largest in the world, second only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

R. N. Ravi

R. N. Ravi

Ravindra Narayana Ravi is an Indian politician and former bureaucrat serving as the current and 15th Governor of Tamil Nadu. Ravi served as the 18th Governor of Nagaland from 1 August 2019 to 9 September 2021 and Governor of Meghalaya from 18 December 2019 to 26 January 2020.

M. K. Stalin

M. K. Stalin

Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, often referred to by his initials as MK Stalin, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin has been the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party since 28 August 2018. He served as the 37th Mayor of Chennai from 1996 to 2002 and 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011. Stalin was placed 24th on the list of India's Most Powerful Personalities in 2022 by The Indian Express.

Munishwar Nath Bhandari

Munishwar Nath Bhandari

Munishwar Nath Bhandari is an Indian Judge. He is former Chief Justice of Madras High Court. He has also served as Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court and Allahabad High Court and Judge of Allahabad High Court and Rajasthan High Court.

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. It is the state's primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London.

Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, and they hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan, New Delhi.

Bicameralism

Bicameralism

Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group. As of 2022, roughly 40% of world's national legislatures are bicameral, while unicameralism represents 60% nationally, and much more at the subnational level.

President's rule

President's rule

In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional provisions, the Union government can take direct control of the state machinery. Subsequently, executive authority is exercised through the centrally appointed governor, who has the authority to appoint other administrators to assist them. The administrators are usually nonpartisan retired civil servants.

Tamil Nadu Police

Tamil Nadu Police

Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India. Tamil Nadu has a police-population ratio of 1:632. The Director General of the Tamil Nadu police is C. Sylendra Babu.

Administrative subdivisions

Districts of Tamil Nadu
Districts of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is divided into 38 districts, each of which is administered by a District Collector, who is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) appointed to the district by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The districts are further subdivided into 226 Taluks administrated by Tahsildars comprising 1127 Revenue blocks administrated by Revenue Inspector (RI). A District also has one or more Revenue Divisions (in total 76) administrated by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), constituted by many Revenue Blocks. 16,564 Revenue villages (Village Panchayat) are the primary grassroots level administrative units which in turn might include many villages and administered by a Village Administrative Officer (VAO), many of which form a Revenue Block. Cities and towns are administered by Municipal corporations and Municipalities respectively. The urban bodies include 15 city corporations, 152 municipalities and 529 town panchayats.[79][80][81] The rural bodies include 31 district panchayats, 385 panchayat unions and 12,524 village panchayats.[82][83][84]

Cities and towns

The state capital of Chennai is the most populous city in the state with more than 8,900,000 residents, followed by Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem, respectively.[85][86] Chennai is also the sixth-most populous city in India according to the 2011 Indian census.

 
Largest cities or towns in Tamil Nadu
As of the 2011 Census
Rank Name District Pop.
Chennai
Chennai
Coimbatore
Coimbatore
1 Chennai Chennai 8,696,010 Madurai
Madurai
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli
2 Coimbatore Coimbatore 2,151,466
3 Madurai Madurai 1,462,420
4 Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli 1,021,717
5 Tiruppur Tiruppur 962,982
6 Salem Salem 919,150
7 Erode Erode 521,776
8 Vellore Vellore 504,079
9 Tirunelveli Tirunelveli 498,984
10 Thoothukudi Thoothukudi 410,760

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Indian Administrative Service

Indian Administrative Service

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, The IAS is a part of the union civil services and is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian Police Service being a part of union civil services and the Indian Forest Service being a part of the union natural resources services. Members of these three services serve the Government of India as well as the individual states. IAS officers are also deployed to various government establishments such as constitutional bodies, staff & line agencies, auxiliary bodies, public sector undertakings, regulatory bodies, statutory bodies and autonomous bodies.

Tehsil

Tehsil

A tehsil is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative centre, with possible additional towns, and usually a number of villages. The terms in India have replaced earlier terms, such as pargana (pergunnah) and thana.

Tehsildar

Tehsildar

In India and Pakistan, a Tehsildar or Mamlatdar is a tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as an executive magistrate of the relevant tehsil. The immediate subordinate of a tehsildar is known as a naib tehsildar. This is akin to an additional deputy commissioner.

Revenue block

Revenue block

Revenue blocks, revenue circles, firka, or patwar circles are the local revenue sub-divisions of the various districts of the states of India. The revenue blocks exist to simplify local administration, and each consists of a small number of revenue villages, governed by a revenue inspector. The revenue inspector is charged with a number of key administrative roles, most notably the identification and collection of tax revenue. Sometimes the land area in a revenue circle is identified as an inspector land revenue circle for administrative purposes. While revenue blocks may be as large as or larger than a tehsildar, revenue circles are generally smaller. In the state of Tamil Nadu alone, there are 1,349 revenue blocks.

List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population

List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population

The following are the cities in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, which have a population of 1 lakh (100,000) and above, based on the 2011 census conducted by Government of India.

List of towns in Tamil Nadu by population

List of towns in Tamil Nadu by population

The following describes the population of towns in Tamil Nadu, India.

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. It is the state's primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London.

Coimbatore

Coimbatore

Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur, sometimes shortened as Kovai, is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbatore is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu after Chennai in terms of population and the 16th largest urban agglomeration in India as per the census 2011. It is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and is the administrative capital of Coimbatore District. In 1981, Coimbatore formed as the third municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Madurai. Podanur Junction is the oldest railway station in Coimbatore City. The city is one of the largest exporters of jewellery, wet grinders, poultry and auto components; the "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" and the "Kovai Cora Cotton" are recognised as Geographical Indications by the Government of India. Being a hub of textile industry in South India, the city is sometimes referred to as the "Manchester of South India". It was ranked the 7th best city in India in the Ease of Living index 2020.

Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore and the 44th most populated city in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoonga Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps".

Salem, Tamil Nadu

Salem, Tamil Nadu

Salem, is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is the fifth largest urban agglomeration and metropolitan city in the state by population next to Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli and the fifth largest city in Tamil Nadu by area covering 124 km2 (48 sq mi).

Politics

Fort St. George hosts the Chief Secretariat of the government of Tamil Nadu.
Fort St. George hosts the Chief Secretariat of the government of Tamil Nadu.

Pre-Independence

Prior to Indian independence, Tamil Nadu was under British colonial rule as part of the Madras Presidency. The main party in Tamil Nadu at that time was the Indian National Congress (INC). Regional parties have dominated state politics since 1916. One of the earliest regional parties, the South Indian Welfare Association, a forerunner to Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu, was started in 1916. The party was called after its English organ, Justice Party, by its opponents. Later, South Indian Liberal Federation was adopted as its official name. The reason for the victory of the Justice Party in elections was the non-participation of the INC, demanding complete independence of India.

The Justice Party which was under E. V. Ramasamy was renamed Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. It was a non-political party which demanded the establishment of an independent state called Dravida Nadu. However, due to the differences between its two leaders E. V. Ramasamy and C. N. Annadurai, the party was split.

Post-Independence

C. N. Annadurai left the party Dravida Kazhagam to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK decided to enter politics in 1956. After the demise of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi became the leader of the party which was supported by majority leaders including then famous actor M. G. Ramachandran. As a breakaway faction of the DMK, in 1972, M. G. Ramachandran founded the new Dravidian party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) named after his political mentor C. N. Annadurai popularly called "Anna". After the demise of M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa succeeded the leadership of the AIADMK party and was fondly called Amma (The Mother) by millions.[87]

Discover more about Politics related topics

Elections in Tamil Nadu

Elections in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the state government and the districts.

Dravidian parties

Dravidian parties

Dravidian parties include an array of regional political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, which trace their origins and ideologies either directly or indirectly to the Justice Party and the Dravidian movement of C. Natesanar and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. The Dravidian movement was based on the linguistic divide in India, where most of the Northern Indian, Eastern Indian and Western Indian languages are classified as Indo-Aryan, whereas the South Indian languages are classified as Dravidian. Dravidian politics has developed by associating itself to the Dravidian community. The original goal of Dravidian politics was to achieve social equality, but it later championed the cause of ending the domination of North India over the politics and economy of the South Indian province known as Madras Presidency.

Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress led India to independence from the United Kingdom, and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.

List of political parties in India

List of political parties in India

India has a multi-party system. The Election Commission of India (ECI) accords recognition to the national level and the state level political parties based upon objective criteria. A recognised political party enjoys privileges like a reserved party symbol, free broadcast time on state-run television and radio, consultation in the setting of election dates, and giving input in setting electoral rules and regulations. Other political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India. Registered Parties are upgraded as recognised National Party or State Party by the ECI if they meet the relevant criteria after a Lok Sabha or State legislative assembly election. The Recognised Party status is reviewed periodically by the ECI.

Justice Party (India)

Justice Party (India)

The Justice Party, officially the South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. It was established on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by Dr C. Natesa Mudaliar and co-founded by T. M. Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetty and Alamelu Mangai Thayarammal as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency. Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmins began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in government jobs. The Justice Party's foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organisation to represent the non-Brahmins in Madras and is seen as the start of the Dravidian Movement.

Dravidar Kazhagam

Dravidar Kazhagam

Dravidar Kazhagam is a social movement founded by E. V. Ramasami, also called Thanthai Periyar. Its original goals were to eradicate the ills of the existing caste system including untouchability and on a grander scale to obtain a "Dravida Nadu" from the Madras Presidency. Dravidar Kazhagam would in turn give birth to many other political parties including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and later the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Dravida Nadu

Dravida Nadu

Dravida Nadu was the name of a proposed sovereign state demanded by the Justice Party led by the founder of the self-respect movement, E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by C. N. Annadurai for the speakers of the Dravidian languages in South India.

C. N. Annadurai

C. N. Annadurai

Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, popularly known as Anna, also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna, was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the fourth and last Chief Minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969 and first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days before his death. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is currently the main opposition.

M. G. Ramachandran

M. G. Ramachandran

Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran, also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987. He was the AIADMK's founder and J. Jayalalithaa's mentor. On 19 March 1988, M.G.R. was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) at Madurai on 17 October 1972 as a breakaway faction from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after M. Karunanidhi expelled him from the party for demanding an account as the party treasurer. The party is adhering to the policy of socialism and secularism based on the principles of C. N. Annadurai (Anna) collectively coined as Annaism by M.G.R. The party has won a seven-time majority in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and part of the India-ruling National Democratic Alliance.

J. Jayalalithaa

J. Jayalalithaa

Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2016, she was the 5th and longest-serving general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their "Amma" (Mother) and "Puratchi Thalaivi".

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
195130,119,000—    
196133,687,000+11.8%
197141,199,000+22.3%
198148,408,000+17.5%
199155,859,000+15.4%
200162,406,000+11.7%
201172,138,958+15.6%
Source:Census of India[88]

Tamil Nadu is the seventh most populous state in India. 48.4 per cent of the state's population lives in urban areas, the third-highest percentage among large states in India. The state has registered the lowest fertility rate in India in the year 2005–06 with 1.7 children born for each woman, lower than required for population sustainability.[89][90]

At the 2011 India census, Tamil Nadu had a population of 72,147,030.[91] The sex ratio of the state is 995 with 36,137,975 males and 36,009,055 females. There are a total of 23,166,721 households.[91] The total children under the age of 6 is 7,423,832. A total of 14,438,445 people constituting 20.01 per cent of the total population belonged to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 794,697 people constituting 1.10 per cent of the population belonged to Scheduled tribes (ST).[91][92]

The state has 51,837,507 literates, making the literacy rate 80.33 per cent. There are a total of 27,878,282 workers, comprising 4,738,819 cultivators, 6,062,786 agricultural labourers, 1,261,059 in house hold industries, 11,695,119 other workers, 4,120,499 marginal workers, 377,220 marginal cultivators, 2,574,844 marginal agricultural labourers, 238,702 marginal workers in household industries and 929,733 other marginal workers.[93]

India has a human development index calculated as 0.619, while the corresponding figure for Tamil Nadu is 0.736, placing it among the top states in the country.[94][95] The life expectancy at birth for males is 65.2 years and for females it is 67.6 years.[96] However, it has a high level of poverty, especially in rural areas. In 2004–2005, the poverty line was set at 351.86/month for rural areas and 547.42/month for urban areas. Poverty in the state dropped from 51.7 per cent in 1983 to 21.1 per cent in 2001.[97] For the period 2004–2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty in the state was 22.5 per cent compared with the national figure of 27.5 per cent. The World Bank is currently assisting the state in reducing poverty, high drop-out and low completion of secondary schools continue to hinder the quality of training in the population. Other problems include class, gender, inter-district, and urban-rural disparities. Based on URP – Consumption for the period 2004–2005, the percentage of the state's population below the poverty line was 27.5 per cent. The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative ranks Tamil Nadu to have a Multidimensional Poverty Index of 0.141, which is in the level of Ghana among the developing countries.[98] Corruption is a major problem in the state with Transparency International ranking it the second most corrupt among the states of India.[99]

Religion

Religion in Tamil Nadu (2011)[100]

  Hinduism (87.58%)
  Christianity (6.12%)
  Islam (5.86%)
  Jainism (0.12%)
  Others (0.33%)

According to the 2011 census, Hinduism is followed by the majority of the population of Tamil Nadu, around 88 percent. Christians are the largest religious minority in the state, at around 6.12 percent of the population, followed by Islam at 5.86 percent.[101]

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni is a popular Christian pilgrimage site.
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni is a popular Christian pilgrimage site.

Language

Distribution of languages in Tamil Nadu (2011)[3]

  Tamil (88.35%)
  Telugu (5.87%)
  Urdu (1.67%)
  Kannada (1.58%)
  Malayalam (1.00%)
  Others (1.53%)

Tamil is the sole official language of Tamil Nadu, while English has been declared as the additional official language by the Government of Tamil Nadu.[3] When India adopted national standards, Tamil language was the first to be recognised as a classical language of India.[102] As of 2011 census report, Tamil is spoken as the first language by 88.35 percent of the state's population, followed by Telugu (5.87%), Kannada (1.58%), Urdu (1.75%), Malayalam (1%) and other languages (1.53%).[103]

LGBT rights

Asia's first Genderqueer Pride parade in Madurai with Anjali Gopalan and Gopi Shankar Madurai (2012)[104]
Asia's first Genderqueer Pride parade in Madurai with Anjali Gopalan and Gopi Shankar Madurai (2012)[104]

The Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Tamil Nadu are among the most progressive in India.[105][106] Chennai Rainbow Pride has been held in the Capital city of Chennai annually since 2009.[107] Tamil Nadu is also the first Indian state to ban conversion therapy, following the Madras High Court.[108] Tamil Nadu was the first Indian state to introduce a transgender welfare policy, wherein transgender people can avail free sex reassignment surgery in government hospitals. The state was also the first to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants.[109][110]

In 2019, the Madras High Court ruled that the term "bride" under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 includes trans women and thereby legalising marriage between a man and a transgender woman.[111]

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Demographics of Tamil Nadu

Demographics of Tamil Nadu

At the 2011 Census of India, the population of the state of Tamil Nadu was 72,147,039, increasing from 62.4 million in 2001. There were 36,137,975 males and 36,009,064 females, with a sex ratio of 996 females per 1000 males. Its literacy rate was 80.09%. 10.51% of the population was below seven years old, and it had a population density of 555.

List of districts in Tamil Nadu by Human Development Index

List of districts in Tamil Nadu by Human Development Index

The average Human Development Index (HDI) for the state of Tamil Nadu in 1996 calculated by the government's State Planning Commission was 0.636. By 2001, the average HDI for the state calculated by the State Planning Commission had risen to 0.657. The 2017 Human development Index was calculated by the state planning commission by the methodology of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was 0.708. While comparing with the 2003 data, the latest report has also shown that the two sets of reports are not strictly comparable. Besides, some districts in Tamil Nadu had seen separation in the last fourteen years.

States and union territories of India

States and union territories of India

India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth (LEB), which can be defined in two ways. Cohort LEB is the mean length of life of a birth cohort and can be computed only for cohorts born so long ago that all their members have died. Period LEB is the mean length of life of a hypothetical cohort assumed to be exposed, from birth through death, to the mortality rates observed at a given year.

Poverty

Poverty

Poverty is a state or condition in which one lacks the financial resources and essentials for a certain standard of living. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: absolute poverty compares income against the amount needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter; relative poverty measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from one society to another.

Multidimensional Poverty Index

Multidimensional Poverty Index

Multidimensional Poverty Indices use a range of indicators to calculate a summary poverty figure for a given population, in which a larger figure indicates a higher level of poverty. This figure considers both the proportion of the population that is deemed poor, and the 'breadth' of poverty experienced by these 'poor' households, following the Alkire & Foster 'counting method'. The method was developed following increased criticism of monetary and consumption based poverty measures, seeking to capture the deprivations in non-monetary factors that contribute towards well-being. While there is a standard set of indicators, dimensions, cutoffs and thresholds used for a 'Global MPI', the method is flexible and there are many examples of poverty studies that modify it to best suit their environment. The methodology has been mainly, but not exclusively, applied to developing countries.

Religion in Tamil Nadu

Religion in Tamil Nadu

In the state of Tamil Nadu the most widely professed religion is Hinduism, with significant Christian and Muslim communities. Tamil Nadu has centers of worship for a multitude of faiths. According to 2011 Census of India figures, 87.6% of Tamil Nadu's population are Hindus, 6.12% are Christians, 5.86% are Muslims, 0.12% are Jains, 0.02% are Buddhists and 0.02% are Sikhs.

Hinduism in Tamil Nadu

Hinduism in Tamil Nadu

Hinduism in Tamil Nadu finds its earliest literary mention in the Sangam literature dated to the 5th century BCE. The total number of Tamil Hindus as per 2011 Indian census is 63,188,168 which forms 87.58% of the total population of Tamil Nadu. Hinduism is the largest religion in Tamil Nadu.

Christianity in Tamil Nadu

Christianity in Tamil Nadu

Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in AD 52. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population. Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.

Islam

Islam

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered around the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 1.9 billion globally and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.

Jainism in Tamil Nadu

Jainism in Tamil Nadu

Jainism has an extensive history in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, although practiced by a minority of Tamils in contemporary times. According to the 2011 India Census, Jains represent 0.12% of the total population of Tamil Nadu, and are of the Digambara sect. Tamil Jains are primarily concentrated in northern Tamil Nadu, in the districts of Madurai, Viluppuram, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Thanjavur.

Tamil Muslim

Tamil Muslim

Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 5.7 million in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 70% of the Muslim community identified themselves as Tamils. The Tamil-speaking Muslims are descendants of marriages between early West Asian Muslims and Tamil women as well as local converts. The community is matrilineal, matriarchal and matrilocal. There is a substantial diaspora, particularly in Southeast Asia, which has seen their presence as early as the 13th century. In the late 20th century, the diaspora expanded to Western Europe, Persian Gulf and North America. A separate Tamil-speaking Muslim population also exists in Sri Lanka known as the Sri Lankan Moors, who do not identify as Tamils but are a mixture of Arab, Persian, South Indian and Malay ancestries of which the Dravidian element is predominant because of centuries of heavy Indian injection. Historically, both these Tamil speaking communities in India and Sri Lanka were known as the Sonakar, which is derived from the term Yona, originally meaning a West Asian.

Education

Children in an elementary school in Mayiladuthurai
Children in an elementary school in Mayiladuthurai

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India.[112] Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 2001–2011. A survey conducted by the industry body Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary education. One of the basic limitations for improvement in education in the state is the rate of absence of teachers in public schools, which at 21.4 per cent is significant.[113] The analysis of primary school education in the state by Pratham shows a low drop-off rate but the poor quality of state education compared to other states.[114] Tamil Nadu has 37 universities, 552 engineering colleges[115] 449 polytechnic colleges[116] and 566 arts and science colleges, 34,335 elementary schools, 5,167 high schools, 5,054 higher secondary schools and 5,000 hospitals. Some of the notable educational institutes present in Tamil Nadu are Indian Institute of Technology Madras, University of Madras, Anna University, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram, Vellore Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, Annamalai University (Chidambaram), Loyola College, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Presidency College, Chennai, College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras Institute of Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu National Law University, Government Law College, Coimbatore, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Madras Medical College, Stanley Medical College, Madras Veterinary College, Coimbatore Medical College and Institute of Road and Transport Technology.

Tamil Nadu now has 69 per cent reservation in educational institutions for socially backward sections of society, the highest among all Indian states.[117] The Midday Meal Scheme programme in Tamil Nadu was first initiated by Kamaraj, then it was expanded by M G Ramachandran in 1983.

Discover more about Education related topics

Education in Tamil Nadu

Education in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India. The state's literacy rate is 80.33% in 2011, which is above the national average. A survey conducted by the Industry body Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary education.

Literacy in India

Literacy in India

Literacy in India is a key for social-economic progress. The 2011 census, indicated a 2001–2011 literacy growth of 97.2%, which is slower than the growth seen during the previous decade. An old analytical 1990 study estimated that it would take until 2060 for India to achieve universal literacy at then-current rate of progress.

List of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu

List of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu

On There are 552 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu as of July 2014. Out of 552 engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University, 14 of them are Government/aided colleges, 33 of them are Autonomous colleges and the rest are self-financing colleges and four are University departments within Anna University.

Anna University

Anna University

Anna University is a public state university located in Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Chennai. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and is named after C. N. Annadurai, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli

National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli

National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli is a public technical and research university near the city of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded as Regional Engineering College Tiruchirappalli in 1964 by the Governments of India and Tamil Nadu under the affiliation of the University of Madras. The college was granted Deemed University status in 2003 with the approval of the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Government of India and renamed as National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli. The institute is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India under the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act, 2007 and is one of the members of the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) system, a group of premier Indian technical institutes governed by the Council of NITSER.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is a private deemed university based in Coimbatore, India. It currently has 7 campuses with 16 constituent schools across the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka with the headquarters at Ettimadai, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It offers a total of 207 undergraduate, postgraduate, integrated-degree, dual-degree, doctoral programs in engineering and technology, medicine, business, arts and culture, sciences, biotechnology, agricultural sciences, allied health sciences, Ayurveda, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, nano-sciences, commerce, humanities and social sciences, law, literature, spiritual studies, philosophy, education, sustainable development, mass communication and social work.

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram is a public institution established in 2007 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India to pursue design and manufacturing oriented engineering education, research and to promote the competitive advantage of Indian products in global markets. It was declared as an Institute of National Importance (INI) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, in July 2011, thus becoming the first IIIT to be accorded this status. Later in 2014, IIIT Bill 2014 was passed by the Parliament on 1 December 2014, thus granting the status of Institutes of National Importance upon the 5 MHRD funded IIITs including IIITDM Kancheepuram. Previously IIITDM Kancheepuram was mentoring IIITDM Kurnool in its new campus at Chennai.

Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli

Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli

The Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli is an autonomous public business school located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu in India. The eleventh IIM, it was instituted on 4 January 2011. It has been ranked 15th among management schools by NIRF. It operates from its campus spread over 175 acres of land, about 11 km from Tiruchirappalli International Airport. It also has a satellite campus in Chennai for executive education. It offers full-time, executive and doctoral programs in business management.

Annamalai University

Annamalai University

Annamalai University is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The 1,500-acre (6.1 km2) sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, medical, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. The university also provides more than 500 courses through distance education. With over 32,480 students residing on campus, it is one of the largest unitary, teaching, and residential universities in Asia, and is among the most reputed and ranked universities in India including the rankings from NIRF, QS World University Rankings, Times University Rankings, CWTS Leiden Ranking, India Today Magazine.

Chidambaram

Chidambaram

Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Pallavas until ninth century, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Vijayanagara Empire, Thanjavur Nayakas, Marathas and the British. The town is known for the Thillai Nataraja Temple and Thillai Kali Temple, and the annual chariot festival held in the months of December–January and June to July. One of the Divya Desams Divya Sri Govindaraja Perumal Temple (Thiruchitrakoodam) is a part of Thillai Nataraja Temple complex. Thiruvetkalam Shiva Temple, Vadakiruppu, Thirunelvayil Shiva Temple, Sivapuri and Tirukkazhippalai Palvannanathar Temple are the other three ancient Shiva temples in the region.

Loyola College, Chennai

Loyola College, Chennai

Loyola College is a private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the French Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other European Jesuits. It is an autonomous Jesuit college affiliated with the University of Madras. Loyola commerce association celebrated its 75th year in 2019. Loyola College has more than 8000 students studying as of 2021.

College of Engineering, Guindy

College of Engineering, Guindy

The College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) is a public engineering college in Chennai, India and is Asia's oldest technical institution, founded in 1794. It is also the oldest technical institution to be established outside Europe.

Economy

Gross state domestic product in million at constant prices[118]
Year GSDP Growth Rate Share in India
2000–01 1,420,650 5.87% 7.62%
2001–02 1,398,420 −1.56% 7.09%
2002–03 1,422,950 1.75% 6.95%
2003–04 1,508,150 5.99% 6.79%
2004–05 2,190,030 11.45% 7.37%
2005–06 2,495,670 13.96% 7.67%
2006–07 2,875,300 15.21% 8.07%
2007–08 3,051,570 6.13% 7.83%
2008–09 3,217,930 5.45% 7.74%
2009–10 3,566,320 10.83% 7.89%
2010–11 4,034,160 13.12% 8.20%
2011–12 4,332,380 7.39% 8.26%
2012–13 4,479,440 3.39% 8.17%
2013–14 4,806,180 7.29% 8.37%

For the year 2014–15 Tamil Nadu's GSDP was 9.767 trillion (US$120 billion), and growth was 14.86.[119] It ranks third in foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals (cumulative 1991–2002) of 225.826 billion ($5,000 million), next only to Maharashtra and Delhi constituting 9.12 per cent of the total FDI in the country.[120] The per capita income in 2007–2008 for the state was 72,993 ranking third among states with a population over 10 million and has steadily been above the national average.[121]

According to the 2011 Census, Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India (49 per cent), accounting for 9.6 per cent of the urban population while only comprising 6 per cent of India's total population.[122][123] Services contribute to 45 per cent of the economic activity in the state, followed by manufacturing at 34 per cent and agriculture at 21 per cent. The government is the major investor in the state with 51 per cent of total investments, followed by private Indian investors at 29.9 per cent and foreign private investors at 14.9 per cent. Tamil Nadu has a network of about 113 industrial parks and estates offering developed plots with supporting infrastructure. According to the publications of the Tamil Nadu government, the Gross State Domestic Product at Constant Prices (The base year 2004–2005) for the year 2011–2012 is 4.281 trillion (US$54 billion), an increase of 9.39 per cent over the previous year. The per capita income at the current price is 72,993.

Tamil Nadu has six Nationalized Home Banks which originated in this state; Two government-sector banks Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank in Chennai, and four private-sector banks City Union Bank in Kumbakonam, Karur Vysya Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank in Karur, and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited in Tuticorin.

Agriculture

Agricultural farm in Nagapattinam
Agricultural farm in Nagapattinam

Tamil Nadu has historically been an agricultural state and is a leading producer of agricultural products in India. In 2008, Tamil Nadu was India's fifth biggest producer of rice. The total cultivated area in the state was 5.60 million hectares in 2009–10.[124] The Cauvery delta region is known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu.[125] In terms of production, Tamil Nadu accounts for 10 per cent in fruits and 6 per cent in vegetables, in India.[126] Annual food grains production in the year 2007–08 was 10035,000 mt.[124]

The state is the largest producer of bananas, turmeric, flowers,[126] tapioca,[126] the second largest producer of mango,[126] natural rubber,[127] coconut, groundnut and the third largest producer of coffee, sapota,[126] tea[128] and sugarcane. Tamil Nadu's sugarcane yield per hectare is the highest in India. The state has 17,000 hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, the second highest in India.[129]

Agriculture forms a major portion of the state's economy.
Agriculture forms a major portion of the state's economy.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, known as the "father of the Indian Green Revolution" was from Tamil Nadu.[130] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University with its seven colleges and thirty-two research stations spread over the entire state contributes to evolving new crop varieties and technologies and disseminating through various extension agencies. Among states in India, Tamil Nadu is one of the leaders in livestock, poultry, and fisheries production. Tamil Nadu had the second largest number of poultry amongst all the states and accounted for 17.7 per cent of the total poultry population in India.[131] In 2003–2004, Tamil Nadu had produced 3783.6 million of eggs, which was the second-highest in India representing 9.37 per cent of the total egg production in the country.[132] With the second-longest coastline in India, Tamil Nadu represented 27.54 per cent of the total value of fish and fishery products exported by India in 2006. Namakkal is also one of the major centers of egg production in India. Oddanchatram is one of the major centers for vegetable supply in Tamil Nadu and is also known as the vegetable city of Tamil Nadu.Coimbatore is one of the major centers for poultry production.[133][134]

Textiles and leather

Kanchipuram hand loom silk sarees
Kanchipuram hand loom silk sarees

Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in the textile sector and it houses the country's largest spinning industry accounting for almost 80 per cent of the total installed capacity in India. When it comes to yarn production, the State contributes 40 per cent of the total production in the country. There are 2,614 Hand Processing Units (25 per cent of total units in the country) and 985 Power Processing Units (40 per cent of total units in the country) in Tamil Nadu. According to official data, the textile industry in Tamil Nadu accounts for 17 per cent of the total invested capital in all the industries.[135] Coimbatore is often referred to as the "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and textile industries.[136] Tirupur is the country's largest exporter of knitwear.[137][138][139] for its cotton production.

Tamil Nadu accounts for 60 per cent of leather tanning capacity in India[140] and 38 per cent of all leather footwear, garments and components. The state also accounts for 50 per cent of leather exports[141][142] from India, valued at around US$3.3 billion of the total US$6.5 billion from India. Hundreds of leather and tannery facilities are located around Vellore and its nearby towns.

Automobiles

Tamil Nadu has seen major investments in the automobile industry over many decades manufacturing cars, railway coaches, battle-tanks, tractors, motorcycles, automobile spare parts and accessories, tyres and heavy vehicles. Chennai is known as the Detroit of India.[143] Major global automobile companies including BMW, Ford, Robert Bosch, Renault-Nissan, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Motors, and Michelin as well as Indian automobile majors like Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors, TI cycles, Hindustan Motors, TVS Motors, Irizar-TVS, Royal Enfield, MRF, Apollo Tyres, TAFE Tractors, Daimler AG Company invested 4 billion for establishing a new plant in Tamil Nadu.[144]

Heavy industries and engineering

Tamil Nadu is one of the highly industrialised states in India. Over 11% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.[145]

The state government owns Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers, in Karur.[146]

Coimbatore is also referred to as "the Pump City" as it supplies two-thirds of India's requirements of motors and pumps. The city is one of the largest exporters of wet grinders and auto components and the term "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" has been given a Geographical indication.[147]

Electronics and software

TIDEL Park Coimbatore; Coimbatore is one of the leading IT/ITS centers in India.
TIDEL Park Coimbatore; Coimbatore is one of the leading IT/ITS centers in India.

Electronics manufacturing is a growing industry in Tamil Nadu, with many international companies like Nokia, Flex, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, Moser Baer, Lenovo, Dell, Sanmina-SCI, Bosch, Texas Instruments having chosen Chennai as their South Asian manufacturing hub. Products manufactured include circuit boards and cellular phone handsets.[148]

Tamil Nadu is the second largest software exporter by value in India. Software exports from Tamil Nadu grew from 76 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2003–04 to 207 billion {$5 billion} by 2006–07 according to NASSCOM[149] and to 366 billion in 2008–09 which shows 29 per cent growth in software exports according to STPI. Major national and global IT companies such as Atos Syntel, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Amazon.com, Capgemini, CGI, PayPal, IBM, NTT DATA, Accenture, Ramco Systems, Robert Bosch GmbH, DXC Technology, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Virtusa, LTI, Mphasis, Mindtree, Zoho, Mywebbee, and many others have offices in Tamil Nadu. The top engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have been a major recruiting hub for the IT firms. According to estimates, about 50 per cent of the human resources required for the IT and ITES industry was being sourced from the state.[150] Coimbatore is the second largest software producer in the state, next to Chennai.[151]

Chennai has emerged as the SaaS Capital of India.[152][153][154][155] The SaaS sector in/around Chennai generates US$1 billion in revenue and employs about 10000 personnel.[155]

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Economy of Tamil Nadu

Economy of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India. It is also the most industrialised state in the country. The state is 48.40% urbanised, accounting for around 9.26% of the urban population in the country, while the state as a whole accounted for 5.96% of India's total population in the 2011 census. Services contributes to 54% to the gross domestic product of the state, followed by manufacturing at 33% and agriculture at 13%. Government is the major investor in the state, with 52% of total investments, followed by private Indian investors at 29.9% and foreign private investors at 14.9%. It has been ranked as the most economically free state in India by the Economic Freedom Rankings for the States of India.

List of conglomerates in Tamil Nadu

List of conglomerates in Tamil Nadu

This is a list of NSE-indexed conglomerates with corporate offices in Tamil Nadu. Quarterly top-line (income) figures are given in millions of United States dollars. Green indicates double-digit quarterly growth.

Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment

A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business, in real estate or in productive assets such as factories in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment or foreign indirect investment by a notion of direct control.

Indian Bank

Indian Bank

Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 39,734 employees, 5,721 branches with 5,428 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has touched ₹1,010,000 crore (US$130 billion) as on 31 March 2022.

Indian Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is an Indian public sector bank based in Chennai. It has about 3,214 domestic branches, about 4 foreign branches and representative office. Founded in February 1937 by M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar with twin objectives of specialising in foreign exchange business and overseas banking, it has created various milestones in Indian Banking Sector. During the nationalisation, IOB was one of the 14 major banks taken over by the government of India. On 5 December 2021, IOB got Degidhan Award 2020–21 by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology for achieving second highest percentage of digital payment transaction among public sector banks. As on 31 March 2022, IOB's total business stands at ₹417,960 crore (US$52 billion).

City Union Bank

City Union Bank

City Union Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank headquartered in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. The bank was initially named Kumbakonam Bank Limited, and was incorporated on 31 October 1904. The bank preferred the role of a regional bank in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. In FY2016 the bank had a market capitalization of ₹140.5 billion (US$1.8 billion) and operated 700 branches, and 1762 ATMs.

Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam, or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 40 km (25 mi) from Thanjavur and 282 km (175 mi) from Chennai and is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district. It is the second largest city in the district after Thanjavur. The city is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. Kumbakonam is known as a "Temple town" due to the prevalence of a number of temples here and is noted for its Mahamaham festival, which happens once in 12 years, attracting people from all over the country.

Karur Vysya Bank

Karur Vysya Bank

Karur Vysya Bank is a Scheduled Commercial Bank, headquartered in Karur in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1916 by M. A. Venkatarama Chettiar and Athi Krishna Chettiar. The bank primarily operates in the treasury, corporate/wholesale banking, and retail banking segments.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Lakshmi Vilas Bank was an Indian private sector bank established in 1926 in Karur, Tamil Nadu. As of November 2020, the bank had 566 branches in 19 states and 1 union territory. On 27 November 2020, the bank was merged into the Indian subsidiary of DBS Bank.

Karur

Karur

Karur is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur district. It is located on the banks of River Amaravathi, Kaveri and Noyyal. Karur is well known for the export of Home Textile products to USA, UK, Australia, Europe and many more countries. It is situated at about 395 kilometers southwest of the state capital Chennai, 75 km from Tiruchirappalli, 120 km away from Coimbatore, 295 km away from Bengaluru and 300 km away from Kochi.

Coconut

Coconut

The coconut tree is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus Cocos. The term "coconut" can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut. The name comes from the old Portuguese word coco, meaning "head" or "skull", after the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features. They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics.

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks.

Transportation

Tamil Nadu has a transportation system that connects all parts of the state, via highway roads, railway lines, airports, and seaports.

Road

A view of the NH 544 expressway between Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu
A view of the NH 544 expressway between Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu

The state is served by an extensive road network, providing links between urban centers, agricultural market-places and rural areas. There are 29 national highways in the state, covering a total distance of 5,006.14 km (3,110.67 mi).[156][157] The state is also a terminus for the Golden Quadrilateral project that connects Indian metropolises like (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata). The state has a total road length of 167,000 km (104,000 mi), of which 60,628 km (37,672 mi) are maintained by the Highways Department. This is nearly 2.5 times higher than the density of all-India road network.[158] The major road junctions are Chennai, Vellore, Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Karur, Kumbakonam, Krishnagiri, Dindigul and Kanniyakumari. Road transport is provided by state owned Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and State Express Transport Corporation. Almost every part of the state is well connected by buses 24 hours a day. The state accounted for 13.6 per cent of all accidents in the country with 66,238 accidents in 2013, 11.3 per cent of all road accident deaths and 15 per cent of all road-related injuries, according to data provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Although Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of road accidents in India, it also leads in having reduced the number of fatalities in accident-prone areas with deployment of personnel and a sustained awareness campaign. The number of deaths at areas decreased from 1,053 in 2011 to 881 in 2012 and 867 in 2013.[159]

Rail

Tamil Nadu has a well-developed rail network as part of Southern Railway. Headquartered at Chennai, the Southern Railway network extends over a large area of India's southern peninsula, covering the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, a small portion of Karnataka and a small portion of Andhra Pradesh. Express trains connect the state capital Chennai with Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station is the gateway for trains towards the north whereas Chennai Egmore serves as the gateway for the south. Tamil Nadu has a total railway track length of 5,952 km (3,698 mi) and there are 532 railway stations in the state. The network connects the state with most major cities in India. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (part of the Mountain Railways of India) is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site connecting Ooty on the hills and Mettupalayam in the foothills which is in turn connected to Coimbatore. The centenary old Pamban Bridge over sea connecting Rameswaram in Pamban island to the mainland is an engineering marvel. It is one of the oldest cantilever bridges still in operation, the double-leaf bascule bridge section can be raised to let boats and small ships pass through the Palk Strait in the Indian Ocean. The government of Tamil Nadu created a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for implementing the Chennai Metro Rail Project. This SPV named as "Chennai Metro Rail Limited" was incorporated on 3 December 2007 under the Companies Act. It has now been converted into a joint venture of the governments of India and of Tamil Nadu with equal equity holding. Chennai has a well-established suburban railway network and is constructing a Chennai Metro with phase1 operational since July 2015. Major railway junctions (four and above lines) in the state are Chennai, Coimbatore, Katpadi, Madurai, Salem, Erode, Dindigul, Karur, Nagercoil, Tiruchirapalli, and Tirunelveli. Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Coimbatore Junction, Tiruchirappalli Junction, Madurai Junction, Salem Junction and Katpadi Junction are upgraded to A1 grade level. Loco sheds are located at Erode, Arakkonam, Royapuram in Chennai and Tondaiyarpet in Chennai, Ponmalai (GOC) in Tiruchirappalli as Diesel Loco Shed. The loco shed at Erode is a huge composite electric and diesel Loco shed. MRTS which covers from Chennai Beach to Velachery, and metro rails also running from Washermenpet to Airport metro station and Central metro station to St.Thomas Mount metro station.

Airports

Chennai International Airport, one of India's major international airports
Chennai International Airport, one of India's major international airports

Tamil Nadu has three international airports, namely Chennai International Airport, Coimbatore International Airport, Tiruchirappalli International Airport. Madurai Airport is the only customs airport in the state. Salem Airport, Tuticorin Airport and Vellore Airport are the domestic airports. Chennai International Airport is a major international airport and aviation hub in South Asia. Besides civilian airports, the state has three air bases of the Indian Air Force namely Sulur Air Force Station, Thanjavur Air Force Station and Tambaram Air Force Station and two naval air stations INS Rajali and INS Parundu of Indian Navy. Neyveli Airport is being renovated since 2019[160] to start the service from mid 2020.

Seaports

V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in Thoothukudi, one of India's major seaports
V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in Thoothukudi, one of India's major seaports

Tamil Nadu has three major seaports located at Chennai, Ennore and Thoothukkudi, as well as seven other minor ports including Cuddalore and Nagapattinam.[124] Chennai Port is an artificial harbour situated on the Coromandel Coast and is the second principal port in the country for handling containers. Ennore Port handles all the coal and ore traffic in Tamil Nadu. The volume of cargo in the ports grew by 13 per cent during 2005.[161]

Spaceport

In Tamil Nadu, the Government of India is to set up a new Rocket launch pad near Kulasekharapatnam in Thoothukudi district for which the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has begun work. The location was selected because of its nearness to the equator like the Sriharikota spaceport in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.[162]

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Road network in Tamil Nadu

Road network in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, the Highways & Minor Ports Department (HMPD) is primarily responsible for construction and maintenance of roads including national highways, state highways and major district roads. HMPD was established as Highways Department (HD) in April 1946 and subsequently renamed on 30 October 2008. It operates through seven wings namely National Highways Wing, Construction & Maintenance Wing, NABARD and Rural Roads Wing, Projects Wing, Metro Wing, Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project Wing, Investigation and Designs Wing geographically spread across the state in 38 districts with about 120 divisions and 450 subdivisions.

Coimbatore

Coimbatore

Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur, sometimes shortened as Kovai, is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbatore is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu after Chennai in terms of population and the 16th largest urban agglomeration in India as per the census 2011. It is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and is the administrative capital of Coimbatore District. In 1981, Coimbatore formed as the third municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Madurai. Podanur Junction is the oldest railway station in Coimbatore City. The city is one of the largest exporters of jewellery, wet grinders, poultry and auto components; the "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" and the "Kovai Cora Cotton" are recognised as Geographical Indications by the Government of India. Being a hub of textile industry in South India, the city is sometimes referred to as the "Manchester of South India". It was ranked the 7th best city in India in the Ease of Living index 2020.

Salem, Tamil Nadu

Salem, Tamil Nadu

Salem, is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is the fifth largest urban agglomeration and metropolitan city in the state by population next to Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli and the fifth largest city in Tamil Nadu by area covering 124 km2 (48 sq mi).

Golden Quadrilateral

Golden Quadrilateral

The Golden Quadrilateral is a national highway network connecting several major industrial, agricultural and cultural centres of India. It forms a quadrilateral with all the four major metro cities of India forming the vertices, viz., Delhi (north), Kolkata (east), Mumbai (west) and Chennai (south). Other major cities connected by this network include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Balasore, Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Durgapur, Guntur, Jaipur, Kanpur, Pune, Kolhapur, Surat, Vijayawada, Eluru, Ajmer, Vizag, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Agra, Mathura, Dhanbad, Gandhinagar, Udaipur, and Vadodara. The main objective of these super highways is to reduce the travel time between the major cities of India, running roughly along the perimeter of the country. The North–South corridor linking Srinagar and Kanyakumari, and East–West corridor linking Silchar (Assam) and Porbandar (Gujarat) are additional projects. These highway projects are implemented by the National Highway Authority Of India (NHAI). At 5,846 kilometres (3,633 mi), it is the largest highway project in India and the fifth longest in the world. It is the first phase of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), and consists of two, four, and six-lane express highways, built at a cost of ₹600 billion (US$7.5 billion). The project was planned in 1999, launched in 2001, and was completed in July 2013.

New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, and the Supreme Court of India. New Delhi is a municipality within the NCT, administered by the NDMC, which covers mostly Lutyens' Delhi and a few adjacent areas. The municipal area is part of a larger administrative district, the New Delhi district.

Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the de facto financial centre of India. With an estimated city proper population of 12.5 million (1.25 crore) living under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai is the most populous city in India. Mumbai is the centre of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the sixth most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 23 million. Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city.

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. It is the state's primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London.

Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River 80 km (50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub of Eastern India and the main port of communication for North-East India. According to the 2011 Indian census, Kolkata is the seventh-most populous city in India, with a population of 45 lakh (4.5 million) residents within the city. It is a part of Kolkata Metropolitan Area which has a population of over 1.41 crore (14.1 million) residents making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In 2021, the Kolkata metropolitan area crossed 1.5 crore (15 million) registered voters. The Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. Kolkata is regarded as the cultural capital of India. Kolkata is the second largest Bengali-speaking city after Dhaka. It has the highest number of nobel laureates among all cities in India.

Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore and the 44th most populated city in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoonga Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps".

Thoothukudi

Thoothukudi

Thoothukudi is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and headquarters of Thoothukudi district. It is located about 590 kilometres southwest of Chennai, 190 kilometres northeast of Thiruvananthapuram and 580 kilometres southeast of Bangalore. According to Confederation of Indian Industry, Thoothukudi has the second highest Human Development Index in Tamil Nadu next to Chennai. Thoothukudi City serves as the headquarters of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited. Major educational establishments in the city include Government Thoothukudi Medical College, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Maritime Academy, V.O. Chidambaram College, Kamaraj College, Anna University and Government Polytechnic College. V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust is one of the fastest growing Major Ports in India. Thoothukudi is an "Emerging Energy and Industrial hub of South India".

Karur

Karur

Karur is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur district. It is located on the banks of River Amaravathi, Kaveri and Noyyal. Karur is well known for the export of Home Textile products to USA, UK, Australia, Europe and many more countries. It is situated at about 395 kilometers southwest of the state capital Chennai, 75 km from Tiruchirappalli, 120 km away from Coimbatore, 295 km away from Bengaluru and 300 km away from Kochi.

Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam, or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 40 km (25 mi) from Thanjavur and 282 km (175 mi) from Chennai and is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district. It is the second largest city in the district after Thanjavur. The city is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. Kumbakonam is known as a "Temple town" due to the prevalence of a number of temples here and is noted for its Mahamaham festival, which happens once in 12 years, attracting people from all over the country.

Infrastructure

Communication

Tamil Nadu has four mobile service providers namely BSNL,[163] Airtel,[164] Jio[165] and Vi (Vodafone Idea).[166] BSNL provides 2G and 3G mobile internet connections; Airtel and Vi provide 2G, 3G and 4G services and Jio offers only 4G across Tamil Nadu. Airtel Broadband,[167] Act Broadband[168] BSNL, Hathway[169] and few others are providing high speed Fiber Optic broadband connection in many cities and rural areas across Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu government is planning to lay 55,000 km of optical fibre cable across the state and provide high-speed internet up to 1 Gbit/s and connect all the corporations, municipalities, town panchayats and village panchayats. This infrastructure would also benefit all the government departments, entrepreneurs and individual homes.[170]

Energy

Wind farm in Muppandal and Aralvaimozhi region, near Nagercoil
Wind farm in Muppandal and Aralvaimozhi region, near Nagercoil

Tamil Nadu has the third largest installed power generation capacity in the country. The Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Ennore Thermal Plant, Neyveli Lignite Power Plant, many hydroelectric plants including Mettur Dam, hundreds of windmills and the Narimanam Natural Gas Plants are major sources of Tamil Nadu's electricity. The state generates a significant proportion of its power needs from renewable sources with wind power installed capacity at over 7154 MW,[171] accounting for 38 per cent of total installed wind power in India.[172] It is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant to its energy grid, which on completion would be the largest atomic power plant in the country with 2000MW installed capacity.[173] The total installed capacity of electricity in the state by January 2014 was 20,716 MW.[174] Tamil Nadu ranks first nationwide in diesel-based thermal electricity generation with a national market share of over 34 per cent.[175] From a power surplus state in 2005–06, Tamil Nadu has become a state facing severe power shortage over the recent years due to lack of new power generation projects and delay in commercial power generation at Kudankulam Atomic Power Project. The Tuticorin Thermal Power Station has five 210 megawatt generators. The first generator was commissioned in July 1979. The thermal power plants under construction include the coal-based 1000 MW NLC TNEB Power Plant. From the current 17MW installed solar power, Tamil Nadu state government's new policy aims to increase the installed capacity to 3000MW by 2016.[176] Kamuthi Solar Power Project was commissioned by Adani Power in Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram district.[177] With a generating capacity of 648 MWp at a single location, it is the world's sixth largest (as of 2018) solar park.[178][179]

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Muppandal

Muppandal

Muppandal is a small village on the southern tip of India in Kanyakumari District, in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in a hilly region where wind from the Arabian Sea gusts through mountain passes.

Nagercoil

Nagercoil

Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil, is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an undulating terrain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. Nagercoil Corporation is the 12th biggest city of Tamil Nadu.

Kamuthi Solar Power Project

Kamuthi Solar Power Project

Kamuthi Solar Power Project is a photovoltaic power station spread over an area of 2,500 acres (10 km2) in Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram district, 90 km from Madurai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The project was commissioned by Adani Power. With a generating capacity of 648 MWp at a single location, it is the world's 12th largest solar park based on capacity.

Madras Atomic Power Station

Madras Atomic Power Station

Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) located at Kalpakkam about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Chennai, India, is a comprehensive nuclear power production, fuel reprocessing, and waste treatment facility that includes plutonium fuel fabrication for fast breeder reactors (FBRs). It is also India's first fully indigenously constructed nuclear power station, with two units each generating 220 MW of electricity. The first and second units of the station went critical in 1983 and 1985, respectively. The station has reactors housed in a reactor building with double shell containment improving protection also in the case of a loss-of-coolant accident. An Interim Storage Facility (ISF) is also located in Kalpakkam.

Neyveli

Neyveli

Neyveli is a industrial town in the Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 62 kilometres (39 mi) inland from the Bay of Bengal, west of Pondicherry and 197 kilometres (122 mi) south of Chennai. The town was developed in 1956 after the establishment of Neyveli Lignite Corporation, a public sector enterprise.

Mettur Dam

Mettur Dam

The Mettur Dam is one of the largest dams in India and also the largest in Tamil Nadu, located across the river Kaveri where it enters the plains. Built in 1934, it took 9 years to complete. Maximum height and width of the dam are 214 and 171 feet, respectively. The dam receives inflows from its own catchment area, Kabini Dam and Krishna Raja Sagara Dams located in Karnataka. There is a park at the base of the dam called Ellis Park maintained by the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department. It provides irrigation and drinking water facilities for more than 12 districts of Tamil Nadu and hence is revered as the life and livelihood-giving asset of Tamil Nadu.

States of India by installed power capacity

States of India by installed power capacity

This is a list of states and territories of India by installed power generation capacity. This is measured in Megawatts (MW) which is equal to one million watts of electric power. As of 31 July 2022, the installed capacity is 404,132.95 MW. Gujarat leads in power generation capacity, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, though Karnataka leads in renewable energy capacity.

Adani Power

Adani Power

Adani Power is an Indian power and energy company which is a part of Adani Group. Based in Khodiyar in Ahmedabad, it is a private thermal power producer, with a capacity of 12,450 MW and operates a mega solar plant of 40 MW at Naliya, Bitta, Kutch, Gujarat.

Kamuthi

Kamuthi

Kamuthi also spelled Kamudi actually stands for Kavinmigu Mullai Thirunagar. Kamuthi is a Panchayat town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Ramanathapuram district

Ramanathapuram district

Ramanathapuram District, also known as Ramnad District, is one of the 38 districts an administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The old Ramanathapuram District consists of Present day Virudhunagar and Sivagangai districts, it touches the Western ghats and bordered with the state of Kerala and east by Bay of Bengal. It was the largest district on that time. The town of Ramanathapuram is the district headquarters. Ramanthapuram District has an area of 4,123 km2. It is bounded on the north by Sivaganga District, on the northeast by Pudukkottai District, on the east by the Palk Strait, on the south by the Gulf of Mannar, on the west by Thoothukudi District, and on the northwest by Virudhunagar District. The district contains the Pamban Bridge, an east–west chain of low islands and shallow reefs that extend between India and the island nation of Sri Lanka, and separate the Palk Strait from the Gulf of Mannar. The Palk Strait is navigable only by shallow-draft vessels. As of 2011, Ramanathapuram district had a population of 1,353,445 with a sex-ratio of 983 females for every 1,000 males. The district is home to the pilgrimage center of Rameswaram.

List of photovoltaic power stations

List of photovoltaic power stations

The following is a list of photovoltaic power stations that are larger than 300 megawatts (MW) in current net capacity. Most are individual photovoltaic power stations, but some are groups of co-located plants owned by different independent power producers and with separate transformer connections to the grid. Wiki-Solar reports total global capacity of utility-scale photovoltaic plants to be some 96 GWAC which generated 1.3% of global power by the end of 2016.

Culture

A State flag for Tamil Nadu was unilaterally proposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1970.[180]
A State flag for Tamil Nadu was unilaterally proposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1970.[180]
Seventh century paintings in the Sittanavasal Cave, Pudukottai
Seventh century paintings in the Sittanavasal Cave, Pudukottai

Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, art, music and dance which continue to flourish today. Tamil Nadu is a land most known for its monumental ancient Hindu temples and classical form of dance Bharata Natyam.[181] Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam[182] (dance), Tanjore painting,[183] and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be practised in Tamil Nadu.[184]

Literature

Tamil written literature has existed for over 2,300 years.[185] The earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is roughly dated from ca. 300 BCE – 300 CE.[186][187] It is one of the oldest Indian literature amongst all others.[188] The earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from around the 3rd century BCE.[189][190]

Most early Tamil literary works are in verse form, with prose not becoming more common until later periods. The Sangam literature collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous.[191] Sangam literature is primarily secular, dealing with everyday themes in a Tamilakam context.[192] The Sangam literature also deals with human relations and emotions.[193] The available literature from this period was categorised and compiled in the 10th century into two categories based roughly on chronology. The categories are: Pathinenmaelkanakku (The Major Eighteen Anthology Series) comprising Eṭṭuttokai (The Eight Anthologies) and the Pattupattu (Ten Idylls) and Pathinenkilkanakku (The Minor Eighteen Anthology Series).

Much of Tamil grammar is extensively described in the oldest known grammar book for the Tamil language, the Tolkāppiyam.Modern Tamil is largely based on the 13th-century grammar book Naṉṉūl which restated and clarified the rules of the Tolkāppiyam, with some modifications. Traditional Tamil grammar consists of five parts, namely eḻuttu, sol, poruḷ, yāppu, aṇi. Of these, the last two are mostly applied in poetry.[194] Notable example of Tamil poetry include the Tirukkural written by Tiruvalluvar.

In 1578, the Portuguese published a Tamil book in old Tamil script named 'Thambiraan Vanakkam', thus making Tamil the first Indian language to be printed and published.[195] Tamil Lexicon, published by the University of Madras, is the first among the dictionaries published in any Indian language.[196] During the Indian Independence Movement, many Tamil poets and writers sought to provoke national spirit, social equity and secularist thoughts among the common man, notably Subramanya Bharathy and Bharathidasan.

Festivals and traditions

Jallikattu – a traditional sport conducted as a part of Pongal celebrations
Jallikattu – a traditional sport conducted as a part of Pongal celebrations
Man riding an elephant in a Pongal Festival Parade in Namakkal
Man riding an elephant in a Pongal Festival Parade in Namakkal

Pongal, also called Tamizhar Thirunaal (festival of Tamils) or Makara Sankranti elsewhere in India, a four-day harvest festival is one of the most widely celebrated festivals throughout Tamil Nadu.[197] The Tamil language saying Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum – literally meaning, the birth of the month of Thai will pave way for new opportunities – is often quoted with reference to this festival. The first day, Bhogi Pongal is celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials by setting them on fire to mark the end of the old and emergence of the new. The second day, Surya Pongal is the main day which falls on the first day of the tenth Tamil month of Thai (14 January or 15 January in the western calendar). On the third day, Maattu Pongal is meant to offer thanks to the cattle, as they provide milk and are used to plough the lands. Jallikattu, a bull-taming contest, marks the main event of this day. Alanganallur is famous for its Jallikattu[198][199] contest usually held on the third day of Pongal. During this final day, Kaanum Pongal – the word kaanum, means 'to view' in Tamil. In 2011 the Madras High Court Bench ordered the cockfight at Santhapadi and Modakoor Melbegam villages permitted during the Pongal festival while disposing of a petition filed attempting to ban the cockfight.[200] The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chittirai and the first day of this month in mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year. The Thiruvalluvar calendar is 31 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, i.e. Gregorian 2000 is Thiruvalluvar 2031. Aadi Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water level in the river Kaveri. Apart from the major festivals, in every village and town of Tamil Nadu, the inhabitants celebrate festivals for the local gods once a year and the time varies from place to place. Most of these festivals are related to the goddess Maariyamman, the mother goddess of the rain. Other major Hindu festivals including Deepavali (Death of Narakasura), Ayudha Poojai, Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara), Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, Krishna Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are also celebrated. Eid ul-Fitr, Bakrid, Milad un Nabi, Muharram are celebrated by Muslims whereas Christmas, Good Friday, Easter are celebrated by Christians in the state. Mahamagam a bathing festival at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu is celebrated once in 12 years. People from all the corners of the country come to Kumbakonam for the festival. This festival is also called Kumbamela of South.[201][202]

Cuisine

Thoothukudi is the place of origin of the Thoothukudi macaroon, Tirunelveli is known for its wheat Halva, Salem is renowned for its unique mangoes, Madurai is the place of origin of the milk dessert Jigarthanda while Palani is known for its Panchamirtham.[203] Idlis, dosas, and sambar are quite common throughout the state. Coffee and tea are the staple drinks.[204]

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Tamil literature

Tamil literature

Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from Tamil people from South India, including the land now comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Eelam Tamils from Sri Lanka, as well as the Tamil diaspora.

Sittanavasal Cave

Sittanavasal Cave

Sittanavasal Cave is a 2nd-century Tamil Śramaṇa complex of caves in Sittanavasal village in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name is a distorted form of Sit-tan-na-va-yil, a Tamil word which means "the abode of great saints".

Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of eight Indian classical dance forms recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism and in general of Hinduism.

Dravidian architecture

Dravidian architecture

Dravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas. However, for modern visitors to larger temples the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse at the edge of the compound; large temples have several, dwarfing the vimana; these are a much more recent development. There are numerous other distinct features such as the dwarapalakas – twin guardians at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of the temple and goshtams – deities carved in niches on the outer side walls of the garbhagriha.

Sangam literature

Sangam literature

The Sangam literature historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' connotes the ancient Tamil literature and is the earliest known literature of South India. The Tamil tradition and legends link it to three literary gatherings around Madurai and Kapāṭapuram : the first over 4,440 years, the second over 3,700 years, and the third over 1,850 years before the start of the common era. Scholars consider this Tamil tradition-based chronology as ahistorical and mythical. Most scholars suggest the historical Sangam literature era spanned from c. 300 BCE to 300 CE, while others variously place this early classical Tamil literature period a bit later and more narrowly but all before 300 CE. According to Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature and history scholar, the most acceptable range for the Sangam literature is 100 BCE to 250 CE, based on the linguistic, prosodic and quasi-historic allusions within the texts and the colophons.

Epigraphy

Epigraphy

Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literary composition. A person using the methods of epigraphy is called an epigrapher or epigraphist. For example, the Behistun inscription is an official document of the Achaemenid Empire engraved on native rock at a location in Iran. Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and finding any relevant circumstances. It is the work of historians, however, to determine and interpret the events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practised by the same person. Epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures. The US Library of Congress classifies epigraphy as one of the auxiliary sciences of history. Epigraphy also helps identify a forgery: epigraphic evidence formed part of the discussion concerning the James Ossuary.

Hero stone

Hero stone

A hero stone is a memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle. Erected between the second half of the first millennium BCE and the 18th century CE, hero stones are found all over India. They often carry inscriptions and a variety of ornaments, including bas relief panels, frieze, and figures in carved stone. Usually they are in the form of a stone monument and may have an inscription at the bottom with a narrative of the battle. The earliest and oldest of such memorial Hero stones is found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is more than 2400 years old that is 4th Century BCE. According to the historian Upinder Singh, the largest concentration of such memorial stones is found in the Indian state of Karnataka. About two thousand six hundred and fifty hero stones, the earliest in Karnataka is dated to the 5th century CE. The custom of erecting memorial stones dates back to the Iron Age though a vast majority were erected between the 4th century BCE to 13th centuries CE.

Tamilakam

Tamilakam

Tamiḻakam refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Traditional accounts and the Tolkāppiyam referred to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and permeated the culture of all its inhabitants. The ancient Tamil country was divided into kingdoms. The best known among them were the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas. During the Sangam period, Tamil culture began to spread outside Tamilakam. Ancient Tamil settlements were also established in Sri Lanka and the Maldives (Giravarus).

Tolkāppiyam

Tolkāppiyam

Tolkāppiyam, also romanised as Tholkaappiyam, is the most ancient extant Tamil grammar text and the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature. The surviving manuscripts of the Tolkappiyam consists of three books (atikaram), each with nine chapters (iyal), with a cumulative total of 1,610 (483+463+664) sutras in the nūṛpā meter. It is a comprehensive text on grammar, and includes sutras on orthography, phonology, etymology, morphology, semantics, prosody, sentence structure and the significance of context in language.

Media

Music

M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.
M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

In terms of modern cine-music, Ilaiyaraaja was a prominent composer of film music in Tamil cinema during the late 1970s and 1980s. His work highlighted Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities to the south Indian musical mainstream. Tamil Nadu is also the home of the double Oscar winner A. R. Rahman[205][206][207] who has composed film music in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Chinese films. He was once referred to by Time magazine as "The Mozart of Madras".

Film industry

M. G. Ramachandran was the first actor to become chief minister in India. He has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.
M. G. Ramachandran was the first actor to become chief minister in India. He has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film industry nicknamed as "Kollywood", which released the most films in India in 2013.[208] The term Kollywood is a blend of Kodambakkam and Hollywood.[209] Tamil cinema is one of the largest industries of film production in India.[210] In Tamil Nadu, cinema ticket prices are regulated by the government. Single screen theatres may charge a maximum of 50, while theatres with more than three screens may charge a maximum of 120 per ticket.[211] The first silent film in Tamil Keechaka Vadham, was made in 1916.[212] The first talkie was a multi-lingual film, Kalidas, which released on 31 October 1931, barely seven months after India's first talking picture Alam Ara.[213] Swamikannu Vincent, who had built the first cinema of South India in Coimbatore, introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to a town or village to screen the films. The first of its kind was established in Madras, called "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors.[214]

Television industry

There are more than 30 television channels of various genres in Tamil. DD Podhigai, Doordarshan's Tamil language regional channel was launched on 14 April 1993.[215] The first private Tamil channel, Sun TV Network was founded in 1993. In Tamil Nadu, the television industry is influenced by politics and majority of the channels are owned by politicians or people with political links.[216] The government of Tamil Nadu distributed free televisions to families in 2006 at an estimated cost 3.6 billion (US$45 million) of which has led to high penetration of TV services.[217][218] Cable used to be the preferred mode of reaching homes controlled by government run operator Arasu Cable.[219] From the early 2010s, Direct to Home has become increasingly popular replacing cable television services.[220] Tamil television serials form a major prime time source of entertainment and are directed usually by one director unlike American television series, where often several directors and writers work together.[221]

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Ancient Tamil music

Ancient Tamil music

The ancient Tamil music is the historical predecessor of the Carnatic music during the Sangam period spanning from 500 BCE to 200 CE.

Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music, known as Karnāṭaka saṃgīta or Karnāṭaka saṅgītam in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu texts and traditions, particularly the Samaveda. The other subgenre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian or Islamic influences from Northern India. The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gāyaki (singing) style.

Bharat Ratna

Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include "any field of human endeavour" in December 2011. The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. The recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion. There is no monetary grant associated with the award. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence.

Ilaiyaraaja

Ilaiyaraaja

Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil & Telugu films. Reputed to be one of the most prolific Indian composers, in a career spanning over forty-five years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. Ilaiyaraaja is nicknamed "Isaignani" and often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London.

Academy Awards

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Academy Awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry in the United States and worldwide. The Oscar statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style.

A. R. Rahman

A. R. Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema, as well as an arrangement of the 20th Century Studios fanfare for Star Studios. He is a winner of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, the Indian government conferred him with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. It is the state's primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London.

M. G. Ramachandran

M. G. Ramachandran

Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran, also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987. He was the AIADMK's founder and J. Jayalalithaa's mentor. On 19 March 1988, M.G.R. was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Kodambakkam

Kodambakkam

Kodambakkam is a business and residential neighbourhood in Central Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The neighbourhood is served by Kodambakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. Kodambakkam has a high concentration of film studios and has been known for its status as the hub of the Tamil film industry, lending its name to the industry's monicker Kollywood.

Keechaka Vadham

Keechaka Vadham

Keechaka Vadham is an Indian silent film produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar. The first film to have been made in South India, it was shot in five weeks at Nataraja Mudaliar's production house, India Film Company. As the members of the cast were Tamils, Keechaka Vadham is considered to be the first Tamil film. No print of it is known to have survived, making it a lost film.

Kalidas (film)

Kalidas (film)

Kalidas is a 1931 Indian Tamil- and Telugu-language biographical film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a language from South India. It was based on the life of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.

Alam Ara

Alam Ara

Alam Ara is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a fakir tells the king that the former wife will give birth to a boy, later named Qamar, but the child will die following his 18th birthday if Navbahaar cannot find the necklace he asks for. Meanwhile, the king finds out that Dilbahaar falls for the senapati Adil, leading the king to arrest him and evicts his pregnant wife, who later gives birth to Alam Ara (Zubeida).

Sports

Kabbadi, also known as Sadugudu, is recognised as the state game in Tamil Nadu.[222] The traditional sports of Tamil Nadu include Silambam,[223] a Tamil martial arts played with a long bamboo staff, cockfight, Jallikattu,[224] a bull taming sport famous on festival occasions, ox-wagon racing known as Rekkala,[225][223] kite flying also known as Pattam viduthal,[224] Goli, the game with marbles,[224] Aadu Puli, the "goat and tiger" game[224] and Kabaddi also known as Sadugudu.[224] Most of these traditional sports are associated with festivals of land like Thai Pongal and mostly played in rural areas.[224] S. Ilavazhagi carrom world champion from 2002 to 2016

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is an international cricket ground with a capacity of 50,000 and houses the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.[226] Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan,[227] Krishnamachari Srikkanth,[228] Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Hemang Badani Laxmipathy Balaji,[229] Murali Vijay,[230] Ravichandran Ashwin,[231] Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar, Murali Karthik, Washington Sundar, Subramaniam Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, and T. Natarajan are some prominent cricketers from Tamil Nadu. The MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai is a popular fast bowling academy for pace bowlers all over the world. Cricket contests between local clubs, franchises and teams are popular in the state. Chennai Super Kings represent the city of Chennai in the Indian Premier League, a popular Twenty20 league. The Super Kings are the second most successful team in the league with four IPL and two CLT20 titles.[232]

Tennis is also a popular sport in Tamil Nadu with notable international players including Ramesh Krishnan,[233] Ramanathan Krishnan,[233] Vijay Amritraj[234] and Mahesh Bhupathi. Nirupama Vaidyanathan, the first Indian women to play in a grand slam tournament also hails from the state. The ATP Chennai Open tournament is held in Chennai every January. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) owns Nungambakkam tennis stadium which hosts Chennai Open and Davis Cup play-off tournaments.

The Tamil Nadu Hockey Association is the governing body of hockey in the state. Vasudevan Baskaran was the captain of the Indian team that won the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai hosts international hockey events and is regarded by the International Hockey Federation as one of the best in the world for its infrastructure.[235]

Tamil Nadu also has golf ground in Coimbatore, The Coimbatore Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course located in Chettipalayam in Coimbatore, located within the city limits in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The club is also a popular venue for major golf tournaments held in India.

The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), a government body, is vested with the responsibility of developing sports and related infrastructure in the state.[236] The SDAT owns and operates world-class stadiums and organises sporting events.[237] It also accommodates sporting events, both at the domestic and international level, organised by other sports associations at its venues. The YMCA College of Physical Education at Nandanam in Chennai was established in 1920 and was the first college for physical education in Asia. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai is a multi-purpose stadium hosting football and track and field events. The Indian Triathlon Federation and the Volleyball Federation of India are headquartered in Chennai. Chennai hosted India's first-ever International Beach Volleyball Championship in 2008. The SDAT – TNSRA Squash Academy in Chennai is one of the very few academics in South Asia hosting international squash events. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore is a multi-purpose stadium in Coimbatore constructed in 1971 which is used to host I-League football matches.[238]

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Cockfight

Cockfight

A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term "cock of the game" used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting in The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. But it was during Magellan's voyage of discovery of the Philippines in 1521 when modern cockfighting was first witnessed and documented for Westerners by the Italian Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, in the Kingdom of Taytay.

Jallikattu

Jallikattu

Jallikattu, also known as eru thazhuvuthal and mañcuvirattu, is a traditional event in which a bull, such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns.

Ox-wagon

Ox-wagon

An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa but also in New Zealand and Australia. Ox-wagons were also used in the United States. The first recorded use of an ox-wagon was around 1670, but they continue to be used in some areas up to modern times.

Kite

Kite

A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it. Some kite designs don't need a bridle; box kites can have a single attachment point. A kite may have fixed or moving anchors that can balance the kite. The name is derived from kite, the hovering bird of prey.

S. Ilavazhagi

S. Ilavazhagi

S. Ilavazhagi also known as S. Ilavazhaki is an Indian who has twice won the carrom world cup. She is considered one of the finest carrom players to have represented India at international level from Tamil Nadu state after A. Maria Irudayam.

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1916, it is the second oldest cricket stadium in the country after Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground, the stadium is named after M. A. Chidambaram Chettiar, former president of BCCI and Head of TNCA. It is the home ground of the Tamil Nadu cricket team and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. Chepauk hosted its first Test match on 10 February 1934, the first Ranji Trophy match in 1936 and the Indian cricket team's first test victory in 1952 against England. The 1986 India-Australia match held at Chepauk was only the second ever Tied Test in the history of the game.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth

Krishnamachari Srikkanth

Krishnamachari Srikkanth pronunciation (help·info), also known as Cheeka, is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and former chairman of the selection committee. He played a crucial part in India's team batting line up as opener especially on the 1983 Cricket World Cup winning squad by contributing crucial 38 runs as a top scorer in the finals against West Indies. Known for his aggressive opening style, he has represented the Indian National Cricket team and Tamil Nadu in Indian domestic cricket. He is also a commentator on Star Sports Tamil.

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, popularly known as "Siva" and LS, is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket commentator. During his playing career, he was a right arm leg-spinner. Sivaramakrishnan began his commentary career in a test match between India and Bangladesh on 12 November 2000. He also serves as one of the players’ representatives on the International Cricket Council’s cricket committee.

Hemang Badani

Hemang Badani

Hemang Kamal Badani is a former Indian Cricketer, who played for the Tamil Nadu and Vidarbha cricket teams. He also captained the Tamil Nadu cricket team.

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay is a former Indian international cricketer who plays as a right-handed opening batsman. He was a regular member of the Indian Test team until 2018 and plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic first-class cricket.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team. He currently plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He is the fastest Indian bowler to reach the 50-, 100-, 150-, 200-, 250-, 300-, 350-,400- and 450- wicket mark in Test cricket in terms of number of innings. In 2016, he became the third Indian to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year award. He is currently the highest-ranked spinner in Test cricket, and the highest-ranked Test bowler for India on the ICC Player Rankings. He has won nine Man of the Series awards in Test cricket, which is the highest by an Indian cricketer. He has also scored 5 Test centuries with a highest score of 124.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik is an Indian professional cricketer and commentator who nationally plays for the Indian Cricket Team and currently in Indian Premier League playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is also the current captain of the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004. Karthik has become the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches.

Tourism

Nilgiri Mountain Railway has been described as an essential experience of the Western Ghats.
Nilgiri Mountain Railway has been described as an essential experience of the Western Ghats.

The tourism industry of Tamil Nadu is the largest in India, with an annual growth rate of 16 per cent. Tourism in Tamil Nadu is promoted by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), a government of Tamil Nadu undertaking. According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, 4.68 million foreign (20.1% share of the country) and 333.5 million domestic tourists (23.3% share of the country) visited the state in 2015 making it the most visited state in India both domestic and foreign tourists.[239] The state boasts some of the grand Hindu temples built-in Dravidian architecture. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple in Darasuram (Great Chola Temples) and the Shore Temple along with the collection of other monuments in Mamallapuram which have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[240][241]

Discover more about Tourism related topics

Tourism in Tamil Nadu

Tourism in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has the largest tourism industry in India with a percentage share of 21.31% and 21.86% of domestic and foreign tourist visits in the country. According to the 2020 Ministry of Tourism report, the number of domestic arrivals was at 494.8 million making the state the second most popular tourist destination in the country, and foreign arrivals numbered 6.86 million, the highest in the country, making it the most popular state for tourism in the country.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a 1,000 mm metre gauge railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India.

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation is a state-government Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of Tamil Nadu located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has been entrusted with the promotion of tourism and development of tourist related infrastructure. In July 1971, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation was initiated by M. Karunanidhi, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Ministry of Tourism (India)

Ministry of Tourism (India)

The Ministry of Tourism, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to the development and promotion of tourism in India. It facilitates the Indian department of tourism. The head of the ministry is Minister of Tourism (India) held by Shri G. Kishan Reddy. To promote the GDP of the country indirectly and to have friendly relations with them, The Government of India announced officially a Visa on Arrival status/facility for International Visitors to enter/visit India from 43 countries including United States, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, Vanuatu, Singapore, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Russian Federation, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Japan, Myanmar on 27 November 2014 and some more countries to follow soon.

Hindu temple

Hindu temple

A Hindu temple, or mandir or koil or kovil in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion. The symbolism and structure of a Hindu temple are rooted in Vedic traditions, deploying circles and squares. It also represents recursion and the representation of the equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm by astronomical numbers, and by "specific alignments related to the geography of the place and the presumed linkages of the deity and the patron". A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos — presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life — symbolically presenting dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and karma.

Dravidian architecture

Dravidian architecture

Dravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas. However, for modern visitors to larger temples the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse at the edge of the compound; large temples have several, dwarfing the vimana; these are a much more recent development. There are numerous other distinct features such as the dwarapalakas – twin guardians at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of the temple and goshtams – deities carved in niches on the outer side walls of the garbhagriha.

Thanjavur

Thanjavur

Thanjavur, also Tanjore, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Great Living Chola Temples, which are UNESCO World Heritage Monuments, are located in and around Thanjavur. The foremost among these, the Brihadeeswara Temple, built by the Chola emperor Rajaraja I, is located in the centre of the city. Thanjavur is also home to Tanjore painting, a painting style unique to the region.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Gaṅgaikoṇḍa Chōḻapuram is a village located near to Jayankondam, Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, India. It became the capital of the Chola dynasty in c. 1025 by Chola emperor Rajendra I, and served as the capital for around 250 years.

Airavatesvara Temple

Airavatesvara Temple

Airavatesvara Temple is a Hindu temple of Dravidian architecture located in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This temple, built by Chola emperor Rajaraja II in the 12th century CE is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur, the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram that are referred to as the Great Living Chola Temples.

Darasuram

Darasuram

Darasuram or Dharasuram is a locality in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is known for the Airavateswara temple constructed by the Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. The temple is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage monument.

Shore Temple

Shore Temple

The Shore Temple is a complex of temples and shrines that overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located in Mahabalipuram, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India.

Mamallapuram

Mamallapuram

Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is one of the famous tourist sites in India. The ancient name of the place is Thirukadalmallai.

Source: "Tamil Nadu", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 23rd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu.

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See also
Notes
1.^ The total sum of area of all districts from the data provided on the official Tamil Nadu Government website, https://www.tn.gov.in/district_view is 132,862 Sq.Km
References

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