Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu state (2001 provisional pop. 62,110,839), 50,180 sq mi (129,966 sq km), SE India, on the Bay of Bengal. The capital is Chennai (formerly Madras). On a low-lying plain bounded by the Eastern Ghats in the north and Nilgiri and Anai Malai Hills on the west, the state has large fertile areas along the Coromandel Coast, the Palk Strait, and the Gulf of Mannar. Agriculture is the chief occupation. The main industries are food processing and the manufacture of cotton and silk cloth; madras, a uniquely dyed cloth, is the most famous product. There are irrigation canals and hydroelectric stations along the Kaveri River and a nuclear power plant. An extensive rail network linking Madras and the coastal cities with inland areas facilitates overseas trade. Most of the population is of Dravidian stock, speaks Tamil, and practices Hinduism. An ancient center of Dravidian culture, the region has the finest remaining examples of S Indian art and architecture. Coastal areas of the state, particularly along the Coromandel Coast, suffered destruction and lost of life from the Dec., 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami. Tamil Nadu is governed by a chief minister and cabinet responsible to a unicameral legislature and by a governor appointed by the president of India. Tamil Nadu was the seat of the Chola empire (10th?13th cent.). Muslims swept away the Hindu Vijayanagar kingdom in the 16th cent. and controlled the area for about a century. The Portuguese established trading posts in the 16th cent., followed by the Dutch, French, and British in the early 17th cent. After a struggle (1741?63) with the French and with Haidar Ali and Tippoo Sahib, the British emerged victorious. Under Great Britain, the territory controlled from Madras city was considerably enlarged. After independence its Telugu-speaking areas were transferred to Andhra Pradesh in 1953, and in 1956 the Kannada-speaking areas were transferred to Mysore (now Karnataka), and the Malayalam areas to Kerala. In 1969 the name of the state was changed from Madras to Tamil Nadu. The Tamils of Tamil Nadu have provided logistical support for the guerrillas trying to establish an independent Tamil state in an area covering the Jaffna peninsula and E Sri Lanka, and some Tamils support the idea of an independent homeland consisting of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil-speaking areas of Sri Lanka and the neighboring Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala.

Tamil Nadu's history dates back pre-historic times and archeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in India. From early pre-history Tamil Nadu was the home of the three famous kingdoms of the Chera, the Chola and the Pandya. The ancient Tamil literature points to an ancient civilisation lasting since the dawn of time. The Sangam literature has numerous mentions of the kings and princes who ruled this region. Scholars now generally agree that this literature belongs to the first few centuries CE. The Sangam literature is full of names of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. The early Cholas reigned between 1st and 4th centuries CE. The first and the most famous king of this period was Karikala Chola, who expanded the Chola territories up to Kanchipuram. The Cholas occupied the present Thanjavur and Tiruchirappali districts and excelled in military exploits. In the height of their glory, the Chola kings had spread their influence as far as Ceylon (SriLanka) in the south and hundreds of kilometers across the northern region. The early Cholas went into decline around the third century CE, when the Tamil country was invaded by Kalabhras who defeated the Tamil kingdoms and ruled for almost three centuries. They were defeated and the expelled in the sixth century CE by the Pallavas in the north and the Pandyas in the south.