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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
?????????
Pallava Rule
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Chola Empire
See also: Early Cholas, Medieval Cholas, and
Later Cholas
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Fort Dansborg, built by the Danish, in Tran- A semi-arid wasteland near Tirunelveli. Mon-
quebar (now Tharangambadi). soon clouds pour torrents of rain on lush
forests that are only a few kilometers away in
The British exploited rivalries between the windward-facing Kerala, but are prevented
from reaching Tirunelveli by the Agas-
provincial rulers to expand their sphere of in-
thyamalai Range of the Western Ghats
fluence throughout the Nizam’s dominions.
(background).
The British fought and reduced the French
dominions in India to Pondicherry. Nizams
bestowed tax revenue collection rights on the
East India Company by the end of 18th cen-
tury. Some notable chieftains or Poligars who
fought the British East India Company as it
was expanding were Maveeran Sundaralinga
Kudumbanar , Veerapandya Kattabomman,
Pulithevan and Dheeran Chinnamalai.
British Empire
In early 19th century, East India Company
consolidated most of southern India into the
Madras Presidency coterminous with the
dominions of Nizam of Hyderabad. Pudukkot-
tai remained as a princely state under British
suzerainty.
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Plains Hills
Max. 43.0 °C (109.4 °F) 32.3 °C (90.1 °F)
Min. 13.1 °C (55.6 °F) 3.0 °C (37.4 °F)
state. The Eastern parts are fertile coastal several protected areas of Tamil Nadu includ-
plains and the northern parts are a mix of ing wildlife and bird sanctuaries.[28]
hills and plains. The central and the south
central regions are arid plains and receive
less rainfall than the other regions.
Governance and
Tamil Nadu has a coastline of about administration
1,000 kilometres (600 mi) which forms about
18% of the country’s coastline (third longest). Top executives of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu’s coastline bore the brunt of the Governor Surjit Singh
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami when it hit India, Barnala
which caused 7,793 direct deaths in the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi
state.[22] Tamil Nadu falls mostly in a region
Chief Justice S. J. Mukhopadhaya
of low seismic hazard with the exception of
(Acting)
the western border areas that lie in a low to
moderate hazard zone; as per the 2002 Bur- Director General K. P. Jain[29]
eau of Indian Standards (BIS) map, Tamil of Police
Nadu falls in Zones II & III. Historically, Chief Secretary K. S. Sripathi[30]
parts of this region have experienced seismic
activity in the M5.0 range.[23] State Symbols of Tamil Nadu[31]
Tamil Nadu is heavily dependent on mon- Animal Nilgiri Tahr
soon rains, and thereby is prone to droughts
when the monsoons fail. The climate of the
state ranges from dry sub-humid to semi-ar- Bird Emerald Dove
id. The state has three distinct periods of
rainfall: (1) Advancing monsoon period,
South West monsoon (from June to Septem-
ber), with strong southwest winds; (2) North Dance Bharathanattiyam
East monsoon (from October to December),
with dominant northeast winds; and (3) Dry Flower Gloriosa Lily
season (from January to May). The normal
annual rainfall of the state is about 945 mm
(37.2 in)[24] of which 48% is through the Song Neerarum
North East monsoon, and 32% through the
South West monsoon. Since the state is en-
tirely dependent on rains for recharging its Sport Kabaddi
water resources, monsoon failures lead to
acute water scarcity and severe drought.[25]
Tamil Nadu is classified into seven agro-cli- Tree Palm Tree
matic zones: north-east, north-west, west,
southern, high rainfall, high altitude hilly, The Governor is the Constitutional head of
and Cauvery Delta (the most fertile agricul- the state while the Chief Minister is the head
tural zone). The table below shows the max- of the government and the head of the coun-
imum and minimum temperatures that the cil of ministers. The Chief Justice of the
state experiences in the plains and hills.[26] Madras High Court is the head of the judi-
Tamil Nadu has a wide variety of minerals ciary. The present Governor, Chief Minister
with the most lignite (almost 90% of India’s and the Chief Justice (acting) are Surjit Singh
reserves), magnesite (45%) and garnet (over Barnala, M. Karunanidhi and S. J. Mukho-
40%) reserves in India, among others.[27] padhaya respectively.[30][32][33] The major
Tamil Nadu contributes 15% of the total salt administrative units of the state constitutes
production in the country. Forests cover over 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, 234 Assembly
17% of the state’s geographical area with constituencies, 32 districts, 10 municipal
5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
6
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Politics
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 Congress Party.
Regional parties have dominated state polit-
ics since 1916. One of the earliest regional
parties was the South Indian Welfare Associ-
ation, which was a forerunner to Dravidian
parties in Tamil Nadu, was started in 1916.
The party was called after its English organ, Present chief minister M.Karunanidhi
Justice Party, by it opponents and later the (centre) with ex-chief ministers C. N. An-
same was adopted as its official name. The nadurai (left) and M. G. Ramachandran
reason for victory of the Justice Party in elec- (right).
tions was the non-participation of the Con-
gress Party, demanding complete independ- AIADMK+ 69 (29.4%) 0 (0%)
ence of India. Freedom movement saw great Independent/ 2 (0.8%) 0 (0%)
leaders like Subramania Bharathiar (Poet Other
who inspired freedom movement by his poet-
Source: Indian Elections / Election Commis-
ic skills), Subramania Siva, V O Chidham-
sion of India.[39][40]
daranar (Industrialist, who managed ships
In the 19th century, western scholars dis-
under the free India banner), Thirupur Ku-
covered that the Dravidian languages that
maran, Rajagopalachariar (Rajaji) and
dominate the south of India formed a differ-
Sathyamurthi to name a few.
ent linguistic group to that of the Indo-Aryan
E.V.Ramaswami Naicker popularly known
languages that are predominant in the north
as EVR and also as Periyar, believed in agita-
of the country. They also classified Indians
tional politics and he took the Justice Party
into distinct Aryan and Dravidian races. It
away from its original path. The Justice Party
was proposed that the generally darker-
which had a moribund existence under
skinned Dravidians constituted a distinct
E.V.Ramaswami Naicker, died at last in 1944
race. This concept has affected thinking in
which he renamed the party Dravidar
India about racial and regional differences
Kazhagam (DK for short) in 1944. DK was a
and had an impact on aspects of Tamil na-
non-political party which demanded the es-
tionalism, which has appropriated the claim
tablishment of an independent state called
that Dravidians are the earliest inhabitants of
Dravida Nadu. However, due to the differ-
India, and the Aryan population were op-
ences between its two leaders Periyar and
pressive interlopers from whom Dravidians
C.N. Annadurai, the party was split. An-
should liberate themselves.[41]
nadurai left the party to form the Dravida
Re-organisation of Indian states according
Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK de-
to linguistic and ethnic basis has moderated
cided to enter politics in 1956.
Tamil nationalism, especially the demand for
separation from the Indian Union. The Anti-
Dravidian Politics Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made the DMK
Political Assembly Lok more popular and a more powerful political
Alliance Elections Sabha force in the state. The DMK routed the Con-
Elections gress Party in the 1967 elections and took
DMK+ 163 39 (100%) control of the state government, ending Con-
(69.6%) gress’ stronghold in Tamil Nadu. C.N.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Annadurai became the DMK’s first Chief populous states (states whose population ex-
Minister. ceeded 20 million in 2001). Its decadal rate
Muthuvel Karunanidhi took over as Chief of population growth has declined in every
Minister and party leader after Annadurai’s decade since 1971, one of only three popu-
death in 1969. Karunanidhi’s leadership was lous states (along with Kerala and Orissa) to
soon challenged by M.G. Ramachandran, show this trend. The state has registered the
popularly known as MGR. In 1972, he split lowest fertiliy rate along with Andhra
from DMK and formed the Anna Dravida Pradesh and Goa in India in year 2005-06
Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) and later re- with 1.8 children born for each woman, lower
named the party as All India Anna Dravid than required for population sustainabil-
Munnetra Kazhagam. He was the Chief Min- ity.[46] According to National Family Health
ister of the state from 1977 until his death in Survey-3 (NFHS-3), Tamil Nadu registered a
1987. After the death of MGR and the defeat fertility rate of 1.8, the lowest in India in year
of AIADMK in the 1989 assembly polls, J. Jay- 2005-2006.[47][48]
alalithaa took control of the party. She was
elected as the General Secretary of the uni-
fied AIADMK. There have been several splits
Education and social
in both the DMK and the AIADMK, but since development
1967 one of those two parties has held power
in the state. The rise of Congress Party, Vi-
jayakanth’s DMDK and Dr. Ramdoss’s PMK
in the recent years has ensured that no single
party is in majority to run a government and
thereby giving rise to coalition politics.
Demographics and
Religion
Tamil Nadu is the seventh most populous
state in India with a population of
66,396,000,[43] as of July 1, 2008 (approxim-
ately 5.79% of India’s population). It is the el-
eventh most densely populated state in India. The main entrance of IIT Madras, showing its
logo and its motto.
In 2008, its population density was 511 per-
sons per square kilometre,[43] having in-
Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in
creased from 429 in 1991, significantly high-
terms of literacy growth during the decade
er than the Indian average of 324 persons
1991-2001. The state’s literacy rate in-
per square kilometre.[44] 44% of the state’s
creased from 62.66% in 1991 to 73.47% in
population live in urban areas, the highest in
2001.[44] which is above the national aver-
India.[45]
age. A survey conducted by the Industry body
Tamil Nadu’s population grew by 11.19%
Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indi-
between 1991 and 2001, the second lowest
an states with about 100% Gross Enrollment
rate for that period (after Kerala) amongst
8
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary alarming level of hunger according to the
education.[49] 2008 Global Hunger Index.[61][62]
Tamil Nadu has 19 universities,[50] 250
engineering colleges[51] and 1150 arts col-
lege, 2550 schools and 5000 hospitals. Some
Culture
of the reputed institutes include University of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable
Madras, IIT Madras, Anna University in- culture. Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tra-
cludes MIT Chennai , SVCE, NIT Tiruchi, dition of literature, music and dance which
Madras Medical College and Tamil Nadu continue to flourish today. Unique cultural
Agricultural University. The Indian Institute features like Bharatanatyam (dance), Tanjore
of Management is scheduled to open in painting, and Tamil architecture were de-
Trichy by 2009-2010.[52] Tamil Nadu pro- veloped and continue to be practised in Tamil
duces the highest number of engineering Nadu.
graduates in India (around 30,000) every
year which attracts many software compan- Language and Literature
ies to set up their shop in south India. Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu
India has a human development index cal- which was the first language to be declared
culated as 0.619, while the corresponding fig- as classical language of India, the other be-
ure for Tamil Nadu is 0.736, placing it among ing Sanskrit.Tamil is also one of the official
the top states in the country.[53][54] The life languages of India.[63] Most of the older
expectancy at birth for males is 65.2 years works are in verse form, and prose gained
and for females it is 67.6 years.[55] However, popularity later. All through history, Tamil lit-
it has a number of challenges, significantly, erature has sought to inform and inspire,
the poverty is high, especially in the rural educate and entertain. Tamil poetry has uni-
areas. As of 2004-2005, the poverty line was versal appeal as evidenced by many
set at Rs. 351.86/month for rural areas and examples.
Rs. 547.42/month for urban areas.[56] ????????? ?????????????? ??????????
Poverty in the state dropped from 51.7% in ?????????
1983 to 21.1% in 2001[57] For the period ???????????? ????? ?????
2004-2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty
in the state was 22.5% compared with the na- ’The mark of wisdom is to discern the truth
tional figure of 27.5%.[58] The World Bank is From whatever source it is heard.’
currently assisting the state in reducing - (Tirukkural - 423)
poverty[59] High drop-out and low completion Tirukkural which was written nearly two mil-
of secondary schools continue to hinder the lennia ago portrays a universal outlook. This
quality of training in the population. Other is evident as the author, Thiruvalluvar, does
problems include class, gender, inter-district not mention his religion, land, or the audi-
and urban-rural disparities. ence for his work. He is portrayed as a holy
The Dravidian movement, which cham- saint of Tamil Nadu today. There is an evid-
pioned the causes of educating the people ential history that the kings of olden days
and eradicating superstitions, began in Tamil rolled out Tamil Sangam (Tamil organisation)
Nadu. In addition, it aimes to uplift the so- to develop literature works in Tamil. The
cially repressed Dravidian people and drew Sangam headquartered in Madurai gener-
considerable support from the middle classes ated a large amount of notable literary
for their efforts in this matter. The movement works. The first Tamil printing press was es-
was committed to social justice which led to tablished at Tarangambadi by the Danish
the expansion of reservations for the de- missionaries.
prived communities. Tamil Nadu now has a During the Indian freedom struggle, many
69% reservation in educational institutions, Tamil poets and writers provoked national
the highest among all Indian states.[60] spirit, social equity and secularist thoughts
The Mid-day Meal Scheme program in among the common man, notably Subraman-
Tamil Nadu, initiated by Kamaraj, was expan- ya Bharathy. Even today, Tamil Nadu is home
ded considerably during the rule of the to creative writers like Bharathidasan,
AIADMK in 1983. It feeds over a fifth of the Jayakanthan, Jayamohan, Sujatha, Indira
state’s population. Despite this, the state is Parthasarathy.
among the 12 states in India that have
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
English Language is also widely spoken concentrated in the southern districts of Kan-
across Tamil Nadu in Educational institutions yakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli. St.
and by white collar professionals. Famous Thomas Mount in Chennai, the place where
carnatic music composer & poet Thyagayya St. Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus
is from Tamil Nadu. Christ, was believed to have been mar-
tyred,[65] is an important pilgrimage site for
Religions Indian Christians. The Santhome Basilica,
supposedly built atop the tomb of
St. Thomas, and the Vailankanni Basilica of
Our Lady of Good Health — revered churches
by India’s Roman Catholics — are good ex-
amples of majestic church architectures in
Tamil Nadu. The Church of South India is
headquartered in Chennai.
Muslims are mainly concentrated in areas
such as Kayalpatnam, Keelakarai, Ambur,
Vaniyambadi, Madurai, Nagore and Melap-
alayam, with the state capital Chennai also
home to a good number of Muslims. In Chen-
nai, the most popular areas with Muslim pop-
ulation include Triplicane, Royapettah, Ice
With Hindus forming over 90% of the popula- House, Adam Market, Zam Bazaar, Ellis
tion, Hindu temples are ubiquitous in Tamil Road, Supari Gunta - part of three important
Nadu earning it the sobriquet ’The Land of Assembly Constituencies, Chepauk, Trip-
Temples’. Shown here is the Meenakshi Am- licane & Thousand Lights. Among Muslims,
man Temple complex in Madurai, which is 97.5% are Tamil speaking Sunni and the rest
one of the grandest temples in the country.
are Urdu speakers. All Tamil Muslims are
Sunnis, who adhere to either Hanafi or Shafi
Tamil Nadu was the home of several Hindu
schools of thought. Erwadi in Ramanath-
movements not in the usual mainstream.
apuram district and Nagore in Nagapattinam
About 90% people follow Hinduism. These in-
district are important pilgrimage site for
clude Shankara’s Advaita, Ramanuja’s
Muslims, while the Thousand Lights Mosque
Vishistadvaita, Alwar Sri Vaishnavism, Nay-
in Chennai is one of the largest mosques in
anar Shaivism, Several important Hindu
the country. Karpudaiyar masjid in Kayalpat-
Tamil figures became important figures for
nam is the oldest mosque in Tamil Nadu.
Hinduism as a whole (e.g.Ramanuja.) In mod-
ern times, worldwide important figures for
Hinduism were Ramana Maharishi and Sri
Festivals
Sri Ravi Shankar. Other saints known more Pongal, also called as Tamizhar Thirunaal
locally to Hindus within India are Raghav- (festival of Tamils) or Makara Sankranti else-
endra Swami the Dvaita Vaishnava, Parama- where in India, a four-day harvest festival is
hamsa Sri Nithyananda or the Nithyananda one of the most celebrated festival of Tamil
Foundation, Sivananda the expert of yoga Nadu. The Tamil language saying Thai Pir-
and Vedanta. andhal Vazhi Pirakkum — literally meaning,
Main god for tamil peoples Murugan, oth- the birth of the month of Thai will pave way
er Popular forms of God include Vishnuand, for new opportunities — is often quoted with
Shiva, although many other forms are also reference to this festival. The first day, Bhogi
worshiped. These other forms of God include Pongal, is celebrated by throwing away and
Rama, Krishna, Ganesh, Paravati, Surya, and destroying old clothes and materials by set-
others. There is even a temple dedicated to ting them on fire to mark the end of the old
the form of Hanuman and Ganesh in one and emergence of the new. The second day,
form - Adianta Prabhu.[64] The government Surya Pongal, is the main day which falls on
emblem of Tamil Nadu contained the popular the first day of the tenth Tamil month Thai
Hindu temple of Srivilliputhur. (January 14 or January 15 in western calen-
Christians and Muslims form roughly over dar). The third day, Maattu Pongal, is meant
8% of the population. Christians are mainly to offer thanks to the cattle, as they provide
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
milk and are used to plough the lands. Jal- are Pushpuvanam Kuppuswamy, Dr
likattu, a bull taming contest, marks the main Navaneethakrishnan, Chinnaponnu, Paravai
event of this day. During this final day, Kaan- muniammal etc.
um Pongal — the word "kanum", means ’to Carnatic music is the classical music of
view’ in Tamil — youths used to gather at Southern India. The basic form is a mono-
river banks to view and select their future life phonic song with improvised variations.
partners, but that practice has declined. There are 72 basic scales on the octave, and
The first month in the Tamil calendar is a rich variety of melodic motion. Both melod-
Chitterai and the first day of this month in ic and rhythmic structures are varied and
mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year. compelling. This is one of the world’s oldest
Thiruvalluvar Calendar is 31 years ahead of & richest musical traditions. Carnatic music
Gregorian Calendar, that is 2000A.D. in abounds in structured compositions in the
Gregorian calendar is represented as 2031 in different ragas. These are songs composed
Thiruvalluvar Calendar. Aadi Perukku is cel- by great artists and handed down through
ebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month generations of disciples. Three saint com-
Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water posers of the nineteenth century, Tyagaraja,
level in the river Cauvery. Apart from these Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri,
major festivals, in every village and town of have composed thousands of songs that re-
Tamil Nadu, the inhabitants celebrate fest- main favourites among musicians and audi-
ivals for the local gods once a year and the ences. The composers belonging to the Tamil
time varies from place to place. Most of these Trinity of Muthu Thandavar (?1560 - ?1640
festivals are related to the goddess Maar- CE), Arunachala Kavi (1712-1779) and Mar-
iyamman, the mother goddess of rain. imutthu Pillai (1717-1787) composed hun-
Additional major Hindu festivals including dreds of devotional songs in Tamil and
Deepavali ( Death of Narakasura, Ayudha helped in the evolution of Carnatic music.
Poojai, Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara), Krishna Today, Tamil Nadu has hundreds of notable
Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are celeb- carnatic singers who spread this music all
rated widely. The Ayyavazhi Festival Ayya over the world. M. S. Subbulakshmi, a
Vaikunda Avataram is celebrated by the renowned carnatic singer, had the honour of
Ayyavazhi followers throughout the singing a song in the UN Security Council.
state, [66][67][68] grandly in the southern dis- In terms of modern music (light, film, pop,
tricts.[69][70][71][72] In addition, Christmas, etc.), the music of Tamil Nadu is praised very
Eid ul-Fitr, Easter and Bakrid are celebrated highly. Ilaiyaraaja was the most prominent
by Christians and Muslims in the state. composer of film music in Tamil cinema dur-
ing the late 1970s and 1980s. His work high-
Music lighted Tamil folk lyricism and introduced
See also: Ancient Tamil music broader Western musical sensibilities to the
The Kings of the olden days created sangams South Indian musical mainstream. Tamil
for Iyal Isai Nadagam (Literature, Music and Nadu is also the home of Oscar Winner A.R.
Drama). Music plays a major role in sangams. Rahman who is recognised worldwide and
Music in Tamil Nadu had different forms. In has composed film music in Tamil, Hindi
villages where farming was the primary films, English and Chinese films .
work, the ladies who work in the fields used
to sing kulavai songs. Odhuvars, Sthanikars Arts and dance
or Kattalaiyars offer short musical pro- Tamils have a large number of folk dances.
grammes in the temples by singing the devo- These are performed for every possible occa-
tional Thevaram songs. In sharp contrast sion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth
with the restrained and intellectual nature of of a child, weddings and festivals. Tamil
carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends to be dance is closely intertwined with the Tamil
much more exuberant. Popular forms of theatrical tradition. The most celebrated of
Tamil folk music include the Villuppāṭṭu, a these is karakattam. In its religious form, the
form of music performed with a bow, and the dance is performed in front of an image of
Nāṭṭuppur̲appāṭṭu, ballads that convey folk- the goddess Mariamman. The dancer bears
lore and folk history. Some of the leading on his or her head a brass pot filled with un-
Tamil folk artists in the early 21st century cooked rice, decorated with flowers and
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Film industry
Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film in-
dustry, the second largest film industry in In-
dia after Hindi films. It is based in Chennai in
Kodambakkam, the section of Chennai that
houses cinema-related facilities, hence the
portmanteau Kollywood.
Cuisine
A Bharatanatyam dancer
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
13
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
present, Tamil Nadu is India’s fourth biggest hectares of land under oil palm cultivation,
producer of Rice, next to West Bengal, the second highest in India.[98] Currently,
Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Tamil Nadu is the only state to have a formal
Pradesh.[87] The Cauvery delta region of the bio-diesel policy using jatropha plant crops
composite Thanjavur district is known as the and to distribute wasteland to the poor farm-
Rice Bowl of South India. Next to Thanjavur, ers for planting.[99]
is the Tirunelveli which is the second largest Tamil Nadu is the home to Dr M.S. Swam-
producer of Rice due to the undrainable river inathan, known as the "father of the Green
Thamirabarani. Tamil Nadu accounts for Revolution" in India.[100] Tamil Nadu Agricul-
nearly 6% of the area under fruits and 4% of tural University with its seven colleges and
the area under vegetables in the country. In thirty two research stations spread over the
terms of production, the State’s share is entire state contributes to evolving new crop
nearly 10% in fruits and 6% in vegetables.[88] varieties and technologies and disseminating
Tamil Nadu is also a leading state in the pro- through various extension agencies. The net
duction of flowers. The total production of sown area is 36% of the total geographic
horticultural crops is 99.47 Lakhs during area (National average of 46%). The gross
2003-04. The main flowers grown in Tamil cropped area is 53,200 km² with a cropping
Nadu are Jasmine, Mullai, Chrysanthemum, intensity of 119. Irrigation covers 46% of the
Marigold and Rose. Mango and Banana are cropped area and the remaining 54% is rain-
the leading fruit crops in Tamil Nadu ac- fed. Tamil Nadu’s agriculture is heavily de-
counting for over 84% of the area under fruit pendent on river water and monsoon rains.
and over 87% of the total fruit production.
Off-season production of mango and round-
the-year production of grapes is unique to
Tamil Nadu. The main vegetables grown are
tapioca, tomato, onion, brinjal and drumstick.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Cattle Buffalos Sheep Goats Pigs Horses & Donkeys Total Total
ponies livestock poultry
9141 1658 5593 8177 321 25 26 15800 86591
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Coimbatore. Coimbatore is the headquarters linens, toilet linens, table linens and wall
for Pricol, LMW, ELGI, Roots industries, and hangings.
Shanti gears. Coimbatore is known for its Erode is also the major inland textile hub
motor pump industries like Texmo, Deccan of India especially for woven garments &
pumps and CRI pumps. Karur is known for its sarees. Madurai and Kanchipuram are fam-
bus body building industries. Truck bodies ous for their handloom and silk saris.
are built in Tiruchengode and Namakkal near
Salem.
Over 11.2% of the S&P CNX 500 conglom-
erates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.
The Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Ennore
Thermal Plant, Neyveli Lignite Power Plant,
many hydroelectric plants including Mettur
and the Narimanam Natural Gas Plants are Wind turbines at Muppandal in Nagercoil
major sources of Tamil Nadu’s electricity. It Kanyakumari District. In the background are
is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear hills of the Western Ghats.
Power Plant to its energy grid. Tamil Nadu
sources[117] a significant proportion of its Electronics manufacturing is a growing in-
power needs from renewable sources with dustry in Tamil Nadu. Companies like Nokia,
wind power installed capacity at over 3600 Flextronics, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Fox-
MW[118] or over 40% of the maximum peak conn, Samsung, Cisco, Moser Baer and Dell
demand. As of 2005, Tamil Nadu is one of the have chosen Chennai as their South Asian
few Indian states with surplus power electri- manufacturing hub. Products manufactured
city, enabling the electrical authority to sell it include circuit boards and cellular phone
to neighbouring states of Andra Pradesh & handsets.[121] Ericsson also has a Research
Karnataka. Tamil Nadu ranks first nationwide and Development facility in Chennai.[122] Big
in diesel-based thermal electricity generation EPC companies have set up their Engineer-
with national market share of over 34%. ing centres which include Saipem, Technip,
The textile industry plays a significant role Foster Wheeler, Mott Macdonald, Petrofac
in the Indian economy by providing direct and Tecnimont ICB. The Austrian company
employment to an estimated 35 million Austrian Energy and Environment also have
people, and thereby contributing 4% of GDP a design office here besides local giant ECC
and 35% of Gross Export Earnings. The tex- {Larsen & Toubro}. Sanmina-SCI is the
tile sector contributes to 14% of the manufac- latest company to invest in Tamil Nadu to
turing sector. There are a lot of Textile mills create a state of the art manufacturing facil-
located in Coimbatore. The city of Tirupur, in ity.[123] Nokia Siemens Networks has de-
Tamil Nadu is the country’s largest exporter cided to build a manufacturing plant for wire-
of knit wears[119] and sometimes karur to less network equipment in Tamil Nadu.[124]
tiruppur area referred to as Textile valley of Moser Baer has decided on setting up a facil-
India.[120] In 2004, the export turnover from ity to manufacture silicon-based photovoltaic
the town was more than Rs. 50,000 million thin film modules and allied products with an
($1,000 million). Some 7,000 garment units investment of $500 million.[125]
in the town provides employment opportunity Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a global
to 7,50,000 people. 56% of India’s total knit- electrical equipment manufacturing public
wear exports come from Tirupur. The Export sector company, has manufacturing plants at
Import Policy of 2002-2007 acknowledges Tiruchirapalli and Ranipet. The construction
Tirupur for its contribution to the export industry also saw new entrants like BGR En-
efforts. ergy systems ltd, Consolidated construction
The home textile capital of India - city of consortium.
Karur generates around (35,500 million) The state government owns the Tamil
$750 million a year in foreign exchange and Nadu Newsprint and Papers (TNPL),[126] the
give the opportunity to 3,50,000 peoples for world’s biggest bagasse based Paper mills in
work.Over 60% of total India’s exports come Karur, as well as the world’s sixth largest
from karur. The Karur exports of Home-Tex- manufacturer of watches together with TATA
tile products such as bed linens, kitchen at hosur, under the brand name of
"Titan".[127] 55% of all wind-generated
16
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Tidel Park in Chennai is one of the largest The Pamban rail and road bridges, across the
software parks in India. Palk Strait connects the Pamban Island with
the Indian mainland. The rail bridge (right),
Tamil Nadu is a leading contributor in the opened in 1914, is considered to be one of
IT and BPO sectors. Tamil Nadu is the third the marvels of modern engineering.[132]
largest software exporter by value in India,
17
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has a well established transport- Tamil Nadu has three major ports at Chen-
ation system that connects all parts of the nai, Ennore and Tuticorin, as well as one in-
state. This is partly responsible for the invest- termediate port, Nagapattinam, and seven
ment growth in the state. Tamil Nadu is minor ports, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari,
served by an extensive road network, provid- Cuddalore, Colachel, Karaikal, Pamban and
ing links between urban centers, agricultural Valinokkan which are currently capable of
market-places and rural areas. There are 24 handling over 73 million metric tonnes of
national highways in the state, covering a cargo annually (24 per cent share of India).
total distance of 2,002 km.[133] The state is All the minor ports are managed by the Tamil
also a terminus for the Golden Quadrilateral Nadu Maritime Board.[138] Chennai Port is
project that is scheduled to be completed in an artificial harbour situated on the Coro-
2008. The state has a total road length of mandel Coast in South-East India and it is
167,000 km, of which 60,628 km are main- the second principal port in the country for
tained by Highways Department. This is handling containers. Ennore Port was re-
nearly 2.5 times higher than the density of cently converted from an intermediate port
all-India road network.[134] It is currently to a major port and handles all the coal and
working on upgrading its road network, ore traffic in Tamil Nadu. The volume of
though the pace of work is considered cargo in the ports grew by 13 per cent during
slow.[135] 2005.[139][140]
Tamil Nadu has a well developed rail net-
work as part of Southern
Headquartered at Chennai, the Southern
Railway.
Fauna and Flora
Railway network extends over a large area of
India’s Southern Peninsula, covering the
states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, a
small portion of Karnataka and a small por-
tion of Andhra Pradesh. Tamil Nadu has a
total railway track length of 5,952 km and
there are 532 railway stations in the
state.[136] The system connects it with most
major cities in India. Main rail junctions in
the state include Chennai, Erode, Coim-
batore, Tirunelveli Madurai, Tiruchirapalli
(Trichy) and Salem. Chennai has a well-estab-
lished suburban railway network and is in the
process of developing a metro.
Tamil Nadu has a major international air-
port, Chennai International Airport, that is
connected with 19 countries with more than
169 direct flights every week. This is cur-
rently the third largest airport in India after
Mumbai and Delhi and has a passenger
growth of 18%. Other international airports
present in the state are Coimbatore Interna-
tional Airport and Tiruchirapalli International
Airport. Madurai Airport and Tuticorin Air-
port are domestic airports which connect
their respective cities to other parts of the
country. Apart from these, there are Air
Force bases at Thanjavur and Sulur(Suburb Lion-tailed macaque, an endangered species.
of Coimbatore), and a Naval air station at
Arakkonam. Increased industrial activity has The state has a wide range of flora and
given rise to an increase in passenger traffic fauna. There is a wide diversity of wildlife.
as well as freight movement which has been There are many Protected areas of Tamil
growing at over 18 per cent per year.[137] Nadu, including 2 Biosphere Reserves, 5
18
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Fauna
There are about 2000 species of wildlife that
are native to Tamil Nadu. Protected areas
provide safe habitat for large mammals in-
cluding Elephants, Tigers, Leopard, Wild dog, World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand.
Sloth bears, Gaurs, Lion-tailed macaques,
Nilgiri Langurs, Nilgiri Tahrs, Grizzled Giant operates a number of world class stadiums
Squirrels and Sambar deer, resident and mi- and organizes various sporting events.[145] It
gratory birds such as Cormorants, Darters, also accommodates various sporting events,
Herons, Egrets, Open-billed Storks, Spoon- both at domestic and international level, or-
bills and White Ibises, Little Grebes, Indian ganized by other sports associations at its
Moorhen, Black-winged Stilts, a few migrat- venues.[146] The YMCA College of Physical
ory Ducks and occasionally Grey Pelicans, Education at Nandanam in Chennai was es-
marine species such as the Dugongs, Turtles, tablished in 1920 and was the first college
Dolphins and Balanoglossus and a wide vari- for physical education in Asia.[147]
ety of fish and insects. Cricket is the most popular sport and
Kabaddi is the state game of Tamil Nadu. M.
Flora A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is an in-
Tamil Nadu is the home to 3000 plant species ternational cricketing arena with a capacity
including Eucalyptus, Palmyra, Rubber, Cin- of 50,000 and houses the Tamil Nadu Cricket
chona, Clumping Bamboos (Bambusa Association. Popular cricketers from Tamil
Arundinacea), Common teak, Anogeissus lati- Nadu who have represented the national
folia, Indian Laurel , Grewia, and blooming team include S. Venkataraghavan,
trees like Indian labumusum, Aredesia, and Kris Srikkanth, Robin Singh, Lakshmipathy
Solanancea. Rare and unique plant life in- Balaji Subramaniam Badrinath and Dinesh
cludes Combretum ovalifolium, Ebony Karthik. Cricket contests between local clubs
(Dispyros nilagrica), Habebarai reriflora and teams is also popular across the state.
(Orchid), Alsophila, Impatiens elegans, Ra- The MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai is a
nunculus reniformis, and Royal fern. Tamil much sought after fast bowling academy by
Nadu ranks first in Angiosperm diversity pace bowlers all over the world. The tradi-
amongst all the states in the country with tional sport of Kabaddi, called Sadu Gudu in
5640 species (32%) of the total 17,672 spe- Tamil, is another popular sport played ex-
cies, which includes 230 red-listed species tensively in the rural areas. Silambam is an-
and 1559 species of medicinal plants.[142] other popular traditional sport played in the
rural areas.
The ATP Chennai Open tournament held
Sports in Chennai every January is the biggest Ten-
Tamil Nadu has made fair strides in the field nis event in South Asia.[148] Tennis players
of sports. The Sports Development Authority from Tamil Nadu who had made it to the big
of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) is the government stage include Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh
body that is vested with the responsibility of krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Mahesh Bhupathi
developing sports and related infrastructure and Prakash Amritrajand more recently Som-
in the state.[143][144] The SDAT owns and dev Devvarman was runner up in ATP 2009.
19
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has a long standing motorsports the Kodaikanal Golf Club, established in
culture. The sport was pioneered by 1895, and Gymkhana Club, Chennai. The
Sundaram Karivardhan in its early days. Not- Madras Boat Club, set up in 1867, hosts reg-
able sportspersons from Tamil Nadu in the ular rowing races on the Adyar River.[158]
field are Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian The 232 year old Guindy race course in Chen-
to participate in F1 racing, and Karun Chan- nai is popular horse racing venue. Apart from
dok. Motor racing events are held at the these, the Multi-Purpose Indoor Games Com-
Irungattukottai track (near Sriperumbudur), plex in Chennai hosts international events for
Sholavaram track and Kari Motorspeedway Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton and Table
near Coimbatore. Tennis. In the recent years, adventure sports
have also gained popularity, especially
amongst the tourists visiting the state.[159]
Tourism
20
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
to one of the grandest Hindu temples in the theme parks and eateries. The Waterfalls in
World — Madurai Meenakshi Amman the state include Courtallam, Hogenakal,
Temple. Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram and Papanasam and Manimuthar. The Chettinad
Palani are important pilgrimage sites for Hin- region of the state is renowned for its Palatial
dus. The largest Shiva Temple in TamilNadu houses and cuisine. In recent years, Tamil
is Nellaiappar Temple situated in the heart of Nadu is also witnessing a growth in Medical
Tirunelveli city. Other popular temples in tourism, as are many other states in India.
Tamil Nadu include those in Gangaikonda
Cholapuram, Chidambaram, Thiruvan-
naamalai,Tiruchengode, Aragalur, Tiruttani,
See also
Swamithoppe, Tiruchendur and Tiruvallur. • Tamil people
• Tamil language
• Dravidian people
• South India
• Tamil cinema
References
[1] Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
[2] The Story of India: South India.
[3] History of Tamil Nadu.
[4] TAMIL HERITAGE... the Tamils are an
ancient people.
[5] Tamil Nadu’s Ancient Cities May Predate
Mesopotamian Civilization.
Kanyakumari, the Southernmost tip of Main- [6] Population of Tamil Nadu as of 01/07/
land India, at sunrise. 2008.
[7] Gross Domestic Product by prices as of
Tamil Nadu is also home to many beautiful 28 February, 2008.
hill stations. Popular among them are Ud- [8] ^ Tamil Nadu the most urbanised State:
hagamandalam (Ooty), Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Minister.
Coonoor, Topslip, Valparai, Kolli Hills and [9] Enterprises in India.
Yelagiri. The Nilgiri hills, Palani hills, [10] India Today, dated 24th September,
Shevaroy hills and Cardamom hills are all 2007.
abodes of thick forests and wildlife. Mukurthi [11] "Tamil Nadu, The best place to do
National Park & Kalakkad Mundanthurai Ti- business". November 12, 2005.
ger Reserve are the two tiger reserves in the http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/nov/
state. Tamil Nadu has many National Parks, 12guest2.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
Biosphere Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries, [12] Press Information Bureau.
Elephant and Bird Sanctuaries, Reserved [13] UNESCO World Heritage List.
Forests, Zoos and Crocodile farms. Promin- [14] Tamil Nadu India’s most literate state:
ent among them are Mudumalai National HRD ministry.
Park, The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, [15] LITERATES AND LITERACY
Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and Nation- RATES-2001 CENSUS (PROVISIONAL).
al Park, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and [16] "Skeletons dating back 3,800 years
Arignar Anna Zoological Park. The mangrove throw light on evolution". The Times of
forests in Pichavaram are also eco-tourism India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
spots of importance. articleshow/
Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of msid-1354201,prtpage-1.cms. Retrieved
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and beautiful sunrise, Vivekananda Rock Me- [17] "The Hindu : National : ’Rudimentary
morial and Thiruvalluvar’s statue built off the Tamil-Brahmi script’ unearthed at
coastline. Marina Beach in Chennai is one of Adichanallur". The Hindu.
the longest beaches in the world.[165] The http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/02/17/
stretch of beaches from Chennai to Ma- stories/2005021704471300.htm.
habalipuram are home to many resorts, Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
[18] "The Hindu : National : Skeletons, script [44] ^ The Tamil Nadu picture on Frontline
found at ancient burial site in Tamil Magazine.
Nadu". The Hindu. [45] Tamil Nadu the most urbanised state.
http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/26/ [46] National Family Health Survey, India.
stories/2004052602871200.htm. [47] Distribution by Language - States and
Retrieved on 2008-06-11. Union Territories - 2001.
[19] Staff Reporter (November 22, 2005). [48] Population by religious and linguistic
"Students get glimpse of heritage". The communities.
Hindu. http://www.thehindu.com/2005/ [49] ^ Tamil Nadu boasts of best school
11/22/stories/2005112215970400.htm. enrollment figures.
Retrieved on 2007-04-26. [50] Universities in Tamil Nadu.
[20] Great Living Chola Temples. [51] Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu.
[21] Geography of India by Joel Anderson. [52] Opening of IIM Trichy.
[22] Damage to tsunami-hit countries - India. [53] Glaring regional disparities in human
[23] Amateur Seismic Centre, Pune. development index.
[24] Assessment Report from the National [54] Human Development Reports.
Drought Mitigation Center, Univ. of [55] " Top three States — a socio-economic
Nebraska-Lincoln. comparison" - BusinessLine.
[25] United Nations, System of Organizations. [56] ^ "Number and Percentage of Population
[26] IndiaAndIndians.com. Below Poverty Line By States- 2004-05".
[27] Department of Geology and Mining, [57] Tamil Nadu Poverty.
Government of Tamil Nadu. [58] Poverty Profile.
[28] Tamil Nadu Forest Department. [59] World Bank Poverty Reduction Project.
[29] [1]. [60] "Education is the means of social
[30] ^ Secretaries to Government of Tamil mobility" - Rediff India Abroad.
Nadu. [61] Tamil Nadu Hunger Problem Alarming.
[31] "National Symbols of India". High [62] Tamil Nadu Hunger Level in Danger List.
Commission of India, London. [63] India at a Glance - National Portal of
http://www.hcilondon.net/india-overview/ India.
land-people/national-symbols.html. [64] Madhya Kailash temple, Chennai.
Retrieved on 2007-09-03. [65] St. Thomas in India.
[32] Government of Tamil Nadu. [66] "The Hindu" (’Engagements’). Ayya
[33] Chief Justice of Madras High Court. Vaikunda Dharmapathi.
[34] Brief Note on Corporation Of Chennai. http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/02/
[35] Tamil Nadu crime trends. stories/2007030218740300.htm.
[36] TN Police. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
[37] [2]. [67] "The Hindu" (’In Coimbatore today’).
[38] Tirupur district shortly from The Hindu. Ayya Vaikunta Sivapathi.
[39] "Election results". Indian Elections. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/
http://www.indian-elections.com/ thscrip/
assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/election- print.pl?file=2007030419620300.htm&date=2007/
result-06.html. 03/04/&prd=th&. Retrieved on
[40] "Parties Statistics". Election Commission 2007-02-07.
of India. http://www.eci.gov.in/ [68] "satrumun" (’?????????’). ???
StatisticalReports/ElectionStatistics.asp. ??????????????? 175-??? ????? ????????.
[41] The Quest for the Origins of Vedic http://satrumun.blogspot.com/2007/03/
Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration 175.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
Debate By Edwin Bryant. [69] Report on declaration of the holiday
[42] "Census Population" (PDF). Census of "Dina Malar". http://www.dinamalar.com/
India. Ministry of Finance India. 2006mar03/general_tn3.asp Report on
http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/ declaration of the holiday. Retrieved on
chapt2007/tab97.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-02-03.
2008-12-18. [70] Daily Thanthi, Tamil daily, Nagercoil
[43] ^ Updated population estimates for edition, 5/3/2006.
Tamil Nadu as of 01/07/2008. [71] Thamizh Murasu, Tamil evening daily,
Nagercoil edition, 4/3/2006.
22
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Categories: Tamil Nadu, States and territories of India, States and territories established in
1956
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