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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.
7
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 among the 12 states in India that have alarm-
education.[49] ing level of hunger according to the 2008
Tamil Nadu has 19 universities,[50] 250 Global Hunger Index.[61][62]
engineering colleges[51] and 1150 arts col-
lege, 2550 schools and 5000 hospitals. Some
of the reputed institutes include University of
Culture
Madras, IIT Madras, Anna University (in- Tamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable
cludes MIT Chennai - Madras Institute of culture. Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tra-
Technology), PSG College of Technology, dition of literature, music and dance which
SVCE, NIT Tiruchi, Madras Medical College continue to flourish today. Unique cultural
and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The features like Bharatanatyam (dance), Tanjore
Indian Institute of Management is scheduled painting, and Tamil architecture were de-
to open in Trichy by 2009-2010.[52] Tamil veloped and continue to be practised in Tamil
Nadu produces the highest number of engin- Nadu.
eering graduates in India (around 30,000)
every year which attracts many software Language and Literature
companies 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.
9
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
10
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
milk and are used to plough the lands. Jal- Carnatic music is the classical music of
likattu, a bull taming contest, marks the main Southern India. The basic form is a mono-
event of this day. During this final day, Kaan- phonic song with improvised variations.
um Pongal — the word "kanum", means ’to There are 72 basic scales on the octave, and
view’ in Tamil — youths used to gather at a rich variety of melodic motion. Both melod-
river banks to view and select their future life ic and rhythmic structures are varied and
partners, but that practice has declined. compelling. This is one of the world’s oldest
The first month in the Tamil calendar is & richest musical traditions. Carnatic music
Chitterai and the first day of this month in abounds in structured compositions in the
mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year. different ragas. These are songs composed
Thiruvalluvar Calendar is 31 years ahead of by great artists and handed down through
Gregorian Calendar, that is 2000A.D. in generations of disciples. Three saint com-
Gregorian calendar is represented as 2031 in posers of the nineteenth century, Tyagaraja,
Thiruvalluvar Calendar. Aadi Perukku is cel- Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri,
ebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month have composed thousands of songs that re-
Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water main favourites among musicians and audi-
level in the river Cauvery. Apart from these ences. The composers belonging to the Tamil
major festivals, in every village and town of Trinity of Muthu Thandavar (?1560 - ?1640
Tamil Nadu, the inhabitants celebrate fest- CE), Arunachala Kavi (1712-1779) and Mar-
ivals for the local gods once a year and the imutthu Pillai (1717-1787) composed hun-
time varies from place to place. Most of these dreds of devotional songs in Tamil and
festivals are related to the goddess Maar- helped in the evolution of Carnatic music.
iyamman, the mother goddess of rain. Today, Tamil Nadu has hundreds of notable
Additional major Hindu festivals including carnatic singers who spread this music all
Deepavali ( Death of Narakasura, Ayudha over the world. M. S. Subbulakshmi, a
Poojai, Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara), Krishna renowned carnatic singer, had the honour of
Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are celeb- singing a song in the UN Security Council.
rated widely. In addition, Christmas, Eid ul- In terms of modern music (light, film, pop,
Fitr, Easter and Bakrid are celebrated by etc.), the music of Tamil Nadu is praised very
Christians and Muslims in the state. highly. Ilaiyaraaja was the most prominent
composer of film music in Tamil cinema dur-
Music ing the late 1970s and 1980s. His work high-
See also: Ancient Tamil music lighted Tamil folk lyricism and introduced
The Kings of the olden days created sangams broader Western musical sensibilities to the
for Iyal Isai Nadagam (Literature, Music and South Indian musical mainstream. Tamil
Drama). Music plays a major role in sangams. Nadu is also the home of Oscar Winner A.R.
Music in Tamil Nadu had different forms. In Rahman who is recognised worldwide and
villages where farming was the primary has composed film music in Tamil, Hindi
work, the ladies who work in the fields used films, English and Chinese films .
to sing kulavai songs. Odhuvars, Sthanikars
or Kattalaiyars offer short musical pro- Arts and dance
grammes in the temples by singing the devo- Tamils have a large number of folk dances.
tional Thevaram songs. In sharp contrast These are performed for every possible occa-
with the restrained and intellectual nature of sion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth
carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends to be of a child, weddings and festivals. Tamil
much more exuberant. Popular forms of dance is closely intertwined with the Tamil
Tamil folk music include the Villuppāṭṭu, a theatrical tradition. The most celebrated of
form of music performed with a bow, and the these is karakattam. In its religious form, the
Nāṭṭuppur̲appāṭṭu, ballads that convey folk- dance is performed in front of an image of
lore and folk history. Some of the leading the goddess Mariamman. The dancer bears
Tamil folk artists in the early 21st century on his or her head a brass pot filled with un-
are Pushpuvanam Kuppuswamy, Dr cooked rice, decorated with flowers and sur-
Navaneethakrishnan, Chinnaponnu, Paravai rounded by a bamboo frame, and tumbles
muniammal etc. and leaps to the rhythm of a song without
spilling a grain. Karakattam is usually
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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
1998 - 118,209 7.40% Tamil Nadu has historically been one of the
99 32.47% agricultural states;its advances in other fields
2000 - 141,100 7.33% launched the state into competition with oth-
01 19.36% er states. Even so, Tamil Nadu is a leading
producer of agricultural products in India. At
2002 - 155,099 6.85%
present, Tamil Nadu is India’s fourth biggest
03 09.92%
producer of Rice, next to West Bengal,
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Tamil Nadu is the only state to have a formal
Pradesh.[80] 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.[92]
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.[93] 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.[81] 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
15
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Pricol, LMW, ELGI, Roots industries, and Erode is also the major inland textile hub
Shanti gears. Coimbatore is known for its of India especially for woven garments &
motor pump industries like Texmo, Deccan sarees. Madurai and Kanchipuram are fam-
pumps and CRI pumps. Karur is known for its ous for their handloom and silk saris.
bus body building industries. Truck bodies
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 Wind turbines at Muppandal in Nagercoil
and the Narimanam Natural Gas Plants are Kanyakumari District. In the background are
major sources of Tamil Nadu’s electricity. It hills of the Western Ghats.
is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear
Power Plant to its energy grid. Tamil Nadu Electronics manufacturing is a growing in-
sources[110] a significant proportion of its dustry in Tamil Nadu. Companies like Nokia,
power needs from renewable sources with Flextronics, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Fox-
wind power installed capacity at over 3600 conn, Samsung, Cisco, Moser Baer and Dell
MW[111] or over 40% of the maximum peak have chosen Chennai as their South Asian
demand. As of 2005, Tamil Nadu is one of the manufacturing hub. Products manufactured
few Indian states with surplus power electri- include circuit boards and cellular phone
city, enabling the electrical authority to sell it handsets.[114] Ericsson also has a Research
to neighbouring states of Andra Pradesh & and Development facility in Chennai.[115] Big
Karnataka. Tamil Nadu ranks first nationwide EPC companies have set up their Engineer-
in diesel-based thermal electricity generation ing centres which include Saipem, Technip,
with national market share of over 34%. Foster Wheeler, Mott Macdonald, Petrofac
The textile industry plays a significant role and Tecnimont ICB. The Austrian company
in the Indian economy by providing direct Austrian Energy and Environment also have
employment to an estimated 35 million a design office here besides local giant ECC
people, and thereby contributing 4% of GDP {Larsen & Toubro}. Sanmina-SCI is the
and 35% of Gross Export Earnings. The tex- latest company to invest in Tamil Nadu to
tile sector contributes to 14% of the manufac- create a state of the art manufacturing facil-
turing sector. There are a lot of Textile mills ity.[116] Nokia Siemens Networks has de-
located in Coimbatore. The city of Tirupur, in cided to build a manufacturing plant for wire-
Tamil Nadu is the country’s largest exporter less network equipment in Tamil Nadu.[117]
of knit wears[112] and sometimes karur to Moser Baer has decided on setting up a facil-
tiruppur area referred to as Textile valley of ity to manufacture silicon-based photovoltaic
India.[113] In 2004, the export turnover from thin film modules and allied products with an
the town was more than Rs. 50,000 million investment of $500 million.[118]
($1,000 million). Some 7,000 garment units Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a global
in the town provides employment opportunity electrical equipment manufacturing public
to 7,50,000 people. 56% of India’s total knit- sector company, has manufacturing plants at
wear exports come from Tirupur. The Export Tiruchirapalli and Ranipet. The construction
Import Policy of 2002-2007 acknowledges industry also saw new entrants like BGR En-
Tirupur for its contribution to the export ergy systems ltd, Consolidated construction
efforts. consortium.
The home textile capital of India - city of The state government owns the Tamil
Karur generates around (35,500 million) Nadu Newsprint and Papers (TNPL),[119] the
$750 million a year in foreign exchange and world’s biggest bagasse based Paper mills in
give the opportunity to 3,50,000 peoples for Karur, as well as the world’s sixth largest
work.Over 60% of total India’s exports come manufacturer of watches together with TATA
from karur. The Karur exports of Home-Tex- at hosur, under the brand name of
tile products such as bed linens, kitchen lin- "Titan".[120] 55% of all wind-generated elec-
ens, toilet linens, table linens and wall tricity in India is created by windmills in
hangings. Tamil Nadu. Renowned Danish wind power
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
company NEG Micon has established its man- Software exports from Tamil Nadu more than
ufacturing unit in Chennai.[121] doubled from Rs. 76 billion ($1.6 billion) in
Tamil Nadu is a leading producer of Ce- 2003-04 to Rs. 141.15 billion {$3.53 billion}
ment in India. It is the home of leading ce- in 2005-06 and zoomed to Rs. 207 billion {$5
ment brands in the country such as Chettinad billion} by 2006-07 according to
Cements (in Karur), Dalmia Cements (in Ariy- NASSCOM.[124] Chennai is a hub for e-pub-
alur), Ramco cements (Madras Cement Ltd), lishing with 47 e-publishing units registered
India cements (in Sankari, Ariyalur), Grasim with the STPI in Chennai. Companies such as
etc. Big companies like MICO and Cognizant Symantec, Fidelity National Information Ser-
solutions have set up their design offices vices, eBay, Hewlett-Packard, Computer
here. L&T is setting up big manufacturing Sciences Corporation, Virtusa, HCL, Wipro,
units with an investment of 500 crores. Even TCS, Temenos, Satyam, Infosys, Polaris Soft-
temple city Madurai has attracted Honeywell ware Lab, Cognizant Technology Solutions,
to set up their centre here. Acme Technology Pvt Ltd, Covansys, Cap-
The town of Sivakasi is a leader in the gemini, Ford Information Technology,
areas of printing, fireworks, and safety Xansa,Changepond, Verizon, iSoft,insoft,
matches.[122] It was fondly called as Kutty iNautix, MphasiS(Electronic Data Systems),
Japan or "little Japan" by Jawaharlal Nehru. It Bally and many others have offices in Chen-
contributes to 80% of India’s production of nai. Infosys Technologies has set up India’s
safety matches as well as 90% of India’s total largest software development centre to house
fireworks production. Sivakasi provides over 25,000 software professionals at an estim-
60% of India’s total offset printing solutions ated investment of Rs. 12,500 million ($270
and ranks as one of the highest taxpaying million) in Chennai. Chennai is also the pre-
towns in India. Sivakasi also is a 100% em- ferred destination for companies outsourcing
ployed town, putting it in the company of their high-end knowledge intensive opera-
very few towns in India. tions. Testimony to this is the presence of
Tamil Nadu has a significant amount of major market research companies such as
mineral reserves such as lignite (87%), ver- Frost & Sullivan and equity research com-
miculite (66%), garnet (42%), zircon (38%), panies such as Irevna in Chennai. This is the
graphite (33%), ilmenite (28%), rutile (27%), next high growth area that Chennai is
monazite (25%), and magnesite (17%). The witnessing.
numbers in the brackets indicate the percent-
age contribution to the national share. India’s
leading steel producer, SAIL has a steel plant
Transportation
in Salem.[123]
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.[125]
largest software exporter by value in India,
second only to Karnataka and Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu has a well established transport-
India’s largest IT park is in Chennai. ation system that connects all parts of the
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
state. This is partly responsible for the invest- minor ports, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari,
ment growth in the state. Tamil Nadu is Cuddalore, Colachel, Karaikal, Pamban and
served by an extensive road network, provid- Valinokkan which are currently capable of
ing links between urban centers, agricultural handling over 73 million metric tonnes of
market-places and rural areas. There are 24 cargo annually (24 per cent share of India).
national highways in the state, covering a All the minor ports are managed by the Tamil
total distance of 2,002 km.[126] The state is Nadu Maritime Board.[131] Chennai Port is
also a terminus for the Golden Quadrilateral an artificial harbour situated on the Coro-
project that is scheduled to be completed in mandel Coast in South-East India and it is
2008. The state has a total road length of the second principal port in the country for
167,000 km, of which 60,628 km are main- handling containers. Ennore Port was re-
tained by Highways Department. This is cently converted from an intermediate port
nearly 2.5 times higher than the density of to a major port and handles all the coal and
all-India road network.[127] It is currently ore traffic in Tamil Nadu. The volume of
working on upgrading its road network, cargo in the ports grew by 13 per cent during
though the pace of work is considered 2005.[132][133]
slow.[128]
work
Tamil Nadu has a well developed rail net-
as part of Southern Railway.
Fauna and Flora
Headquartered at Chennai, the Southern
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.[129] 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 Lion-tailed macaque, an endangered species.
Force bases at Thanjavur and Sulur(Suburb
of Coimbatore), and a Naval air station at The state has a wide range of flora and
Arakkonam. Increased industrial activity has fauna. There is a wide diversity of wildlife.
given rise to an increase in passenger traffic There are many Protected areas of Tamil
as well as freight movement which has been Nadu, including 2 Biosphere Reserves, 5 Na-
growing at over 18 per cent per year.[130] tional Parks and several Wildlife Sanctuaries,
Tamil Nadu has three major ports at Chen- where many unique species and their habit-
nai, Ennore and Tuticorin, as well as one in- ats are protected[134] Tamil Nadu includes a
termediate port, Nagapattinam, and seven
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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,
Sloth bears, Gaurs, Lion-tailed macaques,
Nilgiri Langurs, Nilgiri Tahrs, Grizzled Giant
Squirrels and Sambar deer, resident and mi- World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand.
gratory birds such as Cormorants, Darters,
Herons, Egrets, Open-billed Storks, Spoon- at domestic and international level, organ-
bills and White Ibises, Little Grebes, Indian ized by other sports associations at its ven-
Moorhen, Black-winged Stilts, a few migrat- ues.[139] The YMCA College of Physical Edu-
ory Ducks and occasionally Grey Pelicans, cation at Nandanam in Chennai was estab-
marine species such as the Dugongs, Turtles, lished in 1920 and was the first college for
Dolphins and Balanoglossus and a wide vari- physical education in Asia.[140]
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.[135] 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.[141] 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.[136][137] The SDAT owns and op- dev Devvarman was runner up in ATP 2009.
erates a number of world class stadiums and Tamil Nadu has a long standing motorsports
organizes various sporting events.[138] It also culture. The sport was pioneered by
accommodates various sporting events, both Sundaram Karivardhan in its early days.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
Notable sportspersons from Tamil Nadu in regular rowing races on the Adyar River.[151]
the field are Narain Karthikeyan, the first In- The 232 year old Guindy race course in Chen-
dian to participate in F1 racing, and Karun nai is popular horse racing venue. Apart from
Chandok. 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.[152]
Tourism
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
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
peninsular India, is famous for its distinct on 2008-06-11.
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.[158] 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.
theme parks and eateries. The Waterfalls in [18] "The Hindu : National : Skeletons, script
the state include Courtallam, Hogenakal, found at ancient burial site in Tamil
Papanasam and Manimuthar. The Chettinad Nadu". The Hindu.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Nadu
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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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