Tamil Nadu

I

Introduction

Tamil Nadu, state, south India, bordered on the north by Andhra Pradesh State, on the north-west by Karnataka State, on the west by Kerala State, and on the east and south by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, separated from Sri Lanka by the Palk Strait. Tamil Nadu was known as Madras State until 1968. It was created out of the former Madras Presidency under the States Reorganization Act of 1956. The enclaves of Puducherry and Karaikal—part of the union territory of Puducherry—are located on the state’s eastern Coromandel Coast. Occupying the extreme south-east of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu has an area of 130,058 sq km (50,216 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

To the north of Tamil Nadu lie the Nilgiri Hills, covering an area of 2,500 sq km (965 sq mi) and rising to 2,600 m (8,530 ft) in places. To the west lie the Western Ghats and in the south, the Cardomom, Anamalai, and Palani hills. East of the hills lie the plains and the flat alluvial coast, with deltas at the mouths of the major rivers. The River Cauvery (also spelt Kaveri) and its tributaries are Tamil Nadu's most important sources of water for irrigation and power generation. Other rivers running through the state are dry during part of the year, as a result of the rain shadow effect of the hills. The climate is essentially tropical, with the plains being hotter than the uplands. During the October to December monsoonal season, the coastal area often suffers severe damage from cyclones sweeping in from the eastern Indian Ocean. Rainfall averages between about 630 and 1,900 mm (25 and 75 in) a year. The hill areas tend to receive the most rain. Tamil Nadu, on the whole, is much drier than Kerala to its west.

III

Population

Tamil Nadu has a population of 62,110,839 (2001), with a population density of about 478 people per sq km (1,238 per sq mi). The state capital is Chennai (formerly known as Madras), India's fourth-largest city and a major port and industrial centre, which has a population of 6,424,624 (2001). Madurai (population, 2001, 1,194,665), famous for its temples, is now also an important industrial centre. Other important population centres include Coimbatore (2001, 1,446,034); Nagercoil (1991; 190,084); Salem (2001, 748,513); Tiruchchirappalli (2001, 847,131); and Tuticorin (1991, 199,854).

Ethnically, Tamil Nadu's population has changed little since the earliest settlements; the vast majority of people are Dravidian. Groups of tribal people live in the Nilgiri Hills, among them the Todas, Badagas, Kotas, Kurumbas, and Irulas. Over 85 per cent of the population speaks Tamil, which is the state's official language; in the north about 10 per cent speak Telugu. The Tamil language is one of the oldest literary languages in India; some Tamil poetry dates from almost 2,000 years ago. Most of the population are Hindus, with small minorities of Muslims, Jains, Parsis, and Christians.

IV

Education and Culture

The state has a number of educational and cultural institutions important to southern India, including the University of Madras (founded in 1857), the Chennai Music Academy, and the College of Carnatic Music, all in Chennai; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (1971) and Bharathiyar University (1982), in Coimbatore; Seshasayee Institute of Technology (1952), in Tiruchchirappalli; and Madurai Kamarajar University (1966), in Madurai. Throughout Tamil Nadu there is a vital tradition of music and dance; Chennai is the centre of Bharatanatyam, one of India's major classical dance forms. See also Indian Dance.

Many sacred monuments and sites of special cultural and historical significance are located within the state. Brihadisvara Temple, in the eastern city of Thanjavur, was built in the 11th century and is generally regarded as one of the finest examples in existence of the pagoda style of architecture; the temple was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The ancient port of Mamallapuram, to the south of Chennai, features a famous temple complex dating from the 7th century. The site, which includes artwork and sculptures dating from the Pallava dynasty, a number of monolithic temples with ornate figures of apsaras and other heavenly beings, and a temple on the edge of the sea dedicated to the god Shiva, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985. Garden Rock, in the city of Tiruchchirappalli, contains excavated 7th-century Pallava cave temples, a ruined 17th-century fort, and a Dravidian temple.