Tamil Nadu

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

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

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

As the most urbanised state of India, Tamil Nadu boasts an economy with gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹24.85 lakh crore (US$310 billion), marking the second-largest economy amongst the 28 states
of India. It has the country's 9th-highest GSDP per capita of ₹225,106 (US$2,800),[8] and ranks 11th in human development index.[6] Tamil Nadu is also one of the most industrialised states, with the manufacturing
sector accounting for more than one-third of the state's GDP.[9] Home to a number of ancient relics, historic buildings, religious pilgrimage spots, hill stations, forts, and three World Heritage Sites, Tamil Nadu's
tourism industry is the largest among the Indian states. 15% of Tamil Nadu's forests are protected areas, hosting diverse wildlife. The Tamil film industry, nicknamed as Kollywood, plays an influential role in the
state's popular culture.

Etymology
Tamil Nadu means the land of Tamil; for the etymology of Tamil see Tamil_language#Etymology.

History
Main article: History of Tamil Nadu

Prehistory
Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula.[10] In Attirampakkam near Chennai, archaeologists from the Sharma Centre for Heritage
Education excavated ancient stone tools which suggest that a hominid population existed in the Tamil Nadu region somewhere around 1,000 years before homo sapiens arrived from Africa.[11][12] A Neolithic
stone celt (a hand-held axe) with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu. According to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact
bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. According to Mahadevan, the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, and therefore that the "Neolithic people of the Tamil country spoke a
Harappan language". The date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE.[13][14][15] In Adichanallur, 24 km (15 mi) from Tirunelveli, archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
unearthed 169 clay urns containing human skulls, skeletons, bones, husks, grains of rice, charred rice, and celts of the Neolithic period, 3,800 years ago.[16] The ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script
used at that site, Tamil Brahmi, is "very rudimentary" and date it somewhere between the 5th century BCE and 3rd century BCE.[17][18] About 60 per cent of the total epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India
are from Tamil Nadu, and most of these are in the Tamil language.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] In Keezhadi near Madurai, excavations have revealed a large urban settlement dating to the 6th century BCE, during the time of
urbanisation in the Gangetic plain. During this dig, some potsherds were uncovered with a script similar to Indus script, leading some to conclude it was a transition between the Indus Valley script and Tamil
Brahmi script used in the Sangam period.[27]

Sangam period (500 BCE–300 CE)

Main articles: Sangam period, Tamilakam, and Sangam landscape

Keeladi, a Sangam Era Excavation Site, Sangam period [28]

The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature. Numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted
for about eight centuries, from 500 BCE to 300 CE. The recent excavations in Alagankulam archaeological site suggests that Alagankulam is one of the important trade centers or port cities of the Sangam Era.[29]

Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called Vendhar and several tribal chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination Vel or Velir. Still lower at the
local level there were clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar.[30] The kings were known as the Moovendar, the three crowned kings, and were the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas. The Cheras controlled the western part
of Tamilkam, what is today western Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Pandyas controlled the south, what is today southern Tamil Nadu. The Cholas had their base in the Kaveri delta and controlled what is today
northern Tamil Nadu. Although these dynasties were never conquered by outside powers, there were still significant diplomatic contacts between them and kingdoms to the north. They were mentioned on
the pillars of Ashoka.[31]

These rulers sponsored some of the earliest Tamil literature. The oldest Sangam work we have knowledge of is the Tolkappiyam, a book of Tamil grammar. Most Sangam literature dealt with themes of love and
war. In these poems, a glimpse of Tamil society at the time can be glimpsed. The land was fertile, and people pursued different occupations depending on what regions they were in. Their gods included figures
such as Seyyon and Kotravai, who were worshipped at different places.[32] The rulers patronised Buddhism and Jainism, and starting in the CE period references to Vedic customs begin to grow.[33]

Significant trade was also undertaken with the outside world. Much commerce from the Romans and Han China converged in the Tamil region, and the seaports of Muziris and Korkai were very popular
destinations.[34] One of the most prized goods from Tamilkam was spices such as black pepper, but other spices, pearls and silk were also widely traded there.[35]
Starting in 300, however, there was a significant drop in Sangam literature. Some have attributed this to the Kalabhras, a dynasty which conquered much of Tamilkam during that time. Historians have speculated
these rulers were antagonistic towards the astika schools which were dominant in later centuries, which is why later texts always portray their rule in a bad light, if at all.[36] During their rule, Samanar traditions
greatly impacted literature written during this time. Literacy was widespread and epics such as the Cilappatikaram were written. The most prominent of these works is the Tirukkuṟaḷ written by Valluvar, a collection
of couplets covering all aspects of life from ethics to love. This text is still treated with great reverence by those in the present-day.[37] Around the 7th century CE, the Kalabhras were overthrown by the Pandyas
and Cholas,[38] who continued to patronise Buddhists and Jains before the Saiva and Vaishnava revivalism in the Bhakti movement.[39]

Middle Kingdoms (600–1300 CE)



Kallanai or Grand Anicut, an ancient dam built on the Kaveri River in Thanjavur district by Karikala Chola around the 2nd century CE[40][41][42][43]

Vettuvan Koil, the unfinished temple, is believed to have been built during the 8th century by Pandyas in Kalugumalai, a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district.

Shore Temple, built by the Pallavas at Mamallapuram during the 8th century, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

During the 4th to 8th centuries, Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallava dynasty under Mahendravarman I and his son Mamalla Narasimhavarman I.[44] The Pallavas ruled parts of South India with Kanchipuram as
their capital. Tamil architecture reached its peak during Pallava rule. Narasimhavarman II built the Shore Temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Much later, the Pallavas were replaced by the Chola dynasty as the dominant kingdom in the 9th century and they in turn were replaced by the Pandyan Dynasty in the 13th century. The Pandyan
capital Madurai was in the deep south away from the coast. They had extensive trade links with the southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors, as well as contacts, even formal diplomatic
contacts, reaching as far as the Roman Empire. During the 13th century, Marco Polo mentioned the Pandyas as the richest empire in existence. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman
Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli are the best examples of Pandyan temple architecture.[45] The Pandyas excelled in both trade and literature. They controlled the pearl fisheries along the
south coast of India, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world.
 The Descent of the Ganges, also known as Arjuna's Penance, at Mamallapuram, is one of the largest rock reliefs in Asia.

Chola Empire
Main article: Chola dynasty

The Chola Empire at its greatest extent, during the reign

of Rajendra Chola I in 1030
During the 9th century, the Chola dynasty was once again revived by Vijayalaya Chola, who established Thanjavur as Chola's new capital by conquering central Tamil Nadu from Mutharaiyar and the Pandya
King Varagunavarman II. Aditya I and his son Parantaka I expanded the kingdom to the northern parts of Tamil Nadu by defeating the last Pallava king, Aparajitavarman. Parantaka Chola II expanded the Chola
empire into what is now interior Andhra Pradesh and coastal Karnataka, while under the great Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose to a notable power in southeast Asia. Now the Chola
Empire stretched as far as Bengal and Sri Lanka. At its peak, the empire spanned almost 3,600,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi). Rajaraja Chola conquered all of peninsular South India and parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra
Chola's navy went even further, occupying coasts from Burma (now) to Vietnam, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya, Philippines[46] in South East Asia and Pegu islands. He
defeated Mahipala, the king of Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
 Relics from Chola period (from left to right): Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram; copper alloy statue of Hindu god Natarajan; and bronze statue of his consort Parvati

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

 Great Living Chola Temples

The granite gopuram (tower) of Brihadisvara Temple, 1010 CE

 

Airavatesvara Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE

The pyramidal structure above the sanctum at Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Brihadisvara Temple entrance gopurams at Thanjavur

 Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal at Madurai
Vijayanagar and Nayak period (1336–1646)
Main article: Vijayanagara Empire

The Muslim invasions of southern India triggered the establishment of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire with Vijayanagara in modern Karnataka as its capital. The Vijayanagara empire eventually conquered the
entire Tamil country by c. 1370 and ruled for almost two centuries until its defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by a confederacy of Deccan sultanates. Subsequently, as the Vijayanagara Empire went into
decline after the mid-16th century, many local rulers, called Nayaks, succeeded in gaining the trappings of independence. This eventually resulted in the further weakening of the empire; many Nayaks declared
themselves independent, among whom the Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjore were the first to declare their independence, despite initially maintaining loose links with the Vijayanagara kingdom.[45] The Nayaks of
Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were the most prominent Nayaks of the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the well-known temples in Tamil Nadu such as the Meenakshi Temple.

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

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

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

Fort Dansborg at Tharangambadi, built by the Danish

Europeans started to establish trade centers during the 17th century in the eastern coastal regions. Around 1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat,[47] while the Danes had their establishment
in Tharangambadi also known as Tranquebar.[48] In 1639 the British East India Company established a settlement in present-day Chennai, about 60 km south of Pulicat. At Chennai the British constructed Fort St.
George[49] and established a trading post at Madras.[50] The office of mayoralty of Madras was established in 1688.

By 1693 The French had established trading posts at Pondichéry. The British and French competed to expand the trade in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu which also witnessed many battles like Battle of
Wandiwash as part of the Seven Years' War.[51] British reduced the French dominions in India to Puducherry. Nawabs of the Carnatic bestowed tax revenue collection rights on the East India Company for
defeating the Kingdom of Mysore. Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah surrendered much of his territory to the East India Company which firmly established the British in the northern parts. In 1762, a tripartite treaty
was signed between Thanjavur Maratha, Carnatic, and the British by which Thanjavur became a vassal of the Nawab of the Carnatic which eventually ceded to the British.
In the south, Nawabs granted taxation rights to the British which led to conflicts between British and the Palaiyakkarar, which resulted in series of wars called Polygar war to establish independent states by the
aspiring Palaiyakkarar. Puli Thevar was one of the earliest opponents of the British rule in South India.[52] Thevar's prominent exploits were his confrontations with Marudhanayagam, who later rebelled against the
British in the late 1750s and early 1760s. Rani Velu Nachiyar (Queen Nachi), was the first woman freedom fighter of India and Queen of Sivagangai.[53]

Queen Nachi was drawn to war after her husband Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar (1750–1772), King of Sivaganga was murdered at Kalayar Kovil temple by the British. Before her death, Queen Nachi granted
powers to the Maruthu brothers to rule Sivaganga.[54] Kattabomman (1760–1799), Palaiyakkara chief of Panchalakurichi fought the British in the First Polygar War.[55] He was captured by the British at the end of the
war and hanged near Kayattar in 1799. Veeran Sundaralingam (1700–1800) was the General of Kattabomman Nayakan's palayam, who died in the process of blowing up a British ammunition dump in 1799
which killed more than 150 British soldiers to save Kattapomman Palace.

Oomaithurai, younger brother of Kattabomman, took asylum under the Maruthu brothers, Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu and raised an army.[56] They formed a coalition with Dheeran Chinnamalai and
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, which fought the British in the Second Polygar Wars. Dheeran Chinnamalai (1756–1805), Polygar chieftain of Kongu and ally of Tipu Sultan who fought the British in the Second
Polygar War. After winning the Polygar wars in 1801, the East India Company consolidated most of southern India into the Madras Presidency.

Thiruvilliputhur Andal Temple Gopuram has been adopted as the

official Seal of Tamil Nadu.
The Pudukkottai Thondaimans rose to power over the Pudukkottai area by the end of the 17th Century. The Pudukkottai kingdom has the distinction of being the only princely state in Tamil Nadu, and only
became part of the Indian union in 1948 after independence.[57]

Vellore Mutiny and Indian Rebellion (1801–1947 CE)

Main article: Madras Presidency

At the beginning of the 19th century, the British firmly established governance over the entirety of Tamil Nadu. The Vellore mutiny on 10 July 1806 was the first instance of a large-scale mutiny by Indian sepoys
against the British East India Company, predating the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by half a century.[58] The revolt, which took place in Vellore, was brief, lasting one full day, but brutal as mutineers broke into the
Vellore fort and killed or wounded 200 British troops, before they were subdued by reinforcements from nearby Arcot.[59][60]

The British Raj was formed after the British crown took over the control governance from the company and the remainder of the 19th century did not witness any native resistance until the beginning of 20th
century Indian Independence movement. During the administration of Governor George Harris (1854–1859) measures were taken to improve education and increase the representation of Indians in the
administration. Legislative powers are given to the Governor's council under the Indian Councils Act 1861 and 1909 Minto-Morley Reforms eventually led to the establishment of the Madras Legislative Council.
Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two severe famines in the Madras Presidency, the Great Famine of 1876–78 and the Indian famine of 1896–
97 killed millions of Tamils.[61] The famine led to the migration of many Tamil peasants as bonded labourers for the British to countries like Malaysia and Mauritius, which eventually formed the present Tamil
diaspora.

Tamil Nadu provided a significant number of freedom fighters to the Independence struggle such as V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Bharatiyar.[62] The Tamils (particularly Tamil Malaysians) formed a significant
percentage of the members of the Indian National Army (INA), founded by Subhas Chandra Bose to fight the British colonial rule in India.[63][64] Lakshmi Sahgal from Tamil Nadu was a prominent leader in the
INA's Rani of Jhansi Regiment.

In 1916 T.M. Nair and Rao Bahadur Thygaraya Chetty released the Non-Brahmin Manifesto[65] and helped to form the Justice Party, an organisation that sought to reduce Brahmin domination of the civil service.
The party won the legislative assembly elections of 1921, which was boycotted by the Congress. This party implemented reservations in government jobs and education for non-Brahmins in 1926, and stayed in
power for 13 years. The other main movement was the self-respect movement of E. V. Ramaswamy, better known as Periyar. Periyar campaigned for an end to what he saw as Aryan domination of culture and
life in Tamil Nadu. To this end, he became an advocate of rationalism, and campaigned against the caste system, religion, and superstition.[65]

Further steps towards eventual self-rule were taken in 1935 when the British Government passed the Government of India Act 1935. Fresh local elections were held and in Tamil Nadu the Congress
party captured power defeating the Justice party. In 1938, Periyar along with C. N. Annadurai launched an agitation against the Congress ministry's decision to introduce the teaching of Hindi in schools.
Thereafter, the Justice party was taken over by Periyar who renamed it Dravidar Kazhagam and took it out of electoral politics. The group became an advocate for a separate Dravida Nadu (lit. land of the
Dravidians) during discussions of the partition of India.[66]

Post-Independence (1947–present)
When India became independent in 1947, Madras presidency became Madras State, comprising present-day Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Canara district of Karnataka, and parts of Kerala.
The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning "Tamil country".[67]

Geography

Topographic map of Tamil Nadu

Western Ghats traverse along the western border of Tamil Nadu.
Main article: Geography of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km2 (50,216 sq mi),[2] and is the tenth-largest state in India. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the north-west and Andhra Pradesh to the north. To the
east is the Bay of Bengal and the state encircles the union territory of Puducherry. The southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula is Kanyakumari which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal,
and the Indian Ocean.
The western, southern, and the northwestern parts are hilly and rich in vegetation. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet at the Nilgiri Hills. The Western Ghats traverse the entire western border with
Kerala, effectively blocking much of the rain-bearing clouds of the south-west monsoon from entering the state. The eastern parts are fertile coastal plains and the northern parts are a mix of hills and plains. The
central and the south-central regions are arid plains and receive less rainfall than the other regions.

Tamil Nadu has the country's third-longest coastline at about 906.9 km (563.5 mi).[68] Pamban Island and a group of smaller limestone shoals make up the northern portion of Ram Setu, which was formerly a
natural bridge linking India with Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu's coastline bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when it hit India, which caused 7,793 direct deaths in the state. Tamil Nadu falls mostly in a
region of low seismic hazard with the exception of the western border areas that lie in a low to moderate hazard zone; as per the 2002 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) map, Tamil Nadu falls in Zones II and III.
Historically, parts of this region have experienced seismic activity in the M5.0 range.[69]

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

 South west monsoon from June to September, with strong southwest winds;

 North east monsoon from October to December, with dominant northeast winds;

The annual rainfall of the state is about 945 mm (37.2 in) of which 48 per cent is through the northeast monsoon, and 32 per cent through the southwest monsoon. Since the state is entirely dependent on rains for
recharging its water resources, monsoon failures lead to acute water scarcity and severe drought.[70] Tamil Nadu is divided into seven agro-climatic zones: northeast, northwest, west, southern, high rainfall, high
altitude hilly, and Kaveri Delta (the most fertile agricultural zone).

Flora and fauna

Main articles: Wildlife of Tamil Nadu and List of birds of Tamil Nadu

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

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

Common plant species include the state tree: palmyra palm, eucalyptus, rubber, cinchona, clumping bamboos (Bambusa arundinacea), common teak, Anogeissus latifolia, Indian laurel, grewia, and blooming
trees like Indian laburnum, ardisia, and solanaceae. Rare and unique plant life includes Combretum ovalifolium, ebony (Diospyros
nilagrica), Habenaria rariflora (orchid), Alsophila, Impatiens elegans, Ranunculus reniformis, and royal fern.[71]

National and state parks

Main article: Protected areas of Tamil Nadu

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

Governance and administration

Main articles: Government of Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu Legislature

Madras High Court, Chennai

The governor is the constitutional head of the state while the chief minister is the head of the government and the head of the council of ministers.[72] The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head of the
judiciary.[72] The present governor, chief minister and the chief justice are R. N. Ravi,[73] M. K. Stalin[74] and S. V. Gangapurwala[75] respectively. Administratively the state is divided into 38 districts. Chennai, the
capital of the state is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in India and is also one of the major metropolitan cities of India. The state comprises 39 Lok Sabha constituencies and 234 Legislative Assembly
constituencies.[76]

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

Tamil Nadu has been a pioneering state of E-Governance initiatives in India. A large part of the government records like land ownership records are digitised and all major offices of the state government
like Urban Local Bodies – all the corporations and municipal office activities – revenue collection, land registration offices, and transport offices have been computerised. Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law
and order have been maintained largely successfully.[77] The Tamil Nadu Police Force is over 140 years old. It is the fifth-largest state police force in India (as of 2015, total police force of TN is 1,11,448) and has
the highest proportion of women police personnel in the country (total women police personnel of TN is 13,842 which is about 12.42%) to specifically handled violence against women in Tamil Nadu.[78][79] In 2003,
the state had a total police population ratio of 1:668, higher than the national average of 1:717.

Administrative subdivisions
Main articles: Districts of Tamil Nadu and Local government bodies in Tamil Nadu
 Districts of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is divided into 38 districts, each of which is administered by a District Collector, who is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) appointed to the district by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
The districts are further subdivided into 226 Taluks administered by Tahsildars comprising 1127 Revenue blocks administered by Revenue Inspector (RI). A District also has one or more Revenue Divisions (in
total 76) administered by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), constituted by many Revenue Blocks. 16,564 Revenue villages (Village Panchayat) are the primary grassroots level administrative units which in turn
might include many villages and administered by a Village Administrative Officer (VAO), many of which form a Revenue Block. Cities and towns are administered by Municipal corporations and Municipalities
respectively. The urban bodies include 15 city corporations, 152 municipalities and 529 town panchayats.[80][81][82] The rural bodies include 31 district panchayats, 385 panchayat unions and 12,524 village
panchayats.[83][84][85]

Cities and towns

Main article: List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population

Further information: List of towns in Tamil Nadu by population

The state capital of Chennai is the most populous city in the state with more than 8,900,000 residents, followed by Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem, respectively.[86][87] Chennai is also the sixth-most
populous city in India according to the 2011 Indian census.

Largest cities or towns in Tamil Nadu

As of the 2011 Census

Rank Name District Pop.

1 Chennai Chennai 8,696,010

2 Coimbatore Coimbatore 2,151,466

3 Madurai Madurai 1,462,420

4 Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli 1,021,717

Chennai 5 Tiruppur Tiruppur 962,982 Madurai

6 Salem Salem 919,150

7 Erode Erode 521,776

8 Vellore Vellore 504,079

9 Tirunelveli Tirunelveli 498,984

10 Thoothukudi Thoothukudi 410,760

Coimbatore Tiruchirappalli

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

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

Post-Independence
C. N. Annadurai left the party Dravida Kazhagam to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK decided to enter politics in 1956. After the demise of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi became the
leader of the party which was supported by majority leaders including then famous actor M. G. Ramachandran. As a breakaway faction of the DMK, in 1972, M. G. Ramachandran founded the new Dravidian
party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) named after his political mentor C. N. Annadurai popularly called "Anna". After the demise of M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa succeeded the
leadership of the AIADMK party and was fondly called Amma (The Mother) by millions.[88]

Demographics
Historical population

Year Pop. ±%

1951 30,119,000 —

1961 33,687,000 +11.8%

1971 41,199,000 +22.3%

1981 48,408,000 +17.5%

1991 55,859,000 +15.4%

2001 62,406,000 +11.7%

2011 72,138,958 +15.6%

Source:Census of India[89]

Main article: Demographics of Tamil Nadu

See also: List of districts in Tamil Nadu by Human Development Index

Tamil Nadu is the seventh most populous state in India. 48.4 per cent of the state's population lives in urban areas, the third-highest percentage among large states in India. The state has registered the
lowest fertility rate in India in the year 2005–06 with 1.7 children born for each woman, lower than required for population sustainability.[90][91]

At the 2011 India census, Tamil Nadu had a population of 72,147,030.[92] The sex ratio of the state is 995 with 36,137,975 males and 36,009,055 females. There are a total of 23,166,721 households.[92] The total
children under the age of 6 is 7,423,832. A total of 14,438,445 people constituting 20.01 per cent of the total population belonged to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 794,697 people constituting 1.10 per cent of the
population belonged to Scheduled tribes (ST).[92][93]

The state has 51,837,507 literates, making the literacy rate 80.33 per cent. There are a total of 27,878,282 workers, comprising 4,738,819 cultivators, 6,062,786 agricultural labourers, 1,261,059 in house hold
industries, 11,695,119 other workers, 4,120,499 marginal workers, 377,220 marginal cultivators, 2,574,844 marginal agricultural labourers, 238,702 marginal workers in household industries and 929,733 other
marginal workers.[94]

India has a human development index calculated as 0.619, while the corresponding figure for Tamil Nadu is 0.736, placing it among the top states in the country.[95][96] The life expectancy at birth for males is 65.2
years and for females it is 67.6 years.[97] However, it has a high level of poverty, especially in rural areas. In 2004–2005, the poverty line was set at ₹351.86/month for rural areas and ₹547.42/month for urban
areas. Poverty in the state dropped from 51.7 per cent in 1983 to 21.1 per cent in 2001.[98] For the period 2004–2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty in the state was 22.5 per cent compared with the national
figure of 27.5 per cent. The World Bank is currently assisting the state in reducing poverty, high drop-out and low completion of secondary schools continue to hinder the quality of training in the population. Other
problems include class, gender, inter-district, and urban-rural disparities. Based on URP – Consumption for the period 2004–2005, the percentage of the state's population below the poverty line was 27.5 per
cent. The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative ranks Tamil Nadu to have a Multidimensional Poverty Index of 0.141, which is in the level of Ghana among the developing countries.[99] Corruption is a
major problem in the state with Transparency International ranking it the second most corrupt among the states of India.[100]

Religion
Main article: Religion in Tamil Nadu

Religion in Tamil Nadu (2011)[101]

Hinduism (87.58%)

Christianity (6.12%)

Islam (5.86%)

Jainism (0.12%)

Others (0.33%)

According to the 2011 census, Hinduism is followed by the majority of the population of Tamil Nadu, around 88 percent. Christians are the largest religious minority in the state, at around 6.12 percent of the
population, followed by Islam at 5.86 percent.[102]

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni is a popular

Christian pilgrimage site.
Language
Distribution of languages in Tamil Nadu (2011)[3]

Tamil (88.35%)

Telugu (5.87%)

Urdu (1.67%)

Kannada (1.58%)

Malayalam (1.00%)

Others (1.53%)

Main article: Tamil language

Tamil is the sole official language of Tamil Nadu, while English has been declared as the additional official language by the Government of Tamil Nadu.[3] When India adopted national standards, Tamil language
was the first to be recognised as a classical language of India.[103] As of 2011 census report, Tamil is spoken as the first language by 88.35 percent of the state's population, followed
by Telugu (5.87%), Kannada (1.58%), Urdu (1.75%), Malayalam (1%) and other languages (1.53%).[104]

LGBT rights
Main article: LGBT rights in Tamil Nadu
 Asia's first Genderqueer Pride parade in Madurai with Anjali
Gopalan and Gopi Shankar Madurai (2012) [105]

The Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Tamil Nadu are among the most progressive in India.[106][107] Chennai Rainbow Pride has been held in the Capital city of Chennai annually since 2009.
[108]
Tamil Nadu is also the first Indian state to ban conversion therapy, following the Madras High Court.[109] Tamil Nadu was the first Indian state to introduce a transgender welfare policy, wherein transgender
people can avail free sex reassignment surgery in government hospitals. The state was also the first to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants.[110][111]

In 2019, the Madras High Court ruled that the term "bride" under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 includes trans women and thereby legalising marriage between a man and a transgender woman.[112]

Education

Children in an elementary school in Mayiladuthurai

Main article: Education in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India.[113] Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 2001–2011. A survey conducted by the industry body Assocham
ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary education. One of the basic limitations for improvement in education in the state is the
rate of absence of teachers in public schools, which at 21.4 per cent is significant.[114] The analysis of primary school education in the state by Pratham shows a low drop-off rate but the poor quality of state
education compared to other states.[115] Tamil Nadu has 37 universities, 552 engineering colleges[116] 449 polytechnic colleges[117] and 566 arts and science colleges, 34,335 elementary schools, 5,167 high schools,
5,054 higher secondary schools and 5,000 hospitals. Some of the notable educational institutes present in Tamil Nadu are Indian Institute of Technology Madras, University of Madras, Anna University, National
Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram, Vellore Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of
Management Tiruchirappalli, Annamalai University (Chidambaram), Loyola College, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Presidency College, Chennai, College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras Institute of
Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu National Law
University, Government Law College, Coimbatore, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Madras Medical College, Stanley Medical College, Madras Veterinary College, Coimbatore Medical College and Institute of
Road and Transport Technology.

Tamil Nadu now has 69 per cent reservation in educational institutions for socially backward sections of society, the highest among all Indian states.[118] The Midday Meal Scheme programme in Tamil Nadu was
first initiated by Kamaraj, then it was expanded by M G Ramachandran in 1983.

Economy
Main articles: Economy of Tamil Nadu, List of conglomerates in Tamil Nadu, and List of rivers of Tamil Nadu

Gross state domestic product in ₹ million at constant

prices[119] hide

Year GSDP Growth Rate Share in India

2000–01 1,420,650 5.87% 7.62%

2001–02 1,398,420 −1.56% 7.09%

2002–03 1,422,950 1.75% 6.95%

2003–04 1,508,150 5.99% 6.79%

2004–05 2,190,030 11.45% 7.37%

2005–06 2,495,670 13.96% 7.67%

2006–07 2,875,300 15.21% 8.07%

 2007–08 3,051,570 6.13% 7.83%

2008–09 3,217,930 5.45% 7.74%

2009–10 3,566,320 10.83% 7.89%

2010–11 4,034,160 13.12% 8.20%

2011–12 4,332,380 7.39% 8.26%

2012–13 4,479,440 3.39% 8.17%

2013–14 4,806,180 7.29% 8.37%

For the year 2014–15 Tamil Nadu's GSDP was ₹9.767 trillion (US$120 billion), and growth was 14.86.[120] It ranks third in foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals (cumulative 1991–2002) of ₹225.826 billion
($5,000 million), next only to Maharashtra and Delhi constituting 9.12 per cent of the total FDI in the country.[121] The per capita income in 2007–2008 for the state was ₹72,993 ranking third among states with a
population over 10 million and has steadily been above the national average.[122]

According to the 2011 Census, Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India (49 per cent), accounting for 9.6 per cent of the urban population while only comprising 6 per cent of India's total population.[123]
[124]
Services contribute to 45 per cent of the economic activity in the state, followed by manufacturing at 34 per cent and agriculture at 21 per cent. The government is the major investor in the state with 51 per cent
of total investments, followed by private Indian investors at 29.9 per cent and foreign private investors at 14.9 per cent. Tamil Nadu has a network of about 113 industrial parks and estates offering developed plots
with supporting infrastructure. According to the publications of the Tamil Nadu government, the Gross State Domestic Product at Constant Prices (The base year 2004–2005) for the year 2011–2012 is ₹4.281
trillion (US$54 billion), an increase of 9.39 per cent over the previous year. The per capita income at the current price is ₹72,993.

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

Agriculture

Agricultural farm in Nagapattinam

Tamil Nadu has historically been an agricultural state and is a leading producer of agricultural products in India. In 2008, Tamil Nadu was India's fifth biggest producer of rice. The total cultivated area in the state
was 5.60 million hectares in 2009–10.[125] The Cauvery delta region is known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu.[126][better source needed] In terms of production, Tamil Nadu accounts for 10 per cent in fruits and 6 per cent in
vegetables, in India.[127] Annual food grains production in the year 2007–08 was 10035,000 mt.[125]

The state is the largest producer of bananas, turmeric, flowers,[127] tapioca,[127] the second largest producer of mango,[127] natural rubber,[128] coconut, groundnut and the third largest producer of coffee, sapota,
[127]
tea[129] and sugarcane. Tamil Nadu's sugarcane yield per hectare is the highest in India. The state has 17,000 hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, the second highest in India.[130]

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

M. S. Swaminathan, known as the "father of the Indian Green Revolution" was from Tamil Nadu.[131] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University with its seven colleges and thirty-two research stations spread over the entire
state contributes to evolving new crop varieties and technologies and disseminating through various extension agencies. Among states in India, Tamil Nadu is one of the leaders in livestock, poultry,
and fisheries production. Tamil Nadu had the second largest number of poultry amongst all the states and accounted for 17.7 per cent of the total poultry population in India.[132] In 2003–2004, Tamil Nadu had
produced 3783.6 million of eggs, which was the second-highest in India representing 9.37 per cent of the total egg production in the country.[133] With the second-longest coastline in India, Tamil Nadu represented
27.54 per cent of the total value of fish and fishery products exported by India in 2006. Namakkal is also one of the major centers of egg production in India. Oddanchatram is one of the major centers for
vegetable supply in Tamil Nadu and is also known as the vegetable city of Tamil Nadu.Coimbatore is one of the major centers for poultry production.[134][135]

Further information on Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water-bodies Restoration and Management: IAMWARM

Textiles and leather

Kanchipuram hand loom silk sarees

Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in the textile sector and it houses the country's largest spinning industry accounting for almost 80 per cent of the total installed capacity in India. When it comes to yarn
production, the State contributes 40 per cent of the total production in the country. There are 2,614 Hand Processing Units (25 per cent of total units in the country) and 985 Power Processing Units (40 per cent of
total units in the country) in Tamil Nadu. According to official data, the textile industry in Tamil Nadu accounts for 17 per cent of the total invested capital in all the industries.[136] Coimbatore is often referred to as
the "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and textile industries.[137] Tirupur is the country's largest exporter of knitwear.[138][139][140] for its cotton production.

Tamil Nadu accounts for 60 per cent of leather tanning capacity in India[141] and 38 per cent of all leather footwear, garments and components. The state also accounts for 50 per cent of leather exports[142][143] from
India, valued at around US$3.3 billion of the total US$6.5 billion from India. Hundreds of leather and tannery facilities are located around Vellore and its nearby towns.

Automobiles
Tamil Nadu has seen major investments in the automobile industry over many decades manufacturing cars, railway coaches, battle-tanks, tractors, motorcycles, automobile spare parts and accessories, tyres and
heavy vehicles. Chennai is known as the Detroit of India.[144] Major global automobile companies including BMW, Ford, Robert Bosch, Renault-Nissan, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Motors, and Michelin as well
as Indian automobile majors like Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors, TI cycles, Hindustan Motors, TVS Motors, Irizar-TVS, Royal Enfield, MRF, Apollo Tyres, TAFE Tractors, Daimler
AG Company invested ₹4 billion for establishing a new plant in Tamil Nadu.[145]

Heavy industries and engineering

Tamil Nadu is one of the highly industrialised states in India. Over 11% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.[146][citation needed]

The state government owns Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers, in Karur.[147]

Coimbatore is also referred to as "the Pump City" as it supplies two-thirds of India's requirements of motors and pumps. The city is one of the largest exporters of wet grinders and auto components and the term
"Coimbatore Wet Grinder" has been given a Geographical indication.[148]

Electronics and software

TIDEL Park Coimbatore; Coimbatore is one of the leading

IT/ITS centers in India.
Electronics manufacturing is a growing industry in Tamil Nadu, with many international companies like Nokia, Flex, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, Moser Baer, Lenovo, Dell, Sanmina-
SCI, Bosch, Texas Instruments having chosen Chennai as their South Asian manufacturing hub. Products manufactured include circuit boards and cellular phone handsets.[149]

Tamil Nadu is the second largest software exporter by value in India. Software exports from Tamil Nadu grew from ₹76 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2003–04 to ₹207 billion {$5 billion} by 2006–07 according
to NASSCOM[150] and to ₹366 billion in 2008–09 which shows 29 per cent growth in software exports according to STPI. Major national and global IT companies such as Atos Syntel, Infosys, Wipro, HCL
Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Verizon, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Amazon.com, Capgemini, CGI, PayPal, IBM, NTT DATA, Accenture, Ramco Systems, Robert Bosch GmbH, DXC
Technology, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Virtusa, LTI, Mphasis, Mindtree, Zoho, Mywebbee, and many others have offices in Tamil Nadu. The top engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have been a major recruiting
hub for the IT firms. According to estimates, about 50 per cent of the human resources required for the IT and ITES industry was being sourced from the state.[151] Coimbatore is the second largest software
producer in the state, next to Chennai.[152]

Chennai has emerged as the SaaS Capital of India.[153][154][155][156] The SaaS sector in/around Chennai generates US$1 billion in revenue and employs about 10000 personnel.[156]

Transportation
Main article: Road network in Tamil Nadu

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

Road
Main article: Road network in Tamil Nadu

A view of the NH 544 expressway

between Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu
The state is served by an extensive road network, providing links between urban centers, agricultural market-places and rural areas. There are 29 national highways in the state, covering a total distance of
5,006.14 km (3,110.67 mi).[157][158] The state is also a terminus for the Golden Quadrilateral project that connects Indian metropolises like (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata). The state has a
total road length of 167,000 km (104,000 mi), of which 60,628 km (37,672 mi) are maintained by the Highways Department. This is nearly 2.5 times higher than the density of all-India road network.[159] The major
road junctions are Chennai, Vellore, Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Karur, Kumbakonam, Krishnagiri, Dindigul and Kanniyakumari. Road transport is provided by state
owned Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and State Express Transport Corporation. Almost every part of the state is well connected by buses 24 hours a day. The state accounted for 13.6 per cent of all
accidents in the country with 66,238 accidents in 2013, 11.3 per cent of all road accident deaths and 15 per cent of all road-related injuries, according to data provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways. Although Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of road accidents in India, it also leads in having reduced the number of fatalities in accident-prone areas with deployment of personnel and a
sustained awareness campaign. The number of deaths at areas decreased from 1,053 in 2011 to 881 in 2012 and 867 in 2013.[160]
Rail

Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway

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

Airports
Main article: List of airports in Tamil Nadu

Chennai International Airport, one of India's major international

airports
Tamil Nadu has three international airports, namely Chennai International Airport, Coimbatore International Airport, Tiruchirappalli International Airport. Madurai Airport is the only customs airport in the
state. Salem Airport, Tuticorin Airport and Vellore Airport are the domestic airports. Chennai International Airport is a major international airport and aviation hub in South Asia. Besides civilian airports, the state
has three air bases of the Indian Air Force namely Sulur Air Force Station, Thanjavur Air Force Station and Tambaram Air Force Station and two naval air stations INS Rajali and INS Parundu of Indian
Navy. Neyveli Airport is being renovated since 2019[161] to start the service from mid 2020.[citation needed]

Seaports

V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in Thoothukudi, one of

India's major seaports
Tamil Nadu has three major seaports located at Chennai, Ennore and Thoothukkudi, as well as seven other minor ports including Cuddalore and Nagapattinam.[125] Chennai Port is an artificial harbour situated on
the Coromandel Coast and is the second principal port in the country for handling containers. Ennore Port handles all the coal and ore traffic in Tamil Nadu. The volume of cargo in the ports grew by 13 per cent
during 2005.[162]

Spaceport
In Tamil Nadu, the Government of India is to set up a new Rocket launch pad near Kulasekharapatnam in Thoothukudi district for which the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has begun work. The
location was selected because of its nearness to the equator like the Sriharikota spaceport in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.[163]

Infrastructure
Communication
Tamil Nadu has four mobile service providers namely BSNL,[164] Airtel,[165] Jio[166] and Vi (Vodafone Idea).[167] BSNL provides 2G and 3G mobile internet connections; Airtel and Vi provide 2G, 3G and 4G services and
Jio offers only 4G across Tamil Nadu. Airtel Broadband,[168] Act Broadband[169] BSNL, Hathway[170] and few others are providing high speed Fiber Optic broadband connection in many cities and rural areas across
Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu government is planning to lay 55,000 km of optical fibre cable across the state and provide high-speed internet up to 1 Gbit/s and connect all the corporations, municipalities, town panchayats and
village panchayats. This infrastructure would also benefit all the government departments, entrepreneurs and individual homes.[171]

Energy

Wind farm in Muppandal and Aralvaimozhi region,

near Nagercoil Kamuthi Solar Power Project

Tamil Nadu has the third largest installed power generation capacity in the country. The Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Ennore Thermal Plant, Neyveli Lignite Power Plant, many hydroelectric plants
including Mettur Dam, hundreds of windmills and the Narimanam Natural Gas Plants are major sources of Tamil Nadu's electricity. The state generates a significant proportion of its power needs from renewable
sources with wind power installed capacity at over 7154 MW,[172] accounting for 38 per cent of total installed wind power in India.[173] It is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant to its energy grid,
which on completion would be the largest atomic power plant in the country with 2000MW installed capacity.[174] The total installed capacity of electricity in the state by January 2014 was 20,716 MW.[175] Tamil Nadu
ranks first nationwide in diesel-based thermal electricity generation with a national market share of over 34 per cent.[176] From a power surplus state in 2005–06, Tamil Nadu has become a state facing severe
power shortage over the recent years due to lack of new power generation projects and delay in commercial power generation at Kudankulam Atomic Power Project. The Tuticorin Thermal Power Station has five
210 megawatt generators. The first generator was commissioned in July 1979. The thermal power plants under construction include the coal-based 1000 MW NLC TNEB Power Plant. From the current 17MW
installed solar power, Tamil Nadu state government's new policy aims to increase the installed capacity to 3000MW by 2016.[177] Kamuthi Solar Power Project was commissioned by Adani
Power in Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram district.[178] With a generating capacity of 648 MWp at a single location, it is the world's sixth largest (as of 2018) solar park.[179][180]

Culture
Main articles: Tamil people, Temples of Tamil Nadu, and Tamil literature

A State flag for Tamil Nadu was unilaterally proposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1970.[181]

Seventh century paintings in the Sittanavasal Cave, Pudukottai

Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, art, music and dance which continue to flourish today. Tamil Nadu is a land most known for its monumental ancient Hindu temples and classical form of
dance Bharata Natyam.[182] Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam[183] (dance), Tanjore painting,[184] and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be practised in Tamil Nadu.[185]

Literature
Tamil written literature has existed for over 2,300 years.[186] The earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is roughly dated from c. 300 BCE – 300 CE.[187][188] It is one of the oldest Indian literature amongst
all others.[189] The earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from around the 3rd century BCE.[190][191]

Most early Tamil literary works are in verse form, with prose not becoming more common until later periods. The Sangam literature collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom
remain anonymous.[192] Sangam literature is primarily secular, dealing with everyday themes in a Tamilakam context.[193] The Sangam literature also deals with human relations and emotions.[194] The available
literature from this period was categorised and compiled in the 10th century into two categories based roughly on chronology. The categories are: Pathinenmaelkanakku (The Major Eighteen Anthology Series)
comprising Eṭṭuttokai (The Eight Anthologies) and the Pattupattu (Ten Idylls) and Pathinenkilkanakku (The Minor Eighteen Anthology Series).
Much of Tamil grammar is extensively described in the oldest known grammar book for the Tamil language, the Tolkāppiyam.Modern Tamil is largely based on the 13th-century grammar book Naṉṉūl which
restated and clarified the rules of the Tolkāppiyam, with some modifications. Traditional Tamil grammar consists of five parts, namely eḻuttu, sol, poruḷ, yāppu, aṇi. Of these, the last two are mostly applied in
poetry.[195] Notable example of Tamil poetry include the Tirukkural written by Tiruvalluvar.

In 1578, the Portuguese published a Tamil book in old Tamil script named 'Thambiraan Vanakkam', thus making Tamil the first Indian language to be printed and published.[196] Tamil Lexicon, published by
the University of Madras, is the first among the dictionaries published in any Indian language.[197] During the Indian Independence Movement, many Tamil poets and writers sought to provoke national spirit, social
equity and secularist thoughts among the common man, notably Subramanya Bharathy and Bharathidasan.

Festivals and traditions

Jallikattu – a traditional sport conducted as a part

of Pongal celebrations Man riding an elephant in a Pongal Festival

Parade in Namakkal
Pongal, also called Tamizhar Thirunaal (festival of Tamils) or Makara Sankranti elsewhere in India, a four-day harvest festival is one of the most widely celebrated festivals throughout Tamil Nadu.[198] The Tamil
language saying Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum – literally meaning, the birth of the month of Thai will pave way for new opportunities – is often quoted with reference to this festival. The first day, Bhogi Pongal is
celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials by setting them on fire to mark the end of the old and emergence of the new. The second day, Surya Pongal is the main day which falls on
the first day of the tenth Tamil month of Thai (14 January or 15 January in the western calendar). On the third day, Maattu Pongal is meant to offer thanks to the cattle, as they provide milk and are used to plough
the lands. Jallikattu, a bull-taming contest, marks the main event of this day. Alanganallur is famous for its Jallikattu[199][200] contest usually held on the third day of Pongal. During this final day, Kaanum Pongal – the
word kaanum, means 'to view' in Tamil. In 2011 the Madras High Court Bench ordered the cockfight at Santhapadi and Modakoor Melbegam villages permitted during the Pongal festival while disposing of a
petition filed attempting to ban the cockfight.[201] The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chittirai and the first day of this month in mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year. The Thiruvalluvar calendar is 31 years
ahead of the Gregorian calendar, i.e. Gregorian 2000 is Thiruvalluvar 2031. Aadi Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water level in the river Kaveri.
Apart from the major festivals, in every village and town of Tamil Nadu, the inhabitants celebrate festivals for the local gods once a year and the time varies from place to place. Most of these festivals are related
to the goddess Maariyamman, the mother goddess of the rain. Other major Hindu festivals including Deepavali (Death of Narakasura), Ayudha Poojai, Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara), Ayya Vaikunda
Avataram, Krishna Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are also celebrated. Eid ul-Fitr, Bakrid, Milad un Nabi, Muharram are celebrated by Muslims whereas Christmas, Good Friday, Easter are celebrated by
Christians in the state. Mahamagam a bathing festival at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu is celebrated once in 12 years. People from all the corners of the country come to Kumbakonam for the festival. This festival
is also called Kumbamela of South.[202][203]

Cuisine
Main article: Tamil cuisine

Thoothukudi is the place of origin of the Thoothukudi macaroon, Tirunelveli is known for its wheat Halva, Salem is renowned for its unique mangoes, Madurai is the place of origin of the milk
dessert Jigarthanda while Palani is known for its Panchamirtham.[204] Idlis, dosas, and sambar are quite common throughout the state. Coffee and tea are the staple drinks.[205]

Media
Music
See also: Ancient Tamil music and Carnatic music

M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be awarded

the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.
In terms of modern cine-music, Ilaiyaraaja was a prominent composer of film music in Tamil cinema during the late 1970s and 1980s. His work highlighted Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western
musical sensibilities to the south Indian musical mainstream. Tamil Nadu is also the home of the double Oscar winner A. R. Rahman[206][207][208] who has composed film music in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and
Chinese films. He was once referred to by Time magazine as "The Mozart of Madras".
Film industry
Main article: Tamil cinema

M. G. Ramachandran was the first actor to become chief minister

in India. He has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.
Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film industry nicknamed as "Kollywood", which released the most films in India in 2013.[209] The term Kollywood is a blend of Kodambakkam and Hollywood.[210] Tamil cinema is
one of the largest industries of film production in India.[211] In Tamil Nadu, cinema ticket prices are regulated by the government. Single screen theatres may charge a maximum of ₹50, while theatres with more
than three screens may charge a maximum of ₹120 per ticket.[212] The first silent film in Tamil Keechaka Vadham, was made in 1916.[213] The first talkie was a multi-lingual film, Kalidas, which released on 31
October 1931, barely seven months after India's first talking picture Alam Ara.[214] Swamikannu Vincent, who had built the first cinema of South India in Coimbatore, introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in
which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to a town or village to screen the films. The first of its kind was established in Madras, called "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the
fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors.[215]

Television industry
There are more than 30 television channels of various genres in Tamil. DD Podhigai, Doordarshan's Tamil language regional channel was launched on 14 April 1993.[216] The first private Tamil channel, Sun TV
Network was founded in 1993. In Tamil Nadu, the television industry is influenced by politics and majority of the channels are owned by politicians or people with political links.[217] The government of Tamil Nadu
distributed free televisions to families in 2006 at an estimated cost ₹3.6 billion (US$45 million) of which has led to high penetration of TV services.[218][219] Cable used to be the preferred mode of reaching homes
controlled by government run operator Arasu Cable.[220] From the early 2010s, Direct to Home has become increasingly popular replacing cable television services.[221] Tamil television serials form a major prime
time source of entertainment and are directed usually by one director unlike American television series, where often several directors and writers work together.[222]

Sports
Main article: Sports in Tamil Nadu

Kabbadi, also known as Sadugudu, is recognised as the state game in Tamil Nadu.[223] The traditional sports of Tamil Nadu include Silambam,[224] a Tamil martial arts played with a long bamboo
staff, cockfight, Jallikattu,[225] a bull taming sport famous on festival occasions, ox-wagon racing known as Rekkala,[226][224] kite flying also known as Pattam viduthal,[225] Goli, the game with marbles,[225] Aadu Puli, the
"goat and tiger" game[225] and Kabaddi also known as Sadugudu.[225] Most of these traditional sports are associated with festivals of land like Thai Pongal and mostly played in rural areas.[225] S. Ilavazhagi carrom
world champion from 2002 to 2016

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is an international cricket ground with a capacity of 50,000 and houses the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.[227] Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan,
[228]
Krishnamachari Srikkanth,[229] Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Hemang Badani Laxmipathy Balaji,[230] Murali Vijay,[231] Ravichandran Ashwin,[232] Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar, Murali
Karthik, Washington Sundar, Subramaniam Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, and T. Natarajan are some prominent cricketers from Tamil Nadu. The MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai is a popular fast bowling
academy for pace bowlers all over the world. Cricket contests between local clubs, franchises and teams are popular in the state. Chennai Super Kings represent the city of Chennai in the Indian Premier League,
a popular Twenty20 league. The Super Kings are the second most successful team in the league with four IPL and two CLT20 titles.[233]

 Notable sportspersons from Tamil Nadu

Ravichandran Ashwin – Cricket

 

Dinesh Karthik – Cricket

Adam Sinclair – Field hockey


Viswanathan Anand – Chess

P. V. Nandhidhaa – Chess Woman Grandmaster

Ramkumar Ramanathan – Tennis

 

Raj Bharath – Motorsport


Mariyappan Thangavelu (left most) – High jump

Mahesh Bhupathi – Tennis

Ajay Jayaram – Badminton


Sharath Kamal (left) – Table tennis

Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal – Squash

Tennis is also a popular sport in Tamil Nadu with notable international players including Ramesh Krishnan,[234] Ramanathan Krishnan,[234] Vijay Amritraj[235] and Mahesh Bhupathi. Nirupama Vaidyanathan, the first
Indian women to play in a grand slam tournament also hails from the state. The ATP Chennai Open tournament is held in Chennai every January. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)
owns Nungambakkam tennis stadium which hosts Chennai Open and Davis Cup play-off tournaments.

The Tamil Nadu Hockey Association is the governing body of hockey in the state. Vasudevan Baskaran was the captain of the Indian team that won the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The Mayor
Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai hosts international hockey events and is regarded by the International Hockey Federation as one of the best in the world for its infrastructure.[236]

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

The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), a government body, is vested with the responsibility of developing sports and related infrastructure in the state.[237] The SDAT owns and operates world-
class stadiums and organises sporting events.[238] It also accommodates sporting events, both at the domestic and international level, organised by other sports associations at its venues. The YMCA College of
Physical Education at Nandanam in Chennai was established in 1920 and was the first college for physical education in Asia. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai is a multi-purpose stadium
hosting football and track and field events. The Indian Triathlon Federation and the Volleyball Federation of India are headquartered in Chennai. Chennai hosted India's first-ever International Beach Volleyball
Championship in 2008. The SDAT – TNSRA Squash Academy in Chennai is one of the very few academics in South Asia hosting international squash events. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore is a multi-
purpose stadium in Coimbatore constructed in 1971 which is used to host I-League football matches.[239]

Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Tamil Nadu

Nilgiri Mountain Railway has been described as an essential

experience of the Western Ghats.
The tourism industry of Tamil Nadu is the largest in India, with an annual growth rate of 16 per cent. Tourism in Tamil Nadu is promoted by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), a government of
Tamil Nadu undertaking. According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, 4.68 million foreign (20.1% share of the country) and 333.5 million domestic tourists (23.3% share of the country) visited the state in 2015
making it the most visited state in India both domestic and foreign tourists.[240] The state boasts some of the grand Hindu temples built-in Dravidian architecture. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Brihadishwara
Temple in Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple in Darasuram (Great Chola Temples) and the Shore Temple along with the collection of other monuments in Mamallapuram which
have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[241][242]

See also
 Chronology of Tamil history

 History of Tamil Nadu

 List of countries where Tamil is an official language

 List of denotified communities of Tamil Nadu

 List of dams and reservoirs in Tamil Nadu

 Outline of Tamil Nadu

 Tamil Eelam

 Tamil inscriptions

 Tamil Muslim

 Tamizhi

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

References
Citations
1. ^ "Tamil Nadu: K. Shanmugam appointed as new Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary". The Hindu. Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
2. ^ "Census of india 2011" (PDF). Government of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "52nd report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2014 to June 2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Minority Affairs (Government of India). 29 March 2016. p. 132. Archived
from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017.
4. ^ "Tamil Nadu Budget Analysis 2023-24". Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
5. ^ "Tamil Nadu towards trillion dollar economy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b "Sub-national HDI – Area Database". Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
7. ^ "Sex ratio of State and Union Territories of India as per National Health survey (2019-2021)". Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8
January 2023.
8. ^ "Gross State Domestic Product At Current Prices; Base Year 2011–12". 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
9. ^ • Swaminathan, Padmini (28 May 1994), "Where Are the Entrepreneurs? What the Data Reveal for Tamil Nadu", Economic and Political Weekly, 29 (22): 64–74, ISSN 0012-9976, JSTOR 4401265
• Alagarsamy, R.; Srinivasan, R. (February 2013). "An Empirical Investigation Into Local Public Opinion on Special Economic Zones in Selected Districts in Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Shanlax International. 1 (2):
62. ISSN 2319-961X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
 • Aiyappan, Ayinipalli, "Tamil Nadu", Encyclopaedia Britannica, archived from the original on 8 July 2020, retrieved 6 July 2020, Tamil Nadu is one of the most industrialised of the Indian states, and the
manufacturing sector accounts for more than one-third of the state's gross product.
10. ^ Nobrega & Sinha 2008, p. 20.
11. ^ "Science News : Archaeology – Anthropology : Sharp stones found in India signal surprisingly early toolmaking advances". 31 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 9
February 2018.
12. ^ "The Washington Post : Very old, very sophisticated tools found in India. The question is: Who made them?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 9
February 2018.
13. ^ "Significance of Mayiladuthurai find". The Hindu. 1 May 2006. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
14. ^ T, Saravanan (22 February 2018). "How a recent archaeological discovery throws light on the history of Tamil script". Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
15. ^ "the eternal harappan script". Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
16. ^ "Skeletons dating back 3,800 years throw light on evolution". The Times of India. 1 January 2006. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
17. ^ "The Hindu: National: 'Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur". The Hindu. 17 December 2005. Archived from the original on 28 January 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
18. ^ "National: Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 May 2004. Archived from the original on 1 July 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
19. ^ Staff Reporter (22 November 2005). "Students get glimpse of heritage". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 18 May 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
20. ^ Skeletons dating back 3,800 years throw light on evolution Archived 14 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The Times of India.
21. ^ "The Hindu : National : 'Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur". Archived from the original on 28 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
22. ^ Caldwell 1974, p. 88.
23. ^ Ayyar 1991, pp. 498–499.
24. ^ K.A.N. Sashtri, A History of South India, pp 109–112
25. ^ K.A.N. Sastri, A History of South India, OUP (1955) p 124
26. ^ Kamil Veith Zvelebil, Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, p 12
27. ^ "Keezhadi sixth phase: What do the findings so far tell us?". The News Minute. 21 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
28. ^ Sundar, S.; Jesudasan, Dennis S.; Shrikumar, A.; Shrikumar, A.; Mohamed Imranullah S; Pon Vasanth; Kolappan, B.; Kolappan, B.; Saravanan, T.; Annamalai, S.; Shrikumar, A.; Kavitha, S. S. (16 May
2017). "Keezhadi excavation leads to ancient civilisation on the banks of Vaigai". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
29. ^ "Excavation begins at Alagankulam archaeological site". The Times of India. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
30. ^ 'There were three levels of redistribution corresponding to the three categories of chieftains, namely: the Ventar, Velir and Kilar in descending order. Ventar were the chieftains of the three major lineages,
viz Cera, Cola and Pandya. Velir were mostly hill chieftains, while Kilar were the headmen of settlements...' —"Perspectives on Kerala History". P.J.Cherian (Ed). Kerala Council for Historical Research.
Archived from the original on 26 August 2006.
31. ^ 'Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni...'
—"Ashoka's second minor rock edict". Colorado State University. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
32. ^ Kanchan Sinha, Kartikeya in Indian art and literature, Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan (1979).
33. ^ Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. Brill. p. 51. ISBN 90-04-03591-5. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
34. ^ 'The vast quantities of gold and silver coins struck by Roman emperors up to Nero (54–68CE) found all over Tamil Nadu testify the extent of the trade, the presence of Roman settlers in the Tamil country'.
K.A.N. Sastri, A History of South India, OUP (1955) pp 125–127
35. ^ The Medieval Spice Trade and the Diffusion of the Chile Archived 26 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine Gastronomica Spring 2007 Vol. 7 Issue 2
36. ^ K.A.N. Sastri postulates that there was a live connection between the early Cholas and the Renandu Cholas of the Andhra country. The northward migration probably took place during
the Pallava domination of Simhavishnu. Sastri also categorically rejects the claims that these were the descendants of Karikala Chola —K.A.N. Sastri, The CōĻas, 1935 p 107
37. ^ The identity of the author of Tirukkural is not known with any certainty. This work of 1330 distichs is attributed to Tiruvalluvar, who was probably a Jain with knowledge of the Sanskrit didactic works of the
north.
38. ^ Pandya Kadungon and Pallava Simhavishnu overthrew the Kalabhras. Acchchutakalaba is likely the last Kalabhra king —K.A.N. Sastri, The CōĻas, 1935 p 102
39. ^ K.A.N. Sastri, A History of South India pp 333–335
40. ^ Balaganessin, M. (29 August 2011). "Flowing waters for fertile fields". The Hindu. India. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012.
41. ^ Singh, Vijay P.; Ram Narayan Yadava (2003). Water Resources System Operation: Proceedings of the International Conference on Water and Environment. Allied Publishers. p. 508. ISBN 978-81-7764-
548-4. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
42. ^ "This is the oldest stone water-diversion or water-regulator structure in the world" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
43. ^ "Cauvery River – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
44. ^ Sastri 2008, pp. 91–92.
45. ^ Jump up to:a b Sastri 1970, pp. 18–182.
46. ^ "Tamil Cultural Association – Tamil Language". Tamilculturewaterloo.org. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
47. ^ Bethencourt p.211
48. ^ "Danish flavour". Frontline. India. 6 November 2009. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
49. ^ Wagret, Paul (1977). Nagel's encyclopedia-guide. India, Nepal. Geneva: Nagel Publishers. p. 556. ISBN 978-2-8263-0023-6. OCLC 4202160.
50. ^ Roberts J. M (1997). A short history of the world. Helicon publishing Ltd. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-19-511504-8. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
51. ^ "Seven Years' War: Battle of Wandiwash". History Net: Where History Comes Alive – World & US History Online. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
52. ^ "Puli Thevan : Define, Explore, Discuss". Museumstuff.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
53. ^ "PIB English Features". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
54. ^ "index". tn.nic.in. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012.
55. ^ Yang, Anand A (2007). "Bandits and Kings:Moral Authority and Resistance in Early Colonial India". The Journal of Asian Studies. 66 (4): 881–896. doi:10.1017/S0021911807001234. JSTOR 20203235.
56. ^ Robert Caldwell (1881). A Political and General History of the District of Tinnevelly, in the Presidency of Madras. E. Keys, at the Government Press. pp. 195–222. Archived from the original on 5 October
2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
57. ^ "History | Pudukkottai District, Government of Tamilnadu | India". Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
58. ^ "July 10, 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny Breaks out Against the British". mapsofindia.com. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
59. ^ "July, 1806 Vellore – S. Anand – Jul 17,2006". outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
60. ^ "Vellore Mutiny". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
61. ^ Kolappan, B. (22 August 2013). "The great famine of Madras and the men who made it". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021 – via www.thehindu.com.
62. ^ "Political situation in Pondicherry (1910–1915)". Extract from diary of A.B. Purani (PT MS5 (1924), 86. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 15
November 2006.
63. ^ "Noting that the Tamils formed a large chunk of the strength of the INA, Prof. Pfaff, said it was always a moving experience to interact with the INA members from Tamil Nadu." "Tamils' contribution to INA
campaigns recalled". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 22 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
64. ^ "More than 75 percent of the INA soldiers were Tamils" according to V. Vaidhyalingam, secretary and treasurer, Tamil Nadu Indian National Army League. "The unsung heroes". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
2 August 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
65. ^ Jump up to:a b Subramaniyam Swami, Is the Dravidian movement dying?, Frontline, Vol.20, Iss. 12, June 2003
66. ^ James H. Mills, Satadru Sen, ed. (2004). Confronting the Body: The Politics of Physicality in Colonial and Post-Colonial India. Anthem Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-84331-032-7.
67. ^ Sundari, S. (2007). Migrant women and urban labour market: concepts and case studies. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 105. ISBN 9788176299664. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023.
Retrieved 20 October 2020.
68. ^ "Indian States by Coastline" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2017.
69. ^ Amateur Seismic Centre 2007.
70. ^ UN, system of organisations 2012.
71. ^ Biodiversity of Tamil Nadu 2012.
72. ^ Jump up to:a b "Tamil Nadu Government Portal". Information Technology Department – Tamil Nadu Government. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
73. ^ "R. N. Ravi is new Governor of Tamil Nadu Archived 13 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine". The Times of India. 11 September 2021.
74. ^ "MK Stalin sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Archived 23 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine". The Hindu Business Line. 7 May 2021.
75. ^ "Justice SV Gangapurwala sworn in as Chief Justice of Madras HC". The News Minute. 28 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
76. ^ "Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu State | Tamil Nadu Government Portal". www.tn.gov.in. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
77. ^ Tamil Nadu Police 2011.
78. ^ Rukmini S. (19 August 2015). "Women police personnel face bias, says report". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
79. ^ TN Police strength 2011.
80. ^ "List of Municipalities in Tamil Nadu Gradewise". Commissionerate of Municipal Administration, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
81. ^ "About Us". Directorate of Town Panchayats, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
82. ^ "List of Town Panchayats" (PDF). Directorate of Town Panchayats, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
83. ^ "District Wise Block Maps". Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
84. ^ "List of District panchayat" (PDF). Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
85. ^ "Grama Sabha". Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
86. ^ "India Stats: Million plus cities in India as per Census 2011". Press Information Bureau, Mumbai. National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
87. ^ "Chennai is the most densely populated city in Tamil Nadu, according to census 2011". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
88. ^ "Jayalalithaa vs Janaki: The last succession battle". thehindu. 10 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
89. ^ Census population 2011.
90. ^ Distribution by language 2002.
91. ^ Census by religious communities 2002.
92. ^ Jump up to:a b c Census of Tamil Nadu 2011.
93. ^ "SC/ST population in Tamilnadu 2011" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
94. ^ Census of Tamil Nadu 2001.
95. ^ "Glaring regional disparities in human development index". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
96. ^ Human Development reports 2010.
97. ^ "Top three States – a socio-economic comparison". The Hindu Business Line. 20 October 2004. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
98. ^ "Tamil Nadu Poverty". The Hindu Business Line. 9 April 2004. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
99. ^ "Multidimensional Poverty Index of Tamil Nadu". Southasia.oneworld.net. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
100. ^ "Beware the political superbug: Hubris!". Rediff.com. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
101. ^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
102. ^ "Population By Religious Community – Tamil Nadu" (XLS). Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2011. Archived from the original on
13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
103. ^ "Front Page: Tamil to be a classical language". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 18 September 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
104. ^ "Census of India – Language". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
105. ^ "One Who Fights For an Other". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
106. ^ "LGBT community in Tamil Nadu seeks state government's support". Indianexpress. 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
107. ^ Hamid, Zubeda (3 February 2016). "LGBT community in city sees sign of hope". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
108. ^ Menon, Priya (3 July 2021). "A decade of Pride in Chennai". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
109. ^ Maroosha Muzaffar. "Indian state set to be the first to ban conversion therapy of LGBT+ individuals". Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
110. ^ "1st in India & Asia, and 2nd globally, Tamil Nadu bans sex-selective surgeries for infants". The Print. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
111. ^ "Tamil Nadu Becomes First State to Ban So-Called Corrective Surgery on Intersex Babies". The Swaddle. 30 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
112. ^ ""Ban sex reassignment surgeries on intersex infants Madras High Court tells Tamil Nadu Govt". The News Minute. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
113. ^ "Tamil Nadu India's most literate state: HRD ministry". The Times of India. 14 May 2003. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
114. ^ Teachers absence in Indian schools 2008.
115. ^ Bunting, Madeleine (15 March 2011). "Quality of Primary Education in States". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
116. ^ List of Engineering colleges in Tamilnadu, January –31, 2015, AICTE David, archived from the original on 5 January 2015
117. ^ District wise Polytechnics 2011.
118. ^ "Education is the means of social mobility". Rediff India Abroad. 1 May 2006. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
119. ^ GSDP at constant prices 2014.
120. ^ GSDP at current prices 2015.
121. ^ "Tamil Nadu ranks third in FDI, favoured destination". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on 24 April 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
122. ^ Mungekar, Bhalchandra (12 June 2012). "Contrary to Modi's projections, Gujarat's growth story is riddled with contradictions – The Economic Times". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22
August 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
123. ^ e-census India 2002.
124. ^ "Tamil Nadu the most urbanised State: Minister". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 18 May 2008. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
125. ^ Jump up to:a b c Tamil Nadu agricultural department 2009.
126. ^ "Tanjore, the "Rice bowl of Tamil Nadu"". tanjore.net. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
127. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Tamil Nadu horticulture 2008.
128. ^ Rubber board 2006.
129. ^ Tea production in India 2002.
130. ^ Palmoil Study 2004.
131. ^ MS Swaminathan Research Foundatation 2010.
132. ^ Live stock and poultry statistics 2005.
133. ^ Egg production from 1997 to 2004 2004.
134. ^ "India's Gems and Jewellery Market is Glittering". Resource Investor. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
135. ^ "Tamil Nadu Poultry Industry Seeks Export Concessions". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
136. ^ Sangeetha Kandavel (24 July 2015). "New textile policy on the anvil". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
137. ^ "Nicknames of places in India". Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
138. ^ Challenges to textile and apparel industry in Tamil Nadu 2000.
139. ^ "Nick Names of India Places Manchester of India Ahmedabad Cochin Queen of Arabian Sea – General Knowledge in India". winentrance.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 15
October 2013.
140. ^ "The Indian Express – Google News Archive Search". Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
141. ^ "AISHTMA". www.aishtma.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
142. ^ "Leather exports from India: Going strong!". www.ibef.org. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
143. ^ "Top 5 Indian States Exporting Leather Products to Other Countries". Eximfile. 6 April 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
144. ^ "Why Chennai turned into 'Detroit of India'". Financial Express. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
145. ^ Daimler 2012.
146. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
147. ^ "TNPL". TNPL. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
148. ^ "Industry of Coimbatore". Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
149. ^ "Flextronics signs pact for Chennai facility". The Hindu Business Line. 7 October 2005. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
150. ^ "TN software exports clock 32 pc growth". The Hindu Business Line. 7 May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
151. ^ Sangeetha Kandavel (28 August 2015). "TCS jumps the gun in campus hiring". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
152. ^ "Coimbatore: IT sector on the fast track : NATION – India Today". intoday.in. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
153. ^ "Here's why Chennai is the SAAS capital of India". 25 August 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
154. ^ "A silent SaaS revolution is brewing in Chennai – Times of India". The Times of India. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
155. ^ Samuel, Prabin (9 February 2020). "SaaSBooMi — The Shocking Secret why Chennai is the SaaS Capital of India!". Medium. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
156. ^ Jump up to:a b "Chennai is SaaS capital of India: Edappadi K Palaniswami". Deccan Chronicle. 11 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
157. ^ "National Highways Summary – Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India". morth.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
158. ^ "Join the Citizen Dialogue on Highway Safety – Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India". Morth.nic.in. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
159. ^ Tamil Nadu Highways 2012.
160. ^ TCA Sharad Raghavan (24 July 2015). "T.N. reduces deaths in road accidents". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
161. ^ "Groundwork at Neyveli airport done, interested airlines send in bids for opening". The Times of India. 29 July 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
162. ^ Ennore Port 2011.
163. ^ "Why Thoothukudi was chosen as ISRO's second spaceport". The News Minute. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
164. ^ "BSNL Tamilnadu Telecom Circle welcomes you". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
165. ^ "Airtel 4G – Prepaid | Postpaid | Broadband | Payments Bank| DTH". AIRTEL. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
166. ^ "Jio 4G LTE Network - Experience High Speed 4G Mobile Internet !". Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
167. ^ "Vodafone India – Prepaid | Postpaid | International Roaming | Buy New Connection". www.vodafone.in. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
168. ^ "Airtel Broadband Chennai- Ph:9840022123 -New V Fiber Plans". www.airtelchennai.in. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
169. ^ "Best Broadband and Wired Internet Service Provider in India". ACT Fibernet. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
170. ^ "Best Broadband Provider – Broadband Plans – Hathway High Speed Internet". www.hathway.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
171. ^ "Tamil Nadu all set for Rs 1,500 crore mega optic fibre network". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
172. ^ "National Institute of Wind Energy". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
173. ^ Tamil Nadu energy policy 2009.
174. ^ NPCIL 2009.
175. ^ [1] Archived 2 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
176. ^ Central Electrical Authority 2012.
177. ^ "Tamil Nadu Solar Energy Policy 2012" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
178. ^ Mariappan, Julie (15 March 2015). "Adani plans 1,000MW solar power plant at Ramanathapuram". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
179. ^ "World's largest solar project". Archived from the original on 28 April 2019.
180. ^ "India unveils the world's largest solar power plant". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
181. ^ "When Tamil Nadu proposed a State flag nearly five decades ago". Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
182. ^ Thakur, A. P.; Pandey, Sunil (2009). 21st Century India: View and Vision. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 320. ISBN 9788182202696. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20
October 2020.
183. ^ "Tamilnadu – The Dance of Celestial Deities". Tamilnadu.com. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
184. ^ "Thanjavur Painting – Tamil Art". Tamilnadu.com. 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
185. ^ "Arts Archives – Tamilnadu". Tamilnadu.com. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
186. ^ Zvelebil 1973, p. 12: "...the most acceptable periodisation which has so far been suggested for the development of Tamil writing seems to me to be that of A Chidambaranatha Chettiar (1907–1967): 1.
Sangam Literature – 200BC to AD 200; 2. Post Sangam literature – AD 200 – AD 600; 3. Early Medieval literature – AD 600 to AD 1200; 4. Later Medieval literature – AD 1200 to AD 1800; 5. Pre-Modern
literature – AD 1800 to 1900"
187. ^ Definitive Editions of Ancient Tamil Works. Classical Tamil, Government of India
188. ^ Abraham, S. A. (2003). "Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India" (PDF). Asian Perspectives. 42 (2):
207. doi:10.1353/asi.2003.0031. hdl:10125/17189. S2CID 153420843. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
189. ^ Stein, B. (1977). "Circulation and the Historical Geography of Tamil Country". The Journal of Asian Studies. 37 (1): 7–26. doi:10.2307/2053325. JSTOR 2053325. S2CID 144599197.
190. ^ Maloney, C. (1970). "The Beginnings of Civilization in South India". The Journal of Asian Studies. 29 (3): 603–616. doi:10.2307/2943246. JSTOR 2943246. S2CID 162291987. at p. 610
191. ^ Subramaniam, T.S (29 August 2011), "Palani excavation triggers fresh debate", The Hindu, Chennai, India, archived from the original on 8 September 2011, retrieved 8 October 2015
 192. ^ George L. Hart III, The Poems of Ancient Tamil, U of California P, 1975.
193. ^ The only religious poems among the shorter poems occur in paripaatal. The rest of the corpus of Sangam literature deals with human relations and emotions. See K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South
India, OUP (1955) pp. 330–335
194. ^ Sastri 2008, pp. 330–335.
195. ^ "Five fold grammar of Tamil", University of Pennsylvania, archived from the original on 9 June 2007, retrieved 8 October 2015
196. ^ Karthik Madhavan (21 June 2010). "Tamil saw its first book in 1578". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
197. ^ Kolappan, B. (22 June 2014). "Delay, howlers in Tamil Lexicon embarrass scholars". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
198. ^ "Pongal – Tamil festival". Tamilnadu.com. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014.
199. ^ Alanganallur-Jallikattu. "Alanganallur-Jallikattu, Madurai, Tamil Nadu". Shadow Chief. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
200. ^ "Alanganallur". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 November 2006.
201. ^ "Permit cock fight: Bench". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
202. ^ "Mahamagam Festival". Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
203. ^ Bezbaruah, Madan Prasad; Krishna Gopal, Dr; Girota, Phal S. (2003). Fairs and Festivals of India. Gyan Publishing House. p. 326. ISBN 9788121208093. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023.
Retrieved 15 November 2015.
204. ^ Baradwaj Rangan (15 September 2012). "In search of Madurai Jigarthanda". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
205. ^ Shankar, Shylashri (16 December 2016). "A coffee break in tradition". Open the magazine. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
206. ^ "Oscars: Eight on ten for 'Slumdog Millionaire'". The Times of India. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
207. ^ "Indian joy at Oscar night glory". BBC News. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
208. ^ "A R Rahman wins best original score Oscar". Economic Times. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
209. ^ "Tamil Nadu leads in film production". The Times of India. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
210. ^ Hiro, Dilip (2010). After Empire: The Birth of a Multipolar World. PublicAffairs. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-56858-427-0. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
211. ^ Bureau, Our Regional (25 January 2006). "Tamil, Telugu film industries outshine Bollywood". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
212. ^ Ashok Kumar, S.R. (2 January 2007). "Cinema ticket rate revision reflects a balancing act". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
213. ^ "Metro Plus Chennai / Madras Miscellany : The pioneer'Tamil' film-maker". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
214. ^ Velayutham, Selvaraj (2008). Tamil cinema: the cultural politics of India's other film industry. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-415-39680-6. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20
October 2020.
215. ^ "He brought cinema to South". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
216. ^ "Regional Language Satellite Service". Doordarshan. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
217. ^ "Tamil Nadu TV empire". Newslaundry. 24 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
218. ^ "Jayalalithaa govt scraps free TV scheme in Tamil Nadu". DNA India. 10 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
219. ^ Romig, Rollo (July 2015). "What Happens When a State Is Run by Movie Stars". NY Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
220. ^ "Sun TV seals deal with Arasu at Rs 3cr a month". Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
221. ^ "FY-2015: Inflection point for DTH companies in India". India Television. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
222. ^ Chosun Ilbo 2007.
223. ^ Li, MacIntosh & Bravo 2012, p. 183.
224. ^ Jump up to:a b Crego 2003, pp. 32–33.
225. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Ramaswamy 2007, pp. 73–74.
226. ^ Croker 1907, p. 223.
227. ^ MA Chidambaram Stadium 2012.
228. ^ Srinivas Venkataraghavan 2012.
229. ^ Kris Srikkanth 2012.
230. ^ Lakshmipathy Balaji 2012.
231. ^ Murali Vijay 2013.
232. ^ Ravichandran Ashwin 2012.
233. ^ "Chennai Super Kings Cricket Team Scores, Super Kings team Matches, Schedule, News, Players". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
234. ^ Jump up to:a b Garg 2010, p. 316.
235. ^ Garg 2010, p. 327.
236. ^ "Radhakrishnan Stadium to have new turf". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 October 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
237. ^ TN Sports and Youth Welfare department 1992.
238. ^ Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu 2012.
239. ^ Krishnan, Vivek (22 December 2017). "Chennai City to stay at Kovai for next 5 years". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
240. ^ "India Tourism Statistics" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
241. ^ UNESCO Chola temples 2012.
242. ^ UNESCO Mahabalipuram temples 2012.

Sources
 Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (1991). South Indian shrines: illustrated. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0151-3. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020..

 Caldwell, Robert (1974). A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp.

 Zvelebil, Kamil V. (1973). The smile of Murugan: on Tamil literature of South India. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-03591-5.

 "MA Chidambaram Stadium". Espncricinfo. 2012. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Srinivas Venkataraghavan". Espncricinfo. 2012. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Kris Srikkanth". Espncricinfo. 2012. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Lakshmipathy Balaji". Espncricinfo. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Ravichandran Ashwin". Espncricinfo. 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Laxman Sivaramakrishnan". Espncricinfo. 2012. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Primary census abstract 2001". Directorate of Census Operations – Tamil Nadu. 2001. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

 "Census of India". Census of India 2001. Government of India. 27 May 2002. Archived from the original on 19 June 2006. Retrieved 14 April 2007.

 "State Domestic Product and other aggregates, 2004–05 series". Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.

 "Gross State Domestic Product at Constant 2004–05 Prices (in Rs. Crore) and Growth (% YoY)" (PDF). Planning Commission of India. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 2
February 2015.

 "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly history". Assembly.tn.gov.in. 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "HDI and GDI Estimates for India and the States/UTs: Results and Analysis" (PDF). 16th if Union Territories are included. GDIGE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Human Development Index of India & Major States, 1981 – 2001" (PDF). Union Ministry of Social Justice. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Sixth Economic Census". Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Gov of India. 2012. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Press Information Bureau English Releases". Pib.nic.in. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "UNESCO World Heritage List". Whc.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
 "Amateur Seismic Centre, Pune". Asc-india.org. 30 March 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Biodiversity, Tamil Nadu Dept. of Forests". Forests.tn.nic.in. 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "United Nations, System of Organisations". Unsystem.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "List of Municipalities in Tamil Nadu". Comm. of Municipal Admin., Govt. of Tamil Nadu. 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.

 "Elections to Local Bodies" (PDF). Tamil State Election Commission. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.

 "Districts of Tamil Nadu". Government of Tamil Nadu. 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.

 "Tamil Nadu Police". The Tamil Nadu Police. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Tamil Nadu Police". The Tamil Nadu Police. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Statistical Report of 2006 Tamil Nadu assembly results" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2011.

 "List of Successful candidates" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Census Population" (PDF). Census of India. Ministry of Finance India. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

 "Distribution by Language – States and Union Territories – 2001". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Population by religious community". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.

 "Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

 "Teachers Absence from Public Schools in India" (PDF). World Bank. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2010.

 "District wise Polytechnic colleges in Tamil Nadu during the year 2010–2011" (PDF). Directorate of Technical Education, Tamil Nadu. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 1
October 2011.

 "Human Development Reports". Hdrstats.undp.org. 2010. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Cbfc India Annual Report 2011" (PDF). cbfcindia.gov.in. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Most Enterprises in India". Indcom.tn.gov.in. 2011. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Tamil Nadu – States and Union Territories – Know India: National Portal of India" (PDF). India.gov.in. 31 March 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2010.

 "National Horticulture Mission -Action Plan for Tamil Nadu" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Rubber Statistical News" (PDF). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Production of Tea in India During And Up to August 2002". Teauction.com. 2002. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Oil Palm Sector in India – World Wildlife Fund – India" (PDF). 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation". Mssrf.org. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Livestock & Poultry Statistics from Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry Dairying & Fisheries, Government of India". Dahd.nic.in. 2005. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 10
September 2012.

 "Estimates of Egg Production". Dahd.nic.in. 2004. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 Tewari, Meenu (2000). "The Challenge of Reform: How Tamil Nadu's Textile and Apparel Industry is Facing the Pressures of Liberalisation" (PDF). The Government of Tamil Nadu, India and the Centre for International
Development, Harvard University, Cambridge MA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "Daimler Trucks Unveils Truck Test Track in Oragadam". Chennai: Daimler Chrysler. 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

 "What's new | India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd". Yamaha-motor-india.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "National Highways in Tamil Nadu". Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Govt. of India. 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2012.

 "Official site for Tamil Nadu Highways". Tnhighways.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Official website for Ennore Port". Ennoreport.gov.in. 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "NPCIL". NPCIL. 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.

 "Central Electricity Authority, GOI" (PDF). 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

 "Youth Welfare & Sports Development Department". Tn.gov.in. 1992. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2010.

 "Sports development authority of Tamil Nadu, Chennai 600 084". Sdat.in. 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Tourism Statistics of India" (PDF). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

 "Great Living Chola Temples – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. 28 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram". Whc.unesco.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Tamil Nadu energy policy". Energy Department, Tamil Nadu, India by Govt. of Tamil Nadu. 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008.

 Croker, Bithia Mary (1907). The company's servant: a romance of southern India, Volume 1. London: Hurst and Blackett, Limited. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

 Dil, Anwar S. (1980). Language and Linguistic Area: Essays by Murray Barnson Emeneau. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California – Reprinted (1980).

 Crego, Robert (2003). Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries. USA: Greewood Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-313-31610-4. silambam.

 Garg, Chitra (2010). Indian Champions: Profiles Of Famous Indian Sportspersons. Delhi: Rajpal and Sons. ISBN 978-0-313-31610-4. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

 Nobrega, William; Sinha, Ashish (2008). Riding the Indian tiger: understanding India—the world's fastest growing market. John Wiley and Sons. p. 20.
 Li, Ming; MacIntosh, Eric W.; Bravo, Gonzalo A. (2012). International Sport Management. Ming Li, Eric W. MacIntosh, Gonzalo A. Bravo. ISBN 978-0-7360-8273-0. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023.
Retrieved 20 October 2020.

 Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2007). Historical dictionary of the Tamils. United States: Scarecrow Press, INC. ISBN 978-0-470-82958-5. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

 Sastri, K.A.Nilakanta (1970). Advanced History of India. New Delhi: Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd. pp. 181–182.

 Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta (1935) [1935]. The Cōlas. Madras: University of Madras.

 Chopra, P.N.; Ravindran, T.K.; Subrahmanian, N (2003) [2003]. History of South India (Ancient, Medieval and Modern) Part 1. New Delhi: Chand Publications. ISBN 978-81-219-0153-6.

 Keay, John (2000) [2000]. India: A History. New York: Grove Publications. ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5.

 Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (2002) [1955]. A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-560686-7.

 Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (2008). A History of South India (4th ed.). New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.

 Steever, Sanford (1998), "Introduction", in Steever, Sanford (ed.), The Dravidian Languages, London: Routledge, pp. 1–39, ISBN 978-0-415-10023-6

Further reading
 "India sets up classical languages". BBC. 17 August 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.

 "Tamil Nadu Hunger Problem Alarming". BBC News. 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "New DGP takes charge". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

 Radha Venkatesan (1 October 2009). "India's Jurassic nest dug up in Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2009.

 "Tamil Nadu Hunger Level in Danger List". The Times of India. 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

 "Bihar is country's fastest growing state at 13.1%". The Times of India. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012.

 "TN makes its way to top 5 states in HDI". The Financial Express. 24 March 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2008.