?தமிழ்நாடு Tamil Nadu India
Chennai
Coordinates: 13°05′N 80°16′E / 13.09, 80.27
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area	130,058 km² (50,216 sq mi)
Capital	Chennai
Largest city	Chennai
District(s)	30
Population • Density	62,405,679 (6th) • 478 /km² (1,238 /sq mi)
Language(s)	Tamil
Governor	Surjit Singh Barnala
Chief Minister	M Karunanidhi
Established	1956-11-01†
Legislature (seats)	Unicameral (235)
ISO abbreviation	IN-TN
Website: tn.gov.in
† Established in 1773; Madras State was formed in 1956 and renamed as Tamil Nadu on January 14, 1969 [7]
Seal of Tamil Nadu

Coordinates: 13°05′N 80°16′E / 13.09, 80.27

Tamil Nadu (Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு, pronunciation (help·info) English: Country of the Tamils, IPA: [t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ]) is one of the 28 states of India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Indian Standard Time ( IST) is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a Time offset of UTC+530. UTC+530 is the Timezone for Indian Standard Time Sri Lanka Time The geography of India is diverse with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts plains rainforests hills and plateaus To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here Surface areas between 100000 km² and 1000000 km² Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This is a list of Indian state A district is an administrative division of a state in India India is divided into twenty-eight states and seven Union territories (UT In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume This is a list of the States of India in order of population The Constitution of India envisages Hindi as the primary official language to be used by the Union Government, with English as the subsidiary official language Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Surjit Singh Barnala (born October 21 1925) is the present governor of Tamil Nadu, India. The complete list of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu consists of the heads of government in the history of the state of Tamil Nadu in India since 1920 M Karunanidhi (முகருணாநிதி or Karunanidhi Muthuvel generally referred to as M The States Reorganization Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India 's states and territories. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO ISO 3166-2IN is an ISO standard which defines Geocodes it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to India. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Motherland is a term that may refer to a mother country, ie the place of one's birth the place of origin of an Ethnic group or Immigrant, or a Metropole Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern India is a union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country It lies on the eastern coast of the southern Indian Peninsula bordered by Puducherry (Pondicherry), Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. Puducherry (formerly; புதுச்சேரி or பாண்டிச்சேரி పాండిచెర్రి പുതുശ്ശേരി Pondichéry is a Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ pronounced) is a state in the southern part of India Tamil Nadu is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, Bay of Bengal in the east, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Strait in the south east and Indian Ocean in the south. The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India 's eastern coast The Anaimalai Hills (ஆனைமலை or Anamala Hills (in Malayalam is a range of mountains in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala For the district with the same name see Palakkad District. Palakkad, also known as Palghat (anglicized is a town and a Municipality The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay that is an arm of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. The Palk Strait is a Strait that lies between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Island nation of Sri Lanka. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface It is the eleventh largest state in India by area (about the size of Greece) and the sixth most populous state. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία ^[1]

Tamil Nadu is the epicentre of Dravidian politics in India, which are dominated by the DMK and AIADMK parties. Dravidian parties (திராவிடக்கட்சிகள் include an array of regional political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( Tamil:திராவிட முன்னேற்றக் கழகம் (literally "Dravidian Progress Federation") is a regional All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK (அனைத்து இந்திய அண்ணா திராவிட முன்னேற்ற கழகம் is a regional The fifth largest contributor to India's GDP^[2] and one of the most urbanised states^[1] in India, it is home to many natural resources, rare flora and fauna, cool hill stations, grand Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites and three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[3][4] It is one of the foremost states in the country in terms of overall development. ^[5][6]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Prehistory 1.2 Chera Rule 1.3 Pallava Rule 1.4 Pandya Rule 1.5 Chola Empire 1.6 Pandya Rule (Restored) 1.7 Delhi Sultanate 1.8 Vijayanagar Empire 1.9 Rule of Nayaks 1.10 Rule of Nizams and Nawabs 1.11 British Empire 1.12 Independence 2 Geography and climate 3 Governance and administration 4 Politics 4.1 Pre Independence 4.2 Dravidian Politics 5 Demographics and human rights 5.1 Language and Religion Demographics 6 Education and social development 7 Culture 7.1 Language and Literature 7.2 Religion 8 Music 8.1 Arts and dance 8.2 Film industry 8.3 Cuisine 9 Festivals 10 Economy 10.1 Macro-economic trend 10.2 Agriculture 10.3 Water Resources 10.4 Livestock, poultry and fisheries 10.5 Industry 11 Transportation 12 Fauna and Flora 12.1 Fauna 12.2 Flora 13 Tourism 14 See also 15 References 16 External links

History

Main article: History of Tamil Nadu

Prehistory

Tamil Nadu's history dates back to pre-historic times and archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in India. The region of Tamil Nadu in modern India has been under continuous human habitation since prehistoric times and the history of Tamil Nadu and the civilization The Shore Temple (700-728 CE is so named because it over looks the Bay of Bengal. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Mahabalipuram (மகாபலிபுரம் also known as Mamallapuram (மாமல்லபுரம் Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" In Adichanallur, 24 km from Tirunelveli, archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India unearthed 169 clay urns containing human skulls, skeletons and bones, plus husks and grains of rice, charred rice and Neolithic celts, giving evidence confirming them to be of the Neolithic period, 3800 years ago. Adichanallur is an Archaeological site near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, India. Tirunelveli (திருநெல்வேலி is a city in Tamil Nadu and was formed into a Municipal corporation in 1999 by merging three municipalities viz The Archaeological Survey of India is an Indian government agency in the Department of Culture that is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Celt tool Transyslvaniajpg|right|thumb|250px|Celts from Transylvania ^[7] The ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script is "very rudimentary" Tamil Brahmi. Tamil-Brahmi was an early variant of the Brahmi script used to write Tamil characters ^[8] Adhichanallur has been announced as an archaeological site for further excavation and studies. ^[9]

Chera Rule

From early pre-historic times, Tamil Nadu was the home of the four powerful Tamil kingdoms of the Chera, Chola, Pandya(Madurai) and Pallavas. History In early Tamil literature the great Chera rulers are referred to as Cheral Kuttuvan Irumporai Kollipurai and Athan Origin The origin of the word “Pandya” has been a subject of much speculation Madurai Origins See also Origin of Pallava The exact origin of the Pallavas is shrouded in mystery The oldest extant literature, dated between 500 BCE and 200 CE mentions the exploits of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 300 BCE and 600 CE The early Cholas reigned between the 1st and 4th centuries CE on the east coast. The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period ( 300 BCE – 200 C Cheras ruled from the capital of Karur near the west coast and traded extensively with West Asian kingdoms. Karur ( Tamil: கரூர்) is a town and a Municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated

An unknown dynasty called Kalabhras invaded and displaced the three Tamil kingdoms between the fourth and the seventh centuries CE. Identification Kalabhras The identification of the Kalabhras is difficult The ancient Tamil country, also known as Tamilakam, refers to an ancient independent region in the areas of modern South India, corresponding roughly The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. This is referred to as the Dark Age in Tamil history. Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern They were eventually expelled by the Pallavas and the Pandyas. Origins See also Origin of Pallava The exact origin of the Pallavas is shrouded in mystery Origin The origin of the word “Pandya” has been a subject of much speculation

Pallava Rule

Around 580 CE, the Pallavas, great temple builders, emerged into prominence and dominated the south for another 150 years. A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites They ruled a vast portion of Tamil Nadu with Kanchipuram as their capital. Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a city and a Municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of They subjugated the Cholas and reigned as far south as the Kaveri River. Among the greatest Pallava rulers were Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Mahendravarman I ( Tamil: மகேந்திரவர்மன் (600 - 630 CE was a Pallava king who ruled the Northern regions of what forms present-day Narasimhavarman I ( Tamil: முதலாம் நரசிம்மவர்மன் was one of the most famous Pallava kings who ruled South India Dravidian architecture reached its peak during the Pallava rule. Dravidian architecture was a style of architecture that emerged thousands of years ago in the Indian subcontinent

Pandya Rule

Pallavas were replaced by the Pandyas in the 8th century. Their capital Madurai was in the deep south away from the coast.

Chola Empire

By the 9th century, under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a notable power in Asia. The Brihadishwara Temple ( Tamil: ta பெருவுடையார் கோவில் also known as Rajarajeswaram, at Thanjavur is a brilliant Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after Rajaraja Chola I (இராஜராஜ சோழன் is one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE "Rajendra Chola" redirects here For Rajendra Chola II see Rajendra Chola II. The Chola Empire stretched as far as Bengal. Etymology and ethnology The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang Rajaraja Chola conquered all of peninsular South India and parts of Sri Lanka. South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Rajendra Chola's navies went even further, occupying coastal Burma (now Myanmar), the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya in South East Asia and Pegu islands. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a Union territory of India. Informally the territory's name is often abbreviated to A & N Islands, or ANI Lakshadweep ( (ലക്ഷദ്വീപ്,) the smallest Union territory of India, is a group of islands 200 to 300 km off of the coast of Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula (Semenanjung Tanah Melayu (คาบสมุทรมลายู is a major Peninsula located in Southeast He defeated Mahipala, the king of the Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Mahipala I (c 995 - 1043 CE is considered the second founder of the Pala dynasty Gangaikonda Cholapuram ( Tamil:) was erected as the capital of the Cholas by Rajendra Chola I, the son and successor of Rajaraja Chola, the great

The Cholas revelled in building magnificent temples. Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur is a classical example of the magnificent architecture of the Chola kingdom. The Brihadishwara Temple ( Tamil: ta பெருவுடையார் கோவில் also known as Rajarajeswaram, at Thanjavur is a brilliant Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation Brihadeshwara temple is an UNESCO Heritage Site under "Great Living Chola Temples. "^[10] Another example is the Chidambaram Temple in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram. Chidambaram Temple ( Tamil: சிதம்பரம் கோயில் is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the heart of WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Chidambaram is a Municipality and taluk ( Tehsil) headquarters in the Cuddalore district The power of the Cholas declined around the late 11th century.

Pandya Rule (Restored)

With the decline of the Cholas, the Pandyas rose to prominence once again in the late 12th century.

Delhi Sultanate

This restoration was short-lived as the Pandya capital of Madurai itself was sacked by Alauddin Khilji troops from the north in 1316. Madurai Ala-ud-din Khilji ( Pashto / Arabic: علاء الدين الخلجي) (real name Juna Khan) (b The invasion led to the establishment of the Madurai Sultanate. The Madurai Sultanate (or the Ma'bar Sultanate was a short lived kingdom based in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India during the 14th century CE

Vijayanagar Empire

These northern invasions triggered the establishment of Vijayanagara Empire in the Deccan. The Vijayanagara Empire ( Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ Telugu: విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము was a South It eventually conquered the entire Tamil country (c. 1370 CE). This empire lasted almost three centuries.

Rule of Nayaks

As the Vijayanagara Empire went into decline after mid-16th century, the Nayak governors, who were appointed by the Vijayanagar kingdom to administer various territories of the empire, declared their independence. The Vijayanagara Empire ( Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ Telugu: విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము was a South The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were most prominent of them all in the 17th century. Prelude Decline of Pandya Rule Muslim Invasion and Vijayanagar Domination Early in the fourteenth century a dispute arose over the succession to the Pandya throne Origins of Nayak rule With the demise of the Chola dynasty in 1279 Thanjavur was ruled by various small chieftains until the Vijayanagara Empire conquered They reconstructed some of the oldest temples in the country.

Rule of Nizams and Nawabs

Around 1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat. In various forms Denmark has had colonial possessions since the beginning of the 13th century when it obtained possessions in Estonia. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Tharangambadi (or Tranquebar) is a Panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Pulicat (Pazhaverkadu is a town which lies in the Thiruvallur District, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. In 1639, the British, under the British East India Company, established a settlement further south, in present day Chennai.

The British used petty quarrels among the provincial rulers (divide and rule) to expand their sphere of influence throughout the Nizam's dominions. The British fought and reduced the French dominions in India to Pondicherry. French India is a general name for the former French possessions in India. Puducherry (formerly; புதுச்சேரி or பாண்டிச்சேரி పాండిచెర్రి പുതുശ്ശേരി Pondichéry is a Nizams bestowed tax revenue collection rights on the East India Company by the end of 18th century. Some notable chieftains or Poligars who fought the British East India Company as it was expanding were Veerapandya Kattabomman, Pulithevan and Dheeran Chinnamalai. Palaiyakkarar, poligar, polygar or palegar was the title for a class of territorial administrative cum Military chiefs ( Knights and Early life Veerapandiya Kattabomman was born to a Tamil warrior Jagaveera Kattabomman and Arumugathammal on January 3 1760 Dheeran Chinnamalai (தீரன் சின்னமலை original nameTheerthagiri Gounder ( April 17, 1756 &ndash July 31 1805

See also: Arcot Nawab

British Empire

In early 19th century, East India Company consolidated most of southern India into the Madras Presidency coterminous with the dominions of Nizam of Hyderabad. Nawabs of the Carnatic (also referred to as the Nawabs of Arcot) ruled the Carnatic region of South India between about 1690 and 1801 Nizam ( Urdu: نظام‌) a shortened version of Nizam-ul-Mulk ( Urdu: نظام‌الملک) meaning Administrator of the Realm, was [8] Pudukkottai remained as a princely state under British suzerainty. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Pudukkottai ( Tamil:புதுக்கோட்டை is a city and a Municipality in For other uses see Principality, Other princely states A Princely State (also called Native State or Indian State) was a

Independence

When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State, comprised of present day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh up to Ganjam district in Orissa, northern Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1968, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning Land of Tamil.

Geography and climate

Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 square kilometres (50,216 sq mi),and is the eleventh largest state in India. The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. West and North of the state has lofty hills while the East and South are coastal plains. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the northwest and Andhra Pradesh to the north. Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ pronounced) is a state in the southern part of India To the east is the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. The southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula is located in Tamil Nadu. At this point is the town of Kanyakumari which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface

Tamil Nadu has a coastline of about 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) which forms about 18% of the country’s coastline (third longest). ^[1] Tamil Nadu's coastline bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami when it hit India, which left behind 7,793 dead in the state. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea Earthquake that occurred at 005853 UTC on December 26 2004 with an Epicentre off the west coast of ^[11] Tamil Nadu falls mostly in a region of low seismic hazard with the exception of 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 & III. Historically, parts of this region have experienced seismic activity in the M5. 0 range. ^[12]

Tamil Nadu, a coastal state, is prone to droughts. The climate of the state ranges from dry sub-humid to semi-arid. The state has three distinct periods of rainfall: (1) Advancing monsoon period, South West monsoon (from June to September), with strong southwest winds; (2) North East monsoon (from October to December), with dominant northeast winds; and (3) Dry season (from January to May). A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months The normal annual rainfall of the state is about 945 mm (37. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to 2 in)^[13] of which 48% is through the North East monsoon, and 32% through the South West monsoon. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. Since the state is entirely dependent on rains for recharging its water resources, monsoon failures lead to acute water scarcity and severe drought. ^[1] Tamil Nadu is classified into seven agro-climatic zones: north-east, north-west, west, southern, high rainfall, high altitude hilly, and Cauvery Delta (the most fertile agricultural zone). The Kaveri River ( Kannada: ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ Tamil: காவிரி ஆறு also spelled Cauvery in English The table below shows the maximum and minimum temperatures that the state experiences in the plains and hills. ^[14]

	Plains	Hills
Max.	43. 0 °C (109. 4 °F)	32. 3 °C (90. 1 °F)
Min.	13. 1 °C (55. 6 °F)	3. 0 °C (37. 4 °F)

Tamil Nadu has a wide variety of minerals with the most reserves in India lignite (almost 90% of India's reserves), magnesite (45%) and garnet (over 40%) among others. Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere Magnesite is not to be confused with Magnetite or Magnemite. Magnesite is Magnesium carbonate, Mg[[carbon The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives ^[15] Tamil Nadu contributes 15% of the total Salt production in the country. Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants Forests cover over 17% of the state's geographical area with several Protected areas of Tamil Nadu including wild life and bird sanctuaries. The Protected areas of Tamil Nadu State in ^[16]

Governance and administration

Main article: Government of Tamil Nadu

Main article: Tamil Nadu Police

Tamil Nadu had a bicameral legislature until 1986, when it was replaced with a unicameral legislature, like most other states in India. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber 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. A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government A Chief Minister is the elected Head of government of a sub-national (e The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head of the judiciary. The Madras High Court, one of the Landmarks of the metropolis of Chennai, India, and believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world The present Governor, Chief minister and the Chief Justice are S. The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English  S.  Barnala, M.  Karunanidhi and A.  P.  Shah respectively. The major administrative units of the state constitutes 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, 234 Assembly constituencies, 31 districts, 8 municipal corporations, 152 municipalities, 561 town panchayats and 12,618 village panchayats. The Lok Sabha (also titled the House of the People, by the Constitution) is the directly elected Lower house of the Parliament of India Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is the state capital. It is the fourth largest city in India and is also one of the five A1 Metropolitan cities of India.

Tamil Nadu has been a pioneering state in E-Governance initiatives in India. E-Governance is a Network of organizations to include government nonprofit and private-sector entities in e-governance there are no distinct boundaries A large part of the government records like land ownership records are already 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, thereby improving the quality of service and transparency in operations. Local Governance in India is divided into urban and rural local governance A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business A township (or Municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government

The 31 districts of Tamil Nadu are listed below, with the numbers corresponding to those in the image at the right. Ariyalur district, which was created in 2001 from the Perambalur district, was restored as the 31st district of Tamil Nadu on the 23rd November, 2007. Ariyalur is an administrative District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Perambalur is an administrative district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India.

Chennai District Coimbatore District Cuddalore District Dharmapuri District Dindigul District Erode District Kanchipuram District Kanyakumari District Karur District Krishnagiri District Madurai District Nagapattinam District Namakkal District Perambalur District Pudukkottai District

Ramanathapuram District Salem District Sivagangai District Thanjavur District The Nilgiris District Theni District Thoothukudi District Tiruchirapalli District Tirunelveli District Tiruvallur District Tiruvannamalai District Tiruvarur District Vellore District Viluppuram District Virudhunagar District Ariyalur district

TN government has also announced that Tirupur will be the new headquarters of the Tirupur district which will be formed by splitting the Coimbatore and Erode district. The Chennai District is a district in the state of Tamil Nadu, in India. Coimbatore District is one of the most affluent and industrially advanced districts of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Cuddalore District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Dharmapuri District is an administrative district Kongu Nadu of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Dindigul District ( Tamil:திண்டுக்கல் is an administrative region in the south of Tamil Nadu, India. Erode District (ஈரோடு மாவட்டம் is a northern district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with Erode as Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram (also sometimes Conjeevaram is a district is in the northeast of Tamil Nadu, adjacent to the Bay of Bengal Kanyakumari District ( Tamil: கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டம்(also spelt 'Kanniyakumari' or 'Kanniakumari District') is Karur District is located centerly along the Kaveri & Amaravathi rivers in Tamil Nadu India Krishnagiri District (கிருஷ்ணகிரி மாவட்டம் in Tamil') is a district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Madurai district is one of the 31 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Nagapattinam District is a coastal district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Namakkal District (நாமக்கல் மாவட்டம் is an administrative district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Perambalur is an administrative district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Pudukkottai District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Ramanathapuram District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Salem District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Sivagangai District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Thanjavur District is one of the 30 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. The Nilgiris District is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri (Tamil: நீலகிரி or Blue Mountains when translated Theni District (ேதனி மாவட்டம் is a district of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Thoothukudi District, also known as Tuticorin District, is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Tiruchirapalli District (also known as Tiruchchirapalli District / Trichy District is located along the Kaveri River in Tamil Nadu India Tirunelveli District (திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம் in Tamil is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern Tiruvallur district is an administrative district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvannaamalai District is one of the 30 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, in South India. Tiruvarur district is one of the 30 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. Vellore district is one of the 31 districts in the Tamilnadu state of India. For Headquarters (HQ see Viluppuram (town Viluppuram (also Villupuram and Vizhupuram) is one of the thirty districts which make up Tamil Virudhunagar District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Ariyalur is an administrative District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. ^[17]

The Tamil Nadu Police Force is over 140 years old. The Tamil Nadu Police Force is the law enforcing agency / department of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the fifth largest state police force in India. ^[19] The administrative control of Tamil Nadu Police vests with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu who holds the portfolio of Home Minister. The supervision and coordination of Police is done by the Home Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. The Force is headed by the Director General of Police. In India the Director General of Police is the highest ranking police officer in Indian States The State is divided into 4 police zones - North, Central, West and South. Each zone is headed by one Inspector General of Police. In each of the six metropolitan cities of Tamil Nadu, the City Police force is headed by a Commissioner of Police. Police Commissioner (or Commissioner of Police) is the title of the chief officer of many law enforcement agencies. These cities are Greater Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Salem and Tirunelveli. There are thirty police districts in Tamil Nadu, each headed by a Superintendent of Police. Superintendent ( Supt) often shortened to "Super" is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations In each City and District, the Commissioner of Police / Superintendent of Police has, besides the civil police force, an armed reserve of police personnel. One Deputy Inspector General of police supervises the work of 2–3 districts, which constitute a Police Range. There are eleven ranges in Tamil Nadu. The special units of Tamil Nadu Police perform specific functions related to security, intelligence, criminal investigations and support services. ^[19] Tamil Nadu has a police population ratio of 1 : 632. ^[20] The Tamil Nadu Police force is regarded as one amongst the best in the country. ^[20] Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law and order has been maintained largely successfully. Over the years, there has been a gradual decrease in the number of crimes registered. ^[18]

Politics

Main article: Politics of Tamil Nadu

Pre Independence

Prior to Indian independence Tamil Nadu was under British colonial rule as part of the Madras Presidency. Dravidian parties have dominated state politics since 1967One of the earliest regional parties was the South Indian Welfare Association which was founded in 1916 Madras Presidency, also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St The main party in Tamil Nadu at that time was the Congress Party. Regional parties have dominated state politics since 1916. India has a Multi-party system with a predominance of small regional parties One of the earliest regional parties was the South Indian Welfare Association, which was a forerunner to Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu, was started in 1916. The party was called after its English organ, Justice Party, by it opponents and later the same was adopted as its official name. The reason for victory of the Justice Party in elections was the non-participation of the Congress Party, demanding complete independence of India.

E. V. Ramaswami Naicker popularly known as EVR and also as Periyar, believed in agitational politics and he took the Justice Party away from its original path. The Justice Party which had a moribund existence under E. V. Ramaswami Naicker, died at last in 1944 which he renamed the party Dravidar Kazhagam (DK for short) in 1944. Dravidar Kazhagam or Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Organization was the first fully Dravidian party in India. DK was a non-political party which demanded the establishment of an independent state called Dravida Nadu. Dravida Nadu was also the name of a Tamil language publication started by C However, due to the differences between its two leaders Periyar and C.N. Annadurai, the party was split. C N Annadurai (அண்ணாதுரை (1909 to 1969 popularly called Anna (which means elder brother in Tamil language) was the first non Congress Annadurai left the party to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( Tamil:திராவிட முன்னேற்றக் கழகம் (literally "Dravidian Progress Federation") is a regional The DMK decided to enter politics in 1956.

Dravidian Politics

In the 19th century, western scholars proposed that Dravidian languages that dominates the south of India formed a different linguistic group to that of Indo-Aryan languages that are predominant in the north of the country. The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family They also classified Indians into distinct Aryan and Dravidian races. It was proposed that the generally darker-skinned Dravidians constituted a distinct race. The term race or racial group usually refers to the concept of categorizing Humans into Populations or groups on the basis of various sets This concept has affected thinking in India about racial and regional differences and had an impact on aspects of Tamil nationalism, which has appropriated the claim that Dravidians are the earliest inhabitants of India, and the Aryan population were oppressive interlopers from whom Dravidians should liberate themselves. Tamil nationalism is a strong aspiration by some Tamils to establish at minimum self determination

Re-organisation of Indian states according to linguistic and ethnic basis has moderated Tamil nationalism, especially the demand for separation from the Indian Union. M Karunanidhi (முகருணாநிதி or Karunanidhi Muthuvel generally referred to as M C N Annadurai (அண்ணாதுரை (1909 to 1969 popularly called Anna (which means elder brother in Tamil language) was the first non Congress Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran Menon ( Tamil: மருதூர் கோபால இராமச்சந்திரன் Malayalam:മരുതൂര് The Anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made the DMK more popular and a more powerful political force in the state. Anti-Hindi agitation is a term used to describe the opposition of people of Tamil Nadu against the Indian Government's attempts to adopt Hindi as the sole The DMK routed the Congress Party in the 1967 elections and took control of the state government, ending Congress' stronghold in Tamil Nadu. Indian National Congress-I (also known as the Congress Party and abbreviated INC) is a major Political party in India. C. N. Annadurai became the DMK's first Chief Minister. A Chief Minister is the elected Head of government of a sub-national (e

Muthuvel Karunanidhi took over as Chief Minister and party leader after Annadurai's death in 1969. M Karunanidhi (முகருணாநிதி or Karunanidhi Muthuvel generally referred to as M Karunanidhi's leadership was soon challenged by M.G. Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR. Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran Menon ( Tamil: மருதூர் கோபால இராமச்சந்திரன் Malayalam:മരുതൂര് In 1972, he split from DMK and formed the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) and later renamed the party as All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam. He was the Chief Minister of the state from 1977 until his death in 1987. After the death of MGR and the defeat of AIADMK in the 1989 assembly polls, J. Jayalalithaa took control of the party. Jayalalitha Jayaram ( Tamil: ஜெயலலிதா ஜெயராம்) or J She was elected as the General Secretary of the unified AIADMK. There have been several splits in both the DMK and the AIADMK, but since 1967 one of those two parties has held power in the state.

Demographics and human rights

Tamil Nadu is the sixth most populous state in India with a population of 62,405,679 as of midnight on March 1, 2001 (approximately 6. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. 05% of India's population). It is the eleventh most densely populated state in India. In 2001, its population density was 478 persons per square kilometre^[21], having increased from 429 in 1991, significantly higher than the Indian average of 324 persons per square kilometre. ^[22] Approximately 47% of Tamil Nadu's population live in urban areas, one of the highest percentages in India. ^[23]

Seventy-six Scheduled Castes[9] have been notified in Tamil Nadu by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act of 1976. (pdf) However only three schedulaed castes have a population exceeding 1 million viz. Adi Dravidar (5. 4 million), Pallar (2. Pallar are a Caste of upwardly mobile Tamil agriculturalists and agricultural Caste of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and amongst the 2 million) and Paraiyar (1. Paraiyar also Parayar, Paraya, Pariah, or Sambavas are a Social group found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and 8 million).

Tamil Nadu's population grew by 11. 19% between 1991 and 2001, the second lowest rate for that period (after Kerala) amongst populous states (states whose population exceeded 20 million in 2001). Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Its decadal rate of population growth has declined in every decade since 1971, one of only three populous states (along with Kerala and Orissa) to show this trend. Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. According to National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3), Tamil Nadu registered a fertility rate of 1. 8, the lowest in India in year 2005-2006 [10].

Tamil Nadu is a socially progressive state in India as exemplified by creating a welfare board for transgenders and also issuing an order for creating a third gender category for admission in government colleges. Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives ^[24][25]

Language and Religion Demographics

	Tamil	Other languages	Total
Hindu	78%	10%1	88%
Christian	4%	1%2	5%
Muslim	3%	2%3	5%
Other religions	1%	1%	2%
Total	86%	14%	100%
Note 1: mainly Telugu Note 2: mainly Malayalam Note 3: mainly Urdu

The vast majority (86%) of people in Tamil Nadu speak Tamil as the mother language. Also the vast majority of the people follow the Hindu religion. A significant population can speak more than one language, usually English. The distribution of population based on religion and language is described in the table. ^[26]

Among Muslims 97. 5% are Sunni (Most of the Tamil Muslims, adhere to either Hanafi or Shafi schools of thought) and 1. Tamil Muslim refers to Muslims of Tamil ethnicity found in South Asia and South East Asia. The Hanafi ( Arabic حنفي school is the oldest of the four schools of thought ( Madhhabs The Shāfi‘ī Madhab ( ar شافعي) is one of the four schools of Fiqh, or religious law within 5% Shia. Tamil Nadu has had a good human rights record when it comes to religious freedom. There have been some notable exceptions. With respect to caste discrimination, Tamil Nadu's record is fairly poor. The state, during the peak of the dravidian movement, experienced strong anti-Brahmin sentiments. Brahmin ( Brāhmaṇa, sa ब्राह्मणः is the class of educators scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism. There are allegations that Dalits are discriminated even today in the southern districts and in other rural areas by the OBC population there. Dalit is a self designation for group of people of South Asian descent who were traditionally regarded as untouchables or low Caste. The government's 69% reservation policy in educational institutions for OBCs and MBCs is, in general, resented by many forward castes for being a policy of reverse discrimination. ^[27][28] Tamil Nadu's record of tolerance towards linguistic minorities has been exemplary, despite provocative incidents occurring in other states and despite the state having been the epicenter of anti-Hindi agitations.

Education and social development

Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 1991-2001. Literacy in India is an indispensable means for effective social and economic participation contributing to human development and poverty reduction says UNESCO. The state's literacy rate increased from 62. 66% in 1991 to 73. 47% in 2001. ^[22] which is well above the national average. About 99% of the population has access to primary education. ^[29]

Tamil Nadu has 40 Universities,^[30] 350 engineering colleges and 1150 arts college, 2550 schools and 5000 hospitals.

• IIT Madras,
• NIT Tiruchi,
• Anna University,
• Madurai Kamaraj University,
• Coimbatore Institute of Technology,
• Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology,
• Government College of Technology,
• Karunya University,
• Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy,
• PSG College of Technology,
• Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham,
• Kumaraguru College of Technology,
• Thiagarajar College of Engineering,
• SRM University,
• Sathyabama University,
• Vellore Institute of Technology in Engineering;
• Madras Medical College,
• Christian Medical College,
• Stanley Medical College in Medicine;
• LIBA,
• Bharathidasan Institute of Management in Management studies;
• Madras Christian College in Arts and Science;
• Presidency College,
• Loyola College in Science;
• Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Agriculture;
• Tamilnadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) are the premier institutes in the state. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras ( IIT Madras) is an elite engineering and technology school located in Chennai (formerly Madras in southern The National Institute of Technology at Tiruchirappalli, NIT Trichy, (formerly Regional Engineering College (REC Trichy) is situated in the Anna University (அண்ணா ப‌ல்கலைக்கழகம் is one of India 's premier engineering universities The Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT is one of the leading DOTE engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu located at Coimbatore, India. Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology ( ACCET-Karaikudi) is a major College of Engineering in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu The Government College of Technology Coimbatore ( GCT) is an autonomous state funded engineering college located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Karunya University (formerly Karunya Institute of Technology & Sciences is a fully residential Pro-Christian private university located in Coimbatore India. Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA is a university in the town of Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu PSG College of Technology, also called PSG Tech, is an ISO 90012000 certified institute located in Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham or Amrita University is a multi-campus Multi-disciplinary Research university located in India Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT in Coimbatore is a private Engineering College started in 1984 under the auspices of Ramanandha Adigalar Foundation a charitable Thiagarajar College of Engineering(TCE Madurai an ISO 90012000 certified Institution affiliated to Anna University Chennai is one among the several educational and philanthropic institutions SRM University is a Co-educational Private university located in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Sathyabama University is a Private University in Tamil Nadu, India, founded in 1987 VIT University (formerly Vellore Institute of Technology) is a private co educational university located in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India The Madras Medical College is a prominent educational institution located in Chennai, India. Christian Medical College & Hospital Vellore, known simply as "CMC Vellore", was founded by Ida S Stanley Medical College (SMC is a government medical college with hospitals located in Chennai (Madras in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Loyola Institute of Business Administration or LIBA is a business school located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM Tiruchirapalli, Tamilnadu state India, isa partnership between Bharathidasan University and The Madras Christian College in Chennai, South India, is one of the oldest colleges in Asia and was established in 1837 Presidency College is in Chennai, India and is considered to be the precursor of the University of Madras. Loyola College in Maryland is a private Coeducational University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with the The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU came into being on June 1 1971. Also Tamil Nadu produces the highest number of engineering graduates in India (around 30,000) every year which attracts many software companies to set up their shop in south India.

Tamil Nadu has performed well in human development. With an index of 0. 531, it ranked third in India^[31], though considered low as against western standards. This includes population, sex ratio, density of population, per capita income, Below Poverty Line, Infant Mortality Rate, Literacy Rate, and Women's Empowerment. The life expectancy at birth for males is 65. Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age 2 years and for females it is 67. 6 years. ^[32] However, it has a number of challenges, significantly, the poverty is high, especially in the rural areas. As of 2004-2005, the poverty line was set at Rs. 351. 86 / month for rural areas and Rs. 547. 42 / month for urban areas. ^[33] Poverty in the state had dropped from 51. 7% in 1983 to 21. 1% in 2001^[34] For the period 2004-2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty in the state was 22. 5% as against the national figure of 27. 5%. ^[35] The World Bank is currently assisting the state in reducing poverty^[36] 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.

The Dravidian movement, which championed the causes of educating the people and eradicating superstitions, began in Tamil Nadu. In addition, it aimes to uplift the socially repressed Dravidian people and drew considerable support from the middle classes for their efforts in this matter. The movement was committed to social justice which led to the expansion of reservations for the deprived communities. Reservation in Indian law is a form of Affirmative action whereby a percentage of seats are reserved in the public sector units union and state civil services Tamil Nadu now has a 69% reservation in educational institutions, the highest among all Indian states. ^[37]

The Mid-day Meal Scheme program in Tamil Nadu, initiated by Kamaraj, was expanded considerably during the rule of the AIADMK in 1983. The Mid-day Meal Scheme is the popular name for school meal programme in India. Kamaraj Kumarasami, ( Tamil: காமராஜ் better known as K It feeds over a fifth of the state's population.

Culture

Main articles: Tamil people and Temples of Tamilnadu

Tamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable culture. Kolam ( Tamil: ta கோலம்) is a form of sandpainting that is drawn using Rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern Tamil Nadu is known as the land of temples Nearly 33000 ancient temples - many of which are at least 600 to 800 years old are scattered all over the land Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam (dance), Tanjore painting, and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be practised in Tamil Nadu. Tanjore painting ( Tamil Language: தஞ்சாவூர் ஓவியம் Thanjavur Oviyam) is an important form of classical South Indian Painting

Language and Literature

Main article: Tamil literature

Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu and is one of the two classical languages of India, the other being Sanskrit. Tamil literature refers to the Literature in the Tamil language. The Thiruvalluvar Statue is a 133 feet (405 m tall stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and saint Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Tamil is also one of the official languages of India. The Constitution of India envisages Hindi as the primary official language to be used by the Union Government, with English as the subsidiary official language ^[38] Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, music and dance which continue to flourish today. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic

Tamil is one of the Classical Languages of India. A classical language, is a language with a Literature that is "classical"&mdashie "it should be ancient it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly It is a vibrant language with a long and rich literary tradition. Most of the older works are in verse form, and prose gained popularity later. All through history, Tamil literature has sought to inform and inspire, educate and entertain. Tamil poetry has universal appeal as evinced by many examples.

எப்பொருள் யார்யார்வாய்க் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள் மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்ப தறிவு

'The mark of wisdom is to discern the truth From whatever source it is heard. ' - (Tirukkural - 423)

Tirukkural which was written nearly two millennia ago portrays a universal outlook. This is evident as the author, Thiruvalluvar, does not mention his religion, land, or the audience for his work. He is portrayed as a holy saint of Tamil Nadu today. There is an evidential history that the kings of olden days rolled out Tamil Sangam (Tamil organisation) to develop literature works in Tamil. The Tamil Sangams are legendary assemblies of Tamil scholars and poets that according to traditional Tamil accounts existed in the remote past The Sangam headquartered in Madurai generated a large amount of notable literary works. The first Tamil printing press was established at Tarangambadi by the Danish missionaries.

During the Indian freedom struggle, many Tamil poets and writers provoked national spirit, social equity and secularist thoughts among the common man, notably Subramanya Bharathy. The term " Indian independence movement " is diffuse incorporating various national and regional campaigns agitations and efforts of both Nonviolent and Militant Subramania Bharati (சுப்ரமணிய பாரதி ( December 11, 1882 - September 11, 1921) was a Tamil poet from Tamil Nadu Even today, Tamil Nadu is home to creative writers like Jayakanthan, Jayamohan, Sujatha, Indira Parthasarathy. Jayakanthan (ஜெயகாந்தன் (born April 24, 1934) is a Tamil Writer, Essayist B Jayamohan, or B Jeyamohan is a noted Tamil Writer and Literary critic from Nagercoil in the south of Tamil Nadu. Sujatha (May 3 1935 - February 27 2008 was the pseudonym of the Tamil writer S Indira Parthasarathy (commonly known as Ee Paa is the pen name of R

Religion

Hindu saints of Tamil Nadu come from all castes. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical For example, Thiruvalluvar and Atipattar and were Harijans, Sant Tirumangai and Sant Kannappa were Adivasi, Nammalvar and Nandanar were Shudras, Viralminda and Satti were Vaish, Ramananda and Ramana Maharishi were Brahmins. Thiruvalluvar (திருவள்ளுவர் is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, an ethical work in Tamil literature. Dalit is a self designation for group of people of South Asian descent who were traditionally regarded as untouchables or low Caste. Ādivāsīs (in Devanagari script: आदिवासी literally "original inhabitants" comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population Nammalvar (also Nammaazhvaar, Nammazhvar, Nammaalvaar, Nammalwar) was one of the twelve Alvars, well-known for his many hymns Nandanar ( Tamil: நந்தனார் or திருநாளைப் போவார் நாயனார், Thirunalai Povar Nayanar Ramananda ( 1400 ?- 1470 ? was a Vaishnava Sant, a Ramayat, a devotee of Lord Ram. Sri Ramana Maharshi ( December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950) born Venkataraman Iyer, was an Indian sage Tiru Panazhwar was a member of the Panan caste that was considered an avatar from Vishnu's chest. The Alwar and Nayanar movements greatly united members of all castes to worship God together. History "Alwar" was formerly known as "Ulwar"

Tamil Nadu was the home of several Hindu movements not in the usual mainstream. These include Shankara's Advaita, Ramanuja's Vishistadvaita, Alwar Vaishnavism, Nayanar Shaivism, Several important Hindu Tamil figures became important figures for Hinduism as a whole (e. Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Ramanuja ( traditionally 1017&ndash1137 also known as Ramanujacharya, was a Theologian, Philosopher, and Scriptural Exegete. VishishtAdvaita Vedanta ( IAST Viśishṭādvaita Vedanta; Sanskrit: विशिष्टाद्वैत is a sub-school of the Vedānta Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and Shaivism, also spelled "Saivism" names the oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. g. , Shankara and Ramanuja. Ramanuja ( traditionally 1017&ndash1137 also known as Ramanujacharya, was a Theologian, Philosopher, and Scriptural Exegete. )

In modern times, worldwide important figures for Hinduism were Ramana Maharishi and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Sri Ramana Maharshi ( December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950) born Venkataraman Iyer, was an Indian sage Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ( Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ರವಿಶಂಕರ್ Tamil: ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிஷங்கர் is a spiritual and

Other saints known more locally to Hindus within India are Raghavendra Swami the Dvaita Vaishnava, Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda or the Nithyananda Foundation, Sivananda the expert of yoga and Vedanta. Dvaita ( Kannada: ದ್ವೈತ Devanagari:द्बैत is a dualist school of Vedanta Hindu philosophy. Paramahamsa Nithyananda (January 1 1978 born Rajasekaran is an Indian spiritual Guru who teaches meditation and hosted various meditation retreats Swami Sivananda Saraswati ( Sep 8, 1887 — Jul 14, 1963) was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a well known Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the Vedanta ( Devanagari: sa वेदान्त Vedānta) is a spiritual tradition explained in the Upanishads that is concerned with the Self-realisation

Popular forms of God include Vishnu, Shiva and Murugan (son of Shiva), although many other forms are also worshiped These other forms of God include, Rama, Krishna, Ganesh, Paravati, Surya, and others. For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva Rama ( IAST: rāma Devanāgarī: राम Khmer: Phreah Ream Thai: Phra Ram Lao: Phra Lam Tagalog: Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism Ganesha ( Sanskrit: sa गणेश Gaṇeśa) also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar Parvati ( Sanskrit: Pārvatī sa [[wiktपार्वती पार्वती]] sometimes spelled Parvathi or Parvathy, is a Hindu In Hinduism, Surya ( Devanagari: सूर्य sūrya, lit "the Supreme Light" Malay: Suria; Thai: There is even a temple dedicated to the form of Hanuman and Ganesh in one form - Adianta Prabhu[11]. Hanuman (हनुमत् sa-Latn '''Hanumat''' nominative singular sa हनुमान् sa-Latn ''Hanumān'' known also as ' Anjaneya' (son of Anjana is one of the The government emblem of Tamil Nadu contained the popular Hindu temple of Virudhunagar. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Virudhunagar is a city and a Municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian

Music

See also: Ancient Tamil music

The Kings of the olden days created sangams for Iyal Isai Nadagam (Literature, Music and Drama). The ancient Tamil music was the music of the ancient Tamil people, who resided in the lands of the Ancient Tamil country. Music plays a major role in sangams. Music in Tamil Nadu had different forms. In villages where farming was the primary work, the ladies who work in the fields used to sing kulavai songs. Odhuvars, Sthanikars or Kattalaiyars offer short musical programmes in the temples by singing the devotional Thevaram songs. In sharp contrast with the restrained and intellectual nature of carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends to be much more exuberant. Popular forms of Tamil folk music include the Villuppāṭṭu, a form of music performed with a bow, and the Nāṭṭuppur̲appāṭṭu, ballads that convey folklore and folk history. Naattupurapaattu is a form of Tamil Folk music. Tamil Nadu has a very ancient and rich form of folk music some of which is disappearing due to the importance A ballad is a Poem usually set to Music; thus it often is a story told in a Song. Some of the leading Tamil folk artists in the early 21st century are Pushpuvanam Kuppuswamy, Dr Navaneethakrishnan, Chinnaponnu, Paravai muniammal etc.

Carnatic music is the classical music of Southern India. The basic form is a monophonic song with improvised variations. There are 72 basic scales on the octave, and a rich variety of melodic motion. Both melodic and rhythmic structures are varied and compelling. This is one of the world's oldest & richest musical traditions. Carnatic music abounds in structured compositions in the different ragas. These are songs composed by great artists and handed down through generations of disciples. Three saint composers of the nineteenth century, Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, have composed thousands of songs that remain favourites among musicians and audiences. Thyāgarāja (శ్రీ త్యాగరాజ స్వామి May 4, 1767 - January 6, 1847) was a composer of Carnatic music Muthuswami Dikshitar ( Tamil: முத்துஸ்வாமி தீக்ஷிதர் March 24[[ 775]] &ndash October 21 1835) Shyama Shastri ( శ్యామా శాస్త్రిஷ்யாமா ஷாஸ்திரி श्यामा शास्त्रि) ( 1762 - 1827 The composers belonging to the Tamil Trinity of Muthu Thandavar (?1560 - ?1640 CE), Arunachala Kavi (1712-1779) and Marimutthu Pillai (1717-1787) composed hundreds of devotional songs in Tamil and helped in the evolution of Carnatic music. The Tamil Trinity (also known as the Tamil Moovar) commonly refers to the three Tamil composers of early Carnatic music. Muthu Thandavar (?1560 - ?1640 CE was composer of Carnatic music and was an early architect of the present day Carnatic kriti (song format which consists of the Arunachala Kavi (அருணாசல கவி (?1711 - ?1788 was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. Marimutthu Pillai (?1717 - ?1787 CE was a composer of Carnatic music and along with Arunachala Kavi and Muthu Thandavar was one of the pioneering Today, Tamil Nadu has hundreds of notable carnatic singers who spread this music all over the world. M. S. Subbulakshmi, a renowned carnatic singer, had the honour of singing a song in the UN Security Council. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi ( popularly known as MS or M

In terms of modern music (light, film, pop, etc. ), the music of Tamil Nadu is praised very highly. Ilaiyaraaja was the most prominent composer of film music in Tamil cinema during the late 1970s and 1980s. ( Tamil: இளையராஜா ɪləjəɹɑːdʒɑː (born June 2, 1943 as Gnanadesikan) is an Indian Film composer, singer 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 A.R. Rahman who is recognised worldwide and has composed film music in both Tamil and Hindi films. Allah Rakkhha Rahman (ஏஆர்ரஹ்மான் born on January 6 1966 as A Tamil cinema or Kollywood ( Tamil: கோலிவுட் kōlivūṭ) is the English name of the popular Tamil Film Industry based in the Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India

Arts and dance

Tamils have a large number of folk dances. Tanjore painting ( Tamil Language: தஞ்சாவூர் ஓவியம் Thanjavur Oviyam) is an important form of classical South Indian Painting Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern These are performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child, weddings and festivals. Tamil dance is closely intertwined with the Tamil theatrical tradition. The most celebrated of these is karakattam. In its religious form, the dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess Mariamman. Goddess Māri (மாரி is known as Mariamman, "Mother Mari" (மாரியம்மன் spelt also Maariamma (மாரியம்மா The dancer bears on his or her head a brass pot filled with uncooked rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a bamboo frame, and tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a grain. Karakattam is usually performed to a special type of song known as temmanguppāṭṭu or thevar pāṭṭu, a folk song in the mode of a lover speaking to his beloved, to the accompaniment of a nadaswaram and melam. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous The nadaswaram (also spelt nadhaswaram, and also called nagaswaram) is one of the most popular classical instruments of Melam is a classic performance of different musical instruments that are unique to Kerala, South India. Other Tamil folk dances include mayilāṭṭam, where the dancers tie a string of peacock feathers around their waist; ōyilāttam, danced in a circle while waving small pieces of cloth of various colours; poykkāl kuthiraiyaaṭṭam, where the dancers use dummy horses; mān̲āṭṭam, where the dancers imitate the graceful leaping of deer; par̲aiyāṭṭam, a dance to the sound of rhythmical drumbeats, and thīppandāṭṭam, a dance involving playing with burning wooden torches.

Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam (பரதநாட்டியம்is a classical Dance form originating in Tamil Nadu, Bharatanatyam is thought to have been created by Bharata Muni, a Hindu sage, who wrote the Natya Shastra, the most important ancient treatise on classical Indian dance. Bharata was an ancient Indian Musicologist who authored the Natya Shastra, a Theoretical Treatise on ancient The Nātya Shastra ( Sanskrit: Nātyaśāstra नाट्य शास्त्र is an ancient Indian treatise on the Performing arts In ancient times it was performed as dasiattam by Hindu temple Devadasis. The term devadasi originally described a Hindu religious practice in which girls were "married" and dedicated to a deity ( deva or Devi) In this form, it as also been called sadir or chinna melam. Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata Natyam dance postures. Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance-form known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. It continues to be a popular and widely performed dance style at present times and is practised by male and female dancers all over India. Therukoothhu (street dance) is a folk tradition of dance-drama.

Film industry

Main article: Kollywood

Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film industry, the second largest film industry in India alongside Bollywood (Hindi films) and Tollywood (Telugu films). Tamil cinema or Kollywood ( Tamil: கோலிவுட் kōlivūṭ) is the English name of the popular Tamil Film Industry based in the Tamil cinema or Kollywood ( Tamil: கோலிவுட் kōlivūṭ) is the English name of the popular Tamil Film Industry based in the Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India Chennai has often been referred to as Kollywood, a conflation of Hollywood and Kodambakkam, the section of Chennai that houses cinema-related facilities. Tamil cinema or Kollywood ( Tamil: கோலிவுட் kōlivūṭ) is the English name of the popular Tamil Film Industry based in the Kodambakkam ( Tamil:) is a locality in Chennai, India. Traditionally Kodambakkam has been synonymous with the Tamil film industry and is known for

Cuisine

Main article: Tamil cuisine

Tamil cuisine has one of the oldest culinary heritages in the world. Tamil Nadu is famous for its hospitality and its deep belief that serving food to others is a service to humanity as is common in many regions of India Traditionally, food is served on banana leaf. Rice is the staple food of Tamils. Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Traditional Tamil cuisine includes Dosai, Idly, Vadai, Pongal and Uthappam. Preparation Regular dosa batter is made from Rice and split skinned Urad bean (black lentil blended with water and left to ferment overnight History Although the precise history of the modern idli is unknown it is a very old food in southern Indian cuisine A vadai - Tamil வடை- Malayalam വട - (also vada, wada, vade) pronounced 'vah-daa' 'vah-dey' or 'vah-die' is a savoury snack from South Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல் is a Harvest festival equivalent to a Thanksgiving event celebrated by Tamils across the world Uttapam Tamil - ஊத்தப்பம் is a Dosa -like dish that is made by cooking ingredients in a batter These dishes are served along with Sambar, Rasam, Kootu, Aviyal, Chatni and Poriyal. Sambar or sambhar ( Kannada:ಸಾರು Malayalam: സാമ്പാർ Tamil:சாம்பார் Telugu:సాంబారు Rasam, ( Tamil: Rasam; Kannada: Saaru; Telugu: Chaaru; sanskrit: Rasam) is a South Indian Kootu (கூட்டு is a Tamil dish made of vegetable and lentils and are semi-solid in consistency i Aviyal ( Malayalam അവിയല് aʋijal is a dish that has a unique place in a typical Kerala Cuisine. Chutney ( Hindi: चटनी Urdu: چٹنی) (British spelling or chatni is a term for a variety of sweet and spicy Condiments, usually The Chettinad region is famous for its spicy non-vegetarian cuisine. Chettinad is a region of the Sivaganga district of southern Tamil Nadu state India. The Tirunelveli region is also famous for its unique wheat halwa. Tirunelveli (திருநெல்வேலி is a city in Tamil Nadu and was formed into a Municipal corporation in 1999 by merging three municipalities viz The fast food culture is witnessing a steady growth in Tamil Nadu in recent years. Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly

Festivals

Pongal, also called as Tamizhar Thirunaal (festival of Tamils) is a four-day harvest festival is the most celebrated festival of Tamil Nadu. Theni District (ேதனி மாவட்டம் is a district of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல் is a Harvest festival equivalent to a Thanksgiving event celebrated by Tamils across the world 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 Tamil month Thai (January 14 or January 15 in western calendar). Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign 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 violent taming the wild bull contest, marks the main event of this day. Jallikattu - ஜல்லிகட்டு is a wild bull taming Sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration During this final day, Kaanum Pongal — the word "kanum", means'to view' in Tamil — youths used to gather at river banks to view and select their future life partners, but that practice has declined.

The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chittirai and the first day of this month is celebrated as Tamil New Year, which generally falls on April 13 or 14th of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used Calendar in the world today Aadi Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water level in the river Cauvery. The Kaveri River ( Kannada: ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ Tamil: காவிரி ஆறு also spelled Cauvery in English Deepavali( Death of Narakasura) was celeberated with fire crackers.

Additional major Hindu festivals including Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara) and Vinayaka Chathurthi are celebrated widely. Dasara, also called "Navaratri" is among the most important festivals celebrated in India. Ganesha Chaturthi ( IAST: Gaṇeśa Caturthī Devanagari: गणेश चतुर्थी or Ganesha Festival is a day on which Lord Ganesha The Ayyavazhi Festival, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram is celebrated grandly in the southern districts,^[39] especially in Swamithope pathi,^[40] the religious head quarters. Ayyavazhi (aiavəɻɪ( Tamil:அய்யாவழி Ayyavali - "Path of the father") is a dharmic belief system that originated The Ayya Vaikunda Avataram ( Tamil: அய்யா வைகுண்ட அவதாரம் - Incarnation of Vaikundar) is a festival celebrated by the followers Swamithoppe Pathi ( Tamil:சுவாமிதோப்பு பதி Swamithoppu-pathi, Manavai-pathi, Thamarai-pathi or Thalaimaippathi ^[41] In addition Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Easter and Bakrid are celebrated by Christians and Muslims in the state. Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr) often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim Holiday that marks the end of Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. Eid al-Adha ( Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā, Urdu: بقرعید or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion

Apart from these 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 rain. Goddess Māri (மாரி is known as Mariamman, "Mother Mari" (மாரியம்மன் spelt also Maariamma (மாரியம்மா

Economy

Main article: Economy of Tamil Nadu

Macro-economic trend

Tamil Nadu's gross state domestic product for 2007 is estimated at 275,000 crores (70 billion USD) in current prices^[42]. Economy of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Macro-economic trend This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Tamil Nadu ^[43] The state experienced a GDP growth rate of 12. 1% for this period. ^[29] Possessing the third largest economy (2004-2005) among states in India, Tamil Nadu is also the second most industrialised state next to Maharastra. ^[44] The per capita income for the period 2007 - 2008 for the state was Rs. 43,000 ranking second among the South Indian states. ^[45] It ranks third in foreign direct investment approvals (cumulative 1991-2002) of Rs. 225,826 million ($5,000 million), next only to Maharashtra (Rs. 366,024 million ($8,100 million)) and Delhi (Rs. 303,038 million ($6,700 million)and the State's FDI investment constitutes 9. 12% of the total FDI in the country. ^[46] Tamil Nadu was the winner of fDimagazine's Asian Region of the Future award 2005/06 in terms of FDIs, surpassing Australia's New South Wales. ^[47] Unlike many other states, the economic resources are quite spread out, rather than concentrated in a small industrialised area. The overall unemployment is relatively low with 2. 8% rural and 4. 8% urban from CSI. ^[48]

Gross State Domestic Product - in Rs. Crores and Current Prices^[50]

Year	Gross State Domestic Product
1980	8,081
1985	15,648
1990	31,339
1995	78,205
2000	141,100
2004	188,921
2005	211,074

According to the 2001 Census, Tamil Nadu has the highest level of urbanisation (43. 86%) in India, accounting for 6% of India’s total population and 9. 6% of the urban population. ^[51] and is the second most industrialised state in India. is a process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a Pre-industrial society into an industrial one ^[23] Services contributes to 45% of the economic activity in the state, followed by manufacturing at 34% and agriculture at 21%. Government is the major investor in the state with 51% of total investments, followed by private Indian investors at 29. 9% and foreign private investors at 14. 9%. Tamil Nadu has a network of about 110 industrial parks and estates offering developed plots with supporting infrastructure. ^[52] Also, the state government is promoting other industrial parks like Rubber Park, Apparel Parks, Floriculture Park, TICEL Park for Biotechnology,^[53] Siruseri IT Park, and Agro Export Zones among others.

Annual Plan outlays have increased by a record 75% from Rs. 52,000 million ($1,100 million) in 2001-2 to Rs. 91,000 million ($2,000 million) in 2005-6. Based on URP - Consumption for the period 2004 - 2005, percentage of the state's population Below Poverty Line was 27. 5%. ^[33]

Agriculture

Tamil Nadu has historically been an agricultural state; its advances in other fields launched the state into competition with other states. Even so, Tamil Nadu is a leading producer of agricultural products in India. At present, Tamil Nadu is India's second biggest producer of Rice, next to Punjab where there is perennial source of irrigation. Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Punjab (ਪੰਜਾਬ पंजाब pəɲdʒaːb is a state in northwest India. ^[54] The Cauvery delta region of the composite Thanjavur district is known as the Rice Bowl of South India. Thanjavur District is one of the 30 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Tamil Nadu accounts for nearly 6% of the area under fruits and 4% of the area under vegetables in the country. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The term " vegetable " generally means the edible parts of Plants The definition of the word is traditional rather than Scientific, however In terms of production, the State’s share is nearly 10% in fruits and 6% in vegetables. ^[55] Tamil Nadu is also a leading state in the production of flowers. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also The total production of horticultural crops is 99. Horticulture is the art and science of plant cultivation Horticulturists (or horticuluralists) work and conduct research in the fields of Plant propagation 47 Lakhs during 2003-04. The main flowers grown in Tamil Nadu are Jasmine, Mullai, Chrysanthemum, Marigold and Rose. Mango and Banana are the leading fruit crops in Tamil Nadu accounting for over 84% of the area under fruit and over 87% of the total fruit production. Off-season production of mango and round-the-year production of grapes is unique to Tamil Nadu. For the Tokyo University supercomputer see Gravity Pipe. GRAPE, or GRA phics P rogramming E nvironment is The main vegetables grown are tapioca, tomato, onion, brinjal and drumstick.

The state is the largest producer of bananas,^[56], flowers,^[57] tapioca,^[57] the second largest producer of mango,^[57] coffee,^[58] natural rubber,^[59] coconut,^[60] groundnut and the third largest producer of sapota,^[57] Tea^[61] and Sugarcane. For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting Trees in the Flowering plant family Anacardiaceae CoFFEE is an Open source Software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL in a digital classroom The Coconut Palm ( Cocos nucifera) is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family Sapodilla ( Manilkara zapota) is a long-lived Evergreen Tree native to the New World tropics Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae ^[62] Tamil Nadu is also a leading producer of spices, kambu, corn, rye and oil seeds. A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive ^[63][64] The main spices grown are chillies, coriander, tamarind, turmeric and curry leaves. Tamil Nadu's sugarcane yield per hectare is the highest in India. ^[62] A host of sugar companies have their operations here including EID Parry I Ltd. , Thiru Arooran Sugars Ltd. , Sakthi Sugars Ltd. , Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd. and Rajshree sugars Ltd. The state has 17,000 hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, the second highest in India. ^[65] Currently, Tamil Nadu is the only state to have a formal bio-diesel policy using jatropha plant crops and to distribute wasteland to the poor farmers for planting. Analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the Indian Biofuels Industry, reveals that the market is an emerging one and has a long way to go before it catches ^[66]

Tamil Nadu is the home to Dr M.S. Swaminathan, known as the "father of the Green Revolution" in India. Vellore ( Tamil: வேலூர் pronounced Veluur) is a city and headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (மான்கொம்பு சாம்பசிவன் சுவாமிநாதன் is an Indian agriculture scientist The Green Revolution refers to the transformation of Agriculture that began in 1945 at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to ^[67] 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. The net sown area is 36% of the total geographic area (National average of 46%). The gross cropped area is 53,200 km² with a cropping intensity of 119. Irrigation covers 46% of the cropped area and the remaining 54% is rain-fed. Tamil Nadu's agriculture is heavily dependent on river water and monsoon rains.

Water Resources

Main article: List of rivers in Tamil Nadu

The perennial rivers are Palar, Cheyyar River, Ponnaiyar, Kaveri, Meyar, Bhavani, Amaravati, Vaigai, Chittar River & Tamaraparani. The following the list of rivers in Tamil Nadu A Adyar River Amaravati River Arasalar River Cheyyar River is an important seasonal river that runs through the Tiruvannamalai District of the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. The Kaveri River ( Kannada: ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ Tamil: காவிரி ஆறு also spelled Cauvery in English Bhavani is a ferocious aspect of the Hindu goddess Parvati. Bhavani means "giver of life" the power of nature or the source of creative Chittar River and its five tributaries and numerous other contributing streams originate in the Courtallam hills of Tirunelveli District in the state of Tamil The Thamirabarani River (also spelt Tamaraparani and Tamiraparani) originates from a peak in hills of the Western Ghats above Papanasam in the Non-perennial rivers include the Vellar, Noyal, Suruli, Gundar, Vaipar, Valparai and Varshali. Canals, tanks and wells form the sources of Irrigation for farmers in the state. As of 2005-2006, the state had 2395 canals with a length of 9,747 km, 40,319 tanks, 670 ordinary government wells, 1,620,705 ordinary private wells and 290,611 tube wells. ^[68]

Livestock, poultry and fisheries

Among states in India, Tamil Nadu is one of the leaders in livestock, poultry and fisheries production. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food Poultry is the category of Domesticated Birds which some humans keep for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or kill for their Meat and/or For the fishing industry and the practice of fishing see Fishing. The table below gives the data on the total number of livestock and poultry in 2003 (All figures in thousands). ^[69]

Cattle	Buffalos	Sheep	Goats	Pigs	Horses & ponies	Donkeys	Total livestock	Total poultry
9141	1658	5593	8177	321	25	26	15800	86591

As per this data, Tamil Nadu had the second largest number of poultry amongst all the states and accounted for 17. 7% of the total poultry population in India. The town of Namakkal is also known as the poultry hub. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Namakkal (நாமக்கல் is a city and a Municipality in Namakkal In 2003-2004, Tamil Nadu had produced 4,752,000 tonnes of milk, out of which 3,323,000 tonnes was cow milk and 1,429,000 tonnes was buffalo milk. Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the Mammary glands of female Mammals (including Monotremes. ^[70][71] The state was the ninth largest producer of milk and contributed to 5. 39% of the total milk production in the country for that period. The per capita availability of milk for that period was 198 grams/day, which was lesser than the all-India figure of 231 grams/day. ^[72] In 2003 - 2004, Tamil Nadu had produced 37,836 lakhs of eggs, which was the second highest figure among all the states in India, and represented 9. 37% of the total egg production in the country. ^[73] During 2002-2003, the state had produced 609000 kg of wool. ^[74] The total fodder produced in the state for 2002-2003 was 31,929,000 tonnes, out of which 21,429,000 tonnes was dry fodder and 10,500,000 tonnes was green fodder. In Agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any Foodstuff that is used specifically to feed Domesticated Livestock, such as ^[75] The total number of vertinary institutions in the state in 2006 was 1854. ^[76]

With the third longest coastline in India, Tamil Nadu is also among the leaders in fisheries and in the production and exports of related products. For the year 2005-2006, total inland fish catchment was 155,944 tonnes and marine fish catchment stood at 389,714 tonnes. ^[77] For the same period, the total fish and fishery products exported by the state was 72,418 tonnes which was valued at Rs.  19. 96 billion. This figure represented 27. 54% of the total value of fish and fishery products exported by India for that period. ^[78]

Industry

Tamil Nadu is a highly industrialised state. Many heavy engineering and manufacturing-based companies are centred in and around the suburbs of Chennai (nicknamed, "The Detroit of Asia"). Chennai boasts the presence of global vehicle manufacturing giants like Ford, Renault, Nissan, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Komatsu, BMW, and Mitsubishi as well as domestic heavyweights like MRF, TI cycles of India, Ashok Leyland, Royal Enfield, Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE Tractors, and TVS. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following This is about the company for other uses see Renault (disambiguation. Caterpillar Inc ( is a United States -based Corporation headquartered in Peoria Illinois. Hyundai refers to a group of companies and related organizations founded by Chung Ju-yung in South Korea. For the city called Komatsu in Ishikawa prefecture Japan see Komatsu Ishikawa. ( BMW) (Bavarian Motor Works is an independent German automobile manufacturer founded in 1916 The, Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese conglomerate consisting of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi Madras Rubber Factory, or MRF is a major manufacturing company located in Chennai, India. TI Cycles of India (Tube Investments)is one of the leading Bicycle manufacturers in India. Ashok Leyland ( NSE: ASHOKLEY BSE: 500477 is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. See also Royal Enfield Motors Royal Enfield was the brand of the Enfield Cycle Company an English Engineering company. TAFE Tractors is an Indian manufacturer of Tractors and other Farm equipment, managed by Mallika Srinivasan with its corporate headquarters in Chennai In an equal joint venture agreement, Renault and Nissan have decided to invest Rs. 4,500 crore ($1,140 million) to set up an integrated greenfield automotive facility at Oragadam near Chennai. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed with the Government of Tamil Nadu in February 2008. The project will come up on 678 acres and will provide vehicle production platforms for the two car-makers. It will also have powertrain facility. The plant will have an installed capacity of four lakh vehicles annually. The facility is expected to go on stream in 2010. This project would give a fillip to the manufacturing sector in Tamil Nadu, especially in the area of automobiles and auto components and help consolidate Chennai's position as the leading location for automobile production and related industries in India. Everything from automobiles, railway coaches, battle-tanks, tractors, motorcycles and heavy vehicles are manufactured in the state. Sterlite Industries have their copper smelter (in Tuticorin) and aluminium (in Mettur) factories here. Thoothukudi (தூத்துக்குடி WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Mettur (மேட்டூர் is an industrial Town Municipality in Salem district A large number of textile mills and engineering industries are present around the city of Coimbatore. Coimbatore (கோயம்புத்தூர் also known as Kovai (கோவை is a major industrial city in India and the second largest city in the Coimbatore is also headquarters for Pricol, LMW,ELGI, Suguna and Bromark PioneerPoultry. Coimbatore (கோயம்புத்தூர் also known as Kovai (கோவை is a major industrial city in India and the second largest city in the Lakshmi Machine Works Limited or popularly known as LMW is one of India 's largest Textile machinery and CNC manufacturer based in Coimbatore Karur is known for its bus body building industries where most of the buses used in south India are manufactured, and truck bodies are built in Namakkal. Karur ( Tamil: கரூர்) is a town and a Municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Namakkal (நாமக்கல் is a city and a Municipality in Namakkal Over 11. 2% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.

The Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Ennore Thermal Plant, Neyveli Lignite Power Plant, many hydroelectric plants including Mettur and the Narimanam Natural Gas Plants are major sources of Tamil Nadu's electricity. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kalpakkam is a small town in Tamil Nadu, India, situated on the Coromandel Coast WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Neyveli is a Mining and Power generation Township in Cuddalore district It is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant to its energy grid. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a Nuclear power station currently under construction in Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Tamil Nadu sources a significant proportion of its power needs from renewable sources with wind power contributing over 2000 MW or over 20% of the needs. As of 2005, Tamil Nadu is one of the few Indian states with surplus power electricity, enabling the electrical authority to sell it to neighbouring states of Andra Pradesh & Karnataka. Tamil Nadu ranks first nationwide in diesel-based thermal electricity generation with national market share of over 34%. This is a list of States and Union Territories of India by installed capacity of power utilities with generation mode break-up as of 3 April 2006 published by the Ministry of Power

The textile industry plays a significant role in the Indian economy by providing direct employment to an estimated 35 million people, and thereby contributing 4% of GDP and 35% of Gross Export Earnings. The textile sector contributes to 14% of the manufacturing sector. There are a lot of Textile mills located in Coimbatore. Coimbatore (கோயம்புத்தூர் also known as Kovai (கோவை is a major industrial city in India and the second largest city in the The city of Tirupur (Coimbatore District), in Tamil Nadu is the country's largest exporter of cotton knitwear^[79] and sometimes referred to as Textile valley of India. Tirupur (திருப்பூர் is a textile city and is the seventh largest municipal corporation among the 10 municipal corporations in the Coimbatore District Tirupur (திருப்பூர் is a textile city and is the seventh largest municipal corporation among the 10 municipal corporations in the Coimbatore District ^[80] In 2004, the export turnover from the town was more than Rs.  50,000 million ($1,000 million). Some 7,000 garment units in the town provides employment opportunity to 7,50,000 people. 56% of India's total knitwear exports come from Tirupur. The Export Import Policy of 2002-2007 acknowledges Tirupur for its contribution to the export efforts. Next to Tirupur, the city of Karur generates around (3,500 million) $750 million a year in foreign exchange and give the opportunity to 3,00,000 peoples for work. Karur ( Tamil: கரூர்) is a town and a Municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated The Karur exports of Home-Textile products such as bed linens, kitchen linens, toilet linens, table linens and wall hangings. Madurai and Kanchipuram are famous for their handloom and silk saris. Madurai Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a city and a Municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of

Electronics manufacturing is a growing industry in Tamil Nadu. Companies like Nokia, Flextronics, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, and Dell have chosen Chennai as their South Asian manufacturing hub. Nokia Corporation (pronunciation /'nɔkiɑ/),,) is a Finnish multinational Communications Corporation, headquartered Motorola Inc ( is an American, multinational Fortune 100, Telecommunications company based in Schaumburg Illinois. Sony Ericsson is a Joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese Consumer electronics Company Sony Corporation and the Foxconn (富士康 is the Trade name of the Taiwan based firm Hon Hai Precision Industry Co The Samsung Group ( Korean:, Samsung Guerup) is South Korea 's largest company or Chaebol and the world's largest conglomerate The multinational technology company Dell Inc develops manufactures sells and supports Personal computers and other computer-related products Products manufactured include circuit boards and cellular phone handsets. ^[81] Ericsson also has a Research and Development facility in Chennai. Ericsson ( Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson) () one of the largest Swedish companies is a leading provider of telecommunication and data communication systems ^[82] Big EPC companies have set up their Engineering centres which include Saipem I Project Services ltd, Technip, Foster Wheeler, Mott Mecdonald, Petrofac and Technimont. The Austrian company Austrian Energy and Environment also have a design office here besides local giant ECC {Larsen & Toubro}. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Sanmina-SCI is the latest company to invest in Tamil Nadu to create a state of the art manufacturing facility^[83] Nokia Siemens Networks has decided to build a manufacturing plant for wireless network equipment in Tamil Nadu^[84]

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a global electrical equipment manufacturing public sector company, has manufacturing plants at Tiruchirapalli and Ranipet. Sanmina-SCI Corporation ( is a global Electronics manufacturing services (EMS provider headquartered in San Jose California that serves Original equipment Nokia Siemens Networks is a telecommunications solutions supplier which was created as the result of a joint venture between Siemens AG 's COM division (minus its Enterprise Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited ( BHEL) is the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India in the energy-related and infrastructure sector WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Tiruchirappalli ( Tamil: தி௫ச்சிராப்பள்ளி also spelled Tiruchirapalli WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Ranipet ( Ranipettai in Tamil) is a locality and part of Vellore city in the state of The construction industry also saw new entrants like BGR Energy systems ltd, Consolidated construction consortium. The state government owns the Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers (TNPL),^[85] the world's biggest bagasse based Paper mills in Karur as well as the world's sixth largest manufacturer of watches together with TATA, under the brand name of "Titan". Bagasse (sometimes spelled bagass) is the Biomass remaining after Sugarcane or Sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice and is ^[86] 55% of all wind-generated electricity in India is created by windmills in Tamil Nadu. Renowned Danish wind power company NEG Micon has established its manufacturing unit in Chennai. NEG Micon is a former Danish Wind turbine manufacturer and was one of the largest of its kind in the world ^[87]

Tamil Nadu is a leading producer of Cement in India. It is the home of leading cement brands in the country such as Chettinad Cements (in Karur), Dalmia Cements (in Ariyalur), Ramco cements (Madras Cement Ltd), India cements (in Sankari, Ariyalur), Grasim etc. Karur ( Tamil: கரூர்) is a town and a Municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Ariyalur is a Panchayat town in Ariyalur district in the state of Tamil Nadu, Big companies like MICO and Cognizant solutions have set up their design offices here. L&T is setting up big manufacturing units with an investment of 500 crores. Even temple city Madurai has attracted Honeywell to set up their centre here. Honeywell ( is a major American multinational conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products engineering services and aerospace systems

The town of Sivakasi is a leader in the areas of printing, fireworks, and safety matches. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> For the film see Sivakasi (film. ^[88] It was fondly called as Kutty Japan or "little Japan" by Jawaharlal Nehru. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Jawaharlal Nehru (जवाहरलाल नेहरू ʤəʋäɦəɾläl nɛɦɾu (14 November 1889 27 May 1964 was a major political leader of the Congress Party It contributes to 80% of India's production of safety matches as well as 90% of India's total fireworks production. Sivakasi provides over 60% of India's total offset printing solutions and ranks as one of the highest taxpaying towns in India. Sivakasi also is a 100% employed town, putting it in the company of very few towns in India.

Tamil Nadu has a significant amount of mineral reserves such as lignite (87%), vermiculite (66%), garnet (42%), zircon (38%), graphite (33%), ilmenite (28%), rutile (27%), monazite (25%), and magnesite (17%). Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere Vermiculite is a natural Mineral that expands with the application of Heat. The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives Zircon is a Mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is Zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is The Mineral graphite, as with Diamond and Fullerene, is one of the Allotropes of carbon. Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide Mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray Rutile is a Mineral composed primarily of Titanium dioxide, Ti[[oxygen O]]2 In Geology, the Mineral monazite is a reddish-brown Phosphate -containing rare earth metals and an important source of Thorium Magnesite is not to be confused with Magnetite or Magnemite. Magnesite is Magnesium carbonate, Mg[[carbon The numbers in the brackets indicate the percentage contribution to the national share. India's leading steel producer, SAIL has a steel plant in Salem. Steel Authority of India Limited ( SAIL) is the largest Steel maker in India. Salem ( Tamil: சேலம் is a city and a Corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ^[89]

Tamil Nadu is a leading contributor in the IT and BPO sectors. Tidel Park is an IT Park situated in the city of Chennai, India. Tamil Nadu is the third largest software exporter by value in India, second only to Karnataka and Maharashtra. India's largest IT park is in Chennai. Software exports from Tamil Nadu more than doubled from Rs.  76 billion ($1. 6 billion) in 2003-04 to Rs.  141. 15 billion {$3. 53 billion} in 2005-06 and zoomed to Rs.  207 billion {$5 billion} by 2006-07 according to NASSCOM. ^[90] Chennai is a hub for e-publishing with 47 e-publishing units registered with the STPI in Chennai. Software Technology Parks of India ( STPI) is a Government agency in India, established in 1991 under the Ministry of Communications and Companies such as Virtusa, HCL, Wipro, TCS, Satyam, Infosys, Polaris Software Lab, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Acme Technology Pvt Ltd, Covansys, Capgemini, Ford Information Technology, Xansa,Changepond, Verizon, iSoft,insoft, iNautix, MphasiS(Electronic Data Systems), Bally and many others have offices in Chennai. Virtusa Corporation ( is an information technology services company headquartered at Massachusetts USA Wipro Technologies ( is an Information technology service company established in India in 1980 Satyam Computer Services Ltd is a Consulting and Information technology services company based in Hyderabad, India. Infosys Technologies Limited () is a multinational Information technology services company headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Polaris Software Lab is top 10 Leading Software company Polaris Software Lab Limited is a India -based global banking & financial IT and management consultancy Covansys Corporation ( is a global consulting and technology services company specializing in Outsourcing of Personnel and services headquartered in Farmington Capgemini ( is a major French company, one of the world's largest Information technology, Management consulting, Outsourcing Xansa plc, trading as Xansa, is a British Outsourcing and technology company and was quoted on the London Stock Exchange until 17th October "Verizon" redirects here this article is about the corporation see also Verizon Wireless, Verizon Online DSL and Verizon FiOS. iSOFT (An IBA group companyis an international supplier of Software applications for the Healthcare sector iNautix is an affiliate of the Pershing LLC a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon, a leading financial services provider MphasiS is an Information technology and Business process outsourcing (BPO company based in Bangalore, India. Electronic Data Systems (EDS is a global Business and technology services company headquartered in Plano Texas that defined the Outsourcing business This article is about the Bally company a manufacturer of slot machines and pinball machines Infosys Technologies has set up India's largest software development centre to house 25,000 software professionals at an estimated investment of Rs.  12,500 million ($270 million) in Chennai. Chennai is also the preferred destination for companies outsourcing their high-end knowledge intensive operations. Testimony to this is the presence of major market research companies such as Frost & Sullivan and equity research companies such as Irevna in Chennai. This is the next high growth area that Chennai is witnessing.

Transportation

Main article: List of State Highways in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has a well established transportation system that connects all parts of the state. Tamilnadu has an extensive road network The Highways Department (HD of Tamil Nadu is primarily responsible for construction and maintenance of roads including National Highways The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR connects the town of Mettupalayam with the Hill station of Udagamandalam (Ooty in the Nilgiri Hills of southern A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is partly responsible for the investment growth in the state. Tamil Nadu is served by an extensive road network, providing links between urban centers, agricultural market-places and rural areas. There are 24 national highways in the state, covering a total distance of 2,002 km. ^[92] The state is also a terminus for the Golden Quadrilateral project that is scheduled to be completed in 2008. The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ is the largest Express highway project in India launched by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The state has a total road length of 167,000 km, of which 60,628 km are maintained by Highways Department. This is nearly 2. 5 times higher than the density of all-India road network. ^[93] It is currently working on upgrading its road network, though the pace of work is considered slow. ^[94]

Tamil Nadu has a well developed rail network as part of Southern Railway. Southern Railway is the first Railway Zone to be created in independent India. Headquartered at Chennai, the Southern Railway network extends over a large area of India's Southern Peninsula, covering the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, a major portion of Karnataka and a small portion of Andhra Pradesh. Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Puducherry (formerly; புதுச்சேரி or பாண்டிச்சேரி పాండిచెర్రి പുതുശ്ശേരി Pondichéry is a Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ pronounced) is a state in the southern part of India Tamil Nadu has a total railway track length of 5,952 km and there are 532 railway stations in the state. ^[95] The system connects it with most major cities in India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Main rail junctions in the state include Chennai, Erode, Coimbatore, Madurai,Tiruchirapalli(Trichy)and Salem . WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details -->       Erode ( Tamil: ஈரோடு) is one of the ten municipal corporations WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Tiruchirappalli ( Tamil: தி௫ச்சிராப்பள்ளி also spelled Tiruchirapalli Chennai has a well-established Suburban Railway network and is in the process of developing a metro. Chennai has a well developed transport infrastructure. The city and its suburbs may be traversed using its road and rail networks

Tamil Nadu has a major international airport, Chennai International Airport, that is connected with 19 countries with more than 169 direct flights every week. Chennai International Airport ( சென்னை பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்) is located in Meenambakkam, south of Chennai International Airport ( சென்னை பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்) is located in Meenambakkam, south of This is currently the third largest airport in India after Mumbai and Delhi and has a passenger growth of 18%. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial Delhi (दिल्ली ਦਿੱਲੀ دلی d̪ɪlːiː sometimes referred to as Dilli) is the second largest metropolis of India, with a population It also has domestic airports at Coimbatore, Trichy, Tuticorin and Madurai make several parts of the state easily accessible. Coimbatore (கோயம்புத்தூர் also known as Kovai (கோவை is a major industrial city in India and the second largest city in the WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Tiruchirappalli ( Tamil: தி௫ச்சிராப்பள்ளி also spelled Tiruchirapalli Thoothukudi (தூத்துக்குடி Madurai Increased industrial activity has given rise to an increase in passenger traffic as well as freight movement which has been growing at over 18 per cent per year. ^[96]

Tamil Nadu has three major ports at Chennai, Ennore and Tuticorin, as well as one intermediate port, Nagapattinam, and seven minor ports, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Cuddalore, Colachel, Karaikal, Pamban and Valinokkan which are currently capable of handling over 73 million metric tonnes of cargo annually (24 per cent share of India). Chennai Port is the second largest port of India, behind the Mumbai Port. Ennore Port, located about 24 km north of Chennai Port, Chennai, India is the 12th major port of India, and the first port in Thoothukudi (தூத்துக்குடி WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Rameswaram (Tamil ராமேஸ்வரம் is a Town in Ramanathapuram district WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Cuddalore (கடலூர் is a fast growing industrial city and headquarters of Cuddalore district WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kolachal (Colachal (Tamilகுளச்சல் is a city and a Municipality in Kanniyakumari See also Caracal WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Karaikal (also Karikal or Karaikkal) is a city and a All the minor ports are managed by the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board. ^[97] Chennai Port is an artificial harbour situated on the Coromandel Coast in South-East India and it is the second principal port in the country for handling containers. Ennore Port was recently converted from an intermediate port to a major port and handles all the coal and ore traffic in Tamil Nadu. The volume of cargo in the ports grew by 13 per cent during 2005. ^[98][99] The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project will transform the Tuticorin port into a transshipment hub similar to those in Singapore and Colombo. Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping Transshipment or Transhipment is the Shipment of goods to an intermediate destination and then from there to yet another destination Singapore Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The ports are in need of improvement and some of them have container terminals privatised.

Fauna and Flora

The state has a wide range of flora and fauna. The Lion-tailed Macaque ( Macaca silenus) is an Old World monkey that lives only in the Western Ghats of South India. There is a wide diversity of wildlife. There are many Protected areas of Tamil Nadu, including 2 Biosphere Reserves, 5 National Parks and several Wildlife Sanctuaries, where many unique species and their habitats are protected^[100] Tamil Nadu includes 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, and coral reefs of the Bay of Bengal. The Protected areas of Tamil Nadu State in The Protected areas of Tamil Nadu State in The Protected areas of Tamil Nadu State in The Protected areas of Tamil Nadu State in A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of Plants Animals and The South Western Ghats montane rain forests are an Ecoregion of southern India, covering the southern portion of the Western Ghats range in Kerala The Western Ghats ( Kannada ಸಹ್ಯಾದ್ರಿ Marathi / Konkani - सह्याद्री Sahyadri Malayalam സഹ്യപര്‍വ്വതം The South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests is an Ecoregion of southern India. The Deccan thorn scrub forests is a xeric shrubland Ecoregion of India and northernmost Sri Lanka. The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest Biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open A salt marsh is a type of Marsh that is a transitional intertidal between land and salty or Brackish water (e Mangroves (generally are Trees and Shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the Tropics and Subtropics. Coral reefs are Aragonite structures produced by living organisms found in marine waters with little to no nutrients in the water The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean.

Fauna

Main article: Wildlife of Tamil Nadu

There are about 2000 species of wildlife that are native to Tamil Nadu. There are about 2000 vertebrate species that are found in Tamil Nadu, South India. Protected areas provide safe habitat for large mammals including elephants, tigers, leopard, wild dog,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 and Balano-glossus and a wide variety of fish and insects. The Indian Elephant, Elephas maximus indicus, is one of four Subspecies of the Asian Elephant, the largest population of which is found in India The Bengal tiger, or Royal Bengal tiger ( Panthera tigris tigris or Panthera tigris bengalensis) is a Subspecies of Tiger primarily The Indian leopard ( Panthera pardus fusca) is a Leopard subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent. Wild dog may refer to Pariah dogs Carolina Dogs New Guinea Singing Dogs and Dingos Some species of canines The Sloth Bear ( Melursus ursinus) also known as the Lip Bear, Though originally classed as a "bear sloth" due to the shape of its claws The gaur (ˈɡaʊɚ ( Bos gaurus, previously Bibos gauris) is a large dark-coated bovine animal of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Lion-tailed Macaque ( Macaca silenus) is an Old World monkey that lives only in the Western Ghats of South India. The Nilgiri Langur ( Trachypithecus johnii) is a Lutung (a type of Old World monkey) found in the Nilgiri hills of the Western Ghats in The Nilgiri Tahr ( Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is an Ungulate that is Endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats Grizzled Giant Squirrel (also known as the Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel) ( Ratufa macroura) is a large species of Squirrel found in Sri Lanka and The Bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 Species of cormorants and shags. The darters or snake-birds are birds in the family Anhingidae. The herons are wading Birds in the Ardeidae family Some are called Egrets or Bitterns instead of herons This is an article about a type of bird For the EGRET satellite mission see Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope. The Asian Openbill Stork, Anastomus oscitans, is a large wading bird in the Stork family Ciconiidae. "Spoonbill" could also mean Northern Shoveler or Paddlefish. The Little Grebe ( Tachybaptus ruficollis, formerly known as Dabchick) is 23 to 29 cm in length The Common Moorhen ( Gallinula chloropus) is a Bird in the Rail family with an almost worldwide distribution outside Australasia as well The Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus, is a widely distibuted very long-legged Wader in the Avocet and Stilt family For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. The Spot-billed Pelican ( Pelecanus philippensis) is a member of the Pelican family The dugong ( Dugong dugon) is a large Marine Mammal which together with the Manatees is one of four living species of the order Sirenia Turtles are Reptiles of the Order Testudines (all living turtles belong to the Crown group Chelonia) most of Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera.

Flora

Tamil Nadu is the home for 3000 plant species including Eucalyptus, Palmyra, Rubber, Cinchona, Clumping Bamboos (Bambusa Arundinacea), Common teak, Anogeissus latifolia, Indian Laurel , Grewia, and blooming trees like Indian labumusum, Aredesia, and Solanancea. Eucalyptus (From Greek ευκάλυπτος meaning "well covered" is a diverse Genus of Trees (and a few shrubs the members of which Palmyra ( Arabic: تدمر Tadmor) was in ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an Oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus Cinchona is a Genus of about 25 Species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. Bambusa is a large Genus (about 37 Species) of clumping Bamboos These species are usually giant ones with numerous branches at a node and Teak ( Tectona) is a genus of tropical Hardwood Trees in the family Verbenaceae, native to the south and southeast of Asia Anogeissus latifolia is a Species of small to medium-sized tree native to the India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka Terminalia elliptica (syn T alata Heyne ex Roth T tomentosa (Roxb The large Flowering plant Genus Grewia is today placed by most authors in the mallow family Malvaceae, in the expanded sense as proposed Rare and unique plantlife includes Combretum ovalifolium, Ebony (Dispyros nilagrica), Habebarai reriflora (Orchid), Alsophila, Impatiens elegans, Ranunculus reniformis, and Royal fern. Ebony ( Diospyros ebenum) also known as India Ebony or Ceylon Ebony depending on its origin is a Tree in the genus Diospyros Cyathea is a Genus of Tree ferns the type genus of the Fern order Cyatheales. Impatiens is a genus of about 900-1000 species of Flowering Plants in the family Balsaminaceae. Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis is a species of Osmunda, native to Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, growing Tamil Nadu ranks first in Angiosperm diversity amongst all the states in the country with 5640 species (32%) of the total 17,672 species, which includes 230 red-listed species and 1559 species of medicinal plants^[101]

Tourism

Tamil Nadu's tourism industry is the second largest in India, with an annual growth rate of 16%. Tirunelveli District (திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம் in Tamil is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern ^[102] Tourism in Tamil Nadu is promoted by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), a Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking. TTDC was incorporated in July, 1971, with the objective of promoting tourism in Tamil Nadu by providing infrastructure facilities in transport and accommodation. To fulfil this objective, TTDC has expanded its activities into 3 main operations, namely, hotels, transport and fairs. At present, TTDC operates 54 hotels, 11 boat houses, 3 restaurants, 3 snack bars, 4 telescope houses, 2 landscaping & gardening and 1 tourist service center. TTDC offers wide range of package tours and operates a fleet of 22 coaches. ^[103] The tagline adopted for promoting tourism in Tamil Nadu is Enchanting Tamil Nadu. In 2004, Tamil Nadu had earned Rs.  20 million ($457,000) from tourism. ^[104] Approximately 1,219,000 foreign and 29,305,000 domestic tourists visited the state in 2005. ^[105]

Tamil Nadu is a land of varied beauty. It boasts some of the grandest Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture in the World. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical The temples are of a distinct style which are famous for their towering Gopurams. A Gopuram or gopura (also known as a vimanam) is a monumental tower usually ornate at the entrance of a temple especially in Southern India. The Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur, built by the Cholas, and the Shore Temple, along with the collection of other monuments in Mahabalipuram have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after The Shore Temple (700-728 CE is so named because it over looks the Bay of Bengal. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Mahabalipuram (மகாபலிபுரம் also known as Mamallapuram (மாமல்லபுரம் A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[106][107] The Rajagopuram of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam — the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world — is the tallest temple gopuram in the world^[108] Madurai is home to one of the grandest Hindu temples in the World — Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. This article is about a notable Hindu pilgrimage location in Tamil Nadu, India. The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple ( மீனாக்ஷி அம்மன் கோவில்) is a historic Hindu Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram and Palani are important pilgrimage sites for Hindus. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Rameswaram (Tamil ராமேஸ்வரம் is a Town in Ramanathapuram district This article refers to the to the pilgrimage town in Tamil Nadu India Other popular temples in Tamil Nadu include those in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Chidambaram, Thiruvannaamalai, Aragalur, Tiruttani, Swamithoppe, Tiruchendur and Tiruvallur. Gangaikonda Cholapuram ( Tamil:) was erected as the capital of the Cholas by Rajendra Chola I, the son and successor of Rajaraja Chola, the great WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Chidambaram is a Municipality and taluk ( Tehsil) headquarters in the Cuddalore district WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Thiruvannamalai (திருவண்ணாமலை is a pilgrimage town and Municipality in Thiruvannamalai Aragalur (six moat place (ஆறகழூர்: ஆறு அகழி ஊர் is a village in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Swamithope (alternate spelling Swamithoppe) is the name of a town that lies southeast of the City of WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> This article about the town of Thiruchendur WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Tiruvallur is a temple town and a Municipality in Tiruvallur district in the Indian

St. Thomas Mount in Chennai, the place where St. Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, was believed to have been martyred^[109], is an important pilgrimage site for Indian Christians. St Thomas Mount is a small hillock located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) The Santhome Basilica, supposedly built atop the tomb of St. San Thome Basilica is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Santhome, in the city of Chennai ( Madras) India.  Thomas, and the Vailankanni Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health — revered churches by the Catholics in India — are good examples of majestic church architectures in Tamil Nadu. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is located at the small town of Velankanni in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Nagore, in Nagapattinam district, is an important pilgrimage site for Muslims. Nagore (sometimes spelled Nagoor) is a town in the Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India.

Tamil Nadu is also home to many beautiful hill stations. Popular among them are Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Coonoor, Top Slip and Yelagiri. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Ooty, short for Ootacamund (officially Udhagamandalam Tamil: உதகமண்டலம் WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kodaikanal (also known as Kodai) is a city and a Taluk division of Dindigul district Yercaud, popularly known Hill station near Salem Tamil Nadu, India in the Servarayan range of hills (anglicized as Shevaroys) in WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Coonoor (Tamil: குன்னூர்)is a city and a Municipality in the Nilgiris district The Nilgiri hills, Palani hills, Shevaroy hills and Cardamom hills are all abodes of thick forests and wildlife. Mukurthi National Park & Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve are the two tiger reserves in the state. Mukurthi National Park is a 7846 km² protected area located in the south-eastern corner of the Nilgiris Plateau west of Ootacamund Hill Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR situated in the Southern Western Ghats in Tirunelveli district, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu has many National Parks, Biosphere Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Elephant and Bird Sanctuaries, Reserved Forests, Zoos and Crocodile farms. Prominent among them are Mudumalai National Park, The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and Arignar Anna Zoological Park. The Mudumalai National Park lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains in Nilgiri District, about 80 km north-west of Coimbatore The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay that is an arm of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. Arignar Anna Zoological Park also known as the Vandalur Zoo, is located in Vandalur, a southern suburb 30 Kilometers from the city of Chennai The mangrove forests in Pichavaram are also eco-tourism spots of importance. Mangroves (generally are Trees and Shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the Tropics and Subtropics. Pichavaram is the second largest Mangrove forest in the world located near Chidambaram in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of peninsular India, is famous for its distinct and beautiful sunrise, Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar's statue built off the coastline. Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a sacred monument and popular tourist attraction in Kanyakumari, India Thiruvalluvar (திருவள்ளுவர் is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, an ethical work in Tamil literature. Marina Beach in Chennai is one of the longest beaches in the world. The Marina Beach is a beach situated along a 12 km shoreline in the city of Chennai, India along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean ^[110] The stretch of beaches from Chennai to Mahabalipuram are home to many resorts, theme parks and eateries. The Waterfalls in the state include Courtallam, Hogenakal, Papanasam and Manimuthar. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Courtallam, the 'Spa of the south' is a Panchayat town situated at an elevation of about 167 m The Chettinad region of the state is renowned for its Palatial houses and cuisine. In recent years, Tamil Nadu is also witnessing a growth in Medical tourism, as are many other states in India. Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the Mass media

See also

• Tamil people
• Tamil language
• Dravidian people
• South India
• Indian states rankings
• Indian states ranking by fertility rate

References

External links

• Tamil Nadu Government Website
• Tamil Nadu at the Open Directory Project

The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory

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