Coordinates: 13.09°N 80.

27°E

Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (/ˌtæmɪl ˈnɑːduː/; Tamil:  [ˈtamiɻ
ˈnaːɽɯ] ( listen), abbr. TN) is a state in southern Tamil Nadu
India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. The
State
state is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil
language—one of the longest surviving classical
languages in the world—is widely spoken in the
state and serves as its official language.

Lying in the southern-most part of the Indian

peninsula, Tamil Nadu is bordered by the Indian
union territory of Puducherry and the states of
Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, as well as
an international maritime border with Sri Lanka.
The state is bounded by the Western Ghats in the
west, the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Bay of
Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar and Palk
Strait to the south-east, and the Indian Ocean in the
south. Tamil Nadu is the tenth largest Indian state
by area and the sixth largest by population.

The region containing Tamil Nadu was ruled by

several regimes, including the Sangam era rulers of
the Chera, Chola and Pandya clans, the Pallava
dynasty, and the later Vijayanagara Empire, all of
which shaped the state's cuisine, culture, and
architecture. After the fall of the Kingdom of
Mysore, the British colonised the region and
administered it as part of the Madras Presidency,
headquartered at the city of Madras, now known
as Chennai. After India's Independence in 1947,
the Madras State came into existence, whose
borders were linguistically redrawn by the States From top, left to right:
Reorganisation Act, 1956, losing territory to Brihadisvara Temple, Shore Temple,
Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The state Ranganathaswamy Temple, Nilgiri Mountains,
was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. It is home to Hogenakkal Falls and Thiruvalluvar Statue
a number of historic buildings, multi-religious
pilgrimage sites, hill stations and three World
Heritage Sites.[7][8][9]

The economy of Tamil Nadu is the second-largest

in India, with a gross state domestic product
(GSDP) of ₹17.16 lakh crore (US$230  billion) Emblem
and has the country's 11th-highest GSDP per
capita of ₹225,106 (US$3,000).[3] It ranks 11th Motto(s): Vāymaiyē vellum
among all Indian states in human development (Truth alone triumphs)
index.[5] Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in Anthem: "Tamil Thai Valthu"[2]

India, and one of the most industrialised states; the (Invocation to Mother Tamil)
manufacturing sector accounts for more than one-
third of the state's GDP.[10] Its tourism industry is
the largest among the Indian states. The Tamil film
industry plays an influential role in the state's
popular culture.

Contents
History
Prehistory
Sangam period (500 BCE–300 CE)
Middle Kingdoms (600–1300 CE)
Chola Empire
Vijayanagar and Nayak period (1336– Location of Tamil Nadu in India
1646) Coordinates: 13.09°N 80.27°E
Power struggles of the 18th century
(1688–1802) Country  India
Vellore Mutiny and Indian Rebellion Formation 26 January 1950
(1801–1947 CE) Capital and
Chennai
Post-Independence (1947–present) Largest City
Geography Largest Metro Greater Chennai
Metropolitan Area
Climate
Districts 38
Flora and fauna
Government
National and state parks
 • Body Government of Tamil Nadu
Governance and administration  • Governor R. N. Ravi
Administrative subdivisions  • Chief Minister M. K. Stalin (DMK)
Cities and towns  • State Legislature Unicameral (234 seats)[1]
 • National Lok Sabha (39 seats)

Politics Parliament Rajya Sabha (18 seats)

Pre-Independence  • High Court Madras High Court
Post-Independence Area
Demographics  • Total 130,058 km2
Religion (50,216 sq mi)
 • Rank 10th
Language
LGBT rights Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 72,147,030
Education  • Rank 6th
Economy  • Density 550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Agriculture Demonym(s) Tamilian · Tamilar
Textiles and leather
GDP (2021-2022)[3]
Automobiles
 • Total ₹22.44 lakh crore
Heavy industries and engineering (US$290 billion)
Electronics and software  • Per capita ₹254,855 (US$3,300)
Transportation Languages
Road  • Official Tamil[4]
 • Additional official
 Rail English[4]
Airports Time zone UTC+05:30 (IST)
Seaports ISO 3166 code IN-TN
Spaceport Vehicle registration TN
Infrastructure HDI (2019) 0.709[5]

Communication high · 11th

Energy Literacy (2017) 82.9%
Sex ratio (2019) 996 ♀/1000 ♂
Culture Coastline 1,076 km (669 mi)
Literature
Website www.tn.gov.in (https://ww
Festivals and traditions w.tn.gov.in/)
Cuisine
Symbols of Tamil Nadu
Media
Emblem Emblem of Tamil
Music Nadu
Film industry
Television industry
Song "Invocation to Goddess
Sports Tamil"
Dance Bharatanatyam
Tourism
See also
Mammal Nilgiri Tahr
Notes
References
Citations Bird Emerald dove
Sources
Further reading Butterfly Tamil Yeoman
External links
Government Flower Gloriosa lily
General information

Fruit Jackfruit
History
Tree Palm Tree
Prehistory

Archaeological evidence points to this area being

one of the longest continuous habitations in the
Indian peninsula.[11] In Attirampakkam near Sport Kabaddi
Chennai, archaeologists from the Sharma Centre
for Heritage Education excavated ancient stone
^# Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem, while
tools which suggest that a humanlike population Invocation to Mother Tamil is the state
existed in the Tamil Nadu region somewhere song/anthem.

around 1,000 years before homo sapiens arrived ^† Established in 1773; Madras State was formed
from Africa. [12][13] A Neolithic stone celt (a hand- in 1950 and renamed as Tamil Nadu on 14
held axe) with the Indus script on it was January 1969[6]
discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near
Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu. According to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable
artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. According to Mahadevan, the find was
evidence of the use of the Harappan language, and therefore that the "Neolithic people of the Tamil country
spoke a Harappan language". The date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000
BCE.[14][15][16] In Adichanallur, 24 km (15 mi) from Tirunelveli, archaeologists from the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) unearthed 169 clay urns containing human skulls, skeletons, bones, husks, grains of
rice, charred rice, and celts of the Neolithic period, 3,800 years ago.[17] The ASI archaeologists have
proposed that the script used at that site, Tamil Brahmi, is "very rudimentary" and date it somewhere
between the 5th century BCE and 3rd century BCE.[18][19] About 60 per cent of the total epigraphical
inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu, and most of these are in the Tamil
language.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] In Keezhadi near Madurai, excavations have revealed a large urban
settlement dating to the 6th century BCE, during the time of urbanisation in the Gangetic plain. During this
dig, some potsherds were uncovered with a script similar to Indus script, leading some to conclude it was a
transition between the Indus Valley script and Tamil Brahmi script used in the Sangam period.[28]

Sangam period (500 BCE–300 CE)

The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil
literary sources known as Sangam literature. Numismatic, archaeological and
literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about eight
centuries, from 500 BCE to 300 CE. The recent excavations in Alagankulam
archaeological site suggests that Alagankulam is one of the important trade
centers or port cities of the Sangam Era.[30]

Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings

called Vendhar and several tribal chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by
the general denomination Vel or Velir. Still lower at the local level there were
clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar.[31] The kings were known as the
Moovendar, the three crowned kings, and were the Cheras, Cholas and
Pandyas. The Cheras controlled the western part of Tamilkam, what is today
western Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Pandyas controlled the south, what is
today southern Tamil Nadu. The Cholas had their base in the Kaveri delta and Keeladi, a Sangam Era
controlled what is today northern Tamil Nadu. Although these dynasties were Excavation Site,
never conquered by outside powers, there were still significant diplomatic Sangam period[29]
contacts between them and kingdoms to the north. They were mentioned on
the pillars of Ashoka.[32]

These rulers sponsored some of the earliest Tamil literature. The oldest Sangam work we have knowledge
of is the Tolkappiyam, a book of Tamil grammar. Most Sangam literature dealt with themes of love and war.
In these poems, a glimpse of Tamil society at the time can be glimpsed. The land was fertile, and people
pursued different occupations depending on what regions they were in. Their gods included figures such as
Seyyon and Kotravai, who were worshipped at different places.[33] The rulers patronised Buddhism and
Jainism, and starting in the CE period references to Vedic customs begin to grow.[34]

Significant trade was also undertaken with the outside world. Much commerce from the Romans and Han
China converged in the Tamil region, and the seaports of Muziris and Korkai were very popular
destinations.[35] One of the most prized goods from Tamilkam was spices such as black pepper, but other
spices, pearls and silk were also widely traded there.[36]

Starting in 300, however, there was a significant drop in Sangam literature. Some have attributed this to the
Kalabhras, a dynasty which conquered much of Tamilkam during that time. Historians have speculated
these rulers were antagonistic towards the astika schools which were dominant in later centuries, which is
why later texts always portray their rule in a bad light, if at all.[37] During their rule, Samanar traditions
greatly impacted literature written during this time. Literacy was widespread and epics such as the
Cilappatikaram were written. The most prominent of these works is the Tirukkuṟaḷ written by Valluvar, a
collection of couplets covering all aspects of life from ethics to love. This text is still treated with great
reverence by those in the present-day.[38] Around the 7th century CE, the Kalabhras were overthrown by
the Pandyas and Cholas,[39] who continued to patronise Buddhists and Jains before the Saiva and
Vaishnava revivalism in the Bhakti movement.[40]

Middle Kingdoms (600–1300 CE)

Kallanai or Grand Anicut, Shore Temple built by the Vettuvan Koil, the
an ancient dam built on Pallavas at unfinished temple is
the Kaveri River in Mamallapuram during the believed to have been
Thanjavur district by 8th century, now a built during the 8th
Karikala Chola around UNESCO World Heritage century by Pandyas in
the 2nd century Site Kalugumalai, a
CE [41][42][43][44] panchayat town in
Thoothukudi district.

During the 4th to 8th centuries, Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallava dynasty under Mahendravarman I
and his son Mamalla Narasimhavarman I.[45] The Pallavas ruled parts of South India with Kanchipuram as
their capital. Tamil architecture reached its peak during Pallava rule. Narasimhavarman II built the Shore
Temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Much later, the Pallavas were replaced by the Chola dynasty as the dominant kingdom in the 9th century
and they in turn were replaced by the Pandyan Dynasty in the 13th century. The Pandyan capital Madurai
was in the deep south away from the coast. They had extensive trade links with the southeast Asian
maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors, as well as contacts, even formal diplomatic contacts,
reaching as far as the Roman Empire. During the 13th century, Marco Polo mentioned the Pandyas as the
richest empire in existence. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar
Temple at Tirunelveli are the best examples of Pandyan temple architecture.[46] The Pandyas excelled in
both trade and literature. They controlled the pearl fisheries along the south coast of India, between Sri
Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world.
 The Descent of the Ganges, also known as Arjuna's Penance, at Mamallapuram, is one of the largest rock reliefs
in Asia and features in several Hindu myths.

Chola Empire

During the 9th century, the Chola dynasty was once again revived by
Vijayalaya Chola, who established Thanjavur as Chola's new capital
by conquering central Tamil Nadu from Mutharaiyar and the Pandya
King Varagunavarman II. Aditya I and his son Parantaka I expanded
the kingdom to the northern parts of Tamil Nadu by defeating the last
Pallava king, Aparajitavarman. Parantaka Chola II expanded the
Chola empire into what is now interior Andhra Pradesh and coastal
Karnataka, while under the great Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra The Chola Empire at its greatest
Chola, the Cholas rose to a notable power in southeast Asia. Now the extent, during the reign of
Chola Empire stretched as far as Bengal and Sri Lanka. At its peak, Rajendra Chola I in 1030
the empire spanned almost 3,600,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi). Rajaraja
Chola conquered all of peninsular South India and parts of Sri Lanka.
Rajendra Chola's navy went even further, occupying coasts from Burma (now) to Vietnam, the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya, Philippines[47] in South East Asia and Pegu
islands. He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital
and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

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

Great Living Chola Temples

The granite gopuram Airavatesvara Temple built by Rajaraja The pyramidal

(tower) of Chola II in the 12th century CE structure above
Brihadisvara Temple, the sanctum at
1010 CE Brihadisvara
Temple,
Gangaikonda
Cholapuram

Brihadisvara Temple Entrance Gopurams at

Thanjavur
Vijayanagar and Nayak period (1336–1646)

The Muslim invasions of southern India triggered the establishment of

the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire with Vijayanagara in modern
Karnataka as its capital. The Vijayanagara empire eventually
conquered the entire Tamil country by c. 1370 and ruled for almost
two centuries until its defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by a
confederacy of Deccan sultanates. Subsequently, as the Vijayanagara
Empire went into decline after the mid-16th century, many local rulers, Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal at
called Nayaks, succeeded in gaining the trappings of independence. Madurai
This eventually resulted in the further weakening of the empire; many
Nayaks declared themselves independent, among whom the Nayaks of
Madurai and Tanjore were the first to declare their independence, despite initially maintaining loose links
with the Vijayanagara kingdom.[46] The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were the most
prominent Nayaks of the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the well-known temples in Tamil Nadu
such as the Meenakshi Temple.

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

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

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

Europeans started to establish trade centers during the 17th century in the eastern coastal regions. Around
1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat,[48] while the Danes had their establishment in
Tharangambadi also known as Tranquebar.[49] In 1639, the British, under the East India Company,
established a settlement further south of Pulicat, in present-day
Chennai. British constructed Fort St. George[50] and established a
trading post at Madras.[51] The office of mayoralty of Madras was
established in 1688. The French established trading posts at
Pondichéry by 1693. The British and French were competing to
expand the trade in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu which also
witnessed many battles like Battle of Wandiwash as part of the Seven
Years' War.[52] British reduced the French dominions in India to
Puducherry. Nawabs of the Carnatic bestowed tax revenue collection Fort Dansborg at Tharangambadi
rights on the East India Company for defeating the Kingdom of built by the Danish
Mysore. Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah surrendered much of his
territory to the East India Company which firmly established the
British in the northern parts. In 1762, a tripartite treaty was signed between Thanjavur Maratha, Carnatic,
and the British by which Thanjavur became a vassal of the Nawab of the Carnatic which eventually ceded
to the British.

In the south, Nawabs granted taxation rights to the British which led to conflicts between British and the
Palaiyakkarar, which resulted in series of wars called Polygar war to establish independent states by the
aspiring Palaiyakkarar. Puli Thevar was one of the earliest opponents of the British rule in South India.[53]
Thevar's prominent exploits were his confrontations with Marudhanayagam, who later rebelled against the
British in the late 1750s and early 1760s. Rani Velu Nachiyar, was the first woman freedom fighter of India
and Queen of Sivagangai.[54] She was drawn to war after her husband Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar (1750–
1772), King of Sivaganga was murdered at Kalayar Kovil temple by British. Before her death, Queen Velu
Nachi granted powers to the Maruthu brothers to rule Sivaganga.[55] Kattabomman (1760–1799),
Palaiyakkara chief of Panchalakurichi who fought the British in the First Polygar War.[56] He was captured
by the British at the end of the war and hanged near Kayattar in 1799. Veeran Sundaralingam (1700–1800)
was the General of Kattabomman Nayakan's palayam, who died in the process of blowing up a British
ammunition dump in 1799 which killed more than 150 British soldiers to save Kattapomman Palace.
Oomaithurai, younger brother of Kattabomman, took asylum under the Maruthu brothers, Periya Marudhu
and Chinna Marudhu and raised an army.[57] They formed a coalition with Dheeran Chinnamalai and
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, which fought the British in Second Polygar Wars. Dheeran Chinnamalai
(1756–1805), Polygar chieftain of Kongu and ally of Tipu Sultan who fought the British in the Second
Polygar War. After winning the Polygar wars in 1801, the East India Company consolidated most of
southern India into the Madras Presidency.

The Pudukkottai Thondaimans rose to power over the Pudukkottai

area by the end of the 17th Century. The Pudukkottai kingdom has the
distinction of being the only princely state in Tamil Nadu, and only
became part of the Indian union in 1948 after independence.[58]

Vellore Mutiny and Indian Rebellion (1801–1947

CE)
Thiruvilliputhur Andal Temple
At the beginning of the 19th century, the British firmly established Gopuram has been adopted as
governance over the entirety of Tamil Nadu. The Vellore mutiny on 10 the official Seal of Tamil Nadu.
July 1806 was the first instance of a large-scale mutiny by Indian
sepoys against the British East India Company, predating the Indian
Rebellion of 1857 by half a century.[59] The revolt, which took place in Vellore, was brief, lasting one full
day, but brutal as mutineers broke into the Vellore fort and killed or wounded 200 British troops, before
they were subdued by reinforcements from nearby Arcot.[60][61]
The British Raj was formed after the British crown took over the control governance from the company
and the remainder of the 19th century did not witness any native resistance until the beginning of 20th
century Indian Independence movement. During the administration of Governor George Harris (1854–
1859) measures were taken to improve education and increase the representation of Indians in the
administration. Legislative powers are given to the Governor's council under the Indian Councils Act 1861
and 1909 Minto-Morley Reforms eventually led to the establishment of the Madras Legislative Council.
Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two
severe famines in the Madras Presidency, the Great Famine of 1876–78 and the Indian famine of 1896–97
killed millions of Tamils.[62] The famine led to the migration of many Tamil peasants as bonded labourers
for the British to countries like Malaysia and Mauritius, which eventually formed the present Tamil
diaspora.

Tamil Nadu provided a significant number of freedom fighters to the Independence struggle such as V. O.
Chidambaram Pillai and Bharatiyar.[63] The Tamils (particularly Tamil Malaysians) formed a significant
percentage of the members of the Indian National Army (INA), founded by Subhas Chandra Bose to fight
the British colonial rule in India.[64][65] Lakshmi Sahgal from Tamil Nadu was a prominent leader in the
INA's Rani of Jhansi Regiment.

In 1916 Dr. T.M. Nair and Rao Bahadur Thygaraya Chetty released the Non-Brahmin Manifesto[66] and
helped to form the Justice Party, an organisation that sought to reduce Brahmin domination of the civil
service. The party won the legislative assembly elections of 1921, which was boycotted by the Congress.
This party implemented reservations in government jobs and education for non-Brahmins in 1926, and
stayed in power for 13 years. The other main movement was the self-respect movement of E. V.
Ramaswamy, better known as Periyar. Periyar campaigned for an end to what he saw as Aryan domination
of culture and life in Tamil Nadu. To this end, he became an advocate of rationalism, and campaigned
against the caste system, religion, and superstition.[66]

Further steps towards eventual self-rule were taken in 1935 when the British Government passed the
Government of India Act 1935. Fresh local elections were held and in Tamil Nadu the Congress party
captured power defeating the Justice party. In 1938, Periyar along with C. N. Annadurai launched an
agitation against the Congress ministry's decision to introduce the teaching of Hindi in schools. Thereafter,
the Justice party was taken over by Periyar who renamed it Dravidar Kazhagam and took it out of electoral
politics. The group became an advocate for a separate Dravida Nadu (lit. land of the Dravidians) during
discussions of the partition of India.[67]

Post-Independence (1947–present)

When India became independent in 1947, Madras presidency became Madras State, comprising present-
day Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Canara district of Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The
state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu,
meaning "Tamil country".[68]

Geography
Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km2 (50,216 sq mi) [3], and is the tenth-largest state in India. The
bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the north-west and Andhra Pradesh to the north. To
the east is the Bay of Bengal and the state encircles the union territory of Puducherry. The southernmost tip
of the Indian Peninsula is Kanyakumari which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal,
and the Indian Ocean.
The western, southern, and the northwestern parts are hilly and rich in
vegetation. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet at the
Nilgiri Hills. The Western Ghats traverse the entire western border
with Kerala, effectively blocking much of the rain-bearing clouds of
the south-west monsoon from entering the state. The eastern parts are
fertile coastal plains and the northern parts are a mix of hills and plains.
The central and the south-central regions are arid plains and receive
less rainfall than the other regions.

Tamil Nadu has the country's third-longest coastline at about 906.9 km

(563.5 mi).[69] Pamban Island and a group of smaller limestone shoals Topographic map of Tamil Nadu
make up the northern portion of Ram Setu, which was formerly a
natural bridge linking India with Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu's coastline
bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when it hit India,
which caused 7,793 direct deaths in the state. Tamil Nadu falls mostly
in a region of low seismic hazard with the exception of the western
border areas that lie in a low to moderate hazard zone; as per the 2002
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) map, Tamil Nadu falls in Zones II
and III. Historically, parts of this region have experienced seismic
activity in the M5.0 range.[70]
Western Ghats traverse along the
western border of Tamil Nadu
Climate

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

South west monsoon from June to September, with strong southwest winds;
North east monsoon from October to December, with dominant northeast winds;

The annual rainfall of the state is about 945  mm (37.2  in) of which 48 per cent is through the northeast
monsoon, and 32 per cent through the southwest monsoon. Since the state is entirely dependent on rains for
recharging its water resources, monsoon failures lead to acute water scarcity and severe drought.[71] Tamil
Nadu is divided into seven agro-climatic zones: northeast, northwest, west, southern, high rainfall, high
altitude hilly, and Kaveri Delta (the most fertile agricultural zone).

Flora and fauna

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

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

Common plant species include the state tree: palmyra palm, eucalyptus, rubber, cinchona, clumping
bamboos (Bambusa arundinacea), common teak, Anogeissus latifolia, Indian laurel, grewia, and blooming
trees like Indian laburnum, ardisia, and solanaceae. Rare and unique plant life includes Combretum
ovalifolium, ebony (Diospyros nilagrica), Habenaria rariflora (orchid), Alsophila, Impatiens elegans,
Ranunculus reniformis, and royal fern.[72]

National and state parks

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

Governance and administration

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.[73] The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head
of the judiciary.[73] The present governor, chief minister and the chief
justice are R. N. Ravi,[74] M. K. Stalin[75] and Munishwar Nath
Bhandari[76] respectively. Administratively the state is divided into 38
districts. Chennai, the capital of the state is the fourth largest urban
agglomeration in India and is also one of the major metropolitan cities
of India. The state comprises 39 Lok Sabha constituencies and 234 Madras High Court, Chennai
Legislative Assembly constituencies.[77]

Tamil Nadu had a bicameral legislature until 1986, when it was replaced with a unicameral legislature, like
most other states in India. The term length of the government is five years. The present government is
headed by M.K.Stalin of the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) party after his recent victory in the
Tamil Nadu Legislative Elections in 2021 . The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly is housed at the Fort St.
George in Chennai. The state had come under the President's rule on four occasions – first from 1976 to
1977, next for a short period in 1980, then from 1988 to 1989 and the latest in 1991.
Tamil Nadu has been a pioneering state of E-Governance initiatives in India. A large part of the
government records like land ownership records are digitised and all major offices of the state government
like Urban Local Bodies  – all the corporations and municipal office activities  – revenue collection, land
registration offices, and transport offices have been computerised. Tamil Nadu is one of the states where
law and order have been maintained largely successfully.[78] The Tamil Nadu Police Force is over 140
years old. It is the fifth-largest state police force in India (as of 2015, total police force of TN is 1,11,448)
and has the highest proportion of women police personnel in the country (total women police personnel of
TN is 13,842 which is about 12.42%) to specifically handled violence against women in Tamil
Nadu.[79][80] In 2003, the state had a total police population ratio of 1:668, higher than the national average
of 1:717.

Administrative subdivisions
Tamil Nadu is divided into four major divisions as per
the ancient Tamil kings namely Pallava Nadu division,
Chera Nadu division, Chola Nadu division and
Pandya Nadu division and the four divisions are
further subdivided into 38 districts, which are listed
below. A district is administered by a District Collector
who is mostly an Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
member, appointed by State Government. Districts are
further divided into 226 Taluks administrated by
Tahsildars comprising 1127 Revenue blocks
administrated by Revenue Inspector (RI). A District
also has one or more Revenue Divisions (in total 76)
administrated by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO),
constituted by many Revenue Blocks. 16,564
Revenue villages (Village Panchayat) are the primary
grassroots level administrative units which in turn
might include many villages and administered by a
Village Administrative Officer (VAO), many of which
form a Revenue Block. Cities and towns are
administered by Municipal corporations and
Districts of Tamil Nadu
Municipalities respectively. The urban bodies include
15 city corporations, 152 municipalities and 529 town
panchayats.[81][82][83] The rural bodies include 31
district panchayats, 385 panchayat unions and 12,524 village panchayats.[84][85][86]

Cities and towns

The state capital of Chennai is the most populous city in the state with more than 8,900,000 residents,
followed by Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem, respectively.[87][88] Chennai is also the sixth-most
populous city in India according to the 2011 Indian census.

Largest cities or towns in Tamil Nadu

 
As of the 2011 Census
Rank Name District Pop.
1 Chennai Chennai 8,696,010
2 Coimbatore Coimbatore 2,151,466
3 Madurai Madurai 1,462,420
 4 Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli 1,021,717

5 Tiruppur Tiruppur 962,982

6 Salem Salem 919,150

7 Erode Erode 521,776
Chennai
Madurai
8 Vellore Vellore 504,079
9 Tirunelveli Tirunelveli 498,984

10 Thoothukudi Thoothukudi 410,760

Politics
Coimbatore Tiruchirappalli

Pre-Independence

Prior to Indian independence, Tamil Nadu was under British colonial

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

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

Post-Independence

C. N. Annadurai left the party Dravida Kazhagam to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The
DMK decided to enter politics in 1956. After the demise of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi became the
leader of the party which was supported by majority leaders including then famous actor M. G.
Ramachandran. As a breakaway faction of the DMK, in 1972, M. G. Ramachandran founded the new
Dravidian party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) named after his political mentor
C. N. Annadurai popularly called "Anna". After the demise of M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa
succeeded the leadership of the AIADMK party and was fondly called Amma (The Mother) by
millions.[89]

Demographics
Tamil Nadu is the seventh most populous state in India. 48.4 per Historical population
cent of the state's population lives in urban areas, the third-highest Year Pop. ±%
percentage among large states in India. The state has registered the 1951 30,119,000 —    
lowest fertility rate in India in the year 2005–06 with 1.7 children
1961 33,687,000 +11.8%
born for each woman, lower than required for population
1971 41,199,000 +22.3%
sustainability.[91][92]
1981 48,408,000 +17.5%
1991 55,859,000 +15.4%
At the 2011 India census, Tamil Nadu had a population of 2001 62,406,000 +11.7%
72,147,030. [93] The sex ratio of the state is 995 with 36,137,975 2011 72,138,958 +15.6%
males and 36,009,055 females. There are a total of 23,166,721 Source:Census of India [90]

households.[93] The total children under the age of 6 is 7,423,832.

A total of 14,438,445 people constituting 20.01 per cent of the total population belonged to Scheduled
Castes (SC) and 794,697 people constituting 1.10 per cent of the population belonged to Scheduled tribes
(ST).[93][94]

The state has 51,837,507 literates, making the literacy rate 80.33 per cent. There are a total of 27,878,282
workers, comprising 4,738,819 cultivators, 6,062,786 agricultural labourers, 1,261,059 in house hold
industries, 11,695,119 other workers, 4,120,499 marginal workers, 377,220 marginal cultivators, 2,574,844
marginal agricultural labourers, 238,702 marginal workers in household industries and 929,733 other
marginal workers.[95]

India has a human development index calculated as 0.619, while the corresponding figure for Tamil Nadu
is 0.736, placing it among the top states in the country.[96][97] The life expectancy at birth for males is 65.2
years and for females it is 67.6 years.[98] However, it has a high level of poverty, especially in rural areas.
In 2004–2005, the poverty line was set at ₹351.86/month for rural areas and ₹547.42/month for urban
areas. Poverty in the state dropped from 51.7 per cent in 1983 to 21.1 per cent in 2001.[99] For the period
2004–2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty in the state was 22.5 per cent compared with the national
figure of 27.5 per cent. The World Bank is currently assisting the state in reducing poverty, high drop-out
and low completion of secondary schools continue to hinder the quality of training in the population. Other
problems include class, gender, inter-district, and urban-rural disparities. Based on URP – Consumption for
the period 2004–2005, the percentage of the state's population below the poverty line was 27.5 per cent.
The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative ranks Tamil Nadu to have a Multidimensional
Poverty Index of 0.141, which is in the level of Ghana among the developing countries.[100] Corruption is
a major problem in the state with Transparency International ranking it the second most corrupt among the
states of India.[101]

Religion

Hinduism is followed by majority of the population of Tamil Nadu. Christianity and Islam has a
considerable following.[103]

Language

Tamil is the sole official language of Tamil Nadu while English is declared an additional official language
for communication purposes.[4] When India adopted national standards Tamil was the first language to be
recognised as a classical language of India.[104] As of 2011 census report, Tamil is spoken as the first
language by 88.37 percentage of the state's population followed by Telugu (5.87%), Kannada (1.78%),
Urdu (1.75%), Malayalam (1%) and other languages (1.23%).[105]

LGBT rights

The Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Tamil Nadu are among the most progressive
in India.[107][108] Chennai Rainbow Pride has been held in the Capital city of Chennai annually since
2009.[109] Tamil Nadu is also the first Indian state to ban conversion therapy, following the Madras
High Court.[110] Tamil Nadu was the first Indian state to introduce a
transgender welfare policy, wherein transgender people can avail free
sex reassignment surgery in government hospitals. The state was also
the first to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex
infants.[111][112]

In 2019, the Madras High Court ruled that the term "bride" under the
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 includes trans women and thereby
legalising marriage between a man and a transgender woman.[113]

Education
Religion in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India.[114] Tamil Nadu
(2011)[102]
has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the
decade 2001–2011. A survey conducted by the industry body    Hinduism (87.58%)
Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100    Christianity (6.12%)
per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary
   Islam (5.86%)
education. One of the basic limitations for improvement in education
   Jainism (0.12%)
in the state is the rate of absence of teachers in public schools, which at
   Sikhism (0.02%)
21.4 per cent is significant.[115] The analysis of primary school
   Buddhism (0.01%)
education in the state by Pratham shows a low drop-off rate but the
   Other or not religious (0.3%)
poor quality of state education compared to other states.[116]
Tamil
Nadu has 37 universities, 552 engineering colleges[117] 449
polytechnic colleges[118] and 566 arts and science colleges, 34,335
elementary schools, 5,167 high schools, 5,054 higher secondary
schools and 5,000 hospitals. Some of the notable educational
institutes present in Tamil Nadu are Indian Institute of Technology
Madras, University of Madras, Anna University, National Institute Aerial view of Madurai Meenakshi
of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amman Temple
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and
Manufacturing,
Kancheepuram, Vellore
Institute of Technology, Indian
Institute of Management
Tiruchirappalli, Annamalai
University (Chidambaram),
Loyola College, Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University,
Presidency College, Chennai,
College of Engineering,
Children in an elementary school Guindy, Madras Institute of
in Mayiladuthurai Technology, PSG College of
Technology, Coimbatore Asia's first Genderqueer Pride parade
Institute of Technology, in Madurai with Anjali Gopalan and
Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Dr. Gopi Shankar Madurai (2012)[106]
Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu National Law University,
Government Law College, Coimbatore, Christian Medical College,
Vellore, Madras Medical College, Stanley Medical College, Madras Veterinary College, Coimbatore
Medical College and Institute of Road and Transport Technology.
Tamil Nadu now has 69 per cent reservation in educational institutions
for socially backward sections of society, the highest among all Indian
states.[119] The Midday Meal Scheme programme in Tamil Nadu was
first initiated by Kamaraj, then it was expanded by M G
Ramachandran in 1983.

Economy
Gross state domestic product in ₹ million at constant
prices[120]
Year GSDP Growth Rate Share in India
2000–01 1,420,650 5.87% 7.62% Distribution of languages in
2001–02 1,398,420 −1.56% 7.09% Tamil Nadu[4]
2002–03 1,422,950 1.75% 6.95%    Tamil (89.41%)
2003–04 1,508,150 5.99% 6.79%    Telugu (5.65%)
2004–05 2,190,030 11.45% 7.37%    Kannada (1.67%)
   Urdu (1.51%)
2005–06 2,495,670 13.96% 7.67%
   Other (1.76%)
2006–07 2,875,300 15.21% 8.07%
2007–08 3,051,570 6.13% 7.83%
For the year 2014–15 Tamil Nadu's GSDP was
2008–09 3,217,930 5.45% 7.74% ₹9.767 trillion (US$130  billion), and growth was
2009–10 3,566,320 10.83% 7.89% 14.86.[121] It ranks third in foreign direct investment
(FDI) approvals (cumulative 1991–2002) of
2010–11 4,034,160 13.12% 8.20%
₹225.826  billion ($5,000  million), next only to
2011–12 4,332,380 7.39% 8.26% Maharashtra and Delhi constituting 9.12 per cent of
2012–13 4,479,440 3.39% 8.17% the total FDI in the country.[122] The per capita
income in 2007–2008 for the state was ₹72,993
2013–14 4,806,180 7.29% 8.37%
ranking third among states with a population over
10 million and has steadily been above the national
average.[123]

According to the 2011 Census, Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India (49 per cent), accounting for
9.6 per cent of the urban population while only comprising 6 per cent of India's total population.[124][125]
Services contribute to 45 per cent of the economic activity in the state, followed by manufacturing at 34 per
cent and agriculture at 21 per cent. The government is the major investor in the state with 51 per cent of
total investments, followed by private Indian investors at 29.9 per cent and foreign private investors at 14.9
per cent. Tamil Nadu has a network of about 113 industrial parks and estates offering developed plots with
supporting infrastructure. According to the publications of the Tamil Nadu government, the Gross State
Domestic Product at Constant Prices (The base year 2004–2005) for the year 2011–2012 is ₹4.281 trillion
(US$56 billion), an increase of 9.39 per cent over the previous year. The per capita income at the current
price is ₹72,993.

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

Agriculture
Tamil Nadu has historically been an agricultural state and is a leading
producer of agricultural products in India. In 2008, Tamil Nadu was
India's fifth biggest producer of rice. The total cultivated area in the
state was 5.60  million hectares in 2009–10.[126] The Cauvery delta
region is known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu.[127] In terms of
production, Tamil Nadu accounts for 10 per cent in fruits and 6 per
cent in vegetables, in India.[128] Annual food grains production in the
year 2007–08 was 10035,000 mt.[126] Agricultural farm in Nagapattinam

The state is the largest producer of bananas, turmeric, flowers,[128]

tapioca,[128] the second largest producer of mango,[128] natural rubber,[129] coconut, groundnut and the
third largest producer of coffee, sapota,[128] tea[130] and sugarcane. Tamil Nadu's sugarcane yield per
hectare is the highest in India. The state has 17,000 hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, the second
highest in India.[131]

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, known as the "father of the Indian Green

Revolution" was from Tamil Nadu.[132] Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University with its seven colleges and thirty-two research stations
spread over the entire state contributes to evolving new crop varieties
and technologies and disseminating through various extension
agencies. Among states in India, Tamil Nadu is one of the leaders in
livestock, poultry, and fisheries production. Tamil Nadu had the Agriculture forms a major portion
second largest number of poultry amongst all the states and accounted of the state's economy.
for 17.7 per cent of the total poultry population in India.[133] In 2003–
2004, Tamil Nadu had produced 3783.6  million of eggs, which was
the second-highest in India representing 9.37 per cent of the total egg production in the country.[134] With
the second-longest coastline in India, Tamil Nadu represented 27.54 per cent of the total value of fish and
fishery products exported by India in 2006. Namakkal is also one of the major centers of egg production in
India.
Oddanchatram is one of the major centers for vegetable supply in Tamil Nadu and is also known as
the vegetable city of Tamil Nadu.Coimbatore is one of the major centers for poultry production.[135][136]

Textiles and leather

Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in the textile sector and it
houses the country's largest spinning industry accounting for almost 80
per cent of the total installed capacity in India. When it comes to yarn
production, the State contributes 40 per cent of the total production in
the country. There are 2,614 Hand Processing Units (25 per cent of
total units in the country) and 985 Power Processing Units (40 per cent
of total units in the country) in Tamil Nadu. According to official data,
the textile industry in Tamil Nadu accounts for 17 per cent of the total
Kanchipuram hand loom silk
invested capital in all the industries.[137] Coimbatore is often referred
sarees
to as the "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and
textile industries.[138] Tirupur is the country's largest exporter of
knitwear.[139][140][141] for its cotton production.

Tamil Nadu accounts for 60 per cent of leather tanning capacity in India[142] and 38 per cent of all leather
footwear, garments and components. The state also accounts for 50 per cent of leather exports[143][144]
from India, valued at around US$3.3 billion of the total US$6.5 billion from India. Hundreds of leather and
tannery facilities are located around Vellore and its nearby towns.
Automobiles

Tamil Nadu has seen major investments in the automobile industry over many decades manufacturing cars,
railway coaches, battle-tanks, tractors, motorcycles, automobile spare parts and accessories, tyres and heavy
vehicles. Chennai is known as the Detroit of India.[145] Major global automobile companies including
BMW, Ford, Robert Bosch, Renault-Nissan, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Motors, and Michelin as well
as Indian automobile majors like Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors, Isuzu Motors, TI
cycles, Hindustan Motors, TVS Motors, Irizar-TVS, Royal Enfield, MRF, Apollo Tyres, TAFE Tractors,
Daimler AG Company invested ₹4 billion for establishing a new plant in Tamil Nadu.[146]

Heavy industries and engineering

Tamil Nadu is one of the highly industrialised states in India. Over 11% of the S&P CNX 500
conglomerates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.[147]

The state government owns Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers, in Karur.[148]

Coimbatore is also referred to as "the Pump City" as it supplies two-thirds of India's requirements of motors
and pumps. The city is one of the largest exporters of wet grinders and auto components and the term
"Coimbatore Wet Grinder" has been given a Geographical indication.[149]

Electronics and software

Electronics manufacturing is a growing industry in Tamil Nadu, with

many international companies like Nokia, Flex, Motorola, Sony-
Ericsson, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, Moser Baer, Lenovo, Dell,
Sanmina-SCI, Bosch, Texas Instruments having chosen Chennai as
their South Asian manufacturing hub. Products manufactured include
circuit boards and cellular phone handsets.[150]

Tamil Nadu is the second largest software exporter by value in India.

Software exports from Tamil Nadu grew from ₹76  billion TIDEL Park Coimbatore;
($1.6  billion) in 2003–04 to ₹207  billion {$5  billion} by 2006–07 Coimbatore is one of the leading
according to NASSCOM [151] and to ₹366 billion in 2008–09 which IT/ITS centers in India.
shows 29 per cent growth in software exports according to STPI.
Major national and global IT companies such as Atos Syntel, Infosys,
Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise,
Amazon.com, Capgemini, CGI, PayPal, IBM, NTT DATA, Accenture, Ramco Systems, Robert Bosch
GmbH, DXC Technology, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Virtusa, LTI, Mphasis, Mindtree, Zoho,
Mywebbee, and many others have offices in Tamil Nadu. The top engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have
been a major recruiting hub for the IT firms. According to estimates, about 50 per cent of the human
resources required for the IT and ITES industry was being sourced from the state.[152] Coimbatore is the
second largest software producer in the state, next to Chennai.[153]

Chennai has emerged as the SaaS Capital of India.[154][155][156][157] The SaaS sector in/around Chennai
generates US$1 billion in revenue and employs about 10000 personnel.[157]

Transportation
Road

Tamil Nadu has a transportation system that connects all parts of the
state. Tamil Nadu is served by an extensive road network, providing
links between urban centers, agricultural market-places and rural areas.
There are 29 national highways in the state, covering a total distance
of 5,006.14 km (3,110.67 mi).[158][159] The state is also a terminus for
the Golden Quadrilateral project that connects Indian metropolises like
(New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata). The state
has a total road length of 167,000  km (104,000  mi), of which
A view of the NH 544 expressway
60,628 km (37,672 mi) are maintained by the Highways Department.
between Coimbatore and Salem
This is nearly 2.5 times higher than the density of all-India road
in Tamil Nadu
network.[160] The major road junctions are Chennai, Vellore, Madurai,
Trichy, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi,
Karur, Kumbakonam, Krishnagiri, Dindigul and Kanniyakumari. Road transport is provided by state
owned Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and State Express Transport Corporation. Almost every
part of the state is well connected by buses 24 hours a day. The state accounted for 13.6 per cent of all
accidents in the country with 66,238 accidents in 2013, 11.3 per cent of all road accident deaths and 15 per
cent of all road-related injuries, according to data provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways. Although Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of road accidents in India, it also leads in
having reduced the number of fatalities in accident-prone areas with deployment of personnel and a
sustained awareness campaign. The number of deaths at areas decreased from 1,053 in 2011 to 881 in 2012
and 867 in 2013.[161]

Rail

Tamil Nadu has a well-developed rail network as part of Southern

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

Airports

Tamil Nadu has three international airports, namely Chennai International Airport, Coimbatore International
Airport, Tiruchirappalli International Airport. Madurai Airport is the only customs airport in the state. Salem
Airport, Tuticorin Airport and Vellore Airport are the domestic airports. Chennai International Airport is a
major international airport and aviation hub in South Asia. Besides civilian airports, the state has three air
bases of the Indian Air Force namely Sulur Air Force Station, Thanjavur Air Force Station and Tambaram
Air Force Station and two naval air stations INS Rajali and INS Parundu of Indian Navy. Neyveli Airport
is being renovated since 2019[162] to start the service from mid 2020.

Seaports

Tamil Nadu has three major seaports located at Chennai, Ennore and
Thoothukudi, as well as seven other minor ports including Cuddalore
and Nagapattinam.[126] Chennai Port is an artificial harbour situated
on the Coromandel Coast and is the second principal port in the
country for handling containers. Ennore Port handles all the coal and
ore traffic in Tamil Nadu. The volume of cargo in the ports grew by 13
per cent during 2005.[163]
V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust
Spaceport in Thoothukudi, one of India's
major seaports
In Tamil Nadu, the Government of India is to set up a new Rocket
launch pad near Kulasekharapatnam in Thoothukudi district for which
the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has begun work. The location was selected because of its
nearness to the equator like the Sriharikota spaceport in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.[164]

Infrastructure

Communication

Tamil Nadu has four mobile service providers namely BSNL,[165] Airtel,[166] Jio[167] and Vi (Vodafone
Idea).[168] BSNL provides 2G and 3G mobile internet connections; Airtel and Vi provide 2G, 3G and 4G
services and Jio offers only 4G across Tamil Nadu. Airtel Broadband,[169] Act Broadband[170] BSNL,
Hathway[171] and few others are providing high speed Fiber Optic broadband connection in many cities
and rural areas across Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu government is planning to lay 55,000  km of optical fibre cable across the state and provide
high-speed internet up to 1 Gbit/s and connect all the corporations, municipalities, town panchayats and
village panchayats. This infrastructure would also benefit all the government departments, entrepreneurs
and individual homes.[172]

Energy

Tamil Nadu has the third largest installed power generation capacity in
the country. The Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Ennore Thermal
Plant, Neyveli Lignite Power Plant, many hydroelectric plants
including Mettur Dam, hundreds of windmills and the Narimanam
Natural Gas Plants are major sources of Tamil Nadu's electricity. The
state generates a significant proportion of its power needs from
renewable sources with wind power installed capacity at over 7154
MW,[173] accounting for 38 per cent of total installed wind power in
Wind farm in Muppandal and
India .[174] It is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear Power
Aralvaimozhi region near
Plant to its energy grid, which on completion would be the largest
Nagercoil
atomic power plant in the country with 2000MW installed
capacity.[175] The total installed capacity of electricity in the state by
January 2014 was 20,716 MW.[176] Tamil Nadu ranks first nationwide
in diesel-based thermal electricity generation with a national market
share of over 34 per cent.[177] From a power surplus state in 2005–06,
Tamil Nadu has become a state facing severe power shortage over the
recent years due to lack of new power generation projects and delay in
commercial power generation at Kudankulam Atomic Power Project.
The Tuticorin Thermal Power Station has five 210 megawatt
generators. The first generator was commissioned in July 1979. The Kamuthi Solar Power Project
thermal power plants under construction include the coal-based 1000
MW NLC TNEB Power Plant. From the current 17MW installed solar
power, Tamil Nadu state government's new policy aims to increase the installed capacity to 3000MW by
2016.[178] Kamuthi Solar Power Project was commissioned by Adani Power in Kamuthi,
Ramanathapuram district.[179] With a generating capacity of 648 MWp at a single location, it is the world's
sixth largest (as of 2018) solar park.[180][181]

Culture
Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, art, music and dance which continue to flourish
today. Tamil Nadu is a land most known for its monumental ancient Hindu temples and classical form of
dance Bharata Natyam.[183] Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam[184] (dance), Tanjore
painting,[185] and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be practised in Tamil Nadu.[186]

Literature

Tamil written literature has existed for over 2,300 years.[187] The earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam
literature, is roughly dated from ca. 300 BCE – 300 CE.[188][189] It is one of the oldest Indian literature
amongst all others.[190] The earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from
around the 3rd century BCE.[191][192]

Most early Tamil literary works are in verse form, with prose not
becoming more common until later periods. The Sangam literature
collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of
whom remain anonymous.[193] Sangam literature is primarily secular,
dealing with everyday themes in a Tamilakam context.[194] The
Sangam literature also deals with human relations and emotions.[195]
A State flag for Tamil Nadu was
The available literature from this period was categorised and compiled
unilaterally proposed by the
in the 10th century into two categories based roughly on chronology.
Government of Tamil Nadu in
The categories are: Pathinenmaelkanakku (The Major Eighteen
1970.[182]
Anthology Series) comprising Eṭṭuttokai (The Eight Anthologies) and
the Pattupattu (Ten Idylls) and Pathinenkilkanakku (The Minor
Eighteen Anthology Series).

Much of Tamil grammar is extensively described in the oldest known

grammar book for the Tamil language, the Tolkāppiyam.Modern Tamil
is largely based on the 13th-century grammar book Naṉṉūl which
restated and clarified the rules of the Tolkāppiyam, with some
modifications. Traditional Tamil grammar consists of five parts,
namely eḻuttu, sol, poruḷ, yāppu, aṇi. Of these, the last two are mostly
applied in poetry.[196] Notable example of Tamil poetry include the
Tirukkural written by Tiruvalluvar.
Seventh century paintings in the
In 1578, the Portuguese published a Tamil book in old Tamil script
Sittanavasal Cave, Pudukottai
named 'Thambiraan Vanakkam', thus making Tamil the first Indian
language to be printed and published.[197] Tamil Lexicon, published
by the University of Madras, is the first among the dictionaries published in any Indian language.[198]
During the Indian Independence Movement, many Tamil poets and writers sought to provoke national
spirit, social equity and secularist thoughts among the common man, notably Subramanya Bharathy and
Bharathidasan.

Festivals and traditions

Pongal, also called Tamizhar Thirunaal (festival of Tamils) or Makara

Sankranti elsewhere in India, a four-day harvest festival is one of the
most widely celebrated festivals throughout Tamil Nadu.[199] 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 Jallikattu – A traditional sport
clothes and materials by setting them on fire to mark the end of the old conducted as a part of Pongal
and emergence of the new. The second day, Surya Pongal is the main celebrations
day which falls on the first day of the tenth Tamil month of Thai (14
January or 15 January in the western calendar). On the third day,
Maattu Pongal is meant to offer thanks to the cattle, as they provide milk and are used to plough the lands.
Jallikattu, a bull-taming contest, marks the main event of this day. Alanganallur is famous for its
Jallikattu[200][201] contest usually held on the third day of Pongal. During this final day, Kaanum Pongal –
the word kaanum, means 'to view' in Tamil. In 2011 the Madras High Court Bench ordered the cockfight at
Santhapadi and Modakoor Melbegam villages permitted during the Pongal festival while disposing of a
petition filed attempting to ban the cockfight.[202]
The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chittirai and the
first day of this month in mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year.
The Thiruvalluvar calendar is 31 years ahead of the Gregorian
calendar, i.e. Gregorian 2000 is Thiruvalluvar 2031. Aadi Perukku is
celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi, which celebrates
the rising of the water level in the river Kaveri. Apart from the major
festivals, in every village and town of Tamil Nadu, the inhabitants
celebrate festivals for the local gods once a year and the time varies
from place to place. Most of these festivals are related to the goddess
Maariyamman, the mother goddess of the rain. Other major Hindu
Man riding an elephant in a
festivals including Deepavali (Death of Narakasura), Ayudha Poojai, Pongal Festival Parade in
Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara), Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, Krishna Namakkal
Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are also celebrated. Eid ul-Fitr,
Bakrid, Milad un Nabi, Muharram are celebrated by Muslims whereas
Christmas, Good Friday, Easter are celebrated by Christians in the state. Mahamagam a bathing festival at
Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu is celebrated once in 12 years. People from all the corners of the country
come to Kumbakonam for the festival. This festival is also called Kumbamela of South.[203][204]

Cuisine

Thoothukudi is the place of origin of the Thoothukudi macaroon, Tirunelveli is known for its wheat Halva,
Salem is renowned for its unique mangoes, Madurai is the place of origin of the milk dessert Jigarthanda
while Palani is known for its Panchamirtham.[205] Idlis, dosas, and sambar are quite common throughout
the state. Coffee and tea are the staple drinks.[206]

Media

Music

In terms of modern cine-music, Ilaiyaraaja was a prominent composer

of film music in Tamil cinema during the late 1970s and 1980s. His
work highlighted Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western
musical sensibilities to the south Indian musical mainstream. Tamil
Nadu is also the home of the double Oscar winner A. R.
Rahman[207][208][209] who has composed film music in Tamil,
Telugu, Hindi, English and Chinese films. He was once referred to by
Time magazine as "The Mozart of Madras".
M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first
musician to be awarded the
Film industry Bharat Ratna, India's highest
civilian honor.
Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film industry nicknamed as
"Kollywood", which released the most films in India in 2013.[210] The
term Kollywood is a blend of Kodambakkam and Hollywood.[211] Tamil cinema is one of the largest
industries of film production in India.[212] In Tamil Nadu, cinema ticket prices are regulated by the
government. Single screen theatres may charge a maximum of ₹50, while theatres with more than three
screens may charge a maximum of ₹120 per ticket.[213] The first silent film in Tamil Keechaka Vadham,
was made in 1916.[214] The first talkie was a multi-lingual film, Kalidas, which released on 31 October
1931, barely seven months after India's first talking picture Alam Ara.[215] Swamikannu Vincent, who had
built the first cinema of South India in Coimbatore, introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in which a
tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to a town or village to
screen the films. The first of its kind was established in Madras, called
"Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the fact that
electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors.[216]

Television industry

There are more than 30 television channels of various genres in Tamil.

DD Podhigai, Doordarshan's Tamil language regional channel was
launched on 14 April 1993.[217] The first private Tamil channel, Sun
TV Network was founded in 1993. In Tamil Nadu, the television
industry is influenced by politics and majority of the channels are
owned by politicians or people with political links.[218] The
government of Tamil Nadu distributed free televisions to families in
2006 at an estimated cost ₹3.6 billion (US$47  million) of which has M. G. Ramachandran, was the
first actor turned chief minister in
led to high penetration of TV services.[219][220] Cable used to be the
India. He has been awarded the
preferred mode of reaching homes controlled by government run
Bharat Ratna, India's highest
operator Arasu Cable.[221] From the early 2010s, Direct to Home has
civilian honor.
become increasingly popular replacing cable television services.[222]
Tamil television serials form a major prime time source of
entertainment and are directed usually by one director unlike American television series, where often
several directors and writers work together.[223]

Sports
Kabbadi, also known as Sadugudu, is recognised as the state game in Tamil Nadu.[224] The traditional
sports of Tamil Nadu include Silambam,[225] a Tamil martial arts played with a long bamboo staff,
cockfight, Jallikattu,[226] a bull taming sport famous on festival occasions, ox-wagon racing known as
Rekkala,[227][225] kite flying also known as Pattam viduthal,[226] Goli, the game with marbles,[226] Aadu
Puli, the "goat and tiger" game[226] and Kabaddi also known as Sadugudu.[226] Most of these traditional
sports are associated with festivals of land like Thai Pongal and mostly played in rural areas.[226] S.
Ilavazhagi carrom world champion from 2002 to 2016

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is an international cricket ground with a capacity of 50,000
and houses the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.[228] Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan,[229]
Krishnamachari Srikkanth,[230] Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Hemang Badani
Laxmipathy Balaji,[231] Murali Vijay,[232] Ravichandran Ashwin,[233] Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar,
Murali Karthik, Washington Sundar, Subramaniam Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, and T. Natarajan are
some prominent cricketers from Tamil Nadu. The MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai is a popular fast
bowling academy for pace bowlers all over the world. Cricket contests between local clubs, franchises and
teams are popular in the state. Chennai Super Kings represent the city of Chennai in the Indian Premier
League, a popular Twenty20 league. The Super Kings are the second most successful team in the league
with four IPL and two CLT20 titles.[234]

Notable sportspersons from Tamil Nadu



Ravichandran Ashwin – Dinesh Karthik – Cricket Adam Sinclair – Field

Cricket hockey

P. V. Nandhidhaa – Chess
Viswanathan Anand – Woman Grandmaster Ramkumar Ramanathan –
Chess Tennis

Mariyappan Thangavelu
Raj Bharath – Motorsport (left most) – High jump Mahesh Bhupathi – Tennis

Ajay Jayaram – Badminton Sharath Kamal (left) – Table Joshna Chinappa and
tennis Dipika Pallikal – Squash

Tennis is also a popular sport in Tamil Nadu with notable international players including Ramesh
Krishnan,[235] Ramanathan Krishnan,[235] Vijay Amritraj[236] and Mahesh Bhupathi. Nirupama
Vaidyanathan, the first Indian women to play in a grand slam tournament also hails from the state. The ATP
Chennai Open tournament is held in Chennai every January. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil
Nadu (SDAT) owns Nungambakkam tennis stadium which hosts Chennai Open and Davis Cup play-off
tournaments.

The Tamil Nadu Hockey Association is the governing body of hockey in the state. Vasudevan Baskaran
was the captain of the Indian team that won the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The Mayor
Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai hosts international hockey events and is regarded by the International
Hockey Federation as one of the best in the world for its infrastructure.[237]

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

The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), a government body, is vested with the
responsibility of developing sports and related infrastructure in the state.[238] The SDAT owns and operates
world-class stadiums and organises sporting events.[239] It also accommodates sporting events, both at the
domestic and international level, organised by other sports associations at its venues. The YMCA College
of Physical Education at Nandanam in Chennai was established in 1920 and was the first college for
physical education in Asia. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai is a multi-purpose stadium hosting
football and track and field events. The Indian Triathlon Federation and the Volleyball Federation of India
are headquartered in Chennai. Chennai hosted India's first-ever International Beach Volleyball
Championship in 2008. The SDAT  – TNSRA Squash Academy in Chennai is one of the very few
academics in South Asia hosting international squash events. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore is a
multi-purpose stadium in Coimbatore constructed in 1971 which is used to host I-League football
matches.[240]

Tourism
The tourism industry of Tamil Nadu is the largest in India, with an
annual growth rate of 16 per cent. Tourism in Tamil Nadu is promoted
by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), a
government of Tamil Nadu undertaking. According to Ministry of
Tourism statistics, 4.68  million foreign (20.1% share of the country)
and 333.5  million domestic tourists (23.3% share of the country)
visited the state in 2015 making it the most visited state in India both
domestic and foreign tourists.[241] The state boasts some of the grand Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
Hindu temples built-in Dravidian architecture. The Nilgiri Mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage
Railway, Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Site.
Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple in Darasuram (Great Chola
Temples) and the Shore Temple along with the collection of other
monuments in Mamallapuram which have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[242][243]

See also
Chronology of Tamil history
History of Tamil Nadu
List of countries where Tamil is an official language
List of denotified communities of Tamil Nadu
List of dams and reservoirs in Tamil Nadu
Outline of Tamil Nadu
 Tamil Eelam
Tamil inscriptions
Tamil Muslim
Tamizhi

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

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Further reading
"India sets up classical languages" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3667032.stm).
BBC. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
 "Tamil Nadu Hunger Problem Alarming" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7669152.st
m). BBC News. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
"New DGP takes charge" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120314122217/http://articles.times
ofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-21/chennai/29568181_1_letika-saran-new-dgp-director-gen
eral). The Times of India. Archived from the original (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.co
m/2011-05-21/chennai/29568181_1_letika-saran-new-dgp-director-general) on 14 March
2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
Radha Venkatesan (1 October 2009). "India's Jurassic nest dug up in Tamil Nadu" (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20110811072126/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-10-01/
india/28066173_1_eggs-nest-river-bed). The Times of India. Archived from the original (htt
p://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-10-01/india/28066173_1_eggs-nest-river-bed)
on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
"Tamil Nadu Hunger Level in Danger List" (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India_far
es_badly_on_global_hunger_index/articleshow/3596818.cms). The Times of India. 15
October 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
"Bihar is country's fastest growing state at 13.1%" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012060308
2719/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-02/india/31983641_1_bihar-govern
ment-tamil-nadu-india-s-gdp). The Times of India. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original (h
ttp://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-02/india/31983641_1_bihar-government-t
amil-nadu-india-s-gdp) on 3 June 2012.
"TN makes its way to top 5 states in HDI" (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/tn-makes-it
s-way-to-top-5-states-in-hdi/287643/). The Financial Express. 24 March 2008. Retrieved
24 March 2008.

External links

Government
The Official Site of the Government of Tamil Nadu (http://www.tn.gov.in/)
Official Tourism Site of Tamil Nadu, India (http://www.tamilnadutourism.org/)

General information
Tamil Nadu (https://curlie.org/Regional/Asia/India/Tamil_Nadu) at Curlie
Geographic data related to Tamil Nadu (https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/96905) at
OpenStreetMap

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