Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu ("Land of the Tamils") is a state at the southern tip of India. The bordering states/territories are Pondicherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The nation of Sri Lanka, which has a significant Tamil minority, lies off the southeast coast.
Tamil Nadu was created from the old Madras State in the 1950s, when India re-drew some state lines according to language. State politics continue to have a lot to do with protecting and celebrating the Tamil (and Dravidian in general) language and culture.
Unlike most of the rest of the country, Tamil Nadu gets its rainfall largely from the "North-East monsoon" in the months of October-December. Farmers are very dependent on the fickle handful of cyclonic storms that are formed in this season in the Bay of Bengal.
There is a long standing dispute with Karnataka over the matter of Cauvery river water. The river flows south from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. The contention is over whether or not Karnataka has released its fair share of river water to Tamil Nadu.
Chennai (formerly Madras) is the state capital and the fourth largest city in India. Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Tiruchirapalli are the other large cities of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, music and dance which are continuing to flourish today. It is one of the most industrialized states in India. Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu (as well as one of the official languages of India).
Tamil Nadu is also home to India's second largest film industry after Bollywood, producing a huge number of Tamil language films each year.
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History
Tamil Nadu has a very ancient history that dates back to some 6000 years. Tamils belong to the Dravidian race and were part of the early Indus Valley settlers.Later with the advent of the Aryans, the Dravidians were pushed back into the deep south where they ultimately settled.The present Tamil Nadu along with Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala was a part of Dravidian culture.
The dravida nadu of which modern Tamil Nadu formed a part, was predominantly ruled by the Cheras,the Cholas and the Pandiyas. At times other dynasties like Pallavas and Chalukyas too came into power.
The history of Pandyan kingdom dates as early as 6th Century B.C. Madurai was founded by the first Pandyan king Kulasekara.The Pandyas excelled in trade and learning. They controlled the present districts of Madurai and Tirunelveli and part of South Kerala.The Pandyas had trading contacts with Greece and Rome and were powerful in their own right though they were subjugated during various periods by the Pallavas and Cholas.
4th to 9th Century
The early Cholas reigned between 1st and 4th century AD. The first and the most famous king of this period was Karikalan. They occupied the present Thanjavur and Tiruchirapalli Districts and excelled in military exploits.
During the later half of 4th century AD, Pallavas the great temple builders emerged into prominence.They dominated the south for another 400 years. They ruled a large portion of Tamil Nadu with Kanchipuram as their base. In the 6th century they defeated the Cholas and reigned as far as Ceylon(Sri Lanka).Among the greatest Pallava rulers were Mahendravarman-l and his son Narasimhavarman. Dravidian architecture reached its epitome during Pallava rule. The last Pallava King was Aparajitha. He was defeated by Aditya Chola towards the end of the 9th century AD.
9th to 13th Century
The Cholas again rose to power by 9th century AD. Under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a supreme power in South India. The Chola empire stretched as far as central India, Orissa and parts of West Bengal. Rajaraja Chola conquered the eastern Chalukya kingdom, defeated the Cheras, annexed parts of Ceylon by defeating the Pandyas. Rajendra Chola went beyond and occupied the islands of Andaman Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya and the islands of Pegu with his fleet of ships. He defeated Mahipala the king of Bihar and Bengal and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called 'Gangaikonda Cholapuram'.The power of the Cholas declined around the 13th century.
14th Century
With the decline of the Cholas, the Pandyas rose to prominence once again in the early 14th century. But it was short lived, when the they were subdued by the Khilji invaders from the North in 1316.The city of Madurai completely destroyed and ransacked. The Muslim invasion weakened both the Cholas and Pandyas and led to the establishment of Bahmani Kingdom.
The Muslim invasion of the South in the 14th century caused a retaliatory reaction from the Hindus, who rallied to build a strong new kingdom, called the Vijayanagar empire. It absorbed all strongholds of Cholas and other local Hindu rulers to check the Muslims. Governors called Nayaks were engaged to run different territories of the empire. With Hampi as the Capital, Vijayanagar Empire was the most prosperous dynasty in the south. But by 1564 the empire came to an end at the hands of Deccan Sultans in the battle of Talikota. The empire was split into many parts and was given to the Nayaks to rule. Tamil Country under Nayaks was peaceful and prosperous. The Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjavur were most prominent of them all. The reconstructed some of the oldest temples in the country.
The kingdom of the Cheras comprised of the state of Travancore, Cochin and parts of the Malabar. Their proximity to the sea favoured trade with Romans. This small territory never experienced the conquest of the Muslims and remained independent till the British period.
In 1953 Madras State was bifurcated into two states Andhra Pradesh, comprising of Telugu speaking areas and Madras State, comprising of Tamil speaking areas. Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Madras State was further divided into the States of Kerala, Mysore and Madras. In 1968, Madras State adopted a new name - Tamil Nadu. The capital city Madras was renamed Chennai in 1996.
17th century
With the establishment of the East India company at Madras in 1639, a new chapter was opened in the history of Tamil Nadu. Petty quarrels among provincial rulers helped the British to gain administrative control over them. Slowly but Steadily, the Whole of Tamil Nadu and most of South India came under the British. Under the British colonial rule, most of the south India was Integrated into the region called Madras Presidency.20th century
When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State, comprising of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Kerala.Politics
Tamil Nadu had Bicameral Legislature till 1986, when it was abolished by an act. Now the state has Unicameral Legislature, like most other States in the Nation.
Regional Parties have been the strongest in Tamil Nadu. They (predominantly DMK and AIADMK) have dominated the State politics since 1967. "Justice Party", one of the earliest regional parties in India was established as early as 1961 by E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, popularly known as "periyar". In 1944, he renamed the party as Dravidar Kazhagam. DK, a non political party demanded the establishment of an independent state called Dravida Nadu. However, due to the differences between its two leaders EVR and C.N.Annadurai, the party was split.
Annadurai left the party , to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The DMK decided to enter into politics in 1956. The Anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made DMK more popular and more powerful in the state. The DMK routed the Congress in the 1967 elections and took control of the state government. That was the end of congress stronghold in Tamil Nadu. M. Karunanidi became the party's leader after the death of Annadurai, in 1969.
Karunanidhi's leadership was soon challenged by M.G.Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR. in 1972, he split from DMK and formed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). He was the Chief Minister of the state from 1977 till his death in 1987. After the death of MGR, the party split again into two factions, one lead by Janaki Ramachandran, wife of M G R and the other lead by Jayalalithaa. After the defeat of AIADMK in 1989 assembly polls, both the factions were merged and Jayalalithaa took control of the party. She was elected as the General secretary of the unified AIADMK.
There were splits both in DMK and AIADMK, but it was either DMK or AIADMK that was in power in the state from 1967 till date. Currently, AIADMK supremo, J.Jayalilathaa is the Chief minister of the state.
see : List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu
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