Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of the Republic of India, occupies 130,058 km² along the Coromandel Coast and the Western Ghats, making it the country’s sixth‑largest state by area. With a 2023 mid‑year estimate of 76.4 million inhabitants, it is the second‑most populous state, and its capital, Chennai, serves as a major maritime hub and the headquarters of the Southern Railway zone. The state’s official language, Tamil, is a Classical language recognized by UNESCO, and its literacy rate of 80.33 % (2021) ranks among the highest in the nation, underscoring a long tradition of scholarship and public administration. ## Historical Background The region that is now Tamil Nadu was the cradle of three ancient dynasties—the Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas—whose inscriptions date back to the 3rd century BCE. The Chola Empire, at its zenith under Rajaraja I (985–1014 CE) and Rajendra I (1014–1044 CE), commissioned the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its 66‑metre vimana and granite monoliths. British annexation began in 1801 when the East India Company took over the Carnatic, and the area was reorganised as the Madras Presidency until Indian independence in 1947. The modern state was created on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, initially named Madras State, and was renamed Tamil Nadu on 14 January 1969 to reflect linguistic identity. ## Geography and Demographics Tamil Nadu stretches from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Nilgiri Hills in the west, with an average elevation of 300 metres and a coastline of 1,076 km. The Kaveri River basin, covering 44 % of the state’s cultivated area, supports the production of 12 million tonnes of paddy annually, making rice the staple crop. As of the 2011 Census, the sex ratio stood at 996 females per 1,000 males, and the urbanisation rate reached 48.4 % in 2022, driven largely by the expansion of Chennai’s metropolitan area to 4,400 km². The Scheduled Castes constitute 20 % of the population, while Scheduled Tribes, primarily the Todas and Irulas of the Nilgiris, account for 1.1 %. ## Economy and Industry Tamil Nadu’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) was estimated at ₹30.5 trillion (≈ US$ 300 billion) for FY 2022‑23, contributing 14.5 % to India’s total GDP. The automotive sector, centred in the Chennai‑Sriperumbudur corridor, produced 3.5 million vehicles in 2023, ranking the state third nationally after Maharashtra and Karnataka. Information technology exports from the city of Chennai reached US$ 6.2 billion in FY 2022, propelled by the presence of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and a 1,200‑acre IT park at Taramani. Textile manufacturing, especially cotton knitwear, generated ₹ 45 billion in 2022, while the state’s chemical complex at Cuddalore contributed 2.3 % of national fertilizer output. Agricultural diversification includes 1.2 million hectares of banana and 0.9 million hectares of coconut plantations, supporting both domestic consumption and export markets. ## Cultural Heritage Tamil Nadu is home to 38 state‑protected monuments and 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites, the most notable being the Great Living Chola Temples—Brihadeeswarar, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, and Airavatesvara—each exemplifying Dravidian architecture with intricate stone carvings and bronze Nataraja statues. The Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, rebuilt between 1623 and 1655, attracts over 10 million pilgrims annually and features 14 gopurams rising to 170 feet. Classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, codified by the Tanjore Quartet in the 19th century, are taught at institutions like Kalakshetra, founded in 1936. The state’s literary canon includes the Sangam anthologies (3rd century BCE–3rd century CE) and modern works by Nobel laureate poet Subramania Bharati, whose 1910 poem “Vande Mataram” inspired early nationalist movements. ## Political Landscape Since the 1960s, Tamil Nadu’s politics have been dominated by Dravidian parties that emerged from the anti‑Hindi agitations of the Justice Party and the Dravidar Kazhagam. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) secured its first legislative majority in 1967 under C.N. Annadurai, while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was founded by M.G. Ramachandran in 1972 and ruled for three consecutive terms from 1977 to 1991. As of May 2024, the DMK-led coalition, headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, holds 138 of the 234 assembly seats and 20 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats allocated to the state. The