Education

Tamil Nadu has 350 engineering colleges and 1150 arts college, 2550 schools and 5000 hospitals.

Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 1991-2001. The state's literacy rate increased from 62.66% in 1991 to 73.47% in 2001. which is well above the nation average. Today many of India's premier educational institutions such as IIT-Madras, Chennai; NIT-Tiruchirapalli,Trichy; Anna University, Chennai; VIT, Vellore; University of Madras, Chennai; Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai; Madras Medical College, Chennai; Christian Medical College, Vellore and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore are some of the many premier institutions of the state. 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.

The Dravidian movement, which began in Tamil Nadu, claimed to uplift the socially repressed classes, but drew its main support from the middle classes. Educating the people and eradicating superstitions were some of their objectives. They had a commitment to social justice which led to the expansion of reservation for the middle castes (or other backward classes - OBCs) and the lower castes and tribes (the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes).While this seems to be the motto of the Dravidian parties, they constantly indulge in Brahmin bashing and even to the point where the current chief minister M Karunanidhi had once stated that his aim was to make the upper caste people wash the latrines of the so called Backward Class.So one can gauge the extent of upper caste bashing in Tamil Nadu.This is one of the main reasons why there has been a large scale migration of upper caste Tamil Brahmins to other parts of India. Upper castes in Tamil Nadu criticise that high % of reservations are being followed in spite of the fact that upper castes are securing only around 3% seats as against their population of 13%. Tamil Nadu has the highest percentage of population declared as OBCs in India, and the total percentage of population falling under the ambit of reservations is greater than 80%, again the highest in India.Even though the limit set by the Hon'le Supreme Court of India for reservations in educational institutes should not exceed 50%, this particular law is not subject to judicial scrutiny as it has been placed under the controversial 9^th schedule of the Indian Constitution.Since Tamil Nadu does not exclude high-income people (also known as "creamy layer") belonging to the OBC groups from enjoying the benefits of reservation, there are questions about who really benefits from this scheme. Some allege that Tamil Nadu's reservation scheme is more aimed at keeping certain communities (specifically the Brahmins) out of educational and job opportunities than at improving the lot of the poor and the suppressed (see Anti-Brahmanism.) There appears to be some legitimacy to this allegation as several sectors that are dominated by OBCs - such as businesses, land ownership etc. do not have any reservations for poorer people or suppressed classes.

The Mid-day meals program in Tamil Nadu program, initiated by Kamarajar, was expanded considerably during the rule of the AIADMK in 1983. It feeds over a fifth of the state's population.

The mutual interaction of various philosophies, schools of thought, and religious ideologies in the state has had some effect, but by and large Tamil Nadu has the reputation of being more xenophobic than other states in India. Every now and then Tamil extremist demonstrations are held to reinforce the alleged superiority of Tamil. Women do not enjoy the same level of respect and protection compared to neighboring Kerala. Tamil Nadu has one of the highest incidences of female infanticide and foeticide in India, due to the fact that a girl child is viewed as a liability resulting from poor female social standing.

Human Rights

Human rights

In general, Tamil Nadu has a good human rights record when it comes to religious minorities. There have been exceptions - for example during the anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi's assassination, Tamil Nadu saw its share of anti-Sikh violence. Also, after the Coimbatore blasts of 1998, Muslim institutions and businesses were violently attacked. With respect to caste discrimination, Tamil Nadu's record is fairly poor. There are allegations that Dalits are discriminated even today in the southern districts and in other rural areas, mostly by landed OBCs. Tamil Nadu's record of tolerance towards linguistic minorities has been exemplary, despite provocations from incidents occurring in other states.

Demographics

There are 350 Engineering college, 1150 Arts college , 5000 hospital and 10000 schools. Tamil Nadu's population stood at 62,110,839 as of 00.00 hours of March 1, 2001. It is the sixth most populous State of the Indian Union behind Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The State accounts for 6.05% of the country's population. Its population density at 478 persons per square kilometre, up from 429 in 1991, and much higher than the all-India density of 324, makes it the eleventh most densely populated State (1991 rank:10). Approximately 47% of Tamil Nadu's population live in urban areas, one of the highest percentages in India.

During the decade 1991-2001, Tamil Nadu reported the second lowest decadal growth in population after Kerala, among the group of States with population exceeding 20 million in 2001. While Kerala's population grew by 9.42% between 1991 and 2001, Tamil Nadu's grew by 11.19%. In fact, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa are the only three States in this group to have shown a decline in decadal percentage change in population in every decade since 1971.

Politics

Politics

Regional parties have dominated state politics since 1967.One of the earliest regional parties was the South Indian Welfare Association, which was founded in 1916. It came to be known as the Justice Party after the name of its English-language daily, Justice.E.V. Ramasami, popularly known as "Periyar", renamed the party Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. DK 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 Periyar 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.

In the 19th century, Western scholars proposed that Dravidian formed a different group to Indo-Aryan languages in the north of the country and divided Indians into Aryan and Dravidian races. This was done under the now discredited assumption that speakers of different linguistic families constituted different "races". This was a massive logical fallacy of reading linguistic families into human races. It was supposed that the generally darker-skinned Dravidians constituted a distinct race. This concept has affected thinking in India about racial and regional differences and has informed aspects of Tamil nationalism, which has at times appropriated the claim that Dravidians are the earliest inhabitants of India in order to argue that other populations were oppressive interlopers from which Dravidians should liberate themselves. History has not given any proof that Dravidian linguistic family antedates Indo-aryan linguistic family in India.

Nehru's grant of a separate state essentially forced Tamil nationalism off stage. Instead Tamil regional parties now fight for access to the centre and between each other. The Anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made the DMK more popular and more powerful in the state. The DMK routed the Congress Party in the 1967 elections and took control of the state government, ending Congress's stronghold in TamilNadu. C.N. Annadurai became the DMK's first Chief Minister, and Muthuvel Karunanidhi took over as Chief Minister and party leader after Annadurai's death 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 until his death in 1987. After the death of MGR, the party split again into two factions, one led by Janaki Ramachandran, wife of MGR, and the other led by J. Jayalalithaa. After the defeat of AIADMK in 1989 assembly polls, both factions were merged and Jayalalithaa took control of the party. She was elected as the General Secretary of the unified AIADMK. There have been splits in both the DMK and the AIADMK, but since 1967 one of those two parties has held power in the state. In the State Elections held in May 2006, the prevailing government by the AIADMK was defeated by the DMK-led alliance.

Governance

Governance and administration

Tamil Nadu had a bicameral legislature until 1986, when it was replaced with a unicameral legislature, like most other states in India.

The 'Governer' 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. The Chief-Justice of the Chennai high-court is the head of the judiciary. The present Governer, Chief-minister and the Chief-Justice are S. S. Barnala, M. Karununanidhi and A. P. Shah respectively. The major administrative units of the state constitutes 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, 234 Assembly constituencies, 30 districts, 7 municipal corporations, 152 municipalities, 561 town panchayats and 12,618 village panchayats.

Tamil Nadu has been a pioneering state in E-Governance initiatives in India. 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 etc, land registration offices, and transport offices have been computerized, thereby improving the quality of service and transparency in operations.

Geography

Geography

Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km² (50,215 mi²),and is the eleventh largest state in India. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the northwest and Andhra Pradesh to the north. To the east is the Bay of Bengal.

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.

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.

Forest cover over 17% of the state's geographical area with several wild life and bird sanctuaries.

Tambaraparani River is the district's main river with its network of tributaries including the Peyar, Ullar, Karaiyar, Servalar, Pampar, Manimuthar, Varahanathi, Ramanathi, Jambunathi, Gadananathi, Kallar, Karunaiyar, Pachaiyar River, Chittar River, Gundar, Aintharuviar, Hanumanathi, Karuppanathi and Aluthakanniar.

History

History

Tamil Nadu's history dates back pre-historic times and archeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in India. From early pre-history Tamil Nadu was the home of the four powerful Tamil kingdoms of the Chera,Chola,Pandya and Pallavas. The oldest extant literature, dated between 200 BCE and 200 CE mentions the exploits of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. The early Cholas reigned between 1st and 4th centuries CE. Kalabhras from the north invaded and displaced the three kingdoms between the fourth and the seventh centuries CE. They were eventually expelled by the Pandyas and the Pallavas. Around 580 CE, the Pallavas, great temple builders, emerged into prominence and dominated the south for another 150 years. They ruled a large portion of Tamil Nadu with Kanchipuram as their base. They subjugated the Cholas and reigned as far as the Kaveri River. Among the greatest Pallava rulers were Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Dravidian architecture reached its epitome during Pallava rule.

The Cholas again rose to power by the 9th century. Under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a notable power in Asia. The Chola Empire stretched as far as Bengal. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, and annexed parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola's navies went beyond, occupying coastal Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya in South East Asia and Pegu islands. He defeated Mahipala, the king of the Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

The Cholas revelled in building magnificent temples. Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur is a classical example of the magnificent architecture of the Chola kingdom. Another example is the Chidambaram Temple in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram. The power of the Cholas declined around the 13th century. With the decline of the Cholas, the Pandyas rose to prominence once again in the early 14th century. This was short lived; they were soon subdued by Muslim Khilji invaders from the north in 1316. Madurai was sacked. The invasion led to the establishment of the Madurai Sultanate. These Muslim invasions caused the establishment ofVijayanagara Empire in the Deccan. It eventually conquered the entire Tamil country (c. 1370 CE). 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 Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were most prominent of them all. They reconstructed some of the oldest temples in the country.

Around 1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat. 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. The British fought and reduced the French dominions in India to Pondicherry. They consolidated southern India into the Madras Presidency. Some notable chieftains or Poligars who fought the British East India Company as it was expanding were Veerapandya Kattabomman, Maruthu Pandiyar, Pulithevan and Dheeran Chinnamalai. Pudukkottai remained as a princely state under British suzerainty.

When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State, comprising of present day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, 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.

Introduction

Tamil Nadu

Tamilnadu is a state at the southern tip of India. Tamil Nadu is bordered by Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Sri Lanka, which has a significant Tamil minority, lies off the southeast coast.

Tamil Nadu has had continuous human habitation since pre-historic times. Its long history and cultural traditions are among the oldest in the world. The ancient Tamil kingdoms of Chera, Chola, Pallava and Pandya are of very ancient origins. They patronised a mature culture which produced some of the oldest surviving literature in India.

Colonised by the East India Company, Tamil Nadu was eventually incorporated into the Madras Presidency. After the independence of India, the Madras State was created in 1956 based on linguistic boundaries. The name of the Madras State was changed to Tamil Nadu in the year 1969. The politics of Tamil Nadu has been dominated by DMK and AIADMK, who are of the Dravidian movement which agitated demanding concessions for the 'Dravidian' population of Tamil Nadu.

Lying on a low plain along the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu is bounded by the Eastern Ghats in the north and Nilgiri, Annamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west. The state has large fertile areas along the Coromandel coast, the Palk strait, and the Gulf of Mannar. The fertile plains of Tamil Nadu are fed by rivers such as Kaveri, Palar, and Vaigai, and by the northeast monsoon. Traditionally a manufacturing state, Tamil Nadu is also a leading producer of agricultural products.

The sixth most populous state in the Indian Union, Tamil Nadu has the largest urban agglomeration nationwide. Increases in literacy have caused Tamil Nadu to report the second lowest decadal growth in population in India. Globalisation brought increased export opportunities, making Tamil Nadu the fifth largest economy among the states of India. The growing demands for skilled labour have caused the increased number of educational institutions in Tamil Nadu. It has the highest number of vocational training institutions in India. Chennai, which was known until 1996 as Madras, is the fourth largest city of India and the state capital. Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Salem and Thirunelveli are other large cities (Corporations) of Tamil Nadu.

The art and culture of Tamils are among the oldest in the world. Great literature, music, dance and architecture have evolved from Tamil Nadu over the past two millennia. Tamil Nadu provided the cradle in which the rich musical tradition of Carnatic music evolved. Many of the great composers such as Tyagaraja lived and flourished in Tamil Nadu. The film industry has also had a long history, its movies enjoying widespread popular support.