Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has a very ancient history that goes back some 6,000 years. The state represents the nucleus of Dravidian culture which antedated the Aryan culture in India by almost a thousand years.

The legend says that the architects of the Indus Valley Civillization were Dravidians . with the coming of Aryans into North , the Dravidians appear to have been pushed into the south were they have remained confined .

Though early Sangam classics throw vague historical references only from the reign of great temple builders – Pallavas – We pass to the recorded history. During the reign of pallavas ( 4th Century A.D. ) the Dravidian culture and architecture progressed include monuments of Mamallapuram the kailasnathar tamples at Chennai . the last Pallava ruler was Aparajita in whose reign the later cholas under Vijayalaya and Aditya asserted themselves by about 10th century . At the end of the 11th century Tamil nadu was ruled by several dynasties like the chalukyas cholas and pandayas . Actually cholas ruled over Tamil Nadu for the next cenruries . the great chola kings – Raja and Rajender – conquered even sumatara , java, Lakshadweep and Sri Lanka .

The decline of the chola brought Muslims in the south India . They gradually strengthened their position which led to the establishment of the Bahamani by the middie of the 14th century .

At the same time the Vijayanagar Kingdom quickly consolidated itself and extended its sway over the whole of south India and become a supreme power. However it crumbled in the Battle of Talikota in 1564 to the confederate forces of the Deccan Sultans . The kingdom was split into several parts and given to the Nayaks to rule .

The rise of Muslim power in India has had its impact on Tamil Nadu , but by and large . Tamil nadu remained unaffected by the political convulsions in North and central India . with the establishment of the East India company at Madras in 1639 a new chapter was opened in the history of Tamil nadu .

The first trading establishment actuallty made by the British in the Madras State was at Peddapali (now Nizampatnam ) in 1611 and them at Masulipatnam . in and then at Masulipatnam . in 1639, the English were permitted to make a settlement at the place , which is now Madras and Fort St. George was founded . The portugess the Dutch and the French also established the trading centres known as “Factories” By 1801 , most of the region from northern Circars to Cape Comorin had been brought under the British Rule .

When India become free in 1947 the old madras Province comprising Tamil nadu and Andhra Pradesh and parts of Kerala continued as the state of Madras . The Telugu speaking areas . The old capital city of Madras was retained by the Madras state .