Pudukkottai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pudukkottai | |
  Pudukkottai
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| State - District(s) |
Tamil Nadu - Pudukkottai |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation |
- 100 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
108,947 - |
Pudukkottai is a city and a municipality in Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District.
Contents |
[edit] History
The present-day district of Pudukkottai was part of the Pandya kingdom. Over the centuries, the district was ruled by a succession of South Indian dynasties which included the Cholas, Pallavas and Hoysalas. The district became a part of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century. The Vijayanagara empire fought many wars with the Muslim Deccan sultanates to its north, and in 1565 the allied sultanates decisively defeated Vijayanagara at the Battle of Talikota. The defeat weakened the Vijayanagara Empire, and regional governors, called Nayaks, became de facto local rulers in much of Southern India. Pudukkottai was ruled by the Nayaks of Madurai from the mid-16th century to the mid-17th century.
[edit] The Thondaiman dynasty
Raghunatha Raya Tondiman, founder of the princely state of Pudukkotai, was a distinguished general and had served as a governor of Thirumayam under his brother-in-law, Maharaja Regunatha Kilavan Setupati of Ramnad. In appreciation of his services, the Maharaja conferred upon him an extensive fief in 1686, comprising of the fort of Pudukkotai and surrounding lands.
In later centuries, the Thondaiman rulers, while nominally feudatories of the Ramnad state, often pursued an independent foreign policy, a trend common in all parts of India at that time. Certainly the most consequential of such ventures was their alliance with the British in the 18th century, first against the Nawab of Arcot and later against the Kingdom of Mysore. Pudukkotai finally came under formal British protection in 1763. This was arguably unavoidable, since the Thondaimans were much menaced in that period by a resurgent Mysore ruled by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan had sought to leverage the power of the French against his British adversaries, and Pudukkotai, in common with its neighbours such as Thanjavur and Travancore, found it expedient to ally with the British.
Princely state: Pudukkottai became a princely state of British India under the political authority of Madras Presidency. The state had an area of 1100 sq mi (3000 km²) and in 1901, a population of 380,000. The Rajas of Pudukkotai were entitled to an 11-gun salute.
Post-independence: The last Thondaiman raja of Pudukkottai acceded to newly-independent India in 1948, and the state became a division of Tiruchirappalli District of Madras State. The state was reorganised twice in the succeeding decade, taking its present form in 1956; it was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968. On January 14, 1974, the present Pudukkottai District was formed from parts of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur districts.
[edit] Geography
Pudukkottai is located at [1]. It has an average elevation of 100 metres (328 feet). The state consists mainly of an undulating plain, nowhere of great fertility and in many parts barren; it is interspersed with rocky hills, especially in the southwest. Granite and laterite are quarried, red ochre is worked, and silk and cotton fabrics, bell-metal vessels and perfumes are among the principal manufactures. There is also some export trade in groundnuts and tanning bark.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Pudukkottai had a population of 108,947. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Pudukkottai has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 74%. In Pudukkottai, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Pudukkottai District web site
- Genealogy of the Tondaiman dynasty
- Pudukkottai Virtual Heritage Tour
- Pudukkottai Discussion Forum
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State of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Topics | History | Politics | Tamil people |
|---|---|
| Capital | Chennai |
| Districts | Chennai • Coimbatore • Cuddalore • Dharmapuri • Dindigul • Erode • Kanchipuram • Kanyakumari • Karur • Krishnagiri • Madurai • Nagapattinam • Namakkal • Perambalur • Pudukkottai • Ramanathapuram • Salem • Sivaganga • Thanjavur • The Nilgiris • Theni • Thoothukudi • Tiruchirapalli • Tirunelveli • Tiruvallur • Tiruvannamalai • Tiruvarur • Vellore • Viluppuram • Virudhunagar |
| Major cities | Alandur • Avadi • Ambattur • Chennai • Coimbatore • Cuddalore • Dindigul • Erode • Kancheepuram • Karur • Kumbakonam • Madurai • Nagercoil • Neyveli • Pallavaram • Pudukkottai • Rajapalayam • Salem • Tiruchirapalli • Tirunelveli • Tambaram • Thoothukudi • Tiruppur • Tiruvannamalai • Thanjavur • Tiruvottiyur • Vellore |
