| Gudalur | |
| — city — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District(s) | Nilgiris |
| Chairman | Selvi. T. Annabhuvaneshwari[1] |
| Population • Density |
43,038 (2001[update]) • 200 /km2 (518 /sq mi) |
| Sex ratio | 880/1000 ♂/♀ |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 1,072 metres (3,517 ft) |
| Website | www.aboutgudalur.com |
Gudalur (Tamil: கூடலூர்), (Malayalam: ഗുടല്ലുര്),(Kannada: ಗುಡಲೂರ್ ) , is a panchayat town and taluk in Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is said that Gudalur gets its name from Koodal + uru, meaning the Meeting Place.
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Gudalur is a picturesque green valley on the way from Mysore to Ooty with a population of 32,605 (1991 census). It is a gateway to three states, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka lying equidistant from both Kerala and Karnataka. Though the history of the name has been lost, it is the place where all of the three states' boundaries meet. Though it is said that Gudalur got its name from koodal+uru but from Goodal+uru= mysterious place.
Tea plantations dot the whole region, and the regional economy is heavily dependent on the tea industry. However, this is a place rich in flora and fauna with a variety of plants of hills as well as plants of the lower altitude such as paddy, coconut flourish here. This land was an offspring to the exploration done by the British during the pre-independence period to cultivate tea plantation. Various large companies own tea estates in the region. From the 1960s onwards, the region saw pioneering settlers moving in from neighbouring Kerala. Later, towards the end of the 1970s, the Tamil Nadu Government also granted refuge to a large number of Sri Lankan repatriates. This considerably changed the demography of the region. Gudalur is a place where one can see people from the two states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala live together cordially.
Once upon a time, it was a hiding place for newly wedded couples who married without the consent of their parents and had eloped from their homes. Criminals also find this place, a hideout from the law of the land; the history of Gudalur says that it is a land of hard workers. People from different part of India migrated to Gudalur and fought with the wild animals and with malaria and thereby reaped gold from the land. This 'pioneering' spirit however, had a considerable cost — the original inhabitants of the region (indigenous people) have been reduced to a state of abject poverty and subjugation on account of the outsiders.
Gudalur was part of erstwhile 'Malabar Taluk' and was owned by the Malayalam Janmies. Malabar means hill areas. These hill areas were inhabited by tribes, semi-tribes{ and others. The language spoken by these people was called Malayalam. The tribes of this area are mostly Paniyas, whose language is 90% Malayalam. Wyanadan Chetties and Mountadan Chetties are the semi-tribes in this area and Eayanadan Chetties speak Malayalam. All other people spoke Malayalam until 1977. However, this area wrongly became part of Tamil Nadu during the State Re-Organization (1956) on the basis of language spoken in the area. Tamil was not the language of this area even before 1977.
Gudalur is the only Taluk to have an Act enacted by the Tamil Nadu State Government and is placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India (entry 80) which is exclusively made for the Gudalur region. That Act is Gudalur Janmam Abolition Act, 1969 (Act 24/69).
Later Gudalur Taluk was divided into two talukas: Gudalur and Pandalur. Pandalur Taluka consists of the major portion of Nelliyalam Villages and Cherangode village. It was the seat of the erstwhile Nelliyalam Ratti. Nelliyalam is a small village where you can find the remains of the fort of Nelliyalam Ratti.
Today Gudalur is a selection grade III municipality.
Gudalur lies adjacent to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, and often wild animals such as elephants, deer, etc. stray into human habitat. However, since Gudalur is a new town, with the majority population of the region being recent settlers from Kerala and other parts, there is a very 'local pride' in the region, and wildlife is being fast decimated. People are all attempting to maximise their gain from the land in a short term, and so agricultural practices are all unsustainable — highly dependent of pesticides and fertilisers.
Devala, a place which is just 20km away from Gudalur, receives the highest rainfall in Tamil Nadu.
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Gudalur had a population of 43,038. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Gudalur has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 68%. In Gudalur, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The original inhabitants of the region were of largely four Schedule Tribes:
Paniyas: They were by far the largest of the original inhabitants, and are were largely in bonded labour to the other dominant invaders in the region.
Kattunayakans: They are a hunter-gatherer tribe, and have a very close and symbiotic relationship with the forests. They still live largely in isolation, with minimal contact with the outsiders.
Bettakurumbas: They too are a hunter-gatherer group. They are relatively better known, as they are quite famous for the skills as mahouts, and look after all the tame elephants owned by the forest department.
Mullukurumbas: They are in some ways the most advanced of all the tribes, and practice settled agriculture to some extent. All these groups are classified as Primitive Tribal Groups by the Government of India.
In addition to the Tribals (Also called 'adivasis' or the first people) there were also the Moundaden Chettys living in the region.
From the 60's onwards there has been a huge influx of outsiders, and the original inhabitants (adivasis) make up less than 8% of the population.
Tamil and Malayalam are understood by most people of the town.
Gudalur Municipality, one of the Major towns in West Tamil Nadu and is located at 52 km from Ooty in the hilly terrain of Nilgris district. It is situated at the junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka states. It is located at a longitude of 76°30’ E and a latitude of 11°30’ N and lies at an altitude of about 950m above MSL. Gudalur is also a Taluk Headquarters and is located at 150 km from Coimbatore City. The National Highway NH-67 Nagapattinum – Coimbatore – Gudalur – Mysore is passing through this town. Gudalur town is also connected with other major town’s viz., Mysore, Calicut, Sultanbethery, Coimbatore, Erode by state Highways and National Highways.
Gudalur is linked by road to Ooty and this is one of the Nilgiri Ghat Roads. In the other direction, the same road continues on towards Gundlupet (and on to Mysore) in Karnataka State. Another road links it to Nilambur and Sulthan Bathery in Kerala State. Gudalur is therefore on the access route to other towns in the district for goods and passengers from the state of Karnataka and some from the state of Kerala. There is a huge demand for last many years for making Kozhikkode - Manjeri - Nilambur - Ooty as National Highway.
Gudalur assembly constituency is part of Nilgiris (Lok Sabha constituency).[3]
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