Viluppuram – General Information
Viluppuram (also Villupuram and Vizhupuram)
is one of the thirty two districts which make up Tamil
Nadu state situated on the southern tip of India. The district headquarters is located at Viluppuram. Viluppuram district came into existence on 30
September 1993 when it was created out of South
Arcot district. Viluppuram
is the largest district in the state.
The district lies in the middle of the Tiruchirapalli to
Chennai National Highways No. 45. It is well connected by the rail road and it
is major junction. From here one can go to any corner of the Tamil Nadu as well
as to other part of India. This district is having variety of tourist spots
which are more than 100 years old. The district has temples, mosques and
churches which are very old and famous.
Geographical Position
Viluppuram District lies between 11 38' 25" N and
12 20' 44" S: 78 15' 00" W and 79 42' 55" E with an area of
7194 Sq. Km. It was carved out from the South Arcot District on
30.09.1993 and was rechristened as Viluppuram District. The residual part
of the erstwhile South Arcot district was named as Cuddalore District.
It is surrounded on East and South by Cuddalore District,
West by Salem and Dharmapuri District and on the North by Thiruvannamalai and
Kanchipuram District.
Etymology
Viluppuram is named after a class of people known as
"Vizhupparaiyar". One of the famous Tamil poets Jayamkondar wrote a book titled "Karanai Vizhupparaiyan
madal" (also known as Aadhinatha Valamadal) on the praise of Aadhinathan
Vizhupparaiyan who served as a commander in the army of Kulottunga Chola I. The town came to known after the
"Vizhupparaiyan" sect named after him. They are also known as
"Vizhupaadharaiyar". Viluppuram is also affectionately called as
"Vizhimaa Nagaram" in Tamil. It means town with wide-eyed people.
History
Viluppuram District was earlier a part of South Arcot District along with Cuddalore District. It was then bifurcated from Cuddalore and became a
separate district on 30 September 1993. Because of this, the history of
Viluppuram district closely resembles that of Cuddalore.
The Chola were the early rulers. Among these rulers, Karikala
Chola was the most famous
and powerful.
For a short period, the Cholas were overthrown by Simhavishnu
Pallava and the Region came
under the Pallava rule for some time. Vijayalaya
Chola again revived Chola
rule. This was the beginning of great Chola
Empire. The later Chola rulers
were weak and the power passed on to the hands of Eastern
Chalukya Cholas.
Cholas regained their lost position but with the rise
of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya-1 (1251), Chola supremacy came to an end. The sway
of Pandyas lasted for over 50 years, followed by Muslim
domination from 1334 to 1378. By 1378, the region came under the rule of Vijayanagara Empire and Nayaks were appointed as the rulers of the region.
In 1677 Shivaji took Gingee area with the assistance of Golkonda forces. Then the Mughals conquered. During
the Mughals regime, both the English and French acquired settlements in South Arcot. During the Anglo-French
rivalry, the entire district was
turned into a war land. After sometime, the entire area came under the control
of East India Company. It remained under British authority till 1947 when India became independent.
Economy
In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayath Raj named Viluppuram one of the country's 250 most
backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is
one of the six districts in Tamil Nadu currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme
(BRGF).
District Administration
At present Viluppuram district comprises 1490 Revenue
Villages, 4 Revenue Divisions, 11 Administrative Taluks, 22 Blocks, 15 Town
Panchayat Unions, 1099 Village Panchayats and 3 Municipalities.
The General geological formation of the District appears
to be simple. The greater part of it is covered by the metamorphic rocks
belonging to Genesis family. There are also three great groups of sedimentary
rocks belonging to different geological periods. The Kalrayan Hills in the
North represents a continuous range of hills covered with some thorny forests
and vegetation. Among the hills, the most beautiful part of the district lies,
round about the Gingee Hills.
Divisions
Villupuram district has 13 taluks. They are listed below;
·
Viluppuram
·
Vikravandi
·
Kallakurichi
·
Sankarapuram
·
Chinnasalem
·
Ulundurpet
·
Tindivanam
·
Tirukkoyilur
·
Vanur
·
Gingee
·
Marakkanam
·
Kandachipuram
·
Melmalayanur
Demographics
According to 2011 census, Viluppuram district had a population of 3,458,873 with
a sex-ratio of 987 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national
average of 929. A total of 404,106 were under the age of six, constituting
208,246 males and 195,860 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes accounted for 29.37%
and 2.16% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district
was 63.48%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a
total of 800,368 households.
There were a total of 1,703,249 workers, comprising
322,900 cultivators, 537,581 main agricultural labourers, 23,961 in house hold
industries, 376,360 other workers, 442,447 marginal workers, 46,746 marginal
cultivators, 294,632 marginal agricultural labourers, 14,276 marginal workers
in household industries and 86,793 other marginal workers.
Tourist Attractions
For brief details, please refer the link below;