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Chennai

Chennai (/ˈtʃɛnaɪ/ ⓘ, Tamil: [ˈt͡ɕenːaɪ̯]), IAST: Cennaī; formerly known as Madras,[a] is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is the state’s primate city both in area and population and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. Incorporated in 1866, the Greater Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal corporation of India and the second oldest in the world after London.

Historically, Chennai and surroundings were part of the Chola, Pandya, Pallava and Vijayanagara kingdoms for many centuries. The coastal land, which then contained the fishing village Madrasapattinam, was purchased by the British East India Company from the Nayak ruler Damarla Chennapa Nayaka, in the 17th century. The British garrison established the Madras city and port, and built Fort St. George—the first British fortress in India—which the French won over briefly in 1746, before becoming the winter capital of the Madras Presidency, a colonial province of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent. After India gained its independence in 1947, Madras continued as the capital city of the Madras State and present-day Tamil Nadu. The city was officially renamed as Chennai in 1996.

The city is coterminous with Chennai district, which together with the adjoining suburbs constitutes the Chennai Metropolitan Area,[b] the 36th-largest urban area in the world by population[27] and one of the largest metropolitan economies of India. As the traditional and de facto gateway of South India,[1][2][3][4] Chennai is among the most-visited Indian cities by foreigners. It was ranked the 43rd most-visited city in the world in 2015 and 36th in 2019.[28][29] The Quality of Living Survey rates it as India’s safest city.[30] Chennai attracts 45 percent of health tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists.[31] As such, it is termed “India’s health capital”.[32][33] Chennai has the fifth-largest urban economy,[34] and had the third-largest expatriate population in India.[35][36]

Ranked as a beta-level city in the Global Cities Index,[37] Chennai was dubbed India’s best city by India Today in 2014.[38][39] It was named the “hottest” city (city worth visiting and worth living in for long term) by the BBC in 2015, citing its amalgam of both modern and traditional values.[40] It was the only South Asian city to be ranked among National Geographic’s “Top 10 food cities” in 2015,[41] and ranked ninth on Lonely Planet’s best cosmopolitan cities of the world.[42] In October 2017, Chennai was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) list for its rich musical tradition.[43] Chennai hosts more than one-third of India’s automobile industry, and is a major film production center, home to the Tamil-language film industry.

Etymology

The name Chennai was derived from the name of Damarla Mudirasa Chennappa Nayakudu, father of Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, a Nayak ruler who served as a general under Venkata III of the Vijayanagara Empire from whom the British East India Company acquired the town in 1639.[44][45] As such, the city’s name is of Telugu language origin.[46][47][48] The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a sale deed, dated August 1639, to Francis Day of the East India Company, even before[49] the Chennakesava Perumal Temple was built in 1646,[50] while some scholars argue to the contrary.[51]

The name Madras is also of native origin, and has been shown to have been in use before the British established a presence in India.[52] A Vijayanagara-era inscription dated to the year 1367 that mentions the port of Mādarasanpattanam, along with other small ports on the east coast, was discovered in 2015 and it was theorised that the aforementioned port is the fishing port of Royapuram.[53] According to some sources, Madras is derived from Madraspattinam, a fishing village north of Fort St George.[54] However, it is uncertain whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans.[55] British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj, which was the name of a Telugu community, Mudiraj, who were the native inhabitants of the city.[56][57]

There are also suggestions that it may have originated from the Portuguese phrase Mãe de Deus or Madre de Dios, which means “mother of God”, due to Portuguese influence on the port city, specifically referring to a Church of St. Mary.[58]

In August 1996, the Government of Tamil Nadu officially changed the name from Madras to Chennai. At that time many Indian cities underwent a change of name.[59][60] However, the name Madras continues in occasional use for the city,[61] as well as for places named after the city such as University of Madras, IIT Madras, Madras Institute of Technology, Madras Medical College, Madras Veterinary College, Madras Christian College.

History

Stone age implements have been found near Pallavaram in Chennai. According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Pallavaram was a megalithic cultural establishment, and pre-historic communities resided in the settlement.[62]

The region around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and economic centre for many centuries. During the 1st century CE, a poet and weaver named Thiruvalluvar lived in the town of Mylapore (a neighbourhood of present-day Chennai).[63] From the 1st–12th century the region of present Tamil Nadu and parts of South India was ruled by the Cholas.[64]

The Pallavas of Kanchi built the areas of Mahabalipuram and Pallavaram during the reign of Mahendravarman I. They also defeated several kingdoms including the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas who ruled over the area before their arrival. Sculpted caves and paintings have been identified from that period.[65] Ancient coins dating to around 500 BCE have also been unearthed from the city and its surrounding areas. A portion of these findings belonged to the Vijayanagara Empire, which ruled the region during the medieval period.[66]

The Portuguese first arrived in 1522 and built a port called São Tomé after the Christian apostle, St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 CE. In 1612, the Dutch established themselves near Pulicat, north of Chennai.[67]

On 20 August 1639 Francis Day of the East India Company along with the Nayak of Kalahasti Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu, travelled to the Chandragiri palace for an audience with the Vijayanager Emperor Peda Venkata Raya.[68] Day was seeking to obtain a grant for land on the Coromandel coast on which the company could build a factory and warehouse for their trading activities. He was successful in obtaining the lease of a strip of land about 10 km (6 mi) long and 1.6 km (1 mi) inland in return for a yearly sum of five hundred lakh pagodas.[69][70][71] On 22 August, he secured the land grant from local Nayak (Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka and his younger brother Aiyappa Nayaka of Poonamallee).[72][73] The region was then formerly a fishing village known as “Madraspatnam”.[66] A year later, the Company built Fort St. George, the first major English settlement in India,[74] which became the nucleus of the growing colonial city and urban Chennai, grew around this Fort.[75] Post independence the fort housed the Tamil Nadu Assembly until the new Secretariat building was opened in 2010, but shortly afterwards it was again moved back to Fort St. George, due to a change in the Government.[76]

In 1746, Fort St. George and Madras were captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius, who plundered the town and its outlying villages.[67] The British regained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and strengthened the town’s fortress wall to withstand further attacks from the French and Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore.[77] They resisted a French siege attempt in 1759.[78] In 1769 the city was threatened by Mysore and the British were defeated by Hyder Ali, after which the Treaty of Madras ended the war.[79] By the 18th century, the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern–day states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, establishing the Madras Presidency with Madras as the capital.[80]

Gradually, the city grew into a major naval base and became the central administrative centre for the British in South India.[81] The city served as the baseline for the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India started on 10 April 1802.[82] With the advent of railways in India in the 19th century, the thriving urban centre was connected to other important cities such as Bombay and Calcutta, promoting increased communication and trade with the hinterland.[83] Sir Arthur Lawley was Governor of Madras from 1906 to 1911 and promoted modern agriculture, industry, railways, education, the arts and more democratic governance.[84] The Governor lived in Government House, Fort St George, and had a country home at Guindy, with access to a golf course, hockey pitches, riding stables and the Guindy Horse Racing Track.[85][86] In the First World War as Red Cross Commissioner in Mesopotamia, he looked after the welfare of Indian soldiers.[87] Madras was the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I,[88] when an oil depot was shelled by the German light cruiser SMS Emden on 22 September 1914, as it raided shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, causing disruption to shipping.

After India gained its independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969.[90] The violent agitations of 1965 against the compulsory imposition of Hindi and in support of English in India in the state marked a major shift in the political dynamics of the city and eventually it had a big impact on the whole state. Because of Madras and its people, English was not abolished as an official language, and remains an official language of India alongside Hindi.[91] On 17 July 1996, the city known as Madras was officially renamed Chennai, in line with what was then a nationwide trend to using less Anglicised names.[92] On 26 December 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami lashed the shores of Chennai, killing 206 people in Chennai and permanently altering the coastline.[93][94] The 2015 Chennai Floods submerged major portions of the city, killing 269 people and resulting in damages of ₹86.4 billion (US$1 billion).[95][96][97]

Geography

Chennai is located on the south–eastern coast of India in the north–eastern part of Tamil Nadu on a flat coastal plain known as the Eastern Coastal Plains. Its average elevation is around 6.7 m (22 ft),[98] and its highest point is 60 m (200 ft).[99] Chennai is 2,184 km (1,357 mi) south of Delhi, 1,337 km (831 mi) southeast of Mumbai, and 1,707 km (1,061 mi) southwest of Kolkata by road. Two major rivers flow through Chennai, the Cooum River (or Koovam) through the centre and the Adyar River to the south. A third river, the Kortalaiyar, travels through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the Bay of Bengal, at Ennore. The estuary of this river is heavily polluted with effluents released by the industries in the region.[100] Adyar and Cooum rivers are heavily polluted with effluents and waste from domestic and commercial sources, the Coumm being so heavily polluted it is regarded as the city’s eyesore.[101][102] A protected estuary on the Adyar forms a natural habitat for several species of birds and animals.[103] The Buckingham Canal, 4 km (2.5 mi) inland, runs parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The Otteri Nullah, an east–west stream, runs through north Chennai and meets the Buckingham Canal at Basin Bridge. Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city. Some areas of the city have the problem of excess iron content in groundwater.[104]

Chennai’s soil is mostly clay, shale and sandstone.[105] Clay underlies most of the city, chiefly Manali, Kolathur, Maduravoyal, K. K. Nagar, Tambaram, Mudichur, Pallavaram Semmencherry, Alapakkam, Vyasarpadi and Anna Nagar. Sandy areas are found along the river banks and coasts, and include areas such as Tiruvottiyur, George Town, Madhavaram, New Washermanpet, Chepauk, Mylapore, Porur, Adyar, Besant Nagar and Uthandi. In these areas, rainwater runoff percolates quickly through the soil. Areas having hard rock surface include Guindy, Nanganallur, Pallikaranai, Alandur, Jaladampet, Velachery, Adambakkam and a part of Saidapet and Perungudi.[106][107] The ground water table in Chennai is at 4–5 m below ground in most of the areas,[107] which was considerably improved and maintained through the mandatory rain water harvesting system.[108] Of the 24.87 km coastline of the city, 3.08 km experiences erosion, with sand accretion along the shoreline can be noticed at the Marina beach and the area between the Ennore Port and Kosasthalaiyar river.[109]

Geology

Chennai is classified as being in Seismic Zone III, indicating a moderate risk of damage from earthquakes.[110] Owing to the geotectonic zone the city falls in, the city is considered a potential geothermal energy site. The crust has granite rocks indicating volcanic activities in the past. It is expected that temperatures of around 200 to 300 °C will be available if the ground were drilled 4 to 5 km deep. The region has the oldest rocks in the country dating back to nearly a billion years.[111]

Flora and fauna

The southern stretch of Chennai’s coast from Tiruvanmiyur to Neelangarai are favoured by the endangered olive ridley sea turtles to lay eggs every winter. A large number of cattle egrets, pond herons and other waterbirds can be seen in the rivers of Cooum and Adyar. About 75,000 birds migrate to Chennai every year.[112] Marshy wetlands such as Pallikaranai also play host to a number of migratory birds during the monsoon and winter.[113] Chennai is also a popular city for birding, housing more than 200 resident and wintering bird species; over 300 species of birds have been recorded in the city and its neighbourhoods by members of Madras Naturalists’ Society since its inception in 1978.

Guindy National Park is a protected area within the city limits. Wildlife conservation and research activities take place at Arignar Anna Zoological Park including olive ridley sea turtle conservation.[114] Madras Crocodile Bank Trust is a herpetology research station, located 40 km (25 mi) south of Chennai.[115] The city’s tree cover is estimated to be around 64.06 sq km.[116] The most dominant tree species is the copper pod, followed by Indian beech and Neem. A total of 121 species of trees belonging to 94 genera and 42 families are found in the city.[116] Nearly half of the native plant species in the city’s wetlands have disappeared in recent years. The city, which had 85 percent of its area covered with aquatic plants until the 1970s, now has only 25 percent of its area covered with such plants.[117]

Environment conservation

Chennai has three rivers and many lakes spread across the city. Urbanization has led to the shrinkage of water bodies and wetlands.[118] The quantity of wetlands in the city has decreased from 650 to only 27 currently.[119] The Chennai River Restoration trust set up by the government is working on the restoration of Adyar River.[120] Environmentalist Foundation of India is a volunteering group working towards wildlife conservation and habitat restoration.[121][122]

The encroachment of urban development on wetlands has gravely hampered the city’s sustainability, and contributed both to the city’s floods in 2015 and water scarcity crisis in 2019.[123][124]

Climate

Chennai has a dry-summer tropical wet and dry climate which is designated As under the Köppen climate classification. The city lies on the thermal equator[125] and is also on the coast, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature. The hottest part of the year is late May to early June, known regionally as Agni Nakshatram (“fire star”) or as Kathiri Veyyil,[126] with maximum temperatures around 35–40 °C (95–104 °F). The coolest part of the year is January, with minimum temperatures around 19–25 °C (66–77 °F). The lowest recorded temperature was 13.9 °C (57.0 °F) on 11 December 1895 and 29 January 1905.[127] The highest recorded temperature was 45 °C (113 °F) on 31 May 2003.[127] The average annual rainfall is about 140 cm (55 in).[128]

The city gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north–east monsoon winds, from mid–October to mid–December. Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal sometimes hit the city. The highest annual rainfall recorded is 257 cm (101 in) in 2005.[129] Prevailing winds in Chennai are usually southwesterly between April and October[130] and north-easterly during the rest of the year. Historically, Chennai has relied on the annual rains of the monsoon season to replenish water reservoirs, as no major rivers flow through the area.[131] Chennai has a water table at 2 metres for 60 percent of the year.[132] The city of Chennai is located on the east coast of India, which is also known as the Coromandel Coast. Chennai is largely dependent on NE monsoon, since 65% of rains are received in this season. Cyclones and depressions are common features during the season. Cyclones, in particular, are especially unpredictable. They may even move towards Orissa, west Bengal, Bangladesh, and also Myanmar.[citation needed] The season between October and December is referred as the NE monsoon period.[133] Floods are common during this period. In 2015, Chennai received record-breaking rains since 1918, which caused massive floods.

Land usage

As of 2018, the city had a green cover of 14.9 percent, against the World Health Organization recommendation of 9 square metres of green cover per capita in cities. The city had a built-up area of 71 percent. Waterbodies cover an estimated 6 percent of the total area, and at least 8 percent of the area has classified as open space.[140] As of 2017, the total volume of water harvested was 339 mcft and groundwater recharge was 170 mcft.[141]