History and Growth of the Town
CITY PROFILE
Madurai is a major city in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. Madurai is the second largest corporation city by area and third largest city by population in Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language, as all three primary congregations of Tamil scholars, the Third Tamil Sangams, were held in the city between 1780 BCE and the 3rd century CE. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya.
The city has a number of historical monuments, with the Meenakshi Amman Temple and Tirumalai Nayak Palace being the most prominent. Madurai is an important industrial and educational hub in South Tamil Nadu. The city is home to various automobile, rubber, chemical, hand loom textiles and granite manufacturing industries. It has developed as a second-tier city for information technology (IT), and some software companies have opened offices in Madurai. Tamil Nadu government planned satellite town for Madurai near Thoppur. Madurai has important government educational institutes like the Madurai Medical College, Homeopathic Medical College, Madurai Law College, Agricultural College and Research Institute. Madurai city is administered by a municipal corporation established in 1971 as per the Municipal Corporation Act. The city covers an area of 147.99 km2 and had a population of 1470755 in 2011.The city is also the seat of a bench of the Madras High Court, one of only a few courts outside the state capitals of India.
HISTORY AND GROWTH
Madurai is known as Athens of the East and a place of great historical and cultural importance. It was originally known as Kadambavanam or the “forest of Kadamba” or the Nauclea Kadamba. Madurai is home to several historic temples, monuments, churches and mosques. It is a pilgrimage centre and gateway to south Tamil Nadu having the world famous Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple at its core. In 1801, Madurai came under the direct control of the British East India Company and was annexed to the Madras Presidency. The city evolved as a political and industrial complex through the 19th and 20th centuries to become a district headquarters of a larger Madurai district.