Chingleput District (Madras Presidency)

2021-03-20T08:26:01Z

27.62.59.122:

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
|conventional_long_name =Chingleput District
|common_name = Chingleput
|native_name = Chengalpattu
|nation = the [[Madras Presidency]]
|subdivision = [[Districts of British India|District]]
|era =
|year_start = 1793
|date_start =
|event_start= Collectorates merged into a single district
|year_end = 1997
|date_end =
|event_end= Bifurcated into the districts of [[Kanchipuram district|Kanchipuram]] and [[Tiruvallur district|Tiruvallur]]
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|p1 =Nawab of the Carnatic
|s1 =Kanchipuram district
|s2 =Tiruvallur district
|s3 =Chengalpattu district
|flag_p1 =
|flag_s1 =Flag of India.svg
|flag_s2 =Flag of India.svg
|flag_s3 =Flag of India.svg
|image_flag =British Raj Red Ensign.svg
|image_coat =
|image_map =TN Districts Chengalpattu.png
|image_map_caption = Location of Chingleput district at the time of the formation of [[Madras State]] in 1956
|capital =[[Karunguzhi]] (1793 - 1825) and (1835 - 1859), [[Kanchipuram]] (1825 - 1835), [[Saidapet]] (1859 - 1947), Chingleput (1947-1997)
|stat_area1 =7974.5
|stat_year1 =1901
|stat_pop1 = 1312122
|footnotes = {{EB1911|wstitle=Chingleput|volume=6|page=233}}
|demonym=|today=}}
'''Chingleput district''' was a district in the [[Madras Presidency]] of [[British India]]. It covered the area of the present-day districts of [[Kanchipuram District|Kanchipuram]], [[Chengalpattu district|Chengalpattu]] and [[Tiruvallur District|Tiruvallur]] and parts of [[Chennai]] city. It was sub-divided into six taluks with a total area of {{convert|3079|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}. The first capital was the town of [[Karunguzhi]], with an interruption between 1825 and 1835, administrative headquarters were transferred to [[Kanchipuram]]. In 1859 the capital [[Saidapet]], now a neighbourhood in the city of Chennai, was made the administrative headquarters of the district.<ref>''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]''. Vol. 10: Central Provinces to Coopta. New edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1908, p. 252–268</ref>

== History ==
[[File:07Chingleput Fort.jpg|thumb|left|View of Chingleput Fort in 1913. The fort was the scene of the [[Battle of Chingleput]] in 1752]]
Excavations made by [[Robert Bruce Foote]] indicate that the region was inhabited in the [[Stone Age]]. During the end of first millennium B. C, it was under the Thondaiman kings. The [[Pallavas]] with their capital at [[Kanchi]] came to power in about 500 A. D. When the Pallava kingdom began to decline, the region was conquered by the Western Gangas in about 760 A. D. Chingleput was ruled by the [[Rashtrakutas]], [[Cholas]] and the [[Kakatiyas]] of [[Warangal]] until the 13th century AD when it fell to the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Chingleput area was conquered by the [[Vijayanagar Empire]] which ruled the region from 1393 till 1565 and from 1565 till 1640 as the kingdom of [[Chandragiri]].

The area was annexed by the [[Mughals]] in 1687 and was later conquered by the [[Nawab of the Carnatic]]. In 1763, Chingleput was ceded to the [[British East India Company]] by Mohammad Ali, the then Nawab of the Carnatic. It was the site of the [[Carnatic Wars]] and was frequently taken by [[Tipu Sultan]] during the last years of the 18th century. In 1801, the Nawab of the Carnatic, finally, relinquished complete sovereignty over the region to the British East India Company.<ref>{{cite book|title=Imperial Gazetter of India, Volume 10|year=1908|publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref>

After the [[independence of India]], the district became part in 1950 of the newly named [[Madras State]]. As a result of the 1956 [[States Reorganisation Act]], the state's boundaries were re-organised following linguistic lines. Madras State was finally renamed [[Tamil Nadu]] on 14 January, 1969.<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_states.html States of India since 1947]</ref>

== Taluks ==

Chingleput district was made of eight taluks:

* [[Chengalpattu taluk|Chingleput]] (Area: {{convert|436|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}; Headquarters:Chingleput)
* [[Kanchipuram taluk|Conjeevaram]] (Area: {{convert|514|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}; Headquarters:Conjeevaram)
* [[Maduranthakam taluk|Madurantakam]] (Area: {{convert|696|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}; Headquarters:Madurantakam)
* [[Ponneri taluk|Ponneri]] (Area: {{convert|347|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}; Headquarters:Ponneri)
* [[Saidapet taluk|Saidapet]] (Area: {{convert|342|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}; Headquarters:Saidapet)
* [[Tiruvallur taluk|Tiruvallur]] (Area: {{convert|744|sqmi|km2|order=flip}}; Headquarters:Tiruvallur)

== Administration ==

The district was sub-divided into three sub-divisions each under the charge of a Deputy Collector:

* Chingleput sub-division: Chingleput, Madurantakam and Conjeevaram taluks
* Saidapet sub-division: Saidapet taluk
* Tiruvallur sub-division: Tiruvallur and Ponneri taluks.

As of 1901, the district had two municipalities Conjeevaram and Chingleput.

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations|type=
|1871 |938184
|1881 |981381
|1891 |1202928
|1901 |1312122
|footnote=Sources:
* {{cite book|title=Imperial Gazetter of India, Volume 10|year=1908|publisher=Clarendon Press}}
}}
As of 1901, Chingleput had a total population of 1,312,222. 96 percent of the population were Hindus while the rest where Christians and Muslims. About three-fourths of the people spoke Tamil as their mother tongue the remainder spoke Telugu. Due to its proximity to Madras city, there were also large numbers of Europeans in the district.
==See also==
*[[Chingleput Ryots' Case]]
*[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Chingleput]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Tiruvallur district}}
{{Historical districts of India}}
{{coord|12.684|N|79.983|E|region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Districts of the Madras Presidency]]

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Chingleput District (Madras Presidency)