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Arrange section headings according to the order given at Wikipedia:WikiProject Indian cities

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Uthiramerur
| other_name = Uttaramerur, Uttiramerur
| nickname =
| settlement_type = [[panchayat town]]
| image_skyline = Uthiramerur temple.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu, India
| coordinates = {{coord|12.616|N|79.753|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Kancheepuram district|Kancheepuram]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 = 8
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 62
| population_total = 25,194
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes = <ref name="2011_census"/>
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Uthiramerur''' is a [[panchayat town]] in [[Kancheepuram district]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Tamil Nadu]]. It is situated 90 km south west of Chennai, the capital of Tamilnadu. It is noted for its temple inscriptions that describe a self-governance system existing around 7th to 9th century CE.

==History==

Uthiramerur originally existed as a [[Brahmin]] settlement. The [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] king [[Nandivarman II]] (720–796 CE) formally established it as a [[brahmadeya|brahamdeya village]] around 750 CE.<ref name=TH_2008_constitution>{{cite news| url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/article1434867.ece | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | title=Constitution 1,000 years ago | date=2008-07-11}}</ref> It is believed that he donated the village to Vedic Brahmins from Srivaishanva community.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} A tenth century inscription states the name of the village as "Uttaramerur Chaturvedi Mangalam".<ref>{{cite book |author=Romila Thapar |author-link=Romila Thapar |title=Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC&pg=PA377 |year=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24225-8 |pages=375–377 }}</ref><ref name="RT_2004"/>

Around 25 inscriptions, spanning reigns of around four Pallava kings, have been found at Uthiramerur. In the later part of the 9th century, the [[Cholas]] captured the region. There are inscriptions from the period of [[Parantaka Chola I]] (907–950), [[Rajaraja Chola I]] (985–1014), [[Rajendra Chola I]] (1012–1044) and [[Kulothunga Chola I]] (1070–1120), indicating various gifts to the temples.<ref name="RNaga_2003">{{cite book |title=Uttaramerur |last=R. |first=Nagaswamy |publisher=Tamil Arts Academy |location=Chennai |year=2003 |pages=12–16}}</ref>

The region and the village came under the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandya]] authority during the 13th century. Later, the [[Telugu Cholas|Telugu Chola]] ruler [[Vijaya Gandagopala]] gained control of the territory, and renamed the village ''Gandagopala Chaturvedhi Managalam''. During the later period, the village was part of the territories of [[Sambuvaraya]]s and [[Kumara Kampana]]. The [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] emperor [[Krishnadevaraya]] (1502–29) made contributions to the [[Sundaravarada Perumal Temple]], Subhramanya temple and Kailasanatha temple. The village was the scene of war between Lingma and Yachama during the 17th century. The [[Carnatic Wars]] were fought in the nearby [[Vandavasi]] between the [[British colonial period|British]] and the [[French colonial empire|French]] during the 18th century. From the period of 14th century, a steady decline is seen in agriculture on account of the political instability.<ref name="RNaga_2003"/>

=== Village administration ===

The temple inscriptions of Uthiramerur are notable for their historical descriptions of the [[local self-government in India|rural self-governance]]. They indicate that Uthiramerur had two village assemblies: ''Sabha'' and ''Ur''. The ''Sabha'' an exclusively [[Brahmin]] (priestly class) assembly, while the ''Ur'' was made up of people belonging to all the classes.<ref name="VKA_2010">{{cite book |title=Indian History |editor=VK Agnihotri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&pg=SL2-PA62 |publisher=Allied |isbn=978-81-8424-568-4 |year=2010 |edition=26th |pages=B-62–B-65 }}</ref>

The earliest surviving inscriptions from Uthiramerur date to the reign of the Pallava king [[Dantivarman]] (795-846 CE). These inscriptions indicate that the ''Sabha'' was already a well-established and mature institution by this time. It managed land sales and an endowment fund for [[dredging]] a tank. It also assigned some duties to the ''Ur'' for managing the land deserted by tenants who could not afford to pay the taxes. A later inscription, from the reign of Dantivarman's successor [[Nandivarman III]] (846-869), describes the qualifications and tenure of [[archaka]] (priest) in a local temple. According to these early inscriptions, the ''Sabha'' assembled in the hall of the local temple. The meetings were summoned through [[drum beat|beating of the drums]]. The inscriptions also contain several references to ''variyar''s, the executive officers subordinate to the ''Sabha''.<ref name="VKA_2010"/>

Two later inscriptions of the Chola king [[Parantaka I]] (907–955) indicate the evolution of the administrative system. Instead of ''variyar''s (who were individuals), the executive powers were given to committees called ''variyam''s. Each ''variyam'' constituted 6 to 12 members, depending on the importance of its functions. The first inscription, dated to 919 CE, describes the rules for electing the committee members. The second inscription, dated to 921 CE, describes some amendments to these rules to make them more practical.<ref name="VKA_2010"/>

According to the 921 CE inscription, the village had 30 ''kudumbu''s or wards, from which the members of following committees were selected annually:<ref name="VKA_2010"/><ref name="RT_2004"/>

{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Number of members !! Meaning
|-
| Samvatsara-Variyam || 12 || Annual Committee (or Garden and Tank Committee, since its membership was restricted to the elders who had served on these two committees)
|-
| Totta-Variyam || 12 || Garden Committee
|-
| Eri-Variyam || 6 || Tank Committee
|-
| Panchavara-Variyam || Unknown || Standing Committee
|-
| Pon-Variyam|| Unknown || Gold Committee
|}

The inscription lays down the following qualifications for a nominee:<ref name="VKA_2010"/>
* Ownership of tax-paying land sized at least one-fourth of a ''[[Tamil units of measurement|veli]]'' (about an acre and a half). The land-owning requirement was reduced to one-eighth ''veli'' for people who had learned at least one [[Veda]] and one [[Bhashya]].
* Residence in a house built on self-owned land
* Age between 35 and 70 years
* Knowledge of [[mantras]] and the [[Brahmana]]s ([[Vedic literature]])
* ''Not'' one of the following:
** An existing committee member (any committee) for the past 3 years
** An existing committee member who (or whose relatives) had failed to submit accounts
** One who (or whose relatives) had committed [[incest]] or first of the 5 great sins (the 5 great sins being [[Brahmanahatya|killing a Brahmin]], drinking alcohol, theft, adultery and associating with criminals).
** One who has been an outcaste for association with [[caste system in India|low caste]] (unless he performs [[ritual purification|expiatory ceremonies]])
** One who is foolhardy
** One who has stolen the property of others
** One who has taken [[history of Brahmin diet|forbidden dishes]]

The candidates were selected via ''Kudavoloi'' (literally, pot [of] palm leaf [tickets]) system:<ref name="VKA_2010"/><ref name="RT_2004">{{cite book |author=Romila Thapar |title=Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC&pg=PA375 |year=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24225-8 |pages=375–377 }}</ref>
* Names of qualified candidates were written on [[palm-leaf manuscript|palm leaf]] tickets
* The tickets were put into a pot and shuffled
* A young boy was asked to take out as many tickets as the number of positions available
* The name on the ticket was read out by all the priests
* The candidate, whose name was read out, was selected

The tenure of a committee member was 360 days. Anyone found guilty of an offence was immediately removed from the office.<ref name="RT_2004"/> The Uthiramerur inscriptions indicate that [[parading on donkey]] was a punishment for offences such as incest, [[adultery]], theft and [[forgery]].<ref name="VKA_2010"/>

==Demographics==

According to the 2011 census of India, the area administered by the Uthiramerur town panchayat has a population of 25,194, including 12,569 males and 12,625 females. The town is divided into 18 wards. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 81.74%.<ref name="2011_census">{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/3303_PART_B_DCHB_KANCHEEPURAM.pdf |title=District Census Handbook: Kancheepuram |publisher=Directorate of Census Operations |access-date=13 November 2015 }}</ref>

=== Religion ===
Hinduism (87.39%) and Christianity (9.00%) are the major religions.<ref name="2011_census" />

The village has several important [[Hindu]] temples. The [[Sundaravarada Perumal temple]] is about 1200 years old, and was built under the reign of the Pallava king [[Nandivarman II]]. Other major temples are [[Vaikunda Perumal Temple, Uthiramerur|Vaikunda Perumal Temple]] and Subramanya temple.

==Politics==

The town is administered by a [[town panchayat]].<ref>[http://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/townpanchayats.pdf List of Town Panchayats], Government of Tamil Nadu</ref> Uthiramerur and its surrounding areas are represented in the [[Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly]] by an [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]]. The [[Uthiramerur (State Assembly Constituency)|Uthiramerur assembly constituency]] is a part of the [[Kancheepuram (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kanchipuram parliamentary constituency]].<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf
|title = List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies
|access-date = 2008-10-08
|work = Tamil Nadu
|publisher = Election Commission of India
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081031131000/http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf
|archive-date = 2008-10-31
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.ifih.org/UttaramerurInscription.htm A translation of the Uttaramerur Inscription] of Parakesarivarman (Parantaka I)

[[Category:Cities and towns in Kanchipuram district]]

Uthiramerur - Revision history

imported>Venkat TL: Arrange section headings according to the order given at Wikipedia:WikiProject Indian cities