Tiruchirapalli

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This article is about the city in Tamil Nadu, India. For other uses, see Tiruchirapalli (disambiguation).

Tiruchirappalli
Trichy, Tiruchi
Metropolis
Clockwise from top: Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli Junction, Mukkombu, Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval, and ELCOT IT Park Trichy
Tiruchirappalli is located in India
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli is located in Tamil Nadu
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli
Coordinates: 10°48′18″N 78°41′08″E / 10.80500°N 78.68556°E / 10.80500; 78.68556Coordinates: 10°48′18″N 78°41′08″E / 10.80500°N 78.68556°E / 10.80500; 78.68556
Country India
StateTamil Nadu
DistrictTiruchirapalli
ZoneCentral
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Corporation
 • BodyTiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation
 • Member of ParliamentSu. Thirunavukkarasar
Area
 • Metropolis167.23 km2 (64.57 sq mi)
 • Metro
211.51 km2 (81.66 sq mi)
 • Rank4
Elevation
88 m (289 ft)
Population
 (2011)[lower-alpha 1]
 • Metropolis916,857 [1]
 • Rank52nd
6th in Tamil Nadu
 • Metro
[2]
1,022,518
 • Metro rank
52nd
DemonymTiruchiite
Languages
 • OfficialTamil
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
620 xxx
Telephone code0431
Vehicle registrationTN-45, TN-48, TN-81, TN-81A
WebsiteTrichy City Municipal Corporation

Tiruchirappalli[lower-alpha 2] (About this soundpronunciation (help·info)) (formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable city[7] and the cleanest city of Tamil Nadu, as well as the fifth safest city for women in India.[8] It is the fourth largest city as well as the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state. Located 322 kilometres (200 mi) south of Chennai and 374 kilometres (232 mi) north of Kanyakumari, Tiruchirappalli sits almost at the geographic centre of Tamil Nadu state. The Cauvery Delta begins 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of the city where the Kaveri river splits into two, forming the island of Srirangam which is now incorporated into the Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation. The city occupies an area of 167.23 square kilometres (64.57 sq mi) and had a population of 916,857 in 2011.[lower-alpha 1]

Tiruchirappalli's recorded history begins in the 3rd century BC, when it was under the rule of the Cholas. The city has also been ruled by the Pallavas, Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayak Dynasty, the Carnatic state and the British. The most prominent historical monuments in Tiruchirappalli include the Rockfort at Teppakulam, the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam and the Jambukeswarar temple at Thiruvanaikaval. The archaeologically important town of Uraiyur, capital of the Early Cholas, is now a neighbourhood in Tiruchirappalli. The city played a critical role in the Carnatic Wars (1746–1763) between the British and the French East India companies.

The city is an important educational centre in the state of Tamil Nadu, and houses nationally recognised institutions such as National Institutes of Technology (NIT), Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) National Law Universities (NLU), and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) Srirangam. Industrial units such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Golden Rock Railway Workshop, Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT) and High Energy Projectile Factory (HEPF) have their factories in the city. The presence of a large number of energy equipment manufacturing units in and around the city has earned it the title of "Energy Equipment and Fabrication Capital of India". Tiruchirappalli is internationally known for a brand of cheroot known as the Trichinopoly cigar, which was exported in large quantities to the United Kingdom during the 19th century.

A major road and railway hub in the state, the city is served by the Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ) which operates flights to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Etymology[edit]

Historically, Tiruchirappalli was commonly referred to in English as "Trichinopoly".[11] The shortened forms "Trichy" or "Tiruchi" are used in everyday speech and the full name Tiruchirapalli appears in official use by government and quasi-government offices but seldom used by the general public.[12][13]

According to the late scholar C. P. Brown, Tiruchirappalli might be a derivative of the word Chiruta-palli (lit. "little town").[14][15] Orientalists Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell have speculated that the name may derive from a rock inscription carved in the 16th century in which Tiruchirappalli is written as Tiru-ssila-palli, meaning "holy-rock-town" in Tamil.[14][15] Other scholars have suggested that the name Tiruchirappalli is a rewording of Tiru-chinna-palli, meaning "holy little town".[14][15] The Madras Glossary gives the root as Tiruććināppalli or the "holy (tiru) village (palli) of the shina (Cissampelos pareira) plant".[15]

According to Hindu mythology, Tiruchirappalli derives its name from the three-headed demon Trishira, who meditated on the Hindu god Shiva near the present-day city to obtain favours from the god.[14] An alternative derivation, albeit not universally accepted,[14] is that the source of the city's name is the Sanskrit word "Trishirapuram"—Trishira, meaning "three-headed", and palli or puram meaning "city".[14][15]

History[edit]

Main article: History of Tiruchirappalli

Early and medieval history[edit]

Tiruchirappalli is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Tamil Nadu and 3rd oldest city in India after Madurai and Varanasi; its earliest settlements date back to the Sangam period.[16] Uraiyur, the capital of the Early Cholas for 600 years from the 3rd century BC onwards,[17] is a neighbourhood in the present-day Tiruchirappalli.[18][19] The city is referred to as Orthoura by the historian Ptolemy in his 2nd-century work Geography.[20] The world's oldest surviving dam, the Kallanai (Lower Anaicut) about 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Uraiyur,[21] was built across the Kaveri River by Karikala Chola in the 2nd century AD.[22]

Tiruchirappalli Rock Fort, the rock is said to be one of the oldest formations in the world. It is 3.8 billion years old, as it is older than Greenland and Himalayas.

The medieval history of Tiruchirappalli begins with the reign of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I, who ruled over South India in the 6th century AD and constructed the rock-cut cave-temples within the Rockfort.[23][24][25] Following the downfall of the Pallavas in the 8th century, the city was conquered by the Medieval Cholas, who ruled until the 13th century.[26]

After the decline of the Cholas, Tiruchirappalli was conquered by the Pandyas,[27] who ruled from 1216 until their defeat in 1311 by Malik Kafur, the commander of Allauddin Khilji.[28][29] The victorious armies of the Delhi Sultanate are believed to have plundered and ravaged the region.[28][29][30] The statue of the Hindu god Ranganatha in the temple of Srirangam vanished at about this time and was not recovered and reinstated for more than fifty years.[29][30] Tiruchirappalli was ruled by the Delhi and Madurai sultanates from 1311 to 1378,[31] but by the middle of the 14th century the Madurai Sultanate had begun to fall apart.[32] Gradually, the Vijayanagar Empire established supremacy over the northern parts of the kingdom, and Tiruchirappalli was taken by the Vijayanagar prince Kumara Kampanna Udaiyar in 1371.[33] The Vijayanagar Empire ruled the region from 1378 until the 1530s, and played a prominent role in reviving Hinduism by reconstructing temples and monuments destroyed by the previous Muslim rulers.[34] Following the collapse of the Vijayanagar Empire in the early part of the 16th century, the Madurai Nayak kingdom began to assert its independence.[35][36][37] The city flourished during the reign of Vishwanatha Nayak (c. 1529–1564), who is said to have protected the area by constructing the Teppakulam and building walls around the Srirangam temple.[38][39] His successor Kumara Krishnappa Nayaka made Tiruchirappalli his capital,[39] and it served as the capital of the Madurai Nayak kingdom from 1616 to 1634 and from 1665 to 1736.[40][41][42]

In 1736 the last Madurai Nayak ruler, Meenakshi, committed suicide, and Tiruchirappalli was conquered by Chanda Sahib.[37][43] He ruled the kingdom from 1736 to 1741, when he was captured and imprisoned by the Marathas in the siege of Tiruchirappalli (1741) led by general Raghuji Bhonsle under the orders of Chhattrapati Shahu.[43][44][45] Chanda Sahib remained prisoner for about eight years before making his escape from the Maratha Empire. Tiruchirappalli was administered by the Maratha general Murari Rao from 1741 to 1743, when it was acquired by the Nizam of Hyderabad, who bribed Rao to hand over the city.[43][45] Nizam appointed Khwaja Abdullah as the ruler and returned to Golkonda.[46] When the Nawab of the Carnatic Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah was dethroned by Chanda Sahib after the Battle of Ambur (1749), the former fled to Tiruchirappalli, where he set up his base.[47][48][49] The subsequent siege of Tiruchirappalli (1751–1752) by Chanda Sahib took place during the Second Carnatic War between the British East India Company and Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah on one side and Chanda Sahib and the French East India Company on the other.[50] The British were victorious and Wallajah was restored to the throne. During his reign he proposed renaming the city Natharnagar after the Sufi saint Nathar Vali, who is thought to have lived there in the 12th century AD.[51][52] Tiruchirappalli was invaded by Nanjaraja Wodeyar in 1753 and Hyder Ali of the Mysore kingdom in 1780, both attacks repulsed by the troops of the British East India Company.[53] A third invasion attempt, by Tipu Sultan—son of Hyder Ali—in 1793, was also unsuccessful;[54] he was pursued by British forces led by William Medows, who thwarted the attack.[55]

British rule[edit]

The Carnatic kingdom was annexed by the British in July 1801 as a consequence of the discovery of collusion between Tipu Sultan—an enemy of the British—and Umdat Ul-Umra, son of Wallajah and the Nawab at the time, during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.[56][57] Trichinopoly was incorporated into the Madras Presidency the same year, and the district of Trichinopoly was formed, with the city of Trichinopoly (or Tiruchirappalli) as its capital.[58]

During the Company Raj and later the British Raj, Tiruchirappalli emerged as one of the most important cities in India. According to the 1871 Indian census—the first in British India—Tiruchirappalli had a population of 76,530, making it the second largest city in the presidency after the capital of Madras (now Chennai).[59] It was known throughout the British Empire for its unique variety of cheroot, known as the Trichinopoly cigar.[15] Tiruchirappalli was the first headquarters for the newly formed South Indian Railway Company in 1874 until its relocation to Madras in the early 20th century.[lower-alpha 3][61]

  • Trichinopoly during the British Raj
  • The town and fort of Trichinopoly photographed in 1840

    The town and fort of Trichinopoly c. 1840

  • The Teppakulam and Rockfort photographed in 1860

    Rockfort and Teppakulam, c. 1860

Contemporary and modern history[edit]

a historical map of the city
Map of Tiruchirappalli town in 1955

Tiruchirappalli played an active role during the pre-independence era; there were a number of strikes and non-violent protests during the Quit India Movement,[62] notably the South Indian Railway Strike that took place in 1928.[63] The city was the base for the Vedaranyam salt march initiated by C. Rajagopalachari in parallel with the Dandi March in 1930.[64] Tiruchirappalli was an epicentre of the anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu when a team of Tamil language supporters gathered and organised a rally from the city to Madras in 1938.[65] Later in 1965, Tiruchirappalli was made the base of the "Madras state Anti-Hindi Conference" convened by C. Rajagopalachari.[66][67] The population of Tiruchirappalli continued to grow rapidly, achieving a growth rate of 36.9% during the period 1941–51.[68] After independence in 1947, Tiruchirappalli fell behind other cities such as Salem and Coimbatore in terms of growth.[69][70][71] Tiruchirappalli remained a part of Madras State, which was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.[72] The city underwent extensive economic development in the 1960s with the commissioning of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.[73][74] In the early 1980s, M. G. Ramachandran, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu drafted a plan to move the state's administrative headquarters to Tiruchirappalli.[75] A satellite town was developed near Navalpattu on the outskirts of the city,[75] but the proposed move was shelved by successive governments.[76]

Like much of Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirappalli remains prone to communal tensions based on religion and ethnicity. There have been occasional outbreaks of violence against Sri Lankans. In 2009, the offices of a Sri Lankan airline were attacked in the city.[77][78] In September 2012, two groups of Sri Lankan pilgrims who had visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni and the Poondi Madha Basilica had their buses attacked in Tiruchirappalli by a group of Tamil activists.[79][80][81] Owing to a series of terrorist attacks in Indian cities since 2000, security has been increased at sites such as Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple.[82]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Tiruchirapalli population in 2011 - Census India 2011".
  2. ↑ "Primary Census Abstract – Urban Agglomeration". Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived from the original (XLS) on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to Tiruchirappalli city ... The RockFort City!". Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Baliga 1999, p. 993.
  5. ↑ Kuppuram 1988, p. 101.
  6. ↑ Sharma, Om Parkash (1989). Directory of Cities and Towns in India (Dy. Dir. of Census Operations). Kar Kripa Publishers. p. 116. ISBN 978-81-85414-00-3. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  7. ↑ Karthik, Deepak (13 August 2018). "Trichy ranked 12th in liveable cities ranking, best in Tamil Nadu". Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Live Chennai: The safest cities for women in India: Chennai & Coimbatore,safest cities for women in India,Chennai,Coimbatore". www.livechennai.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CMA
  10. ↑ "Search PCA Data by District/SubDistrict/Town/Village Name: Tiruchirappalli (M Corp.)". Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Jaques 2007, p. 1025.
  12. ↑ Brayley-Hodgetts 2008, p. 216.
  13. ↑ Ludden 2004, p. 178.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Hemingway 1907, p. 2.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Yule & Burnell 1903, p. 938.
  16. ↑ Thani Nayagam 1957, p. 324.
  17. ↑ Sastri 1935, p. 22.
  18. ↑ Sastri 1935, p. 19.
  19. ↑ Beck 2006, p. 40.
  20. ↑ Caldwell 1881, p. 25.
  21. ↑ Google (3 January 2014). "Tiruchirapalli" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 3 January 2014. {{cite map}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  22. ↑ Pujari, Kolhe & Kumar 2006, p. 102.
  23. ↑ Kuppuram 1988, p. 105.
  24. ↑ Sastri 1935, p. 105.
  25. ↑ Beck 2006, pp. 42–92.
  26. ↑ Sastri 1935, p. 438.
  27. ↑ Aiyangar 1921, p. 45.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Aiyangar 1921, p. 99.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Lal 1967, pp. 251–252.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Aiyangar 1921, pp. 112–116.
  31. ↑ Sastri 1935, p. 213.
  32. ↑ Aiyangar 1921, p. 185-188.
  33. ↑ Sastri 1935, p. 241.
  34. ↑ Yunus & Parmar 2003, p. 116.
  35. ↑ Aiyangar 1921, p. 169.
  36. ↑ Sewell 1900, p. 49.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Sathianathaier 1924, p. 234.
  38. ↑ Hemingway 1907, p. 51.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway 1926, pp. 73–74.
  40. ↑ Sathianathaier 1924, pp. 103–160.
  41. ↑ Amaladass 1988, p. 122.
  42. ↑ Subrahmanian 1977, pp. 12–61.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Ramaswami 1984, pp. 43–79.
  44. ↑ Jaques 2007, pp. 1034–1035.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Subramanian 1928, p. 52–53.
  46. ↑ Chhabra 2005, p. 103.
  47. ↑ Rose & Newton 1929, pp. 126–127.
  48. ↑ Markovits 2004, p. 222.
  49. ↑ Ramaswami 1984, p. 115.
  50. ↑ Ramaswami 1984, p. 148.
  51. ↑ Bayly 2004, p. 233.
  52. ↑ Muthiah 2008, p. 137.
  53. ↑ Brayley-Hodgetts 2008, p. 217.
  54. ↑ Burn & Cotton 1908, p. 29.
  55. ↑ Fortescue 1902, pp. 558–559.
  56. ↑ Ingram 1995, pp. 5–27.
  57. ↑ Ramachandran 2008, p. 74.
  58. ↑ Moore 1878, p. 178.
  59. ↑ Burn & Cotton 1908, p. 43.
  60. ↑ Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (23 September 2006). "Destination Puducherry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  61. ↑ Muthiah, S. (9 May 2010). "The railway of the Deep South". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  62. ↑ Zaidi 1973, p. 101.
  63. ↑ South Indian Railway Strike 1928.
  64. ↑ Rengarajan, La. Su. (10 April 2005). "Marathon march". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  65. ↑ "First anti-Hindi agitation remembered". The Hindu. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  66. ↑ Baliga 1999, p. 244.
  67. ↑ Rasam 1997, p. 98.
  68. ↑ Rao 1974, p. 193.
  69. ↑ Bala 1986, p. 148.
  70. ↑ Rajendran, Arumugam & Chandrasekaran 2002, p. 3.
  71. ↑ Iyer, Aruna V.; Sridhar, Asha V. (9 April 2011). "City of choice". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  72. ↑ Rana 2006, p. 399.
  73. ↑ Ahmed 1980, p. 52.
  74. ↑ "Tiruchi: Key centre for fabrication". Business Line. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  75. ↑ 75.0 75.1 Mayilvaganan, V. (11 May 2009). "Residents see development, price rise as major election issues". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  76. ↑ Muthiah, S. (22 May 2011). "Madras Miscellany". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  77. ↑ Dash, Jatindra (3 February 2009). "Karunanidhi sets up a forum for Sri Lankan Tamil's Welface". The Hindustan Times, accessed via HighBeam Research (subscription required). Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  78. ↑ "Forum for Sri Lankan Tamils' welfare". The New Indian Express. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  79. ↑ Vasudevan, R. (5 September 2012). "Attacks on Lankan pilgrims in Tamil Nadu: India assures security". Asian Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  80. ↑ "On way to airport, Sri Lankan pilgrims attacked by mob in Tamil Nadu". The Indian Express. 4 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  81. ↑ "Our Pilgrimage to Tamil Nadu Ended in Sadness". Sunday Observer, accessed via HighBeam Research (subscription required). 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  82. ↑ "Terror threat to temples in Tamil Nadu". The Hindustan Times, accessed via HighBeam Research (subscription required). 25 September 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2013.


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