History of Chennai

Madras known as Chennai is India’s fifth largest city and the capital city of Tamil Nadu state. Located on the picturesque Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai city had a population of 4.2 million in the 2001 census within its municipal corporation.

The city is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (IT) and information-technology-enabled services (ITES). Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP and accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s automotive exports; and referred to as the Detroit of India.

Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual December Music Season across various sabhas. Hundreds of artists- from the most renowned to arengatrums of new talents – perform during this period in an unparalleled celebration of music and dance. People descend on the city from all over world.

The city has a vibrant theatre scene – S Ve Sekhar, Crazy Mohan, Y G Mahendran are predominant. The Tamil film industry, known as Kollywood, the second largest movie industry in India, is based in the city. It immortalized the great Shivaji Ganesan, MGR, Kamalahassan, Rajnikant, Savitri, Saroja Devi to Sridevi, Surya, Ajith, Vijay, Surya of the today.

Who would have thought that this city grew from a humble and non-descript village around 400 years ago?

The origin of Madras dates back to a few centuries - about 350 years. Prior to that, small villages existed for well over 1000 years in a cluster. Villages around Temples like Parthasarathy in Triplicane and Kapaleeswarer temple in Mylapore near the southern coast and Marudheeswarer Temple in Thiruvanmiyur were known to exist several centuries; long before the Europeans arrived. The region around Chennai has been ruled by various South Indian dynasties, notably the Pallava, the Chera Dynasty, the Chola, the Pandya, and Vijaynagar. The town of Mylapore, now part of Chennai, was once a major Pallavan port.

The first Europeans to reach the shores of Madras were the Portuguese. They built a church in Saint Thomas Mount enshrining the Bleeding Cross. And then they went further down to Little Mount where they built another small church in 1551. St.Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ was hiding in a cave from his persecutors before being martyred in St.Thomas Mount.

Mr. Francis Day, a member of the Masulipatnam council was on the lookout for a place in south India. He found one near Poonamalee, ruled by one Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, a local chieftain. He had chosen a village called as madraspatnam. The fort built by Francis Day is the famed Fort.St.George as it was finished at the festival of St.George 23rd April, 1653. Thus the fort was the harbinger of the city that we see today.

Chennaipatnam was the predominantly Indian town adjacent to town around the Fort, which went under the name of madraspatnam.

Madras rose in stature and power with the rise of British Empire. Many colleges, hospitals and prominent landmarks were established in tune with its rising importance. Towards the end of 19th century, Madras was clearly established as an important hub in South India.

In 1746, Fort St. George was captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius. They plundered the town and its surrounding villages. The British regained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and fortified the town's fortress wall to withstand further attacks from the French and another looming threat, Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore. By the late 18th century, the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern-day states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. They established the Madras Presidency with Madras as the capital.

Madras was the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I. An an oil depot was shelled by the German light cruiser SMS Emden in 1914 as it raided shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. After India gained its independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, renamed the state of Tamil Nadu in 1969. The Tamil agitations of 1965 against the imposition of Hindi over Tamil language, marked a major shift in the political dynamics and preserved the cultural heritage of the city.

So when you walk down the streets of Chennai, just ponder at its history. The Portugese, British, and the French ruled here. And be proud to belong to this city that has survived so many storms and yet retain its identity and charm.