Vellore (district)

Vellore District வேலூர் மாவட்டம்
State	Tamil Nadu
Administrative headquarters :	Vellore
Area :	6,075 km²
Residents :	3,936,331 (2011)
Population density :	648 inhabitants / km²
Website :	vellore.tn.nic.in

The district of Vellore ( Tamil : வேலூர் மாவட்டம் ) is a district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . The administrative center of the district is the eponymous city of Vellore . The district of Vellore has an area of ​​6,075 square kilometers and around 3.9 million inhabitants.

geography

View from the Yelagiri Mountains into the plain

The district of Vellore is inland in northern Tamil Nadu on the border with the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh . Neighboring districts are Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram in the east, Tiruvannamalai in the south, Krishnagiri in the west (all in Tamil Nadu) and the Chittoor district belonging to Andhra Pradesh in the north.

With an area of ​​6,075 square kilometers, the Vellore district is one of the largest districts in Tamil Nadu. The district area is traversed lengthways by the river Palar . The eastern part is district is flat. In the west, on the other hand, the foothills of the Eastern Ghats protrude into the Vellore district. In the north, such a ridge forms the natural border with Andhra Pradesh. South of the Palar valley on the border with the Tiruvannamalai district lie the Javadi Mountains , which reach an average height of 1,110 to 1,150 meters, and the smaller massif of the Yelagiri Mountains . While the plains are used intensively for agriculture, the mountains are largely forested.

In the district of Vellore there is an alternately humid tropical climate . The annual mean temperature in Vellore is 27.9 ° C, the annual mean precipitation is 917 mm. Most of the rainfall occurs during the northeast monsoon in October and November. Rainfalls also occur during the southwest monsoon between July and September.

history

Delhi Gate in Arcot

In the Middle Ages, the area of ​​today's Vellore district was under the rule of the Pallava , Rashtrakuta , Chola and the Vijayanagar Empire . In 1690 Zulfikar Khan , a general of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb , founded the dynasty of the Nawabs of Arcot , who initially resided in Arcot in what is now the Vellore district. In the 18th century, the Arcot nawabs ruled large parts of what is now Tamil Nadu. During the Carnatic Wars , in which Great Britain and France fought for supremacy in southern India in the 18th century, fighting took place in the area of ​​the district. In the Battle of Arcot , the British under Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, defeated the French troops in 1751 and subsequently consolidated their influence over the area.

When the Nawab of Arcot ceded his possessions to the British East India Company in 1801, the British incorporated the area of ​​Viluppuram as part of the North Arcot district into the Madras presidency . After Indian independence in 1947, North Arcot came to the state of Madras, which was reorganized in 1956 according to the language borders of Tamil and renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969 . In 1989, the North Arcot District was divided into the North Arcot Ambedkar District (now Vellore District) and Tiruvannamalai-Sambuvarayar (now Tiruvannamalai District ).

population

Market scene in Vellore town

According to the 2011 Indian census, the Vellore district has 3,936,331 inhabitants. In terms of population, it is the third largest district in Tamil Nadu. The population density of 648 people per square kilometer is above the state average (555 people per square kilometer). 43 percent of the district's residents live in cities. The degree of urbanization is thus somewhat lower than the mean value in Tamil Nadu (48 percent). 22 percent of the district's residents are scheduled castes and 2 percent are scheduled tribes . At 79 percent, the literacy rate is only slightly below the state average (80 percent).

According to the 2011 census , Hindus make up the vast majority of the district's residents at 87 percent. There is also a relatively strong Muslim minority in the Vellore district . At 11 percent, the Muslim population is higher than the average in Tamil Nadu. In some cities such as Vaniyambadi and Ambur , Muslims make up the majority of the population. For Christianity to 3 percent of the population profess.

The main language in the district of Vellore, as in all of Tamil Nadu, is Tamil . According to the 2001 census, 82 percent of the district's residents speak it as their first language. In contrast to most of Tamil Nadu, most Muslims in the Vellore district do not speak Tamil but Urdu as their mother tongue. Urdu speakers make up around 8 percent of the district's population. Also, the Telugu , the language of the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, is common in the district of Vellore. It is spoken by just under 8 percent of the district's residents.

Attractions

The Fort Vellore

The main attraction of Vellore City is Fort Vellore . The fortress was built in the 16th century by the Vijayanagar rulers and later held by Bijapur , the Marathas , the Nawabs of Arcot and the British East India Company . In the Second Mysore War , she withstood a two-year siege by Hyder Ali . In 1806 it was the scene of the Vellore mutiny . The last Sri Lankan king, Vikrama Rajasinha , was imprisoned and buried in Fort Vellore after the British conquest of Kandy from 1815 until his death in 1832. Fort Vellore has been completely preserved and is considered one of the best examples of fortress architecture in South India. Inside the fortress are a Hindu temple, mosque, and church that illustrate the fort's changing history.

The city of Sholingur , 50 kilometers northeast of Vellore, is home to a hilltop temple of the god Vishnu , one of the 108 Divya Desams (holy places of Tamil Vishnuism ). In Tiruvalam , 15 kilometers east of the district capital, there is an important Shivaite temple. In 2007, an opulent golden temple was built on the outskirts of Vellores and has since become a tourist attraction.

The Yelagiri Mountains are a popular travel destination during the summer months because of their pleasant climate. With 5.9 million visitors in 2011, Yelagiri does not come close to the number of visitors to popular mountain resorts such as Kodaikanal or Udagamandalam .

Cities

There are 895 villages and the following 36 cities in the Vellore district:

city	Population (2011)
Alangayam	18,327
Allapuram	31,211
Ambur	114,608
Ammoor	12,513
Arakkonam	78,395
Arcot	55,955
Dharapadavedu	38,833
Gandhinagar	9.114
Gudiyatham	91,558
Jolarpet	29,662
Kalavai	9,773
Kalinjur	19,828
Katpadi	28,797
Kaveripakkam	14,583
Melvisharam	44,786
Natrampalli	10,390
Nemili	10,806
Odugathur	8,998
Pallikonda	23,067
Panapakkam	11,536
Pennathur	9,425
Pernampattu	51.271
Ranipet	50,764
Sathuvachari	56,951
Shenbakkam	17,109
Sholinghur	30,856
Thakkolam	13,983
Thorapadi	16,700
Timiri	16,246
Tirupathur	64.125
Tiruvalam	9,153
Uthayendram	13,837
Vellore	185,803
Vaniyambadi	95,061
Vilapakkam	8,174
Walajapet	32,397

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Census of India 2011: Primary Census Abstract - Tamil Nadu. (PDF; 873 kB)
2. ↑ Climate data from climate-data.org .
3. ^ Census of India 2011: Primary Census Data Highlights - Tamil Nadu. Chapter - I Population, Size and Decadal Change.
4. ^ Census of India 2011: Primary Census Data Highlights - Tamil Nadu. Chapter - II Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Population.
5. ^ Census of India 2011: Primary Census Data Highlights - Tamil Nadu. Chapter - III Literates and Literacy Rate.
6. ^ Census of India 2011: C-1 Population By Religious Community. Tamil Nadu.
7. ↑ Census of India 2001: C-15: Population by Mother Tongue (Tamil Nadu), accessed under Tabulations Plan of Census Year - 2001 .
8. ^ The Hindu, March 1, 2012: "State attracted over 14 crore tourists during 2011".
9. ↑ Query under Census of India 2011: Villages / Towns Directory - 2011.
10. ↑ Query under Census of India 2011: Search PCA Data by District / SubDistrict / Town / Village Name .

Web links

Commons : Vellore District  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Vellore District website