Nilgiris (District)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nilgiris
District நீலகிரி மாவட்டம்
District map
State Tamil Nadu
Administrative headquarters : Udagamandalam
Area : 2,565 km²
Residents : 735,394 (2011)
Population density : 287 inhabitants / km²
Website : nilgiris.tn.nic.in

The district of Nilgiris ( Tamil : நீலகிரி மாவட்டம் ) is a district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . It is located in the Nilgiri Mountains in western Tamil Nadu. The administrative center of the district is the city of Udagamandalam (Ooty). The district of Nilgiris has an area of ​​2,565 square kilometers and around 740,000 inhabitants (2011 census).

geography

Landscape in the Nilgiri Mountains (view from Doddabetta)

The district of Nilgiris is located in western Tamil Nadu on the border with the states of Kerala and Karnataka . Neighboring districts are Erode in the east, Coimbatore in the south (both to Tamil Nadu), Palakkad in the south, Malappuram in the southwest, Wayanad in the northwest (all Kerala) and Chamarajanagar (Karnataka) in the north.

The area of ​​the Nilgiris District is 2,565 square kilometers. The district includes most of the eponymous Nilgiri Mountains . The district area lies at an altitude between around 900 to 2,600 meters. The highest elevation of the Nilgiri Mountains and at the same time all of Tamil Nadu is the 2,637 meter high Doddabetta mountain . A large part of the district area is covered by a plateau over 2,000 meters high, steeply sloping to the south and east. The district capital Udagamandalam (anglicized Ootacamund , mostly Ooty for short ) is also located here. The northwestern part around Gudalur is lower and is more scenic in the Wayanad region.

Due to the altitude, the Nilgiris district has a subtropical mountain climate. The annual mean temperature in Udhagamandalam is 14.4 ° C and is therefore significantly cooler than in the Tamil Nadu plains. Temperatures are subject to only minor fluctuations over the course of the year. The precipitation conditions, on the other hand, are largely influenced by the monsoons . The annual mean precipitation is 1,847 mm. The Nilgiri Mountains receive precipitation both during the southwest monsoon between June and September and during the northeast monsoon between October and November.

history

View of the Nilgiri Mountains (around 1840)

The Nilgiri Mountains came under British rule in 1799 after Tipu Sultan's defeat in the Fourth Mysore War . The area was part of the district Coimbatore in the province of Madras incorporated. The Nilgiri Mountains, which were previously very remote and inhabited by isolated tribal peoples, experienced strong development during the British colonial era. Because of the cool climate, the British discovered the Nilgiri Mountains as a summer resort ( Hill Station ) where they could escape the heat of the lowlands. During the hot season, Udagamandalam (Ootacamund) served as the summer capital of the Madras presidency . In addition, the British introduced tea cultivation, which led to a major ecological change through the transformation of the landscape into plantations and fundamentally changed the demographics of the Nilgiri Mountains through the immigration of plantation workers from the lowlands. In 1868 the Nilgiris district was formed by splitting off from the Coimbatore district. In 1899 the Nilgiri Mountain Railway was opened. After Indian independence, the Nilgiris district came under the States Reorganization Act 1956 to the newly formed state of Madras after the language border of Tamil , which was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969 .

population

Tea picker in the Nilgiris

Due to its location in the mountains, the Nilgiris district is relatively sparsely populated. According to the 2011 Indian census, the district has 735,394 inhabitants. In terms of population, the Nilgiris district is the second smallest district of Tamil Nadu after Perambalur . The population density of 287 inhabitants per square kilometer is actually the lowest in the state and is well below the mean value of Tamil Nadu (555 inhabitants per square kilometer). The district of Nilgiris is one of the few regions in India to have a negative population development: Between 2001 and 2011, the population shrank by 3.5 percent. 59 percent of the district's residents live in cities. The degree of urbanization is thus higher than the average in Tamil Nadu (48 percent). At 85 percent, the literacy rate is above the Tamil Nadu average (80 percent).

Originally the Nilgiri Mountains were settled by the indigenous peoples (see Adivasi ) of the Badaga , Irula , Kurumba , Toda and Kota . The immigration of Tamils from the plains has made the indigenous population a minority. The Badaga are the largest indigenous group and still make up a significant proportion of the population. In contrast to the other indigenous peoples, however, the Indian government does not recognize them as members of the tribal population ( Scheduled Tribes ) and thus do not enjoy certain privileges. The remaining indigenous peoples only number a few thousand members each. According to the 2011 census, a total of 33,000 members of the Scheduled Tribes live in the Nilgiris district , which corresponds to 4.5 percent of the district's population . Dalits (casteless) are particularly high among the non-indigenous population . The proportion of members of the lowest castes ( Scheduled Castes ) is 32 percent (2011 census), significantly higher than the average for Tamil Nadu (20 percent).

The main language in the Nilgiris district is Tamil , as in the whole of Tamil Nadu , but a variety of other languages ​​are also spoken. According to the 2001 census, 50 percent of the district's population speak Tamil as their first language. 25 percent of the district's residents are recorded as speakers of Kannada , the language of the neighboring state of Karnataka. Most of them are speakers of the Badaga spoken by the people of the same name , which is closely related to the Kannada and is subsumed in the official statistics under the numbers for Kannada. Malayalam , the language of the neighboring state of Kerala, is spoken by 17 percent of the district's population as their mother tongue. The Malayalam speakers mainly concentrate on the northwest part of the district (Taluks Panthalur and Gudalur). Another 4 percent speak Telugu and 1.5 percent speak Urdu . A number of smaller languages ​​are also spoken among the indigenous population, the names of which are identical to the name for the respective ethnic group: Irula , Kurumba , Toda and Kota . These languages ​​have only a few thousand speakers and are acutely at risk of speech death .

According to the 2011 census , Hindus make up the majority of the residents of the Nilgiris district with 77 percent. There are also larger minorities of Christians (12 percent) and Muslims (11 percent).

Economy and Infrastructure

Tea plantation and factory in the Nilgiris

The main economic factors of the Nilgiris district are tea cultivation and tourism. The Nilgiri Mountains are the most important tea-growing area in South India, even if the Nilgiri tea produced here is of little importance on the world market. Especially in the summer months, the Nilgiris attract numerous travelers, mainly domestic tourists, because of their natural beauty and the pleasantly cool climate due to the altitude. Udagamandalam in particular is very popular and, next to Kodaikanal in the Palani Mountains, is the most popular hill station in Tamil Nadu. In 2011 Udagamandalam was visited by 7.7 million tourists. The peak season is the hot season between April and June when many inland tourists escape the heat in the plains for the cooler mountainous areas.

The Nilgiris District is connected to the railway network by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway . The trains cover a height difference of around 2,000 meters on the 46-kilometer route from Mettupalayam to Udagamandalam. The historic mountain railway is still operated by steam locomotives and is a popular tourist attraction thanks to the picturesque route. Since 2005 it has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with two other mountain railways in India .

Administrative division

The Nilgiris District is divided into six taluks :

Taluk main place Population
(2011)
Coonoor Coonoor 157.744
Gudalur Gudalur 104,768
Kotagiri Kotagiri 108,684
Kundah Kundah 46,307
Panthalur Nelliyalam 125.931
Udagamandalam Udagamandalam 191.960

Cities

In the district of Nilgiris has four cities with its own city government ( Municipalities ), eleven after the Panchayat managed system townships ( Town Panchayats ), a garrison town ( Cantonment ) and two census towns ( census town ). The number of inhabitants is given according to the 2011 census.

Municipalities
Town panchayats
Cantonment
Censorship cities

literature

  • The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Volume 19: Nāyakanhatti to Parbhani. New Edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1908, pp. 86-104 , keyword: The Nīlgiris .

Web links

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

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 - III Literates and Literacy Rate.
  5. ^ Census of India 2011: Primary Census Data Highlights - Tamil Nadu. Chapter - II Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Population.
  6. ↑ Census of India 2001: C-15: Population by Mother Tongue (Tamil Nadu), accessed under Tabulations Plan of Census Year - 2001 .
  7. ^ Census of India 2011: C-1 Population By Religious Community. Tamil Nadu.
  8. ^ The Hindu, March 1, 2012: "State attracted over 14 crore tourists during 2011".
  9. ↑ a b Census of India 2011: Primary Census Abstract Data Tables: The Nilgiris.