CHENNAI - India

Chennai : History

It is the largest city in India after Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta. Gateway to South India. Capital of Tamil Nadu. One of the best port cities in India. 2000 years old. It is a great center of arts, culture and culture. The city has the world's second longest and most beautiful beach (marina). Excellent transport connectivity not only to Indian cities but also to countries around the world.

Area - 174 sq km. Population - 70 lakhs. Altitude - sea level. Rainfall – 1272 mm (annual average). Languages spoken- Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, English.

The city of Chennai, which used to consist of small villages in the past, has now grown into a metropolis. Chola, Pandyar, has been a great port city since the Pallavar period. Tamil Nadu was famous for perfumes, textiles and pearls, and Chennai became an excellent port for foreign trade such as Greeks, Chinese and Romans. The Portuguese first came to Chennai in the 16th century. Following them, the British came here in 1639 and started business. The British settlement was called Madraspatnam. In 154 AD, the British built Fort St. George. Then all the neighboring villages gradually merged with Madras. The area was called Madras Presidency. The Madras Presidency included the now separate states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. After independence Madras Presidency was divided into separate states according to the language spoken by the people.

Chennai was the best city during the British rule. Chennai was an important center for establishing their colonial rule in India. It is noteworthy that from here they expanded their colonial rule in South East Asian countries as well.

Chennai is the first municipality in the country:

In 1688, the then Madras city was declared the first municipality by King James II. It is noteworthy that Chennai was the first municipality in the country. Later, Robert Clive chose the then city of Madras as his military base.

Madras became one of the four provinces of the Indian Settlement of the British Government. Since then, it was known as 'Province of Madras'. That's why many towns in present-day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were once part of Madras province.

Chennai Day Celebration:

In the year 1939, on 22nd August, the city of Chennai was officially created and this day has been made as the city's birthday. It is noteworthy that the 'Madras Day' celebration was started in 2004 by the Chennai Heritage Trust. After the independence of India in 1947, Madras was chosen as the capital of Madras Province.

Madras became Chennai:

States are divided language-wise. That's when Madras became Tamil Nadu. Yes, the name was changed to 'Tamil Nadu' only in 1969. However, Madras was the test for many.

On 17 July 1996, the then Chief Minister Karunanidhi's government changed the name from Madras to Chennai as the official name. Even though the word Madras started to decline after that, the Madras Day is celebrated every year on the 22nd of August every year to celebrate the pride of Chennai and to remember the old days.

Every year during Madras Day, the Tamil Nadu government organizes various programs to create awareness among the people. In line with this, the Chennai Corporation has announced that this year too, to celebrate 'Madras' Day, on behalf of the Metropolitan Chennai Corporation, artistic programs will be held at the Besant Nagar beach. This celebration is named “Namma Chennai, Namma Pride”.

Chennai Economy:

Chennai has a thriving economy. Chennai's economy excels in several sectors, including car industries, computer services, petrochemicals, textiles and financial services. After the deregulation of the Indian economy, the computer sector, trading and outsourcing sectors started to grow.

Computer giants such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Satyam, IBM, Accenture, Sun Microsystems, HCL, and others have set foot in Chennai. Dell, Nokia, Motorola, Cisco, Samsung, Simons, Plextronics are also operating here.

Some of these companies are opening their branches in Sriperumbudur Electronics Special Economic Zone. Currently there are 2 Biotechnology Parks in Chennai city.

There are many Indian and foreign car factories in Chennai. Factories like Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Bord, TVS, Ashok Leyland, Royal Enfield, Dabay, Dunlop, MRF are located near Chennai. Tanks for the Indian Army are manufactured at the heavy vehicle factory in Avadi.

Chennai is an important city in India for banking and finance. Chennai is also the money-making Tamil film capital.