Madurai, formerly known by its colonial name Madura is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is governed by the Madurai Municipal Corporation established in 1 November 1866. As of the 2011 census, it is the third largest metropolis in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore in terms of population and 27th largest urban agglomeration in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoonga Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps".
The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s as a unit of the British East India Company. The regiment took part in numerous campaigns with the British Indian Army and the post-independence Indian Army.
Ukkirapandi Muthuramalinga Thevar, also known as Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, was a politician, patriarch of Thevar community. He was elected three times to the national Parliamentary Constituency. The birth anniversary of Muthuramalinga Thevar on October 30 is celebrated annually by the Thevar community in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu as Thevar Jayanthi.
The Thanjavur Nayakdynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks, who belonged to the Telugu-speaking Balija social group were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 15th century, who divided the territory into Nayak kingdoms which were Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee and Kalahasthi. In the mid-15th century they became an independent kingdom, although they continued their alliance with the Vijayanagara Empire. The Thanjavur Nayaks were notable for their patronage of literature and the arts.
Muhammad Yusuf Khan was a commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army. He was born in a Tamil Vellalar clan family in a village called Keelapanaiyur in British India, what is now in Mudukulathur Taluk, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, India. He converted to Islam and was named Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He was popularly known as Khan Sahib when he became the ruler of Madurai. He became a warrior in the Arcot troops, and later a commandant for the British East India Company troops. The British and the Arcot Nawab employed him to suppress the Polygar uprising in South India. Later he was entrusted to administer the Madurai country when the Madurai Nayak rule ended.
Sholavandan is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the left bank of the Vaigai River, sixteen miles north west of Madurai. It is one of 12 "town- panchayats" of Madurai district.
A valari is a traditional weapon, primarily used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. The valari resembles, and is used similar to a boomerang or throwing club. It was used by the Tamil people in ancient battles, for protecting cattle from predators, and for hunting. The British called valari "collery-sticks" after the Kallar caste that used them.
Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India built by the Emperors of Vijayanagara. The fort was at one time the imperial capital of the Aravidu Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.
The Madurai Nayaks were a Telugu dynasty who ruled most of modern-day Tamil Nadu, India, with Madurai as their capital. The Madurai Nayaks had their origins in the Balija warrior clans of present-day Andhra Pradesh. The Nayak reign which lasted for over two centuries from around 1529 to 1736 was noted for its achievements in arts, cultural and administrative reforms, revitalization of temples previously ransacked by the Delhi Sultans, and the inauguration of a unique architectural style.
Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, Palegara in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were the holders of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, palayam was given for valuable military services rendered by any individual. The word pālayam means domain, a military camp, or a small kingdom. This type of Palayakkarars system was in practice during the rule of Pratapa Rudhra of Warangal in the Kakatiya kingdom. The system was put in place in Tamil Nadu by Viswanatha Nayak, when he became the Nayak ruler of Madurai in 1529, with the support of his minister Ariyanathar. Traditionally there were supposed to be 72 Palayakkarars. The majority of those Palaiyakkarar, who during the late 17th- and 18th-centuries controlled much of the Telugu region as well as the Tamil area, had themselves come from the Kallar, Maravar and Vatuka communities.
The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Thanjavur Marathi. Vyankoji Bhosale was the founder of the dynasty.
Kallar is one of the three related castes of southern India which constitute the Mukkulathor confederacy. The Kallar, along with the Maravar and Agamudayar, constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another.
The Thirumohoor Kalamegaperumal Temple is a Hindu temple near Melur, Madurai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Kalamega Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Mohanavalli Thayar. As per Hindu legend, the presiding deity is believed to have appeared as the divine enchantress Mohini to allure the asuras to support the devas, the celestial deities. The temple is also known as Mohanapuram and Mohanakshetram.
A. Vaidyanatha Iyer, also known as Madurai Vaidyanatha Iyer or Ayyar was an Indian activist, politician and freedom-fighter who spearheaded the temple entry movement in Madras Presidency in 1939.
The Indian independence movement had a long history in the Tamil-speaking districts of the then Madras Presidency going back to the 18th century.
The granite scam was a corruption scandal that occurred in Tamil Nadu, India. It gained notoriety after former civil servant of Madurai Ubagarampillai Sagayam wrote a letter to the chief secretary of the State Industries Department on 19 May 2012, reporting major violations by many granite quarries in the Madurai district, estimating a loss of more than sixteen thousand crore rupees to the state exchequer.
Vellalur is a Tamil cultural village located in Melur Taluk in Madurai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Vellalur is 8.3 km from Melur, the Taluk main town; 32.1 km from Madurai East, the district's main city; 395 km from Chennai, the state's main city; and 18 km from Sivagangai. Sub-villages in Vellalur include Kattasolaipatti, Mandramalaipatti, Melavalasai, Vellanayagampatti, Idayavalasai, Mattangipatti and Edaiyarkovilpatti. Nearby temples include Karungal Swami, Manthakk Kovil, Karpaga Vinayakar, Vallidikaar, and Chinna Elai Kaatha Amman Temple. Periya Elai Kaatha Amman Temple is situated 5 km away. A two-week festival for Elai Kaatha Amman Temple is celebrated yearly starting on the last week of September. A government primary health center is located in the village. The center provides general medical services 24 hours-per-day and has a siddha medicine department. Sports clubs include various cricket clubs.
Perungamanallur is a village in Peraiyur taluk, Sedapatti block, Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and part of Usilampatti
Piramalai Kallars is a sub caste of the Kallars and thus are part of the Mukkulathor community that also includes the Maravar and Agamudayar castes. They belong to Other Backward class/Denotified class in Tamil nadu.
The 1997 Melavalavu massacre refers to the murder of a Panchayat President of the village and six other men of the Dalit community by dominant caste members in Melavalavu, Madurai on 30 June 1997. The men were hacked to death after some dominant caste members refused to accept a Panchayat president from the Dalit Community.
