Tamil Nadu is one of the richest states in India by any measure, be it in terms of GDP or per capita income. It is one of the most endowed when it comes to history, royal power, cultural artefacts and literature. For the rest of India, especially in the areas above the Vindhyas, people living south of the mountain range were called ‘Madrasi’. It was not entirely without foundation, for the English East India Company and later the English government created the Madras Presidency, which covered an area of ​​over 362,000 square kilometers and a population of over 30 million between 1870 and 1920. The territories that the British administered from Fort St. George as the Madras Presidency were historically opposed to each other, linguistically distinct, and also geographically distinct. Ranging from the southern districts of Odisha (Ganjam, Gajapati, Malkangir and others) to Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep, large parts of Karnataka and present-day Telangana to most of Tamil Nadu, what was called the Madras Presidency included the fertile delta as well as the Nilgiris, where tea and coffee plantations were developed. The presidency ended British colonial rule which ended in 1947. It was only after the death of Potti Sriramulu demanding a separate state of Andhra Pradesh that this artificial administrative structure finally broke down and the present state of Tamil Nadu came into existence.
ancient tamilakam
Archaeological excavations at Attirampakkan near Chennai (formerly Madras) have revealed evidence of hominids through the presence of stone axes and other tools, which were probably used more than 170,000 years ago. In fact, Chennai itself has provided similar dates for tools on typo-technical grounds, these cores excavated at Kalapakkam (fist-sized stone tools with pointed and pointed ends) indicate continuous human presence since the Middle Palaeolithic period.
During the last 3,000 years, which includes the Sangam (2nd BC–4th AD) and post-Sangam periods, there have been three major monarchical dynasties that ruled roughly the same area that is today recognized as Tamil Nadu. Therefore, Tamilakam came before the Madras Presidency. It was an extensive region ruled by the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras and included present-day Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The most definitive source of the presence of these three dynasties comes from the key inscription of the Maurya emperor Ashoka at Girnar in Gujarat. In that inscription, Ashoka (reign: 304–232 BCE) refers to the kingdoms that existed on the borders of his dominions, among these he lists the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Keralaputras, as well as the kingdoms of Greek Antiochus in the north-west and Tamraparni in the east.
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In Sangam literary texts these regions appear as a single cultural area where Tamil, despite being the main language, was by no means the only language. Malayalam and Kannada also emerged from this region and period. The ancient region of Tamilakam has been constantly changing politically and regionally, however, apart from cultural continuity, trade has also remained stable. The Greek Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st CE) and Marco Polo’s account (11th CE) both attest to the presence of international trade in Tamil Nadu. Pearls, pepper, ivory and other goods were the mainstay of this international trade. When the second millennium BC When the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French came in the latter half of the century, the textile trade took place on the west coast while the spice trade took place on the east coast. Tamil Nadu and its regions like Pondicherry benefited from both.
Kalabhar and Malik Kafur: Winners of Tamilakam
The triumvirate of the Early Cholas, Early Pallavas and Cheras, who had maintained rivalry among each other, faced a sudden and powerful enemy between the 3rd and 6th centuries. Scholars have been unable to accurately identify the Kalabhras, their region of origin, the period of their rule or even the territory they conquered after defeating the ancient Trimurti.
SC Mishra and Manisha Agnihotri, in “Viewing the Kalabhras as a hoax or a historical reality”, write, “…we find contradictory views about the historical reality of the Kalabhras. Some regard them as dreaded rulers creating panic among the southern powers by their invasions, while some consider them hunters, yet others have set a stage for them in Tamilakam as the “Kalabhra Interregnum”. They are described as a widespread tribe. Also believed to have led to political and social unrest, their inclination towards heterodox beliefs (Jainism and Buddhism).
But from the inscriptional evidence found at Pulankurichi (dated 270 CE) and the Velvikudi copper plate inscription of the 8th century, it is clear that this dynasty existed. Mishra and Agnihotri write about the inscription, “…a king named Kalabhran is said to have taken possession of the vast earth by driving out innumerable great kings (Adhirajas) and reestablished the above (mentioned village). This inscription provides a genealogy of the Pandu rulers starting from Pandu, who led to the birth of Buddha, Pururava, Maravarman, Randhira, Sri Kadungan, Mana Chendan, Arikesari, Chedaiyan, and then Nedumajadaiyan are credited with defeating Kadava, Kurumba and are said to be the kings of Neriyar (i.e. Chola). The Kalabhras were eventually destroyed and completely wiped out from history by the Trimurti probably because of their anti-Brahmin inclinations.
Imperial Chola and conquest of Kalinga and Bengal
The greatest dynasty to rule Tamil Nadu was the Later Cholas whose founder was Vijayalaya who took advantage of the feud between the Pandya and Pallava kingdoms and captured Tanjore (Thanjavur) in 850 AD and revived the Chola dynasty. A series of kings waged war with the Rashtrakutas, Eastern and Western Chalukyas, and by the 11th century the Cholas emerged as the dominant power under King Chola I (947–1014 CE). Raja Raja brought Maldives, Sri Lanka and all other neighboring kingdoms under Chola control. After the conquest of Kalinga and Bengal, Rajendra Chola I shifted the Chola capital from Thanjavur to a new city. Nilakantha Sastri writes in The Cholas, “Gangaikonda-Cholapuram, at the meeting point of the modern districts of Trichinopoly, Arcot and Tanjore, rose to prominence as the Chola capital in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and is now a small place with a grand temple in ruins”.
However, a few decades after his demise the Chola empire came close to collapse due to Chalukya interference and palace intrigues. However, it was Kulottanga I, born into an amiable Chalukya family, who became king and restored Cola power and extended diplomatic relations not only throughout India but also to China. Shastri writes, “The Chola empire under Kulottunga maintained extensive foreign relations in and out of India. An incomplete Gahadavala prashasti engraved on the temple walls of Gangaikonda-Cholapuram shows that Chola diplomacy in this period included the kingdoms of northern India within the limits of its orbit. This prashasti, which begins with Akuntakotakantha, must be that of Madanapala or his son Govindachandra of Kanauj. The inscription opens by citing the 41st regnal year of Kulottunga, but stops short of naming the actual ruler who made the record or giving the occasion for it. This inscription is probably evidence of some dynastic connection between these two dynasties.
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By the middle of the 13th century the Pandyas regained control of the Tamil heartland.
However, a new power had emerged in Delhi in the north. Sultan Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD) sent his army under the command of Malik Kafur, a eunuch slave of Hindu descent and one of Khilji’s most trusted generals. His conquest of Ma’bar or medieval Tamil Nadu is well described by B.R.Modak in Sayana, “In this period King Maravarman Kukasekhara of the Pandya dynasty died at Madura and a feud broke out between his two sons Veera Pandya and Sundara Pandya. The latter sought the help of Alauddin Khilji. Alauddin instructed Malik Kafur to help Sundara Pandya. Accordingly Malik Kafur started with a large army and defeated Veera Pandya, taking the side of Sundar Pandya… and plundered cities on his way and returned to Delhi with 312 elephants, twenty thousand horses and a huge treasure of gold and jewels.
Author Valay Singh’s Historicity is a news column about a city based on its documented history, mythology and archaeological excavations. The views expressed are personal.
