Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward
districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 450
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : A
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 61 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 79 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Challenges of the district : Our research
with local communities
Following are the social and developmental challenges
of the district:
Due to uncertain monsoon agriculture faces lots of problems.
Poverty.
Unemployment.
The rural population is migrating to urban areas of the district
in search of job opportunities.
The quality of education in the villages needs to be improved.
There are insufficient number of schools in the villages.
Brief About Madurai District
History
It is narrated in legend that Madurai was originally a forest
known as Kadambavanam. One day, a farmer named Dhananjaya who
was passing through the forest, saw Indra (The king of the gods),
worshipping a swayambhu (self created Lingam ) under kadamba tree.
Dhananjaya, the farmer immediately reported this to King Kulasekara
Pandya. Kulasekara Pandya cleared the forest and built a temple
around the Lingam. A city was soon planned with the temple as
its centre. On the day the city was to be named, Lord Shiva is
said to have appeared and drops of nectar from his hair fell on
the town. So, the place was named Madurai - mathuram meaning "sweetness"
in Tamil. Madurai has a rich historical background in the sense
that Lord Shiva himself performed sixty-four wonders called "Thiruvilaiyadals".
As early as the 3rd century BC, Megasthanes visited Madurai. Later
many people from Rome and Greece visited Madurai and established
trade with the Pandya kings. Madurai flourished till 10th century
AD when it was captured by Cholas the arch rivals of the Pandyas.
The Cholas ruled Madurai from 920 AD till the beginning of the
13th century. In 1223 AD Pandyas regained their kingdom and once
again become prosperous. Pandian Kings patronised Tamil language
in a great way. During their period, many master-pieces were created.
"Silapathikaram", the great epic in Tamil was written based on
the story of Kannagi who burnt Madurai as a result of the injustice
caused to her husband Kovalan. In April 1311, Malik Kafur, the
general of Alauddin Khilji who was then the ruler of Delhi, reached
Madurai and raided and robbed the city for precious stones, jewels,
and other rare treasures. This led to the subsequent raids by
other Muslim Sultans. In 1323, the Pandya kingdom including Madurai
became a province of the Delhi empire, under the Tughlaks.
The 1371, the Vijayanagar dynasty of Hampi captured Madurai and
Madurai became part of the Vijayanagar empire. Kings of this dynasty
were in habit of leaving the captured land to governors called
Nayaks. This was done for the efficient management of their empire.
The Nayaks paid fixed amount annually to the Vijayanagar empire.
After the death of Krishna Deva Raya (King of Vijayanagar empire)
in 1530 AD, the Nayaks became independent and ruled the territories
under their control. Among Nayaks, Thirumalai Nayak (1623-1659)
was very popular, even now he is popular among people, since,
it was he who contributed to the creation of many magnificent
structures in and around Madurai. The Raja Gopuram of the Meenakshi
Amman Temple, The Pudu Mandapam and The Thirumalai Nayakar's Palace
are living monuments to his artistic fervor.
Madurai started slipping into the hands of the British's East
India Company. In 1781, British appointed their representatives
to look after Madurai. George Procter was the first collector
of Madurai.
Now
after India's independence, Madurai is one of the major districts
of Tamilnadu State. In 1984, the Vast Madurai district was bifurcated
into two districts namely Madurai and Dindugul Districts. Subsequently
in 1997, Madurai district was bifurcated into two districts
namely Madurai and Theni Districts. In Madurai District, there
are 10 State Assembly constituencies and two parliament constituencies.
Madurai is surrounded by several mountains. The Madurai city
has 3 hills as its city boundary. Yanaimalai, Nagamalai, Pasumalai
named after Elephant, Snake and Cow respectively. It is famous
for Jasmine Flowers. Jasmine flowers are transported to other
cities of India from Madurai.
About District
Madurai District is situated in the
South of Tamil Nadu state. It is bounded on the North by the
districts of Dindigul, Thiruchirapalli and on the East by Sivagangai
and on the West by Theni and South by Virudhunagar .
Geographical
location
North Latitude :
Between 9°30.00 and 10°30.00
East Latitude :
Between 77°00.00 and 78°30.00
Languages spoken
:
Tamil, Telegu,
Sourashtra, English, Hindi
