After India’s independence, Madras province became a separate state when the states were divided on the basis of language.
Today is the 385th birthday of Chennai, the sprawling capital of Tamil Nadu. It means that 385 years have passed since the city of Chennai was formed.
The British started the East India Company in 1600 to do business in India. They first started a company in Masulipatnam and did business. Like the British, the Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese also traded in India. In order to increase competition between them, the British looked for a place in the south to set up a new company. Andrew Cogan and Francis Day were appointed officers for this purpose.
At that time, all the villages in Madrasa were under the leadership of two brothers, Venkatappa Nayak and Ayyappa Nayak. Venkatappa Nayak ruled from Vandavasi and Ayyappa Nayak from Poontamalli. Francis Day, who met the two, asked for a small place to start his East India Company. Accordingly, the two brothers wrote down a 5 mile long and one mile wide area along the Bay of Bengal to the British.
They also demanded that the place be called after their father’s name Chenappa Nayak. Accordingly, the name of the Madrasa Famine was changed to Chenna Famine. This event took place 384 years ago, on 22nd August 1639. Since this day was a reason for the creation of Chennai, August 22nd is celebrated as Chennai’s birthday every year.
Fort George
The British bought the land in 1639 and started building a big fort in 1640. Since then the area started to develop into a city. It was named Fort St. George. The construction of the fort continued till 1653. People started migrating around Fort St. George as people came to work for the British and were involved in the fort work.
Tiruvallikeni, Mylapore, Tiruvottiyur and Thiruvanmiyur are the oldest villages near the fort. The British lived in settlements that sprang up around Fort St. George. The area was called the White City. Similarly, the town where the Indians lived around the fort was called the Black Town. The area where the fort was located was generally referred to as George Town.
Madrasapatnam or Chennapatnam..?
Meanwhile the fort and the entire area expanded by the British came to be known as Madrasapatnam by the locals. But the British named Chennapatnam after Chenappa Nayak, the father of the kings who provided the land to build the fort. Thus there was doubt as to whether the name of the newly expanded city was Madrasapatnam or Chennapatnam. The fort and the surrounding areas combined to form the city, the northern part was called Madrasapatnam and the southern part was called Chennapatnam. Eventually the entire city came to be known as Madras. Mylapore, French-held Xanthom, weavers’ Chintadripet and small villages were gradually annexed by the British to Madras city. The villages of Tiruvallikeni, Purasaivakkam, Egmore and Sethupattu were also annexed to Madras city. In 1688 Madras was granted municipal status. With this, Chennai became the first city in India.
Madras Province
The “Province of Madras” was formed by merging the 4 Indian Settlements brought under British rule. Madras province was the largest province under the British rule in India. Railways were developed to connect Madras province with other cities. Also colleges and universities were created. A police force was established and a court was built. ICourt, Madras University, State College, Central Railway Station were created then.
After the independence of India in 1956 the states were divided on the basis of language. Madras province then became a separate state. After several phases of struggle, Madras province was renamed as ‘Tamil Nadu’ in 1969. Its capital Madras was renamed as Chennai in 1996.
Development
After that the city of Chennai began to grow at a breakneck pace. The area of the city of Chennai began to expand. New areas were created around Chennai and they experienced rapid growth. Because of that, Chennai currently has the status of Metropolitan Chennai Corporation. As a result, the city of Chennai stands first in various fields.
The custom of celebrating Chennai Day started in 2004. Since then the Chennai Day celebrations have been increasing every year. Let’s all celebrate the birthday of the city of Chennai that makes Vandar live.
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