Coimbatore District was one of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the erstwhile

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. It covered the areas of the present-day districts of

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

, Erode and

Tirupur Tiruppur or Tirupur ( ) is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Tiruppur is the administrative headquarters of Tiruppur district and the fifth largest city as well as an urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of Noyyal Ri ...

and the

Kollegal Kollegal is one of the major taluks in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. It is also the largest taluk in Karnataka, Kollegal is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the stat ...

taluk of present-day Karnataka. It covered a total area of and was sub-divided into 10 taluks. The administrative headquarters was Coimbatore city. Most of Coimbatore's inhabitants were Tamil-speaking but there were also large numbers of Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada speaking people.

History

Coimbatore was a part of the ancient Chera kingdom during the

Sangam Age The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

. After the Chera kingdom fell, the region was ruled by the Western Gangas and the

Hoysalas The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

. Coimbatore came under Muslim rule in the 13th century AD and was a province of the

Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Maharash ...

. After the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire, Coimbatore was ruled by the Madurai Nayaks till 17th century. A series of wars between the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Mysore of Madurai Nayak dynasty resulted in the region coming under the control of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

kings till the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Third Mysore War in 1792, Coimbatore became a part of British India. The district was founded in 1805. In 1868

Nilgiri District The Nilgiris district () is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri ( en, Blue Mountains) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Ker ...

was segregated. The

Avinashi taluk Avinashi taluk is a taluk of Tirupur district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters of the taluk is the town of Avinashi Avinashi () (previously known as ''Thirupukkoliyur'') is a Special Grade Town Panchayat in Tiruppur distr ...

was formed when Karur was separated from the district and merged with

Trichinopoly District The Trichinopoly district was a district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the present-day districts of Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Ariyalur and Perambalur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The administrative headquarte ...

. In 1927 and 1929 other readjustments were made. In 1956 the Kollegal taluk was transferred to

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's capital. ...

. In 1975 and 1979 some subtaluks were promoted to taluks, including

Satyamangalam Sathyamangalam (also known as Sathy) is a town and municipality in Erode district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 8 th century Town. It lies on the banks of the River Bhavani, a tributary of the River Cauvery in the foothills of the Weste ...

Perundurai Perundurai is a Special Grade Town Panchayat in Erode district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Perundurai is the only special grade town panchayat among 42 in the district. Perundurai has developed as the industrial center with SIPCOT Indus ...

and

Mettupalayam Mettupalayam may refer to: * Mettupalayam, Coimbatore Mettupalayam is a municipality town and taluk of the Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in the Coimbatore District. It's located to the North ...

, so that Coimbatore district ended up with 12 taluks, but before the end of 1979 the six taluks of

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

, Gopichettipalaiyam,

, Erode,

and

Dharapuram Dharapuram (;) is a town situated along the banks of Amaravati River in Tiruppur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Dharapuram is one of the oldest towns in South India and was the capital of Kongu Nadu under the Cheras, Western Gang ...

, were segregated to form Erode district. The remaining six taluks became nine after two new ones were established and a further one was bifurcated.

Taluks

Coimbatore district was sub-divided into 10 taluks: * Bhavani (Area: ; Headquarters: Bhavani) * Coimbatore (Area: ; Headquarters: Coimbatore) * Dharapuram (Area: ; Headquarters: Dharapuram) * Erode (Area: ; Headquarters: Erode) * Karur (Area: ; Headquarters: Karur) * Kollegal (Area: ; Headquarters: Kollegal) * Palladam (Area: ; Headquarters: Palladam) * Pollachi (Area: ; Headquarters: Pollachi) * Satyamangalam (Area: ; Headquarters: Gobichettipalayam) * Udamalpet (Area: ; Headquarters: Udamalpet)

Administration

Coimbatore district was divided into 4 sub-divisions: * Coimbatore sub-division: Coimbatore and Sathyamangalam taluks * Erode sub-division: Bhavani, Dharapuram, Erode and Karur taluks * Kollegal sub-division: Kollegal taluk * Pollachi sub-division: Pollachi, Palladam and Udumalpet

References

{{coord, 11, 15, N, 77, 19, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Districts of the Madras Presidency Coimbatore district 1805 establishments in British India

History

Taluks

Administration

See also

References