Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It serves as the administrative headquarters of

Dharmapuri district Dharmapuri is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil-Nadu, India. It is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitting it from then-Salem district on 2 October 1965. Dharmapuri District is one of t ...

which is the

first district First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

created in Tamil Nadu after the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

by splitting it from then

Salem district Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the distri ...

on 2 October 1965. The city is located at 50 km from

Krishnagiri Krishnagiri () is a city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, and it serves as the administrative headquarters of Krishnagiri District formed in 2004. It is located at the bottom of Krishnadevaraya Hills, and the town is fully surrounded by hill ...

, 69 km from

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, 90 km from

Hosur Hosur is an industrial city located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hosur is one of the municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the bank of the river River Ponnaiyar, southeast of Bengaluru and west of Chennai, the state ...

, 117 km from

Thiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

, 126 km from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and

Erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the E ...

, 181 km from

Tiruppur 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 ...

, 200 km from

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 ...

and

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, 300 km from

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) 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. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

and the state capital

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. It is located between latitudes N 11 47’ and 12 33’ and longitudes E 77 02’ and 78 40’. It is one of the leading major cultivator and producer of

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

in the state along with

often referred as Mango Capital of India.

History

Dharmapuri was called Thagadoor where King Adhiyamaan ruled. Adhiyaman Kottai is situated near Dharmapuri-Salem highway. Many temples were built during Adhiyamaan's rule. There is a tunnel from Adhiyamaan kottai temple to Dharmapuri Kottai temple. The region is believed to have been controlled by the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...

dynasty in the 8th century. The

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

took over in the 9th century. They were defeated by the

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

in the 11th century, and subsequently the district came under the Chola sphere of governance. During 18th century present day Dharmapuri district was part of the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...

and was called Baramahal. As part of the

Treaty of Seringapatam The Treaty of Seringapatam (also called Srirangapatinam or Srirangapatna), signed 18 March 1792, ended the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Its signatories included Lord Cornwallis on behalf of the British East India Company, representatives of the Niza ...

(signed on 18 March 1792) after the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, and the Nizam of Hyderabad. It was the third of four Anglo- ...

, Tipu Sultan agreed to give part of his territories including present-day Dharmapuri district to the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

which was then merged into the

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 ...

an administrative subdivision of British India. It was part of the salem District under British rule, until the founding of Dharmapuri district on 2 October 1965. The Dharmapuri district was split into

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

and

districts in 2004. Many historical rock sculptures are found in this district. Modhur, a village near Dharmapuri has remains that date back to the Neolithic age. A government museum in Dharmapuri city displays some of these significant sculptures. It was also mentioned in anime Steins;gate in episode - 5

Geography

Dharmapuri is situated in the northwestern corner of Tamil Nadu and is bounded by

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

on the east,

Nallampalli Nallampalli is a town in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil ...

taluk on the South,

Palacode taluk Palacode taluk is a taluk in the Dharmapuri district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters of the taluk is the town of Palacode. Part of Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary is located in this taluk. Geography Palacode is located on th ...

on the north, and the Pennagaram taluk on the west. It is located between latitudes N 11 47’ and 12 33’ and longitudes E 77 02’ and 78 40’. It is 300 km from Chennai city and 130 km from Bangalore. All the corporations in Tamil Nadu except Sivakasi, Nagercoil, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli lies within 300 km from Dharmapuri. Neighboring states cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Tumkur, Chittoor, Tirupathi, Thrissur, Palakkad, Salem, Puducherry also lie within a 300 km radius. Dharmapuri is located on one of the geographically important areas in south India.

Climate

Dharmapuri has a

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Aw''). The summer period of March, April, May, and June is sweltering and dry, reaching a maximum temperature of up to . The temperatures drop in December and the low temperatures continue up to February, touching a minimum of in January. The district has an average annual rainfall of . The tropical forests here generally have short shrubs and thorned plants.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Dharmapuri had a population of 113218 with a sex-ratio of 1,013 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 6,759 were under the age of six, constituting 3,470 males and 3,289 females.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

accounted for 6.92% and 0.14% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 77.08%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 17136 households. There were a total of 26,943 workers, comprising 606 cultivators, 427 main agricultural laborers, 1,052 in household industries, 22,566 other workers, 2,292 marginal workers, 54 marginal cultivators, 77 marginal agricultural laborers, 213 marginal workers in household industries and 1,948 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Dharmapuri (M) had 88.99%

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 9.65%

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, 0.99%

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 0.02%

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

, 0.01%

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, 0.01%

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

and 0.33% following other religions.

Politics

It is part of the

Dharmapuri (state assembly constituency) Dharmapuri is a state assembly constituency in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu, India. Its State Assembly Constituency number is 59. It comprises a portion of Dharmapuri taluk and is a part of the similarly named constituency which is us ...

and

Dharmapuri (Lok Sabha constituency) Dharmapuri is a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu, India. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 10 of 39. Assembly segments 2009-present Before 2009 # Harur (SC) # Morappur #Dharmapuri #Pennagaram #Mettur #Taramangalam ...

. The Member of Lok Sabha is

S. Senthilkumar (Dharmapuri) S. Senthilkumar (born 22 June 1977) is an Indian politician known. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Dharmapuri (Lok Sabha constituency), Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu in the 2019 Indian general election as m ...

Transport

Roadways

Dharmapuri is well connected by major National highway NH-44. Commonly called north–south corridor which originates from

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

and terminates at Kanyakumari passes through the district. Another highway it encompasses is NH-844 which originates from dharmapuri adhiyamankottai and terminates at Neraluru village near chandapura, Bengaluru. State highways like

SH-60 The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...

(Hogenakkal-Pennagaram-Dharmapuri-Tirupattur), & SH-60A(Dharmapuri-Harur) via Morappur.Also passes through the city.

Railways

Dharmapuri railway station Dharmapuri railway station (station code: DPJ) is situated in the central part of the Dharmapuri city, which is the headquarters of the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. It has been administered by the South Western Railway zone, included in t ...

(DPJ) is situated 1.6 kilometer from Dharmapuri bus stand. The station was fractured to South Western Railways when they reformed it. Now it is under the

Bangalore railway division Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. The railway station currently has one functional line, the Bengaluru–Dharmapuri–Salem line. The other line, Dharmapuri–Morappur line, which was constructed in 1907 functioned for about 38 years and was removed by the Indian government. However again the line is under construction with electrification due to the necessity of the people in the district. This new line will connect the people of Dharmapuri district to Chennai directly. As well as this line is the alternative route for Bangalore–Chennai (via Dharmapuri). Dharmapuri has two more important railway stations viz. Morappur (MAP) and Bommidi (BQI) which comes under Southern Railway Salem Division. These stations connects

and

through

Katpadi Katpadi () is a locality in Vellore, at the northern part of Vellore city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its railway is located on the gauge line between Chennai-Bangalore and Villupuram-Tirupati. Politics and geography Once a village, Katp ...

Jolarpet Jolarpettai () is a railway town in Tirupattur district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a commuter rail hub in Southern Railway. It is 7 km from district Tirupattur and 18 km from Vaniyambadi. As of 2011, the town had a population of 29,6 ...

Junctions,

Airways

The nearest airport, Salem airport, is located in Salem at a distance of and nearest International airport is

Kempegowda International Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by Bengaluru Inte ...

, located in

Devanahalli Devanahalli, also called "Devandahalli", "Dyaavandalli", Devanadoddi, and Devanapura, is a town and Town Municipal Council in Bengaluru Rural district in the state of Karnataka in India. The town is located to the north-east of Bengaluru. Deva ...

, near

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

(Bangalore), at a distance of .