South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India,
consists of the peninsular southern part of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. It encompasses the
Indian states of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
,
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 Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, and
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...
, as well as the
union territories of
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
and
Puducherry, comprising 19.31% of India's area () and 20% of India's population. Covering the southern part of the
peninsular
Deccan Plateau
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by th ...
, South India is bounded by the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...
in the east, the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...
in the west and the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges – the
Western and
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 ...
– bordering the
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
heartland. The
Godavari
The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
,
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
,
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
,
Tungabhadra,
Periyar
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...
,
Bharathappuzha,
Pamba,
Thamirabarani
The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi dis ...
,
Palar
Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in the Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka state, and flows in Karnataka, in Andhra Pradesh and in Tamil Nadu before reaching its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur ab ...
, and
Vaigai
The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the ...
rivers are important
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...
rivers.
The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant im ...
:
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
...
,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
and
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
(all 4 of which are among the 6
Classical Languages of India). Some states and
union territories also recognize a minority language, such as
Deccani Urdu
Deccani (also known as Deccani Urdu and Deccani Hindi). https://knowledgehubadda.blogspot.com/2022/02/blog-post_74.html? m=1 or Dakni, Dakhni, Dakhini, Dakkhani and Dakkani (, ''dekanī'' or , ''dakhanī''), is a variety of Hindustani spoken ...
in
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...
, and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
in Puducherry. Besides these languages,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
is used by both the central and state governments for official communications and is used on all public signboards.
During its
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India, and the
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent across
southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
and
southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
Asia affected the history and culture in those regions. Major dynasties established in South India include the
Cheras,
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 ...
,
Pandyas,
Pallavas
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 f ...
,
Satavahanas,
Chalukyas
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...
,
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 the ...
,
Bahmani,
Deccan Sultanates,
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
,
Kakatiyas,
Kadambas,
Hoysalas,
Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited ...
,
Vijayanagara,
Maratha
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed a ...
,
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
,
Arakkal
Arakkal Kingdom was a Muslim kingdom in Kannur town in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, South India. The king was called Ali Raja and the ruling queen was called Arakkal Beevi. Arakkal kingdom included little more than the Cannanore ...
, and
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 o ...
.
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Saint Thomas Christian
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...
s,
Mappila Muslims
Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same n ...
, and
Europeans entered India through the southwestern
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...
of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
. Parts of South India were colonized under
Portuguese India,
French India and the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
. The
Hyderabad State ruled by the
Nizams was the last princely state of India.
South India witnessed sustained growth in per-capita income and population, structural changes in the economy, an increased pace of technological innovation. After experiencing fluctuations in the decades immediately after
Indian independence, the economies of South Indian states have registered a higher-than-national-average growth over the past three decades. South India has the
largest gross domestic product compared to other regions in India. The South Indian states lead in some
socio-economic
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their loc ...
metrics of India. The
HDI in the southern states is high and the economy has undergone growth at a faster rate than in most northern states.
Literacy rates in the southern states is higher than the national average, with approximately 81% of the population capable of reading and writing. The
fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she were ...
in South India is 1.9, the lowest of all regions in India.
Etymology
South India is also known as Peninsular India, and has been known by several other names too. The term "Deccan", referring to the area covered by the
Deccan Plateau
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by th ...
that covers most of peninsular India excluding the coastal areas, is an anglicised form of the
Prakrit word ''dakkhin'' derived from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
word ''dakshina'' meaning south.
''Carnatic'', derived from ''"Karnād"'' or ''"Karunād"'' meaning ''high country'', has also been associated with South India.
History
Historical references
Historical South India has been referred to as
Deccan, a
prakritic derivative of an ancient term 'Dakshin' or Dakshinapatha. The term had geographical as well as the geopolitical meaning and was mentioned as early as
Panini (500 BCE).
Ancient and Medieval era
Carbon dating shows that ash mounds associated with
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
cultures in South India date back to 8000 BCE. Artifacts such as ground stone axes and minor copper objects have been found in the Odisha region. Towards the beginning of 1000 BCE,
iron technology spread through the region; however, there does not appear to be a fully developed
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
preceding the Iron Age in South India.
The region was in the middle of a trade route that extended from
Muziris to
Arikamedu linking the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
to
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
. Trade with
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
,
Romans,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
,
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Syrians,
Jews, and
Chinese began during the
Sangam period
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. ...
(c. 3rd century BCE to c. 4th century CE). The region was part of the ancient
Silk Road connecting the
East with the
West.
Several dynasties – such as the
Cheras of
Karuvur
Karur () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur district. It is located on the banks of River Amaravathi, Kaveri and Noyyal.
Karur is well known for the export of Home Textile products to ...
, the
Pandyas of
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 i ...
, 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 ...
of
Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...
, the
Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited ...
s of
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...
, the
Travancore royal family of
Thiruvananthapuram, the
Kingdom of Cochin
The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...
, the
Mushikas
Mushika dynasty, also spelled Mushaka, was a minor dynastic power that held sway over the region in and around Mount Ezhi (Ezhimala) in present-day North Malabar, Kerala, India. The country of the Mushikas, ruled by an ancient lineage of the He ...
of
Kannur
Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...
, the
Satavahanas of
Amaravati, the
Pallavas
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 f ...
of
Kanchi
Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its templ ...
, the
Kadambas of
Banavasi, the
Western Gangas
Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (m ...
of
Kolar
Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple.
History
The Wes ...
, the
Rashtrakutas of
Manyakheta, the
Chalukyas
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...
of
Badami
Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from CE 540 to 757. It is famous for its rock cut monuments ...
, the
Hoysalas of
Belur, and the
Kakatiyas of
Orugallu – ruled over the region from the 6th century BCE to the 14th century CE. The
Vijayanagara 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 Mahar ...
, founded in the 14th century CE. was the last Indian dynasty to rule over the region. After repeated invasions from the
Sultanate of Delhi and the fall of Vijayanagara empire in 1646, the region was ruled by
Deccan Sultanates, the
Maratha Empire, and
polygars
Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, (as the British referred to them) in Tamil Nadu refers to the holder of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, ''palayam'' was given for valuable military services rendered by any in ...
and
Nayak governors of the Vijayanagara empire who declared their independence.
Colonial era
The Europeans arrived in the 15th century; and by the middle of the 18th century, the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and the
British were involved in a protracted struggle for military control over South India. After the defeat of
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...
in the
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799 and the end of the
Vellore Mutiny in 1806, the British consolidated their power over much of present-day South India, with the exception of
French Pondichéry. The
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
took control of the region from the British East India Company in 1857. During the British colonial rule, the region was divided into the
Madras Presidency,
Hyderabad State,
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 o ...
,
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
,
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
,
Jeypore, and a number of other minor
princely states. The region played a major role in the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...
: of the 72 delegates who participated in the first session of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
at Bombay in December 1885, 22 hailed from South India.
Post-independence
After the
independence of India in 1947, the region was organised into four states:
Madras State,
Mysore State,
Hyderabad State and
Travancore–Cochin
Travancore–Cochin, or Thiru–Kochi, was a short-lived state of India (1949–1956). It was originally called United State of Travancore and Cochin following the merger of two former kingdoms, Travancore and Cochin on 1 July 1949. Its origina ...
.
The
States Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines.
Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...
of 1956 reorganized the states on linguistic lines, resulting in the creation of the new states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. As a result of this Act, Madras State retained its name and
Kanyakumari district was added to it from the state of Travancore-Cochin.
The state was subsequently renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968.
Andhra Pradesh was created through the merger of
Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956.
The
Marathi-speaking
Marathwada region of
Hyderabad State was transferred to
Bombay State
Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding So ...
and ceased to be a part of South India. Kerala emerged from the merger of
Malabar district
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...
and the
Kasaragod taluk of
South Canara
South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas ...
districts of Madras State with Travancore–Cochin.
Mysore State was re-organised with the addition of the districts of
Bellary and South Canara (excluding Kasaragod ''taluk'') and the
Kollegal taluk of
Coimbatore district from Madras State; the districts of
Belgaum,
Bijapur
Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...
,
North Canara, and
Dharwad
Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...
from
Bombay State
Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding So ...
; the Kannada-majority districts of
Bidar,
Raichur, and
Gulbarga from the Hyderabad State; and the province of
Coorg.
Mysore State was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. The
Union territory of Puducherry was created in 1954, comprising the previous
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
enclaves of Pondichérry,
Karaikal
Karaikal ( /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occa ...
,
Yanam, and
Mahé. The
Laccadive Islands
The Laccadive or Cannanore Islands are one of the three island subgroups in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is the central subgroup of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Amindivi Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel n ...
, which were divided between South Canara and the Malabar districts of Madras State, were united and organised into the union territory of
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
.
Goa was created as a union territory by taking military actions against the Portuguese by the government of India, later it has been declared as a state due to its drastic growth. Telangana was created on 2 June 2014 by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh; and it comprises ten districts of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh.
Geography
South India is a
peninsula in the shape of an inverted triangle bound by the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...
on the west, by the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...
on the east and the
Vindhya
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
and
Satpura
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and ...
ranges on the north. The
Narmada river flows westwards in the depression between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, which define the northern spur of the
Deccan plateau
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by th ...
. The
Western Ghats run parallel to the Arabian Sea along the western coast and the narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea forms the
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
region. The Western Ghats continue south until
Kanyakumari. The
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 ...
run parallel to the Bay of Bengal along the eastern coast and the strip of land between them forms the
Coromandel region. Both mountain ranges meet at the
Nilgiri mountains. The Nilgiris run in a crescent approximately along the borders of Tamil Nadu with northern Kerala and Karnataka, encompassing the
Palakkad
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...
and
Wayanad hills and the
Sathyamangalam ranges, extending to the relatively low-lying hills of the Eastern Ghats on the western portion of the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border, forming the
Tirupati and
Annamalai hills
Arunachala (IAST: , 'Red Mountain') is a hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, and one of the five main Shaiva holy places in South India. The Arunachalesvara Temple to Shiva is located at the base of the hill. The hill is also known by the nam ...
.
The low-lying
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...
islands of
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
are situated off the southwestern coast of India. The
Andaman and Nicobar islands lie far off the eastern coast. The
Palk Strait and the chain of low sandbars and islands known as
Rama's Bridge separate the region from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, which lies off the southeastern coast. The southernmost tip of mainland India is at
Kanyakumari where the Indian Ocean meets the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
The Deccan plateau is the elevated region bound by the mountain ranges. The plateau rises to in the north and to more than in the south, forming a raised triangle within the downward-pointing triangle of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
's coastline. It also slopes gently from West to East resulting in major rivers arising in the Western Ghats and flowing east into the Bay of Bengal. The volcanic
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
beds of the Deccan were laid down in the massive
Deccan Traps eruption, which occurred towards the end of the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
period, between 67 and 66 million years ago. Layer after layer was formed by the volcanic activity that lasted 30,000 years; and when the volcanoes became extinct, they left a region of highlands with typically vast stretches of flat areas on top like a table. The plateau is watered by the east-flowing
Godavari
The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
,
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
,
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
, and
Vaigai
The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the ...
rivers. The major tributaries include the
Pennar,
Tungabhadra,
Bhavani, and
Thamirabarani
The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi dis ...
rivers.
Climate
The region has a
tropical climate and depends on monsoons for rainfall. According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
, it has a non-
arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...
climate with minimum mean temperatures of . The most humid is the
tropical monsoon climate characterized by moderate to high year-round temperatures and seasonally heavy rainfall above per year. The tropical climate is experienced in a strip of south-western lowlands abutting the
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...
, the Western Ghats; the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar are also subject to this climate.
A
tropical wet and dry climate, drier than areas with a tropical monsoon climate, prevails over most of the inland peninsular region except for a semi-arid
rain shadow east of the Western Ghats. Winter and early summer are long dry periods with temperatures averaging above ; summer is exceedingly hot with temperatures in low-lying areas exceeding ; and the rainy season lasts from June to September, with annual rainfall averaging between across the region. Once the dry northeast monsoon begins in September, most precipitation in India falls in Tamil Nadu, leaving other states comparatively dry. A
hot semi-arid climate predominates in the land east of the Western Ghats and the
Cardamom Hills. The region – which includes Karnataka, inland Tamil Nadu and western Andhra Pradesh – gets between of rainfall annually, with hot summers and dry winters with temperatures around . The months between March and May are hot and dry, with mean monthly temperatures hovering around , with precipitation. Without artificial irrigation, this region is not suitable for agriculture.
The
southwest monsoon from June to September accounts for most of the rainfall in the region. The Arabian Sea branch of the southwest monsoon hits the Western Ghats along the coastal state of Kerala and moves northward along the
Konkan coast, with precipitation on coastal areas west of the Western Ghats. The lofty Western Ghats prevent the winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau; hence, the leeward region (the region deprived of winds) receives very little rainfall. The Bay of Bengal branch of the southwest monsoon heads toward northeast India, picking up moisture from the Bay of Bengal. The
Coramandel coast does not receive much rainfall from the southwest monsoon, due to the shape of the land.
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 Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
and southeast
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
receive rains from the northeast monsoon. The northeast monsoon takes place from November to early March, when the surface
high-pressure system is strongest. The
North Indian Ocean tropical cyclones occur throughout the year in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, bringing devastating winds and heavy rainfall.
Flora and fauna
There is a wide diversity of plants and animals in South India, resulting from its varied climates and geography.
Deciduous forests
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
are found along the Western Ghats while
tropical dry forests
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...
and
scrub lands are common in the interior Deccan plateau. The southern Western Ghats have rain forests located at high altitudes called the
South Western Ghats montane rain forests, and the
Malabar Coast moist forests are found on the coastal plains.
The Western Ghats is one of the eight hottest
biodiversity hotspots in the world and a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
.
Important ecological regions of South India are the
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve – located at the conjunction of Karnataka, Kerala and, Tamil Nadu in the
Nilgiri Hills – and the
Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve - located at the conjunction of Kerala and, Tamil Nadu in the
Agastya Mala hills - and the
Cardamom Hills of
Western Ghats. Bird sanctuaries – including
Thattekad,
Kadalundi,
Vedanthangal
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is a protected area located in the Madurantakam taluk of the Chengalpattu District in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The sanctuary is about from Chennai on National Highway 45 ( H45. It is easily reachable fro ...
,
Ranganathittu,
Kumarakom,
Neelapattu, and
Pulicat
Pulicat or Pazhaverkadu is a historic seashore town in Chennai Metropolitan Area at Thiruvallur District, of Tamil Nadu state, India. It is about north of Chennai and from Elavur, on the southern periphery of the Pulicat Lake. Pulicat lake i ...
– are home to numerous migratory and local birds.
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
has been declared a bird sanctuary by the
Wildlife Institute of India
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India.
WII carries out wildlife research in areas of stu ...
.
Other protected ecological sites include the
mangrove forests of
Pichavaram, and the
backwaters of Pulicat lake, in Tamil Nadu; and
Vembanad
Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...
,
Ashtamudi,
Paravur, and
Kayamkulam lakes in Kerala. The
Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,500 km
2 of ocean, islands and the adjoining coastline including
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...
s,
salt marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...
es and mangroves. It is home to
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
aquatic species, including
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the b ...
s,
dugongs,
whales and
sea cucumbers.
South India is home to one of the largest populations of endangered
Bengal tigers
The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The tiger is estimated to have been present i ...
and
Indian elephants
The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of four extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia.
Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild po ...
in India, being home to one-third of the tiger population and more than half of the elephant population, with 14
Project Tiger
Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, prote ...
reserves and 11
Project Elephant reserves. Elephant populations are found in eight fragmented sites in the region: in northern Karnataka, along the Western Ghats, in
Bhadra–
Malnad, in
Brahmagiri–
Nilgiris–
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 ...
, in
Nilambur–
Silent Valley–
Coimbatore, in
Anamalai–
Parambikulam
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...
, in
Periyar
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...
–
Srivilliputhur
Srivilliputhur (), is a Municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Srivilliputhur is 11-tiered tower structure dedicated to the Vata ...
, and in
Agasthyamalai Other threatened and endangered species found in the region include the
grizzled giant squirrel,
grey slender loris,
sloth bear,
Nilgiri tahr,
Nilgiri langur,
lion-tailed macaque, and the
Indian leopard.
Transport
Road
South India has an extensive road network with of
National Highways and of
State Highways. The
Golden Quadrilateral connects Chennai with Mumbai via Bangalore, and with Kolkata via Visakhapatnam. Bus services are provided by state-run transport corporations, namely the
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Nehru bus station of ...
,
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation,
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation,
Telangana State Road Transport Corporation,
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ...
, and
Puducherry Road Transport Corporation.
Rail
The
Great Southern of India Railway Company was founded in England in 1853 and registered in 1859. Construction of track in the Madras Presidency began in 1859 and the link from
Trichinopoly to
Negapatam and a link from
Tirur to the
Port of Beypore at
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...
on the
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...
, which eventually got expanded into the
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...
-
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 ...
line via
Palakkad Gap were opened in 1861.
The Carnatic Railway Company was founded in 1864 and opened a Madras–
Arakkonam–
Conjeevaram–Katpadi junction line in 1865. These two companies subsequently merged in 1874 to form the South Indian Railway Company. In 1880, the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
, established by the
British, built a railway network radiating from
Madras. In 1879, the
Madras Railway
The Madras Railway (full name Madras Railway Company) played a pioneering role in developing railways in southern India and was merged in 1908 with Southern Mahratta Railway to form Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway.
The Madras Railway was ...
constructed a line from
Royapuram to Bangalore; and the Maharaja of Mysore established the
Mysore State Railway to build an extension from Bangalore to
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 o ...
. In order to get access to the west coast, Malabar region of the country through
Port of Quilon
Kollam Port is one of the historic ports situated away from Downtown Kollam (formerly Quilon),14 km north of Paravur and 24 km north of Varkala Town It is the second largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled and facilities. L ...
, Maharajah
Uthram Thirunal
Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma (26 September 1814 – 18 August 1860) was the Maharajah of Travancore state in southern India, succeeding his elder brother Maharajah Swathi Thirunal in 1846 till his demise in 1860. Known for his progress ...
of
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
built the
Quilon-Madras rail line jointly with the
South Indian Railway Company and the
Madras Presidency. The
Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was founded on 1 January 1908 by merging the Madras Railway and the
Southern Mahratta Railway.
On 14 April 1951, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway were merged to form the
Southern Railway, in the
first zone of
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...
. The
South Central zone was created on 2 October 1966 as the ninth zone of Indian Railways and the
South Western zone was created on 1 April 2003. Most of the region is covered by the three zones, with small portions of the coasts covered by
East Coast Railway and
Konkan Railway
The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...
, In 2019, the
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
announced the formation of the
South Coast Railway zone in the southeast, with headquarters at
Visakhapatnam.
Metro rail is operated by
Namma Metro
Namma Metro ("Our Metro" in Kannada), also known as Bengaluru Metro, is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bengaluru, India. Upon its inauguration, it became the first underground metro system in South India. Namma Metro has a mix of u ...
in Bangalore,
Chennai Metro in Chennai,
Kochi Metro in Kochi and
Hyderabad Metro in Hyderabad.
Chennai MRTS provides suburban rail services in
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 ...
and was the first elevated railway line in India. Hyderabad
MMTS provides the suburban rail services in the city of Hyderabad.
The
Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
.
Air
Quilon Aerodrome
Quilon Aerodrome or Kollam Airport was an aerodrome in the city of Kollam in the former state of Travancore, now in Kerala, India. During the 1920s, there were no other civil aerodromes in the kingdoms of Cochin, Travancore and the Malabar Distr ...
at
Kollam, was established under the kingdom of
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
in 1920, but it was closed in 1932. In March 1930, a discussion initiated by pilot G. Vlasto led to the founding of the
Madras Flying Club, which became a pioneer in pilot training in South India. On 15 October 1932, Indian aviator
J. R. D. Tata
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French- Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group.
Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy ...
flew a
Puss Moth aircraft carrying mail from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
to
Juhu aerodrome,
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
; and the aircraft continued to
Madras, piloted by Neville Vincent, a former
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
pilot and friend of Tata.
Kannur
Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...
had an airstrip used for commercial aviation as early as 1935 when
Tata airlines operated weekly flights between
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
and
Thiruvananthapuram – stopping at
Goa and Kannur.
Chennai International Airport and
Trivandrum International Airport, both inaugurated in 1932 and now managed by the
Airport Authority of India, are among the oldest existing airports in South India.
There are 11
international airports, 2
customs airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...
s, 15 domestic airports, and 11
air bases in South India.
Bengaluru,
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 ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
, and
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
international airports are amongst the 10 busiest in the country.
Chennai International Airport serves as the Southern Regional Headquarters of the
Airports Authority of India
The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...
, the Southern Region comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, and the union territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
The
Southern Air Command of the
Indian Air Force is headquartered at
Thiruvananthapuram, and the
Training Command is headquartered at
Bengaluru. The Air Force operates eleven air bases in Southern India including two in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In the region, the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
operates airbases at
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
,
Arakkonam,
Uchipuli
Uchipuli or Uchippuli is a locality in the Mandapam block of Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a major source of water supply for the Ramanathapuram town. An Indian Navy air station, INS Parundu, is located near Uchipuli.
Tr ...
,
Vizag,
Campbell Bay, and
Diglipur.
Restricted international airport
Water
A total of 89 ports are situated along the southern seacoast: Andaman and Nicobar (23), Kerala (17), Tamil Nadu (15), Andhra Pradesh (12), Karanataka(10), Lakshadweep (10), Pondicherry (2). Major ports include those at
Visakhapatnam,
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 ...
,
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...
,
Tuticorin,
Ennore,
Kakinada
Kakinada ( formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the sixth largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the district headquarters of the Kakinada District. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. J. ...
, and
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
.
The
Kerala backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes, and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways. In the midst of this landscape, there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and endpoints of transportation services and backwater cruises.
Vizhinjam International Seaport
The Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, also known as the Vizhinjam Port is an under-construction port on the Arabian Sea coast at city of Trivandrum . Developed in three phases, the first phase is expected to get completed ...
also called The Port of
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its List of renamed Indian cities and states, former name Trivandrum (), is the Capital city, capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as ...
is a mother port under construction on the Arabian Sea at Vizhinjam in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its List of renamed Indian cities and states, former name Trivandrum (), is the Capital city, capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as ...
, India. Once completed, it is estimated that this port will handle over 40% of India's
transshipments, thereby reducing the country's reliance on ports at
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
,
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
.
The
Eastern Naval Command and
Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy are headquartered at
Visakhapatnam and
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
, respectively. In the region, the Indian Navy has its major operational bases at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kochi, Karwar, and Kavaratti.
Economy
After independence, the economy of South India conformed to a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
framework, with strict governmental control over
private sector participation,
foreign trade, and
foreign direct investment. From 1960 to 1990, the South Indian economies experienced mixed economic growth. In the 1960s, Kerala achieved above-average growth while Andhra Pradesh's economy declined. Kerala experienced an economic decline in the 1970s while the economies of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh consistently exceeded national average growth rates, due to
reform-oriented economic policies. As of March 2015, there are 109 operational
Special Economic Zones in South India, which is about 60% of the country's total.
As of 2019–20, the total
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
of the region is ₹67 trillion (US$946 billion).
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 Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
has the
second-highest GDP and is the second-most industrialised state in the country after
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
. With the presence of two major ports, an international airport, and a converging road and rail networks, Chennai is referred to as the "Gateway of South India."
Over 48% of South India's population is engaged in agriculture, which is largely dependent on seasonal monsoons. Frequent droughts have left farmers debt-ridden, forcing them to sell their livestock and sometimes to commit suicide. Some of the main crops cultivated in South India include
paddy
Paddy may refer to:
People
*Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname
*An ethnic slur for an Irishman
Birds
*Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon
* Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species
*Black-faced s ...
,
sorghum,
pearl millet, pulses,
ragi,
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
,
mangoes,
chilli, and
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
. The staple food is rice; the delta regions of Godavari,
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
, and
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
are among the top rice producing areas in the country.
Areca nut,
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
,
tea,
turmeric and other
spices, and
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
are cultivated in the hills, the region accounting for 92% of the total
coffee production in India.
Other major agricultural products include
poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...
and
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
.
South India's urban centres are significant contributors to the Indian and global economy. According to the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershir ...
, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad are the South Indian cities most integrated with the global economy. Bengaluru is classified as an
alpha world city, while Chennai and Hyderabad are beta world cities.
Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram are amongst the major information technology (IT) hubs of India, with Bengaluru known as the
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...
of India.
[
*
*
* ] The presence of these hubs has spurred economic growth and attracted foreign investments and job seekers from other parts of the country. Software exports from South India grossed over in fiscal 2005–06.
Salem Steel Plant
Salem Steel Plant (SSP), a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is a steel plant involved in the production of stainless steel. It is located along the Salem — Bangalore National Highway 44 in the foothills of Kanjamalai in Salem ...
(SSP), a unit of
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is a
steel plant
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finished ...
involved in the production of
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's r ...
.
It is located along the
Salem —
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 ...
National Highway 44 in the foothills of
Kanjamalai in
Salem district,
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 Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, India.
The plant has an installed capacity of 70,000 tonnes per annum in its cold rolling mill and 3,64,000 tonnes per annum in the hot rolling mill.
It also has the country's first stainless steel blanking facility.
Chennai, known as the "
Detroit of Asia", accounts for about 35% of India's overall automotive components and automobile output. Coimbatore supplies two-thirds of India's requirements of motors and pumps, and is one of the largest exporters of
wet grinder
A wet grinder can refer either to a tool for abrasive cutting of hard materials or to a food preparation appliance used especially in Indian cuisine for grinding food grains to produce a paste or batter. A wet grinder for abrasive cutting uses ...
s and
auto components, as well as jewellery.
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
is emerging as another automobile manufacturing hub.
Another major industry is textiles with the region being home to nearly 60% of the fiber textile mills in India.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
contributes significantly to the GDP of the region, with three states – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana – among the top 10 states for tourist arrivals, accounting for more than 50% of domestic tourist visits.
Demographics
As per the
2011 census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Informatio ...
, the estimated population of South India was 252 million, around one fifth of the total population of the country. The region's
total fertility rate (TFR) was less than the
population replacement level of 2.1 for all states, with Kerala and Tamil Nadu having the lowest TFRs in India at 1.7. As a result, from 1981 to 2011 the proportion of the population of South India to India's total population has declined. The population density of the region is approximately 463 per square kilometer.
Scheduled Castes and Tribes form 18% of the population of the region. Agriculture is the major employer in the region, with 47.5% of the population being involved in agrarian activities. About 60% of the population lives in permanent housing structures. 67.8% of South India has access to tap water, with wells and springs being major sources of water supply.
After experiencing fluctuations in the decades immediately after the independence of India, the economies of South Indian states have, over the past three decades, registered growth higher than the national average. While South Indian states have improved in some of the
socio-economic
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their loc ...
metrics,
poverty continues to affect the region as it does the rest of the country, although it has considerably decreased over the years. Based on the 2011 census, the
HDI in the southern states is high, and the economy has grown at a faster rate than those of most northern states.
As per the 2011 census, the average
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
in South India is approximately 80%, considerably higher than the Indian national average of 74%, with Kerala having the highest literacy rate of 93.91%.
South India has the highest
sex ratio
The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...
with Kerala and Tamil Nadu being the top two states. The South Indian states rank amongst the top 10 in
economic freedom,
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
,
access to drinking water,
house ownership, and
TV ownership. The
poverty rate is at 19% while that in the other Indian states is at 38%. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
is , which is more than double of the other Indian states (). Of the three demographically related targets of the
Millennium Development Goals set by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
and expected to be achieved by 2015, Kerala and Tamil Nadu achieved the goals related to improvement of maternal health and of reducing infant mortality and child mortality by 2009.
Languages
The largest linguistic group in South India is the
Dravidian family of languages, of approximately 73 languages. The major languages spoken include
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
, and
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
.
Tulu
Tulu may refer to:
People
*Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner
*Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu"
India
*Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...
is spoken by about 1.5 million people in coastal Kerala and Karnataka;
Konkani, an
Indo-Aryan language, is spoken by around 0.8 million people in the Konkan coast (Canara) and Kerala;
Kodava Takk
The Kodava (''Kodava takk'', meaning 'speech of Kodavas', in the Kodava language, alternate name: Coorgi, Kodagu) is an endangered Dravidian language and it is spoken in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has ...
is spoken by more than half a million people in Kodagu, Mysore, and Bangalore. English is also widely spoken in urban areas of South India.
Deccani Urdu
Deccani (also known as Deccani Urdu and Deccani Hindi). https://knowledgehubadda.blogspot.com/2022/02/blog-post_74.html? m=1 or Dakni, Dakhni, Dakhini, Dakkhani and Dakkani (, ''dekanī'' or , ''dakhanī''), is a variety of Hindustani spoken ...
is spoken by around 12 million
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 Abrah ...
in southern India. Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Konkani, and Deccani Urdu are listed among the 22
official languages of India
There is no national language in India. However, article 343(1) of the Indian constitution specifically mentions that, "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official pur ...
as per the Official Languages Act (1963). Tamil was the first language to be granted
classical language
A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of th ...
status by the Government of India in 2004. Other major languages declared classical are Kannada (in 2008),
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
...
(in 2008), and Malayalam (in 2013) These four languages have literary outputs larger than other
literary languages of India.
Religion
Evidence of
prehistoric religion in South India comes from scattered
Mesolithic rock paintings depicting dances and rituals, such as the
Kupgal petroglyphs
The Kupgal petroglyphs are works of rock art found at Kupgal in Bellary district of Karnataka, India. Thousands of petroglyphs have been found at Kupgal, which date to the neolithic or even the old stone age. The site, which includes examples of ...
of eastern Karnataka, at
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...
sites.
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
is the major religion today in South India, with about 84% of the population adhering to it, which is often regarded as the oldest religion in the world, tracing its roots to prehistoric times in India. Its spiritual traditions include both the
Shaivite and
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as th ...
branches of Hinduism, although
Buddhist
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 ...
and
Jain
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 ...
philosophies were influential several centuries earlier.
Ayyavazhi has spread significantly across the southern parts of South India.
Shaiva Siddhanta
Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...
philosophy is prominent among many communities.
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
developed as an amalgam of pre-Vedic religions and traditions derived from the southern
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
Dravidian
Shaiva Siddhanta
Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...
traditions and philosophies, which were assimilated in the non-Vedic Shiva-tradition. The religious history of South India is influenced by Hinduism quite notably during the medieval century. The twelve
Alvars (saint-poets of Vaishnavite tradition) and sixty-three
Nayanars
The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were d ...
(saint poets of Shaivite tradition) are regarded as exponents of the ''bhakti'' tradition of Hinduism in South India. Most of them came from the Tamil region and the last of them lived in the 9th century CE.
About 11% of the population follow
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
, which was introduced to South India in the early 7th century by
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders on the Malabar Coast, and spread during the rule of the Deccan Sultanates, from the 17th to 18th centuries. Muslims of Arab descent in Kerala are called
Jonaka Mappila.
About 4% follow
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
. According to tradition, Christianity was introduced to South India by
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...
, who visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 CE and proselytized natives, who are called
Nazrani Mappila.
Kerala is also home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, who are supposed to have arrived on the Malabar coast during the reign of
King Solomon.
Administration
South India consists of the five southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as the union territories of Puducherry, and Lakshadweep. Puducherry and the five states each have an elected state government, while Lakshadweep is
centrally administered by the
president of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...
. Each state is headed by a
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
who is appointed by the President of India and who names the leader of the state legislature's ruling party or
coalition as
chief minister, who is the head of the state government.
Each state or territory is further divided into
districts, which are further subdivided into revenue divisions and ''
taluk
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
''s / ''
Mandal''s or ''tehsil''s.
Local bodies govern respective cities, towns, and villages, along with an elected
mayor,
municipal chairman, or
panchayat chairman, respectively.
States
* Andhra Pradesh was divided into two states, Telangana and a residual Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
, located entirely within the borders of Telangana, is to serve as joint capital for both states for a period of time not exceeding ten years.
Union territories
Legislative representation
South India elects 132
members to the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
, accounting for roughly one-fourth of the total strength.
The region is allocated 58 seats in the
Rajya Sabha, out of the total of 245.
The
state legislatures of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
, while Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana have
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...
legislatures.
States with bicameral legislatures have an upper house (
Legislative Council) with members not more than one-third the size of the Assembly. State legislatures elect members for terms of five years.
Governors may suspend or dissolve assemblies and can administer when no party is able to form a government.
Politics
Politics in South India is characterized by a mix of regional and national political parties. The
Justice Party and
Swaraj Party
The Swaraj Party, established as the ''Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party'', was a political party formed in India on 1 January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922 of the National Congress, that sought greater self-government and ...
were the two major parties in the erstwhile Madras Presidency.
The Justice Party eventually lost the
1937 elections to the Indian National Congress, and
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari became the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the
Self-Respect Movement, spearheaded by
Theagaroya Chetty
Sir Pitti Theagaraya Chetty KCSI (27 April 1852 – 28 April 1925) was an Indian lawyer, industrialist and a prominent political leader from the erstwhile Madras province. He was one of the founders of the Justice Party in 1916 along with C. N ...
and
E. V. Ramaswamy (commonly known as Periyar), emerged in the Madras Presidency. In 1944, Periyar transformed the party into a social organisation, renaming the party
Dravidar Kazhagam
Dravidar Kazhagam is a social movement founded by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, also called Thanthai Periyar. Its original goals were to eradicate the ills of the existing caste system including untouchability and on a grander scale to obtain a " ...
, and withdrew from electoral politics. The initial aim was the secession of
Dravida Nadu from the rest of India upon Indian independence. After independence,
C. N. Annadurai, a follower of Periyar, formed the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...
(DMK) in 1948. The
Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu
The anti-Hindi-imposition agitations in Tamil Nadu were a series of agitations that happened in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras State and part of Madras Presidency) during both pre- and post-independence periods. The agitatio ...
led to the rise of Dravidian parties that formed Tamil Nadu's first government, in 1967. In 1972, a split in the DMK resulted in the formation of the
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led by
M. G. Ramachandran.
Dravidian parties continue to dominate Tamil Nadu electoral politics, the national parties usually aligning as junior partners to the major Dravidian parties, AIADMK and DMK.
Indian National Congress dominated the political scene in Tamil Nadu in the 1950s and 1960s under the leadership of
K. Kamaraj
Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...
, who led the party after the death of
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India du ...
and ensured the selection of Prime Ministers
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
and
Indira Gandhi. Congress continues to be a major party in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. The party ruled with minimal opposition for 30 years in Andhra Pradesh, before the formation of the
Telugu Desam Party
The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has foc ...
by
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao in 1982. Two prominent coalitions in Kerala are the
United Democratic Front, led by the Indian National Congress, and the
Left Democratic Front
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the ...
, led by the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...
. For the past fifty years, these two coalitions have been alternately in power; and
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. ...
, the first elected chief minister of Kerala in 1957, is credited as the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world. The
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
and
Janata Dal (Secular) are significant parties in Karnataka.
C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General of India post independence, was from South India. The region has produced six Indian presidents, namely,
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
V. V. Giri,
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy,
R. Venkataraman,
K. R. Narayanan, and
APJ Abdul Kalam.
Prime ministers P. V. Narasimha Rao
Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian lawyer, statesman and politician who served as the 9th prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He is known for introducing various liberal reforms to Indi ...
and
H. D. Deve Gowda
Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (; born 18 May 1933 in) is an Indian politician from the state of Karnataka. He served as the 11th prime minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He was previously the 14th Chief Minister of Karn ...
were from the region.
Culture and heritage
Clothing
South Indian women traditionally wear a ''
sari'', a garment that consists of a drape varying from to in length and to in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff, as according to Indian philosophy, the navel is considered as the source of life and creativity.
Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the ''
Silappadhikaram'', describes women in exquisite drapery or sari.
Madisar is a typical style worn by Brahmin women from Tamil Nadu. Women wear colourful
silk sarees on special occasions such as marriages.
The men wear a ''
dhoti'', a long, white rectangular piece of non-stitched cloth often bordered in brightly coloured stripes. It is usually wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted at the waist. A colourful ''
lungi'' with typical
batik patterns is the most common form of male attire in the countryside.
People in urban areas generally wear tailored clothing, and western dress is popular. Western-style school uniforms are worn by both boys and girls in schools, even in rural areas.
Calico, a
plain-woven textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...
made from unbleached, and often not fully processed,
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
, was originated at
Calicut
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...
(Kozhikode), from which the name of the textile came, in South India, now
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
, during the 11th century, where the cloth was known as ''Chaliyan''. The raw fabric was dyed and printed in bright hues, and
calico prints later became popular in the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
Cuisine
Rice is the diet staple, while fish is an integral component of coastal South Indian meals.
Coconut and spices are used extensively in South Indian cuisine. The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes comprising rice,
legumes, and
lentil
The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest p ...
s. Its distinct aroma and flavour is achieved by the blending of
flavouring
A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gus ...
s and spices, including
curry leaves,
mustard seeds,
coriander,
ginger,
garlic,
chili,
pepper,
cinnamon,
cloves,
green cardamom,
cumin,
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
, coconut, and
rosewater.
The traditional way of eating a meal involves being seated on the floor, having the food served on a
banana leaf, and using clean fingers of the right hand to take the food into the mouth. After the meal, the fingers are washed; the easily degradable banana leaf is discarded or becomes fodder for cattle. Eating on banana leaves is a custom thousands of years old, imparts a unique flavor to the food, and is considered healthy.
''
Idli'', ''
dosa
Dosa may refer to:
People
* Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor
* Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete
* Dosa ben Harkinas
* Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher
* Dosa or Dossa Júnior
* Edward Dosa-Wea Neufv ...
'', ''
uthappam
An uttapam (or uthapam, uttappam, etc.) is a type of dosa from South India. Unlike a typical dosa, which is crisp and crepe-like, an uttapam is thicker, with toppings. The name is derived from the Tamil words ''appam'' and ''utthia'' or ''uttr ...
'', ''
Pesarattu'', ''
appam'', ''
pongal Pongal may refer to:
* Pongal (festival), an annual Tamil festival
* Pongal (dish)
Pongal, also known as pongali or huggi, is an Indian rice dish. In Tamil, "pongal" means "boil" or "bubbling up". The two varieties of pongal are ''chakarai pong ...
'', and ''
paniyaram
Paniyaram ( ml, പനിയാരം) is an Indian dish made by steaming batter using a mould. It is named variously paddu, guliyappa, yeriyappa, gundponglu ( kn, ಪಡ್ಡು, ಗುಳಿಯಪ್ಪ, ಎರಿಯಪ್ಪ), kuzhi paniyar ...
'' are popular breakfast dishes in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. Rice is served with ''
sambar'', ''
rasam'', and ''
poriyal'' for lunch.
Andhra cuisine is characterised by
pickles and spicy
curries. Famous dishes are ''
Pesarattu'', ''
Ulava charu'', ''
Bobbatlu'', ''
Pootharekulu
Pootharekulu (plural) or poothareku (singular) is a popular Indian sweet from the Andhra Pradesh state of south-east India. The sweet is wrapped in a wafer-thin rice starch layer resembling paper and is stuffed with sugar, dry fruits and nuts. T ...
'', and ''
Gongura''.
Chettinad cuisine is famous for its non-vegetarian items, and
Hyderabadi cuisine is popular for its ''
biryani''. ''
Neer dosa'', ''
Chitranna'', ''
Ragi mudde
Ragi mudde, ragi sangati or kali, colloquially simply referred to as either (which means 'lump') or '','' i.e. 'flour'); is a wholesome meal in the state of Karnataka and the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. It is mainly popular with th ...
'', ''
Maddur vada
Maddur vada, also known as Maddur vade ( kn, ಮದ್ದೂರು ವಡೆ) (pronounced "ma-ddur vah-daa", "ma-ddur vah-dey"), is a savoury fritter-type snack from South India. The snack derives its name from the town of Maddur which is in the ...
'', ''
Mysore pak'', ''
Obbattu
Puran puri (પુરણ પુરી), Puran poli (पुरण पोळी), Holige (ಹೋಳಿಗೆ), Obbattu (ಒಬ್ಬಟ್ಟು), or Bobbattlu (బొబ్బట్టు) , Poley( పోళె) , Bakshamulu( బక్ష్� ...
'', ''
Bisi Bele Bath'', ''
Mangalore buns'', ''
Kesari bat
Kesari bat or kesari baat ( kn, ಕೇಸರಿ ಬಾತ್) is a sweet Indian food that is common throughout the country. The classic ingredients used for its preparation are semolina, sugar, ghee (usually), water, and milk. The sweet is more com ...
'', ''
Akki rotti'' and ''
Dharwad pedha'' are famous cuisines of Karnataka.
Udupi Cuisine, which originates from
Udupi located in the Coastal
Kanara region of Karnataka is famous for its vegetarian dishes.
Coconut is native to Southern India and spread to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...
, and
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
through the southwestern
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...
of South India over the centuries. Coconut of Indian origin was brought to the Americas by Portuguese merchants.
Black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...
is also native to the
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, and the
Malabar pepper is extensively cultivated there. During classical era,
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
,
Egyptians,
Romans, and
Chinese were attracted by the
spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
s including
Cinnamon and
Black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...
from the ancient port of
Muziris in the
southwestern coast of India.
During
Middle Ages prior to the
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafa ...
which began with the end of the 15th century CE, the kingdom of
Calicut
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...
(Kozhikode) on
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...
was the centre of Indian
pepper exports to the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
at this time
[''Foundations of the Portuguese empire, hi lo millo1415–1580'' Bailey Wallys Diffie p.234''ff']
/ref> with Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
ian and Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders being particularly active. The Thalassery cuisine
The Thalassery cuisine refers to the distinct cuisine from Thalassery town of northern Kerala, which has blended in Arabian, Persian, Indian and European styles of cooking as a result of its long history as a maritime trading post.
Thalasser ...
, a style of cuisine originated in the Northern Kerala over centuries, makes use of such spices.
Music and dance
The traditional music of South India is known as Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...
, which includes rhythmic and structured music by composers such as Purandara Dasa
Purandara Dasa ( IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-pr ...
, Kanaka Dasa, Tyagayya
Thyagaraja ( Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...
, Annamacharya
Tallapaka Annamacharya (Telugu : తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య) (IAST: taḷḷapāka annamācārya; 22 May 1408 – 4 April 1503), also popularly known as Annamayya, was a 15th-century Hindu saint and the ea ...
, Baktha Ramadasu, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Shyama Shastri, Kshetrayya
Kshetrayya ( Telugu:క్షేత్రయ్య) (–1680) was a prolific Telugu poet. He lived in the area of Andhra Pradesh in South India. He composed a number of ''padams'' and ''keertanas'', the prevalent formats of his time. He is c ...
, Mysore Vasudevachar, and Swathi Thirunal. The main instrument that is used in South Indian Hindu temples is the '' nadaswaram'', a reed instrument that is often accompanied by the thavil, a type of drum instrument.
South India is home to several distinct dance forms such as Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
, Kuchipudi, Andhra Natyam, Kathakali, Kerala Natanam
Kerala Natanam (കേരള നടനം) (Kerala Dance) is a new style of dance that is now recognised as a distinct art form evolved from Kathakali, a form of Indian dance-drama. The Indian dancer Guru Gopinath (ഗുരു ഗോപിന ...
, Koodiyattam, Margamkali, Mohiniaattam, Oppana, Ottamthullal, Theyyam
Theyyam (/ t̪eːjjəm/; romanised: ''teyyam'') are Hindu ritualistic dance forms practiced in northern Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is also known as Kaḷiyāṭṭaṁ or Tiṟa. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and c ...
, Vilasini Natyam, and Yakshagana. The dance, clothing, and sculptures of South India exemplify the beauty of the body and motherhood.
Cinema
Films done in regional languages are prevalent in South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
, with several regional cinemas being recognized: Kannada cinema
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' direct ...
(Karnataka), Malayalam cinema (Kerala), Tamil cinema (Tamil Nadu), and Telugu cinema (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana). The first silent film in South India, '' Keechaka Vadham'', was made by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1916. Mudaliar also established Madras's first film studio. The first Tamil talkie, ''Kalidas
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and th ...
'', was released on 31 October 1931, barely seven months after India's first talking picture, ''Alam Ara
''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a ''fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...
''.
Swamikannu Vincent
Samikannu Vincent (18 April 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a cinema exhibitor turned theatre owner. His first theatre was Variety Hall (now Delite theatre) in Coimbatore in 1914. He was a pioneer in making movies, popular in Madras presidency and ...
built the first cinema studio of South India, at Coimbatore, introducing the "tent cinema", which he first established in Madras and which was known as "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". Filmmakers K Balachandar, Balu Mahendra, Bharathiraaja
Bharathiraja (born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with ''16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of rural life in his films. ...
, and Mani Ratnam
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...
in Tamil cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun (born 1 January 1952) is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film ''Piravi'' (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Kerala ...
, John Abraham, and G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmak ...
in Malayalam cinema; Girish Kasaravalli , Girish Karnad and P. Sheshadri
Pattabhiramaiah Sheshadri (born 23 November 1963) is an Indian film director who works in Kannada cinema. He is known for his films '' Munnudi'', ''Atithi'', '' Beru'', '' Tutturi'', '' Vimukthi'', '' Bettada Jeeva'', '' Bharath Stores'' and '' ...
in Kannada cinema; and K. N. T. Sastry
Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry (5 September 1945 – 13 September 2018) was an Indian film critic, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered six National Film Awards ...
and B. Narsing Rao
Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi ...
in Telugu cinema produced realistic cinema in parallel with each other throughout the 1970s.
South Indian cinema has also had an influence on politics of Tamil Nadu. Prominent film personalities such as C N Annadurai
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna (''Anna, the scholar'' or ''Elder Brother''), was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the fo ...
, M G Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
, M Karunanidhi, N. T. Rama Rao, and Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
have become chief ministers of South Indian states. As of 2014, South Indian film industries contribute to 53% of the total films produced in India.
Literature
South India has an independent literary tradition dating back over 2500 years. The first known literature of South India is the poetic Sangam literature
The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
, which was written in Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
2500 to 2100 years ago. Tamil literature
Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...
was composed in three successive poetic assemblies known as Tamil Sangams, the earliest of which, according to ancient tradition, were held on a now vanished continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
far to the south of India. This Tamil literature includes the oldest grammatical treatise, '' Tholkappiyam'', and the epics ''Silappatikaram'' and ''Manimekalai
''Maṇimēkalai'' ( ta, மணிமேகலை, ), also spelled ''Manimekhalai'' or ''Manimekalai'', is a Tamil- Buddhist epic composed by Kulavāṇikaṉ Seethalai Sataṉar probably around the 6th century. It is an "anti-love story", a ...
''. References to Kannada literature appear from the fourth century CE. Telugu literature inscriptions. Poets such as Annamacharya
Tallapaka Annamacharya (Telugu : తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య) (IAST: taḷḷapāka annamācārya; 22 May 1408 – 4 April 1503), also popularly known as Annamayya, was a 15th-century Hindu saint and the ea ...
made many contributions to this literature. A distinct Malayalam literature came about in the 13th century.
Architecture
South India has two distinct styles of rock architecture, the '' Dravidian'' style of Tamil Nadu and the '' Vesara'' style of Karnataka.
'' Koil'', Hindu temples of the Dravidian style, consist of porches or ''mantapas'' preceding the door leading to the sanctum. Monumental, ornate gate-pyramids, or ''gopuram
A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Sout ...
s'' – each topped by a '' kalasam'', or stone finial – are the principal features in the quadrangular enclosures that surround the more notable temples along with pillared halls. A South Indian temple typically has a water reservoir called the ''Kalyani'' or ''Pushkarni''.
The origins of the ''gopuram'' can be traced back to early structures of the Pallavas. Under the Pandya rulers in the twelfth century, gateways had become the dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance, eventually overshadowing the inner sanctuary which became obscured from view by the ''gopuram''s colossal size.
The Architecture of Kerala
Kerala architecture is a style of architecture found mostly in the Indian States of India, state of Kerala and in parts of Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka. Kerala's style of architecture is a unique Hindu temple architecture that emerged in the ...
is a unique architecture that emerged in the southwestern part of India, which is in its striking contrast to Dravidian architecture, which is normally practised in other parts of South India. It has been performed/followed according to Indian Vedic architectural science ('' Vastu Shastra'').
Notes
References
External links
{{Authority control
Peninsulas of India
Regions of India
South Asia
Landforms of Andhra Pradesh
Landforms of Kerala
Landforms of Karnataka
Landforms of Tamil Nadu
Landforms of Telangana
Landforms of Lakshadweep
Landforms of Puducherry