Tamil Nadu Tourism and Travel

Tamil Nadu is a land of varied beauty. It is mostly famous for its numerous Hindu temples based on the Dravidian architecture. The temples are of a distinct style which is famous for its towering Gopuram. Popular temple towns include Madurai, Trichy, Tanjore, Kanchipuram, Palani, Tiruvallur and Mahabalipuram. The most famous temple is the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur that is about 1000 years old and is on the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. Tamil Nadu also has the Navagraha temples that are a popular pilgrim circuit.

Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of peninsular India, is famous for its distinct and beautiful sunrise, Vivekananda Rock Memorial on the mid-sea, Thiruvalluvar statue and has some very green hilly landscape and picture-postcard perfect sceneries around the district and Nagercoil. Hill stations like Kodaikanal and Nilgiris boast some of the stunning landscapes in India. The Nilgiris also has one of the two mountain Railways in India and is being evaluated for the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary located in Gudalur near the border of Karnataka known for its elephants, tigers and deer and the Pitchavaram Mangrove forests located in Chidambaram are two of the many eco-tourism spots of importance.

Though Tamil is the official first language, these days other neighbouring languages like Telugu, kannada and hindi, have been well accepted.

Social Development in Tamil Nadu
The Dravidian movement, which began in Tamil Nadu, claimed to uplift the socially repressed classes, but drew its main support from the middle classes. Educating the people and eradicating superstitions were some of their objectives. They had a commitment to social justice which led to the expansion of reservation for the middle castes (or other backward classes - OBCs) and the lower castes and tribes (the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes). Upper castes in Tamilnadu criticise that high % of reservations are being followed inspite of the fact that Upper castes are securing only around 3% seats as against their population of 13%.

Today many of India’s premier educational institutions such as IIT-Madras, Chennai; Anna University, Chennai; University of Madras, Chennai; Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai; Regional Engineering College, Trichy; Chennai Medical College, Chennai and TamilNadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore are some of the many premier institutions of the state. Tamil Nadu has also performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 1991-2001. The State’s literacy rate increased from 62.66% in 1991 to 73.47% in 2001.

The Mid-day meals program in Tamil Nadu program, initiated by Karumaiveerar Kamarajar, was expanded considerably during the rule of the AIADMK in 1983. It feeds over a fifth of the state’s population. The other event is “Entry in Vaikkom Temple”. The mutual interaction of various philosophies, schools of thought, and religious ideologies in the state has made it one of the most tolerant and universalistic states. Women enjoy a high level of respect and protection compared to other Indian states.