Dindigul district

Dindigul district is an administrative district of the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Its headquarters is the city of Dindigul. The district is known for its historic rock fort, the cultivation of grapes and coffee in the Sirumalai and Palani hills, locally produced lock-making and tanning industries, and as the gateway to the pilgrimage town of Palani.

Geography

Dindigul district lies in the western part of Tamil Nadu, bordered by Karur and Tiruchirappalli districts to the north, Sivaganga to the east, Madurai to the south-east, Theni to the south, and the state of Kerala along with Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts to the west. The terrain combines plains in the east with the Sirumalai and Palani Hills, the latter forming the eastern extension of the Western Ghats. The Kodaikanal hill station is located within the district. Major rivers include the Amaravati, Shanmuganadhi and Kodaganar, all part of the Cauvery basin.

Administration

The district is administered by a District Collector and is divided into revenue divisions, taluks, blocks, town panchayats and village panchayats. Important towns and taluks include Dindigul, Palani, Oddanchatram, Natham, Vedasandur, Nilakottai, Athoor and Kodaikanal. The district forms part of the Dindigul Lok Sabha constituency, with several assembly constituencies represented in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

History

The region has a long recorded history connected to the rule of the early Pandyas, the Vijayanagara empire, the Madurai Nayaks, the kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and later the British. The Dindigul Rock Fort, built on a massive granite outcrop, was strategically significant during the wars of the 18th century in southern India. After Indian independence, the area formed part of the composite Madurai district. Dindigul was constituted as a separate district in 1985, initially named Dindigul Anna district in honour of C. N. Annadurai, and later renamed Dindigul district.

Economy

The district has a diversified economy:

• Agriculture and horticulture: paddy, millets, pulses, groundnut, cotton, and extensive cultivation of grapes around Cumbum–Dindigul belt, along with mangoes, bananas and coconut.
• Plantation crops: coffee, pepper, cardamom and fruit on the Palani Hills around Kodaikanal.
• Industry: Dindigul is widely associated with lock manufacturing, leather tanning and iron safe making. Other industries include spinning mills, food processing and engineering units.
• Tourism and pilgrimage: the hill station of Kodaikanal and the temple town of Palani, dedicated to Murugan, attract a large flow of visitors and pilgrims.

Culture and cuisine

Dindigul is known in popular culture for its distinctive style of biryani, prepared with seeraga samba rice, which has become identified with the town's name across Tamil Nadu. The district hosts important Tamil temple festivals, especially the Thai Poosam and Panguni Uthiram celebrations at the Palani Murugan temple.

Transport

The district is served by National Highway 44 (the Srinagar–Kanyakumari corridor) and other state highways linking it with Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Coimbatore and Kerala. Dindigul Junction is an important node on the Southern Railway, with connections towards Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli. The nearest major airports are at