Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British Raj.
Founded~Ended Jan 26, 1950 ~ Jan 14, 1969Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:29 PM
Andhra state was separated in 1953. The state was further re-organized with the Malabar District being merged with the newly formed state of Kerala as well as five Tamil-majority taluks being incorporated into Madras State from the erstwhile Travancore–Cochin when states were redrawn linguistically in 1956. On 14 January 1969, the state was renamed Tamil Nadu.
Pre-history
Archaeological evidence points to the region being inhabited by hominids more than 400 millennia ago.12 Ancient Tamilakam, a region roughly on par with the Madras state, was ruled by a triumvirate of monarchical states, Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.3 The kingdoms had significant diplomatic and trade contacts with other kingdoms to the north and Romans.4 The region was later ruled by Kalabhras, , and .
This page is based on “Madras State” from English Wikipedia, (r1376674920) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
Europeans started to establish trade centers from the 16th century along the eastern coast.8 By the middle of the 18th century, the French and the British were involved in a protracted struggle for military control over South India.9 After the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799 and the end of the Second Polygar war in 1801, the British Indians consolidated their power over much of the region and established the Madras State with Madras (Chennai) as the capital.1011 The British Raj took control of the region from the East India Company in 1857.12 Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two severe famines in the Madras State, the Great Indian Famine of 1876–1878 and the Indian famine of 1896–97 which killed millions and the migration to other British countries.13 The Indian Independence Movement gathered momentum in the early 20th century.1415
Post-independence
After the Indian independence in 1947, the erstwhile Madras Presidency was integrated into the Union of India as Madras Province.16 The province became Madras state following the adoption of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950.17 The state was split in 1953 and further re-organized in 1956.1819 On 14 January 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu.2021
As per the 1951 census, the state had a population of 57,016,002 which later became 35,734,489 in 1953 after the split of Andhra and 30,119,047 in 1956.2227Hinduism was the major religion with 86.8% followed by Islam at 9% and Christianity at 4%.22 After 1953, Tamil was the major language followed by Malayalam (spoken in Malabar district before re-organization in 1956) and Telugu.22
Rajaji removed controls on food grains and introduced a new education policy based on family vocation in 1953.31 According to this policy, students had to go to school in the morning and to compulsorily learn the family vocation practiced by their parents after school. It was opposed as casteist and opposed by Periyar.32 It was put on hold on 29 July 1953 and dropped altogether on 18 May 1954.33
Kamaraj Era
On 13 April 1954, K. Kamaraj became the chief minister of Madras state.28 The state boundaries were re-organized further in 1956.19 Kamaraj opened a primary school for every square mile and eventually made school education free.34 He expanded the Midday Meal Scheme to cover all public schools.35 He introduced free school uniforms to weed out caste, creed and class distinctions among school children.36 The literacy rate went up from 19% to 37% during his tenure.37 Major irrigation schemes were planned in Kamaraj's period and more than ten dams and irrigation canals were built across the state.37 He established more than 13 industrial estates and brought many industries and research facilities to the state including Neyveli Lignite Corporation, BHEL at Trichy, Integral Coach Factory and IIT Madras.37 Kamaraj remained chief minister for three consecutive terms, winning elections in 1957 and 1962.28 In 1949, C. N. Annadurai, a follower of Periyar, formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).38 On 2 October 1963, he resigned as the chief minister and proposed that all senior Congress leaders should resign from their posts to devote all their energy to the re-vitalization of the congress party which would later be known as the Kamaraj Plan.39
Later years (1962–1969)
M. Bhaktavatsalam became the chief minister post the resignation of Kamaraj.28 During his tenure, the state witnessed Anti-Hindi agitations in response to the Union Government's Official Languages Act passed in 1963 which planned to introduce Hindi as compulsory language and to rejected the demands to make Tamil the medium of instruction in colleges.40 On 7 March 1964, Bhaktavatsalam recommended the introduction of a three-language formula comprising English, Hindi and Tamil.414243 The amendment to the original act was passed in November 1967, accepting the three language formula where-in English will continue to be an additional language used for official communications.44 The Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu led to the rise of Dravidian parties that formed Tamil Nadu's first government in 1967.45
In 1967, the DMK won the elections and formed the first non-Congress government under Annadurai.46 The 1967 elections also resulted in an electoral fusion among the non-Congress parties to avoid a split in the Opposition votes with former chief minister Rajagopalachari leaving the Congress to found the right-wing Swatantra Party. In 1967, the state government legalized self-respect marriages and announced the distribution of rice at subsidized prices through the public distribution system.4748 In 1969, the state government proposed renaming the state to Tamil Nadu and on 14 January 1969, the state was renamed Tamil Nadu.20
"The Edicts of King Ashoka". Colorado State University. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2023. Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni ↩
"Seven Years' War: Battle of Wandiwash". History Net: Where History Comes Alive – World & US History Online. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015. ↩
Forrester, Duncan B. (1996). "The Madras Anti-Hindi Agitation, 1965: Political Protest and its Effects on Language Policy in India". Pacific Affairs. 39 (1/2). Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia: 19–36. doi:10.2307/2755179. JSTOR2755179. ↩
Andhra state was separated in 1953. The state was further re-organized with the Malabar District being merged with the newly formed state of Kerala as well as five Tamil-majority taluks being incorporated into Madras State from the erstwhile Travancore–Cochin when states were redrawn linguistically in 1956. On 14 January 1969, the state was renamed Tamil Nadu.
Pre-history
Archaeological evidence points to the region being inhabited by hominids more than 400 millennia ago.12 Ancient Tamilakam, a region roughly on par with the Madras state, was ruled by a triumvirate of monarchical states, Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.3 The kingdoms had significant diplomatic and trade contacts with other kingdoms to the north and . The region was later ruled by , , and .
Europeans started to establish trade centers from the 16th century along the eastern coast.8 By the middle of the 18th century, the French and the British were involved in a protracted struggle for military control over South India.9 After the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799 and the end of the Second Polygar war in 1801, the British Indians consolidated their power over much of the region and established the Madras State with Madras (Chennai) as the capital.1011 The British Raj took control of the region from the East India Company in 1857.12 Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two severe famines in the Madras State, the Great Indian Famine of 1876–1878 and the Indian famine of 1896–97 which killed millions and the migration to other British countries.13 The Indian Independence Movement gathered momentum in the early 20th century.1415
Post-independence
After the Indian independence in 1947, the erstwhile Madras Presidency was integrated into the Union of India as Madras Province.16 The province became Madras state following the adoption of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950.17 The state was split in 1953 and further re-organized in 1956.1819 On 14 January 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu.2021
As per the 1951 census, the state had a population of 57,016,002 which later became 35,734,489 in 1953 after the split of Andhra and 30,119,047 in 1956.2227Hinduism was the major religion with 86.8% followed by Islam at 9% and Christianity at 4%.22 After 1953, Tamil was the major language followed by Malayalam (spoken in Malabar district before re-organization in 1956) and Telugu.22
Rajaji removed controls on food grains and introduced a new education policy based on family vocation in 1953.31 According to this policy, students had to go to school in the morning and to compulsorily learn the family vocation practiced by their parents after school. It was opposed as casteist and opposed by Periyar.32 It was put on hold on 29 July 1953 and dropped altogether on 18 May 1954.33
Kamaraj Era
On 13 April 1954, K. Kamaraj became the chief minister of Madras state.28 The state boundaries were re-organized further in 1956.19 Kamaraj opened a primary school for every square mile and eventually made school education free.34 He expanded the Midday Meal Scheme to cover all public schools.35 He introduced free school uniforms to weed out caste, creed and class distinctions among school children.36 The literacy rate went up from 19% to 37% during his tenure.37 Major irrigation schemes were planned in Kamaraj's period and more than ten dams and irrigation canals were built across the state.37 He established more than 13 industrial estates and brought many industries and research facilities to the state including Neyveli Lignite Corporation, BHEL at Trichy, Integral Coach Factory and IIT Madras.37 Kamaraj remained chief minister for three consecutive terms, winning elections in 1957 and 1962.28 In 1949, C. N. Annadurai, a follower of Periyar, formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).38 On 2 October 1963, he resigned as the chief minister and proposed that all senior Congress leaders should resign from their posts to devote all their energy to the re-vitalization of the congress party which would later be known as the Kamaraj Plan.39
Later years (1962–1969)
M. Bhaktavatsalam became the chief minister post the resignation of Kamaraj.28 During his tenure, the state witnessed Anti-Hindi agitations in response to the Union Government's Official Languages Act passed in 1963 which planned to introduce Hindi as compulsory language and to rejected the demands to make Tamil the medium of instruction in colleges.40 On 7 March 1964, Bhaktavatsalam recommended the introduction of a three-language formula comprising English, Hindi and Tamil.414243 The amendment to the original act was passed in November 1967, accepting the three language formula where-in English will continue to be an additional language used for official communications.44 The Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu led to the rise of Dravidian parties that formed Tamil Nadu's first government in 1967.45
In 1967, the DMK won the elections and formed the first non-Congress government under Annadurai.46 The 1967 elections also resulted in an electoral fusion among the non-Congress parties to avoid a split in the Opposition votes with former chief minister Rajagopalachari leaving the Congress to found the right-wing Swatantra Party. In 1967, the state government legalized self-respect marriages and announced the distribution of rice at subsidized prices through the public distribution system.4748 In 1969, the state government proposed renaming the state to Tamil Nadu and on 14 January 1969, the state was renamed Tamil Nadu.20
"The Edicts of King Ashoka". Colorado State University. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2023. Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni ↩
"Seven Years' War: Battle of Wandiwash". History Net: Where History Comes Alive – World & US History Online. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015. ↩
Forrester, Duncan B. (1996). "The Madras Anti-Hindi Agitation, 1965: Political Protest and its Effects on Language Policy in India". Pacific Affairs. 39 (1/2). Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia: 19–36. doi:10.2307/2755179. JSTOR2755179. ↩