Kongu Nadu

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Kongu Nadu is an administrative region in the north west of the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu where it borders on Kerala. Its main towns are the industrial cities of Coimbatore, Erode and Tirupur. Its name is believed to be derived from the Western Ganga Dynasty.^[1] Kongu Nadu consists of the present districts of Coimbatore, Tirupur, Namakkal, Erode, Salem as well as parts of Karur, Ooty, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Thiruvannamalai and Dindigul districts.

Contents 1 History 2 Regional activism 3 Kongu Songs 4 Notes 5 Sources

[edit] History

The region around Coimbatore was amongst the first places in Tamil Nadu where the local Tamil speaking people set up territorial states. Its strategic location near the Palghat Gap in the Western Ghats made it an area of conflict between the ancient southern kingdoms; the Satiyaputra (Adiyaman) of Dharmapuri, the Cheras of Karur (Vanchi) and, during the decline of the Sangam era, the Western Ganga Dynasty of Kannuva Gotra. There was also a period of Thanjavur Chola rule under Rajaraja and Rajendra. The power then passed to the Hoysalas who still used Gounder organisation at local level. The defeat of the Khalji invasions resulted in a shift to the Wodeyar scribes under Vijayanagara. However, the Gounders retained their military and administrative power to the era of the Kingdom of Mysore. After the fall of Dheeran Chinnamalai, power went into British hands.

[edit] Regional activism

By the end of the 20th century, regional activists began clamouring for a separate Kongu Nadu to safeguard tax revenues.^[2]

[edit] Kongu Songs

Kongu Mangala Vaazhthu is considered as one of the source to know how grand the Gounder marriages are. It borrows a lot of verses from Kambar's poems.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Sources

• Dr. Nagaswamy Roman Karur [2]
• Kongudesarajakkal, Government manuscript Library, Chennai
• Dheeran Chinnamalai by Pulavar Dr. Rasu.