Gudalur | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Needle Rock View Point at Gudalur | |
  Gudalur Location in Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Coordinates:11°30′N76°30′E / 11.50°N 76.50°E /11.50; 76.50 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Nilgiris |
| Government | |
| • Type | Second Grade Municipality |
| • Body | Gudalur Municipality |
| • Chairperson | Rama Mani[1] |
| Elevation | 1,072 m (3,517 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 49,540 |
| • Density | 200/km2 (520/sq mi) |
| Language | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| • Regional | Malayalam,Tamil[2] |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 643212, 643211 |
| Telephone code | 04262 |
| Vehicle registration | TN 43 Z, TN 43 Y, TN 43 X, TN 43 W |
| Sex ratio | 900/1000♂/♀ |
Gudalur is acity and municipality andtaluk inNilgiris district in theIndianstate ofTamil Nadu.
| Religion | Percent(%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindu | 59.83% | |||
| Muslim | 26.01% | |||
| Christian | 14.1% | |||
| Sikh | 0.01% | |||
| Other | 0.05% | |||
| No religion | 0.01% | |||
Gudalur wasMalayali majority until the formation ofKerala state in 1956. A government sponsored resettlement of Tamils in Gudalur led to it being a Tamil majority by 1970s. But the Tamil population was again pushed to the second position because of the splitting of Gudalur taluk into two,Pandalur and Gudalur.
However It may also be noted that both the tamils and malayalees are migrants to this region post the British plantations just like in the case ofKodagu,Devikulam andPeermade which all belonged to indigenous tribes originally.
According to2011 census, Gudalur had a population of 49,535 with a sex-ratio of 1,032 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[4] A total of 5,359 were under the age of six, constituting 2,719 males and 2,640 females.Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 27.66% and 3.65% of the population respectively. The literacy rate of the town was 79.48%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[4] The town had a total of 12101 households. There were a total of 18,807 workers, comprising 551 cultivators, 1,759 main agricultural labourers, 206 household industries, 14,488 other workers, 1,803 marginal workers, 90 marginal cultivators, 278 marginal agricultural labourers, 119 marginal workers in household industries and 1,316 other marginal workers.[5] As per the religious census of 2011, Gudalur had 59.83%Hindus, 26.01%Muslims, 14.1%Christians, 0.01%Sikhs, 0.05% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.[6]
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Gudalur is situated at a height of approximately 3,500 feet (1,100 m) above sea level.[7] The normal rainfall is 3000 mm per annum. While 75% of the rain is received during the southwest monsoon, (June to August) and northeast monsoon (October to November) contribution of northeast monsoon is only 15% to the total of rainfall and 8% of the rains are received during the hot weather and 2% during the winter. The weather is mainly dry during January–March and the moisture content gradually increases thereon under the influence of southwest monsoon.
Pon Jayaseelan is theMember of Legislative Assembly from Gudalur constituency.
Gudalur assembly constituency is one of the three constituencies in the Nilgiris district and the Gudalur assembly constituency a is part ofNilgiris (Lok Sabha constituency).[8]
Historians believe that the human settlements existed in these parts for at least ten centuriesbefore Christ. Much evidence ofNew Stone Age civilisation can be seen in the hills throughout the present day Wayanad district. TheEdakkal Caves has 6000-year-old rock engravings from the Neolithic age. The recorded history of this district is available only from the 18th century. In ancient times, this land was ruled by the Rajas of the Veda tribe.[10]
In the earliest part of the recorded history of Gudalur region, Wayanad District, Kasaragod-Kannur-Wayanad-Kozhikode Districts in the northern part of present-day Kerala were ruled by the Nannans (Mushika dynasty) who later came to be known as theKolathiris.[11][12] Politically the area was part of theEzhimala Kingdom with its Capital atEzhimala in present dayKannur district. The most famous King of Ezhimala was Nannan whose Kingdom extended up to Gudalur, Nilgiris and northern parts ofCoimbatore. It is said that Nannan took refuge at Wayanad hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost toCheras, just before his death in battle, according to theSangam works.[13] Wayanad was a part of theKarkanad which included the eastern regions of Ezhimala kingdom (Wayanad-Gudalur areas including part ofKodagu (Coorg)).[13]Karkanad along withPoozhinadu, which contained much of the coastal belt wedged betweenMangalore andKozhikode was under Ezhimala kingdom with the headquarters atEzhimala.
The Mooshaka Kings were considered descendants of Nannan. By the 14th century,Mooshaka Kingdom was known as Kolathirinad and the Rulers asKolathiris. The Kolathunad Kingdom at the peak of its power reportedly extended from Kasaragod in the north toKorapuzha in the south with Arabian Sea on the west andKodagu hills on the eastern boundary.[14]
TheKolathiri Dominion emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e.,Kadathanadu (Vadakara),Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom),Kottayam (Thalassery),Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor),Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions.[13][15] TheNileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part ofKolathiri dominion, were relatives to bothKolathunadu as well asZamorin ofCalicut, in the early medieval period.[16] The origin ofKottayam Royal Family (the Kottayam referred here isKottayam-Malabar nearThalassery, not to be confused withKottayam in Southern Kerala) is lost in obscurity. It has been stated that the Raja of Kottayam set up a semi-independent principality of his own at the expense of Kolathiris. In the 10th century AD, the region comprised erstwhile Taluks of Kottayam, Wayanad and Gudallur was calledPuraikizhanad and its feudal lordPuraikizhars. TheThirunelly Inscriptions refer to the division of Puraikizhar Family into two branches viz., Elder (Muthukur) and Younger (Elamkur) in the beginning of the 11th century. In 17th centuryKottayam-Malabar was the Capital of Puraikizhanad (Puranattukara) Rajas. It was divided into three branches i.e., Eastern, Western and Southern under separate dignitaries known as Mootha, Elaya and Munnarkur Rajas. The Kottayam Rajas extended their influence up to the border ofKodagu. By the end of the 17th century, they shared the area ofThalassery Taluk with the Iruvazhinadu Nambiars and were in possession of North Wayanad and the small Village ofThamarassery which formed the Eastern portion of the present Vadakara, Quilandy and Thamarassery Taluks.[13]
In 930 AD, emperor Erayappa ofGanga Dynasty led his troops to south west of Mysore and after conquering, called itBayalnad meaning the land of swamps. After Erayappa, his sons Rachamalla and Battunga fought each other for the new kingdom of their father's legacy. Rachamalla was killed and Battunga became the undisputed ruler of Bayalnad. In the 12th century AD, Gangas were dethroned from Bayalnad byKadamba dynasty[17] of North Canara.[18] In 1104 AD Vishnuvardhana ofHoysala invaded Bayalnad followed byVijayanagara dynasty in the 16th century. In 1610 AD, Udaiyar Raja Wadiyar of Mysore drove out Vijayanagara General and became the ruler of Bayalnad and the Nilgiris. Bayalnad is the present Wayanad.
WhenWayanad was underHyder Ali's rule, the ghat road fromVythiri toThamarassery was invented.[19] Then the British rulers developed this route to Carter road.[20] After Hyder Ali, his sonTipu Sultan took control over the territory.
Kundah taluk was transferred from Malabar to Coimbatore in 1860.[13] SoutheastWayanad region ofWayanad Taluk inMalabar District was the regions included in the Gudalur andPandalur Taluks of present Nilgiris district. Southeast Wynad was a part of Malabar District until 31 March 1877, when it was transferred to the neighbouringNilgiris district due to the heavy population of Malabar and the small area of Nilgiris.[21] It consisted of the following 3Amsoms.
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