Thanjavur district

Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. As of 2011, Thanjavur district had a population of 2,405,890 with a sex-ratio of 1,035 females for every 1,000 males.

Geography

The district is located at 10°05′N 79°10′E / 10.08°N 79.16°E / 10.08; 79.16 in Central Tamil Nadu bounded on the northeast by Nagapattinam District, on the east by Tiruvarur District, on the south by the Palk Strait, of Bay of Bengal on the west by Pudukkottai District, and on the north by the river Kollidam, across which lie Tiruchirappalli and Perambalur districts.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Thanjavur district had a population of 2,405,890 with a sex-ratio of 1,035 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 238,598 were under the age of six, constituting 121,949 males and 116,649 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 18.91% and .15% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district was 74.44%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a total of 605,363 households. There were a total of 974,079 workers, comprising 117,321 cultivators, 327,673 main agricultural labourers, 26,430 in house hold industries, 363,060 other workers, 139,595 marginal workers, 12,592 marginal cultivators, 87,688 marginal agricultural labourers, 4,770 marginal workers in household industries and 34,545 other marginal workers.

Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)

Tanjore district was one of the districts in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and the Aranthangi taluk of Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu. Apart from being a bedrock of Brahminism, Tanjore was a centre of Chola cultural heritage and one of the richest and most prosperous districts in Madras Presidency.

Tanjore district was constituted in 1799 when the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II ceded most of his kingdom to the British East India Company in return for his restitution on the throne. Tanjore district, which is situated on the Cauvery Delta, is one of the richest rice-growing regions in South India. It was scarcely affected by famines such as the Great Famine of 1876–78.

History