Pudukkottai

Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest heritage cities located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the Mutharaiyar dynasty, Cholas, Early Pandyas, and Thondaimans. It is situated about 372 kilometres (231 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Tiruchirappalli, and 108 kilometres (67 mi) northeast of Madurai.

Pudukkottai is sometimes called a cradle of archaeology. Being the district headquarters, Pudukkottai has district administrative offices, along with government educational institutes, colleges, and schools. Pudukkottai is a part of the Pudukkottai constituency and elects its member to the legislative assembly every five years. It is a part of the Lok Sabha constituency comprising Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tiruchirappalli and Karur. Pudukkottai is administered by a selection-grade municipality established in 1912 as per the Municipal Corporation Act. Pudukkottai covers an area of 21.25 km² (8.20 sq mi) and had a population of 117,745 in 2011. Roadways are the major mode of transport to the city, along with rail connectivity. The nearest airport is Tiruchirappalli International Airport, located at a distance of 45 km (28 miles) from the city.

It is one of the few towns and cities in the List of AMRUT Smart cities in Tamil Nadu selected by the central government. Its developmental activities are taken care of by government of Tamil Nadu. On 15 March 2024, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced that the town along with the surrounding merged panchayats will be upgraded from municipality to corporation status (Tamil: மாநகராட்சி).

Pudukkottai was a kingdom and later a princely state in British India, existing from 1680 until 1948.

The princely state of Pudukottai was created by Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1641–1730), who earlier had ruled Thirumayam. In appreciation of Tondaiman's services, Ragunatha Kilavan Setupati (r. 1671–1710) gave Pudukkottai to Tondaiman as an honor for his services. In later centuries, the Thondaiman rulers, while nominally feudatories of the Ramnad state, often pursued an independent foreign policy, a trend common in all parts of India at that time. After the death of Setupati, Thondaiman become ruler of Pudukottai.

Thondaiman soon fought against the Nayaks of Thanjavur in support of the Nayaks of Madurai and conquered Thirukattupalli, a very important place. A direct clash between Thondaiman and the Nayaks of Tanjore soon followed. From 1751-1752, The next ruler, Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1713-1769), helped the Muslim Nawab of the Carnatic Sultanate against Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, who was loyal to the British Government. After some time, when Hyder Ali's army tried to enter Pudukkottai, Thondaiman's army defeated and drove Hyder's army away. Thondaiman then captured Kilanilai, Aranthangi and helped the British government against Tipu Sultan.

Pudukkotai eventually came under formal British protection. This was arguably unavoidable since the Thondaimans were much menaced in that period by a resurgent Mysore ruled by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. When Tipu Sultan sought to leverage the power of the French against his British adversaries, Pudukkotai, in common with its neighbors, such as Thanjavur and Travancore, found it expedient to ally with the British.

Raja Rajagopala Thondaiman (1928–1948), the last and ninth in the line of Thondaiman rulers, was selected by the British Government and was crowned when he was six years old. After Indian independence in 1947, the Pudukkottai Princely State was amalgamated with the Indian Union on 3 April 1948 and became a division in Tiruchirappalli District. The long history of the Thondaimans' rule came to an end.