Sivaganga

Sivaganga (Tamil: [siʋaɡəŋɡaɪ]) is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is known for the 16th-century Sivagangai Fort, located in City Centre. Inside the fort, the Rajarajeshwari Amman Temple features many ornate sculptures. Nearby, the Government Museum has prehistoric relics and natural history displays. There are many famous places like historical monuments, Historical temples and lands (example Sri Nanammal Temple in Koothandan village)donated by King Muthuvaduganatha Thevar and other many temples been built and maintained by King Maruthpandiyar brothers, Princess Velunachiyar which are still available and maintained in good condition by public and authorities. The City is located at a distance of 48 km (30 mi) from Madurai and 449 km (279 mi) from the state capital Chennai.

The town is known for agriculture, metal working and weaving. The region around Sivagangai has considerable mineral deposits. This town is surrounded by Chettinad region, so the tradition of Chettinad is highly influenced in Sivaganga Town as well.

Sivaganga comes under the Sivaganga assembly constituency, which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. It is a part of the Sivaganga constituency which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years. Roadways are the major mode of transportation to the town and have rail connectivity. The nearest seaport, V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust, Thoothukudi is located 189 km (117 mi) from Sivaganga, while the nearest airport, Madurai International Airport, is located 53 km (33 mi) from the City.

During the 17th century, Sivaganga was ruled by the Kingdom of Ramnad, which had its boundary spreading across modern-day Sivaganga, Pudukkottai and Ramnathapuram. The seventh king of the empire, Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi (also called Kelvan Sethupathy) ruled from 1674 to 1710 and was succeeded by his sister's son Vijaya Ragunatha Sethupathy. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Sundareswara Ragunatha Sethupathy in 1726. Bavani Sankara Thevan, the illegitimate son of Ragunatha Sethupathy, aligned with the Rajah of Tanjore to attack Ramnad. Though Bavani won, he did not honor the earlier decision to cede some portions of the empire to the King of Tanjore. He quarreled with Sasivarna Periya Oodaya Thevar and sent him out of his province. Both Sasivarna and Kattaya Thevar, the brother of Sundareswara, aligned with the Rajah of Tanjore. Both of them conquered Bavani in 1730 with the help of the army of Tanjore. Kattaya Thevar divided the kingdom into five provinces and gave two to Sasivarna, who became the first king of Sivaganga.

As per legend, Sasivarna built the Teppakulam and fort around the spring "Sivaganga", where he met his spiritual guru Sathappan Servai. As per another account, Sasivarna was appointed as the king by the Nawab of Carnatic. Sasivarna died at around 1750 and his son Muthuvaduganatha Periya Udaya Thevar took over the reign. He was shot dead in 1780 by Nawab's troops. His widow Velu Nachiyar and infant Vellacci fled the region and were aided by the two Maruthu brothers namely Periya Maruthu and Chinna Maruthu.

After his death in 1829, there was an extended legal dispute over the succession. From 1863 to 1877 Kathama Nachiar, a daughter, succeeded in winning the claim, but did not attempt to rule with full autonomy and faced ongoing challenges. Supported in her litigation by George Frederick Fischer, a local cotton merchant, Kathama eventually succeeded in securing an 1863 Privy Council decision which granted her the title. After India's independence in 1947, it was under Ramnad district until 1984 and subsequently a part of the newly formed Sivaganga district.

Sivaganga has an average elevation of 102 metres (334 feet). The town has a tropical wet and dry climate. The maximum temperature during summer is 37 °C or 98.6 °F and during winter it is 28 °C or 82.4 °F. The minimum temperature varies from 23.9 to 27.8 °C (75.0 to 82.0 °F). The seasonal climate conditions are moderate and the weather is uniformly salubrious. The town gets the majority of its rainfall during the north east monsoon period. The average annual rainfall is 931 millimetres or 36.65 inches.

According to 2011 census, Sivaganga had a population of 40,403 with a sex-ratio of 990 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 3,880 were under the age of six, constituting 1,985 males and 1,895 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 9.59% and 0.07% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 83.86%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 10,184 households. There were a total of 14,145 workers, comprising 164 cultivators, 294 main agricultural labourers, 246 in house hold industries, 11,406 other workers, 2,035 marginal workers, 54 marginal cultivators, 127 marginal agricultural labourers, 173 marginal workers in household industries and 1,681 other marginal workers. Sivaganga town had a growth of 25% during the decades of 1991 and 2001. The population density of the town has nearly doubled in the decades of 1981, 1991 and 2001. Spread over area of 6.970 km² (697.0 ha), the density increased from 3500 person per km² in 1981 and to 4,800 person per km² in 1991. The development was largely concentrated along the whole town area.