Tamilnadu - Places in Tamilnadu - Salem - History of Salem

History Of Salem

The name Salem appears to have been derived from Sela or Shalya or Sayilam which are found in inscriptions referring to the country around the hills. Local folklore has it that the region around Salem was the birthplace of the Tamil poetess Avvaiyar Inscriptions from the Ganga dynasty have been recovered from parts of the district. The city lies in the region that was once part of Kongu Nadu

Salem region remained under the Madurai Nayaks. Later, in the early 18th century, it came under Hyder Ali after a long feud know as the Mysore-Madurai war. Salem was then taken from Hyder Ali by Colonel Wood in the beginning of 1768. It was recaptured by Hyder ali towards the end of the year 1772. Under Lord Clive in 1799, it was again occupied by a detachment of the regiment stationed at Sankari Durg and remained a military station until 1861 when the troops were altogether withdrawn. you can still have the places like Magnum chowltry dated now Magudanchavadi.

Geography and Climate

Salem is located at 11°40′10″N 78°08′27″E / 11.669437°N 78.140865°E / 11.669437; 78.140865.[3] It has an average elevation of 278 metres (912 ft). Salem is surrounded by hills and the landscape is dotted with hillocks.

Politics

Salem consists of Three assembly constituencies: Salem North, Salem South and Salem West, which are part of Salem Many great personalities including Salem Ramasamy Mudaliar, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, Pagadala Narasimhalu Naidu, C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and Dr. P. Subbarayan started their political careers in Salem.

METTUR DAM

As of 2001 Indian Census[5] the Salem Urban Agglomeration had a total population of 751,438, comprising Salem Municipal Corporation (696,760), Kondalampatti (16,808), Kannankurichi (14,994), Neykkarappatti (9,869), Mallamooppampatti (6,783) and Dalavaipatti (6,224). Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Salem has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 64.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 72%. In Salem, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The city has grown leaps and bounds in the last two decades, which can be observed from the official census data. Population in 1991: 499,024 & Population in 2001: 696,760. World-Gazetteer has projected the population of the city in 2009 to be 872,361 which makes the city to be the 4th largest populous city in the state. However, the official figures are expected sometime in 2011.

Entertainment

Salem has long been established as a city of cinema theatres. It was unique in having a large number of cinema theatres at a particular place called Kitchipalayam. In 80s at the peak there was almost 28 theatres showing all kind of cinemas including Hollywood movies, Dubbed movies and old movies. But currently there are about 15 theatres there as some of them were closed and even now there are about 15 theatres functioning. Some of the famous theatres are ARRS Multiplex, BIG CINEMAS, etc, Salem is also emerging as one of the major shopping centers in the recent past. Saradha College Road and the Omalur Road have witnessed lots of growth in the shopping and retail portfolio, Kandaswarna Shopping Mall, Kandaswarna Mega Mall, Spencers, More for you, There also a good number of hotels and restaurants present in the city.