Madras

Madras.

1 State and former province, India: see Tamil Nadu. 2 City, India: see Chennai.

Madras

 

a city in southern India, on the Bay of Bengal, and the administrative center of the state of Tamil Nadu. Population, 2.47 million (1971).

Madras is a major industrial, commercial financial, and cultural center and an important transport junction. The port of Madras has an artificial harbor; it is the country’s third largest port in terms of freight turnover, handling 6 million tons annually. The chief exports are peanuts, fabrics, coffee, spices, and iron ores. Near the city is the Meenambakkam international airport. Since independence the city has grown as an industrial center. Old sectors were expanded, including the production of cotton, leather (one of the country’s largest centers), food and condiments, and metal products, and new industries were developed, particularly machine building (two automobile plants and the country’s largest state-owned factory for the manufacture of railroad passenger cars), petroleum refining (a plant with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tons of crude oil), and the production of plastics. In the suburbs are state plants for the production of tanks (Avadhi) and teletype units (Guindy).

The city’s educational and scientific institutions include a university, research institutes of mathematics, natural resources, and medicine, and the Indian Geographic Society, an important center for geographic research in southern India. There is also a film studio.

The city sprawls over a broad coastal plain. Residential and business districts alternate with large parks, gardens, and even rice paddies. In the northern coastal section of the city, next to the port, is the business center. To the west lies the industrial district of Perampur, and south of the port stands the former English fort, now the Historical Museum. South and southwest of the fort lies the center of the city, with many shops, hotels, and private residences. Along the coast extends the scenic Marina promenade.

O. B. OSKOLKOVA

Founded in 1639 as an English trading post, called Fort St. George, Madras was a base for English expansion in southern India in the 18th century. During the colonial period it was the headquarters of the governor of Madras Province. After India achieved independence in 1947, the city became the administrative center initially of the state of Madras and, since 1969, of Tamil Nadu.

madras

a. a strong fine cotton or silk fabric, usually with a woven stripe

b. (as modifier): madras cotton

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Madras

1. a port in SE India, capital of Tamil Nadu, on the Bay of Bengal: founded in 1639 by the English East India Company as Fort St George; traditional burial place of St Thomas; university (1857). Pop.: 4 216 268 (2001)

2. the former name (until 1968) for the state of Tamil Nadu