Nagapattinam

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Nagapattinam (Tamil: நாகப்பட்டினம் Nākappaṭṭiṉam [ˈnaːɡʌpːaʈːinʌm]; also: Nagapatnam, obsolete: Negapatam) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a population of about 103,000 (2011 census). It is located in the Kaveri estuary delta on the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal about 250 kilometres south of Chennai (Madras). Nagapattinam is the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District.

The history of the city dates back to antiquity: the Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy mentions the place as Nigamos in the 2nd century and the Persian historian Raschid ad-Din mentions it as Malifattan in the 13th century. In the 16th century, the Portuguese established a base in Nagapattinam. In 1660, the city fell to the Netherlands and remained the most important Dutch possession in India before being conquered by the British in 1781. After the Kingdom of Thanjavur came under British rule in 1799, Nagapattinam was made the capital of the newly formed Thanjavur District and remained so until 1845. After Indian independence, Nagapattinam again became the district capital in 1991, when the old Thanjavur District was divided into Thanjavur and Nagapattinam Districts. In 2004, the Nagapattinam area was among the worst tsunami-hit coastal stretches in India.

Administratively, the town of Nagapattinam also includes Nagore, about six kilometers to the north, which is an important Muslim pilgrimage site. Here there is a shrine (dargah) at the tomb of the Sufi saint Syed Shahul Hamid Qadir Vali (Nagore Andavar), who lived in the 16th century. Once a year, a 14-day festival is held in honour of the saint. Twelve kilometers south of Nagapattinam is Velankanni, the most important Christian pilgrimage site in India.

71 percent of the inhabitants are Hindus. In addition, there is a larger minority of Muslims (25 percent) and a smaller Christian minority (4 percent). The main language, as in the whole of Tamil Nadu, is Tamil, which is spoken by 99 percent of the population as their mother tongue.