Vellore
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A historical town in the state of Tamil Nadu, in southernmost India, Vellore is now the headquarters of Vellore District.
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Fort in Vellore
Vellore is on the Palar River, on the site of a fort built in the 16th century by Sinna Bommi Nayak, a subordinate Chief under Sada Sivaraya and Sri Ranga Maharaj. The fort was built during the Vijaynagar Kingdom in the third quarter of the 16th century. Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. The fort is one of the most perfect specimens of military architecture in Southern India. The Sultan of Bijapur seized Vellore by the middle of the 17th century. In 1676 the fort was captured by the Marathas who were in turn ousted by Daud Khan of Delhi in 1708. The fort was under the charge of Dost Ali Khan, Nawab of Arcot who gifted it in 1710 to his son-in-law, whose son Mohammed Ali kept the Fort as a stronghold for nearly 20 years.
In 1760 the Fort was occupied by a British garrison, and finally after the fall of Srirangapatnam and the death of Tipu Sultan, the English kept Tipu's sons and daughters in captivity in the fort. The fortification consists of a main rampart broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections. The main walls are built of massive granite stones surrounded by a broad moat fed with water by subterranean drains from the Suryagunta tank.
One of the interesting features of this Vellore fort is that there is a Hindu temple, Christian church and Muslim mosque inside the fort.
One of India's most prestigious teaching hospitals, the Christian Medical College & Hospital, is located in Vellore; so is the Vellore Institue of Technology, an internationally known and growing educational institution recently accredited by IEE.
Vellore District
Vellore District has an area of 4,314 km². It is bounded on the northeast by Tiruvallur District, on the southeast by Kanchipuram District, on the south by Tiruvannamalai District, on the southwest by Krishnagiri District, and on the northwest and north by Andhra Pradesh state.
Major towns in the district include Arakkonam, Arcot, Elagiri, Gudiyattam, Karigiri, Ranippettai, Sholinghur, Tiruppattur, Vaniyambadi, Vellore, and Walajapet.
Vellore District was formerly part of North Arcot District, which was established by the British in the 19th century. On 30 September 1989 the district was split into Tiruvannamalai-Sambuvarayar (present-day Tiruvannamalai) and North Arcot Ambedkar districts. North Arcot Ambedkar District was renamed Vellore District in 1996.
External links
- Historical Importance of Vellore: Official Govt. Site (http://www.vellore.tn.nic.in/histvellore.htm)
- Vellore Fort History by Indian Postal Dept. (http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Paper/Unwatermarked%20Gummed%20coated%20stamp%20paper/VELLORE)
- Frontline Article on History of Vellore (http://www.blonnet.com/life/2002/02/25/stories/2002022500170300.htm)
- Colonial British perspective on the Sepoy Mutiny at Vellore Fort (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~clday/vellore.htm)
- Rulers of Arcot (http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/a/arcot.html)
- Christian Medical College & Hospital (http://cmch-vellore.edu)
- Vellore Institue of Technology (http://www.vit.ac.in)