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Nagercoil , India

Nagercoil is the twelfth largest town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu (after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy,Tirunelveli, Salem, Tiruppur, Erode, Vellore, Thoothukudi and Thanjavur) and a municipality in Kanyakumari district. It is the southernmost city on the Indian mainland, situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula. The town is also the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District. It was a part of the erstwhile Travancore state, or later Travancore-Cochin state, till almost a decade after India's Independence from Britain in 1947. In 1956, the city and the District were merged with Tamil Nadu. In its earlier days, the town and its surroundings were known as Nanjilnadu.





History

Nagercoil derives its name from a famous old temple called the Naga Raja Temple (temple of the serpent king) which still exists in the central part of the town. It has been an important temple for Hindus for centuries, and it also is a tourist attraction. According to certain accounts, it may once have been a Jain temple, as icons of the Jain Tirthankaras -- Mahavira and Parsvanatha -- are found on the pillars of the temple.[citation needed]
Nagercoil came under the rule of various kingdoms, notably the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms, at various points in time; historical records reveal that these kingdoms fought over the control of the fertile area of Nanjilnadu and Kottar, a town mentioned in old Tamil writings and maps of ancient India. Archaeological records also show Jain influences in ancient times.
The modern history of the town is interwoven with the history of Travancore state. The modern town of Nagercoil grew around Kottar, now a locality within the municipal limits. The town came to prominence during and after the reign of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, the king of Travancore, the capital of which was Padmanabhapuram, about 20 km to the north of Nagercoil. The capital was later shifted to Trivandrum, now Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, about 65 km to the north of Nagercoil. In Travancore state, Nagercoil was the second most important town, after the capital Trivandrum.

Nagaraja Temple, from which the town derives its social and trade departments in Travancore State.
His successors continued the reforms he instituted. Alhough Travancore was considered by many to be a "Hindu" administration, the rulers generally showed religious tolerance, and were not hostile to European educators, missionaries and traders.
Until the 19th century, the coffers of Travancore were greatly helped by revenues from the trade of pepper and other spices, with the European powers.
Irrigation systems (an excellent system is still found around Nagercoil), dams, roads, schools etc. developed under the able administration of the Travancore regents and their Dewans. The British in India considered Travancore a "model native state". At the time, Travancore was the most socially developed, and one of the most economically developed, states under the British Raj. During the British Raj, Travancore was essentially a vassal-state to the British, but the British never interfered in the general administration of the state.
At the time of India's independence from Britain, the Dewan of Travancore, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer, preferred Travancore to be a sovereign country, but eventually he gave up after a tough stand by Sardar Vallabhai Patel, India’s federal minister in charge of home affairs, and of the Indian National Congress. The late Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer is still held in high esteem in Nagercoil, for the many development projects he undertook in South Travancore, of which the town was a part.
When the states in India were re-organized in the 1950s, under the States Reorganisation Act, the Government of Travancore-Cochin gave part of South Travancore (present day Kanyakumari District) to Tamilnadu, because a majority of the population spoke Tamil in the district).
Nagercoil has generally been a peaceful place, although there was some tension and violence between the Christian and Hindu communities in the 1980s. Since then, inter-religious meetings organised by various faiths and by District Collectors (local administrators) have helped develop good understanding among the various sections of the population.

The Clock Tower in the heart of the town, which is more than one hundred years old. The clock in the tower, was presented by the European missionary, Rev. Duthie to the Maharajah of Travancore, when the Maharajah visited Nagercoil in the late 19th century.
Disaster struck on the 26th of December, 2004, when the Indian Ocean Tsunami brought shock, surprise and havoc for people living in the coastal areas of Kanyakumari District. Over a thousand people were either dead or missing in the tragedy, with many thousands displaced. Worst-hit were the coastal areas like Manakudy, near the town, and Colachel.
Source: wikipedia