Agastheeswaram Explained

Agastheeswaram
Nickname:Agasteeshwaram
Settlement Type:Taluk
Pushpin Map:India Tamil Nadu
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates:8.1°N 77.5208°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: India
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Tamil Nadu
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Kanniyakumari
Unit Pref:Metric
Population Total:8978
Population As Of:2001
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:Languages
Demographics1 Title1:Official
Demographics1 Info1:Tamil
Demographics1 Title2:Spoken
Demographics1 Info2:Tamil
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30
Postal Code Type:PIN
Postal Code:629 701

Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

History

Agasteeswaram is named after Sage Agastya who had visited this place to teach Ramayana. Most of the people from this village are well educated when compared with other districts in Tamil Nadu. Vivekanandha college is located in Agasteeswararam.Along with the talukas of Thovalay, Kalculam, Eraneel and Velavancode, Agasteeswaram was a part of the southern division (aka Padmanabhapuram division) of the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore[1] until its union with Cochin in 1949 and continued to be a part of the state of Travancore- Cochin until November 1, 1956.

Agastheeswaram

Below are the words extracted from the Travancore state manual about the Agastisvaram Nadan rich chieftain who enjoyed special benefits from the Trovancore Rajah, that family belonged to the sub-caste Nadan an endogamous group among the Nadars.

The Travancore state manual says "This is also the headquarters of the Shanar tribe, where their Nadan or chieftain resides, who was formerly allowed the privileges of having a fort, of riding in a palanquin and of retaining a hundred armed attendants."

Ref: The Travancore state manual, Volume 2 Page 57

One of the principal devil temples in Travancore is that represented in the annexed engraving situated at Agastispuram, near cape comorin ; which is also the headquarters of the Shanar tribe where their Nadan, or Chieftain, resides, who was formerly allowed the privileges of having a fort, riding in a palankeen, and retaining 100 armed attendants, which he is too reduced to support now .Ref: 1871 Samuel mateer-The Land of Charity- page 219

Kottaram

Kottaram is one of the Panchayat town in the Agastheeswaram Taluk. It is situated 6 km from Kanyakumari. People of different religions like Hindus, Christians and Muslims live here. CSI, Catholic, AG, IPC and many other independent Christian churches can be found here.

Demographics

India census,[2] Agastheeswaram had a population of 8978. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Agastheeswaram has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 50% of the males and 50% of females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Famous people from Agastheeswaram

See also

Notes and References

  1. Shungoony Menon, P. (1878). A History of Travancore from the Earliest Times (pdf). Madras: Higgin Botham & Co. p. 171. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. Web site: Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional). https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. 2004-06-16. 2008-11-01. Census Commission of India.
  3. News: Dinamani. தமிழகத்தின் முதல் பெண் வில்லுப்பாட்டுக் கலைஞர்!. 27 June 2018. 11 November 2018. ta. T. Ramakrishnan.