Indian Streams Research Journal

Volume 2, Issue. 7, Aug 2012

Available online at www.isrj.net

ISSN:-2230-7850 ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Historians' Views On The Origin Of Madras

K.MURUGIAH Associate Professor of History Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Tirunelveli-627 012 Abstract: The name of India is originated from the river name Indus. India has large number of cities like Chennai, Kolkatta, Mumbai and Delhi. Madras is the pioneering settlements of British in India. It was the first city established by the East India Company and capital of southern part of India. So that Madras may rightly to be called the Athens of India in Modern time and Tamil nadu is called as 'The Greece of South East Asia'. It is the fourth largest metropolitan city in India today. Madras- 372 Years Old Fort St. George was constructed in 1639 at Madras for the purpose of trading settlement on the eastern coast of Southern part of India by the English East India Company.1 This city has only a little over 372 years old historical background. But the inner parts of the city are as old as civilization itself while other places are as old as the history of Tamil Nadu. It was once a part of the ancient kingdom of Thondaimandalam and after which it was ruled by the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and the Vijayanagar Empire. Madras originally consisted of several small villages and temple towns which slowly united by the administrators. Now it formed as capital of the State of Tamil Nadu. The city has four terminals like railway, airway, and roadway and sea route. It located 2184 railway kms from North of New Delhi. It is situated on the banks of river Coovam. Mysterious Origin The origin of the name Madras is mystery. The historians narrate their own interpretation. The remarkable document handed over by Damarala Venkatappa to Francis Day conveying to English East India Company and Government of British a piece of land lying between two rivers Coovam and Egmore. The sea on the east making it a narrow peninsula contains both the names Madaraspatnam and Chennapatnam.2 It records when Sriranga Raya, ascended the Vijayanagar throne in 1642, he dismissed Damarala Venkatappa and issued a new grant to the East India Company. This is the first Royal Grant in November 1645. That grant refers to Madras as Sriranga Rayapatnam From the time of the first settlement of East India Company (1639 1640), the city named in the official documents mentioned Madras in English and Chennai in Tamil.2 A kuppam called Madarasanpatnam and a fort possibly called Madraspatnam. The Indian settlement in this area called Chennapatnam and this name being found in the records as early as 1646. Two Patnams The study of records relating to English settlement in Coromandel Coast reveals that at the time of Francis Day's arrival in this area there were two patnams like Chennapatnam and Madraspatnam. Pattinam or patnam is a common Tamil suffix to names of towns located on the seashore. This tradition has been identified from the Sangam Age. For instance, Kaveripoompattinam was the ancient port and capital city of
Please cite this Article as : K.MURUGIAH , Historians' Views On The Origin Of Madras : Indian Streams Research Journal (Aug. ; 2012)

Historians' Views On The Origin Of Madras

the ancient Cholas.3 Similarly, Sadras, a Dutch settlement, near Madras is a shortened name of Sathurangapatnam.4 Father Name of Chennappa? Besides Damarala brothers requested the English to name the town that they had to develop on the newly acquired territory to be named after their father Chennappa. This information was generally rejected among the scholars due to absence of such matter in the official records of English. The founding fathers of Fort St.George none of ever made a statement substantiating the consideration. Dr. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar Dr. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar mentions that Aiyappa was brother of Venkatappa, built a town Chennapatanam in the name of his father. The intention was to prevent wars of the two foreign settlements such as Dutch and Portuguese settlements famously known as Pralaya Kaveri and the other settlement in Mylapore. To prevent these two foreign enclaves from fighting as they were constantly at war,5 Chennapattinam was established to the safeguards.6 Bundla Ramaswami Naidu Bundla Ramaswami Naidu's Memoir on the Internal Revenue System of the Madras Presidency stated that his ancestor Berri Timappa functioned as an intermediary in securing the grant of territory made to Francis Day. The chosen place for the fort happened to be a banana garden belonging to an imaginary Christian fisherman Madarasen of fisherman's koopam. Another conjecture is that the name of Madras has been derived from a Portuguese family who lived in San Thome. When the foundations of new chapel of St. Lazarus at Mylapore were laid was they excavated a fine tombstone bearing a Portuguese inscription. It lighted upon the English rendering of the inscription runs as follows: This is the grave of Manuel Madra and of his mother, Son of Vincente Madra and of Lucky Brague. They built this Church at their own expense in the year 1637. The essence of reading of the inscription by monsignor Teixeire is given here under 7 a forceful rich Portuguese family by name Madra lived in San Thome ,the present Assumption Church and they built a Cathedral at their own cost. It is deduced that the locality must have taken their name as per the Indian custom.8 N.S. Ramaswami According to N.S. Ramaswami, it is unlikely that a Portuguese family living four miles away from Madraspatnam could have bestowed its name on the village. The link is based on similarity of names in a very unsound basis.9 S. Muthaiah S. Muthaiah describes that there was an information at San Thome. It was Cosmo Lourenco who is restricted militia in Fort St. George in 1681. He clearly explained the view that the name Madras might have been derived from that of his distinguished family of the time.10 C.S. Srinivasachari C.S. Srinivasachari believes that it is more probable that it had its origin from the name Makhraskuppam. The name had been differently spelt in old correspondences as Madras Patnam, Madra Patnam and Madraza Patnam.11 Research Scholars Some research scholars mentioned that the name Madras originated from the Persian Madrasa which means a college. Since there was a Muslim settlement in the neighbourhood of Fort St. George like in particular at Triplicane and Royapettah zone. The capability of a Muslim educational institution being established near the land where Francis Day set his foot is not ruled out. Charles Lockyer in his book, Account of the Trade in India mentioned about the existence of a College of a Fort St.George in the Eighteenth Century which was situated in the Governor's house. The salient feature of which was a domed Muslim style of Architecture. A book written in the beginning of the Eighteenth Century cannot be considered as authentic evidence to prove that the name Madras was derived from Madarasa. This text can be discarded totally since it lacked historical credibility. The study of records exposes that the Madresa was not the Governor's residence but a residence for the company's junior civil servants. Finally N.S. Ramaswami concluded that Madrasa, a Christian Fort in Vijayanagar times is a chronological impossibility.12
Indian Streams Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 7 Aug 2012

Historians' Views On The Origin Of Madras

Anandaranaga Vijaya Champu- A Sanskrit Work The Anandaranaga Vijaya Champu, a Sanskrit biography of both Anandaranga Pillai and his father, Thiruvenkadam Pillai celebrated life profile of French-India advocates that the original name of Chennapatnam was Chennakasavapura. It derived from the name of that the presiding deity of the Temple of Chennakesava Perumal. To conclude, the English merchants sought the consent and permission of Damarala family to form their establishment under their protection. The Poligar gave four villages to them. The first village was Madraskoopam, when they built a fort. The other three villages were Chennaikooppam, Arkooppam and Maleput.13 The documentary evidence of Chennapatnam and Madraspatnam were already in existence even before Francis Day arrived on the area of activity cannot be proved wrong. The cowl that the Nayak offered to Francis Day in 1639 makes specific mention of the Port of Madraspatnam. From the above evidences, it could be concluded that so many epistolary are proved the Madraspatam came into being prior to the landing of the English on the East Coastal region. End Notes 1. H.C., The Brief Survey of Indian History, Madras, 1933, p. 232. 2. N.S.Ramaswami, The Founding of Madras, Madras, 1977, p. 46. 3. S. Muthaiah, Madras Rediscovered, Chennai, 2008, p. 4. 4. K.Rajayyan, Tamilnadu A Real History, Trivandrum, 2005, p.47. 5. H.D.Love, Vestiges of Old Madras 1600 -1800, Vol. I, New Delhi, 1996, p.278 6. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History, Madras, 1924, p. 21. 7. P.Rajaraman, Chennai Through the Ages, Chennai, 1997, p. 51. 8. R. Krishna Rao Bhonsle, Origin of the Word, Madras, The Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, Madras, 1939, pp. 35 36. 9. N.S. Ramaswami, op.cit., p. 52. 10. S. Muthaiah, Madrs Rediscovered, Madras, 2008, p.4. 11. C.S.Srinvasachari, History of the City of Madras, Madras, 1939, p.44. 12. N.S.Ramaswami, op.cit., pp. 40- 41. 13. Ibid., pp. 49- 50.

Indian Streams Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 7 Aug 2012