Royapuram
Encyclopedia
Royapuram a locality of Chennai
, South India
, is the place where the first railway station of south India
was constructed, and from where the laying down of the second railway line of the South Asia
commenced in the 1850s. This railway line extended from Royapuram (Madras) to Arcot, then capital
of the Carnatic region
. This station was inaugurated on 28 June 1856 by the then Governor Lord Harris and the railway line was opened for traffic on 1 July 1856. The first train, manufactured by Simpson and Company, started its journey with 300 people from Royapuram to Wallajabad. The station covers about 76 acres.
Royapuram railway station
building, which was previously in a dilapidated condition, has now been refurbished. It is believed to be one of oldest surviving railway station structures of the Indian Railways.
Royapuram also has the Chennai's Port Trust located on its shores. Royapuram also has Kalmandapam alongside in its constituency. Previously Royapuram was a home to many Anglo Indians and today their numbers can be very low since people emigrate to other parts of city or to other countries.
It has a beautiful church known as St. Peter's Church built in 1829 by the boat people of Christian Community migrated from Chepauk in 1799, the Customs House and Master Attendants's Office were shifted to Black Town from Fort St. George in 1799. In consequent to the removal of Customs House and Master Attendant's Office to Black Town, the then Marine Board which was under the control of British East India Company, alloted lands to Christian boat people who were staying at Chepauk village, 300 yards away from the North Black Town Wall to settle in the new villaage. They built a small chapel in the year 1780. The boat people regularly paying toll to Marine Board. The Boat people withdrawn money from the Marine Board and built the present church in the year 1829 This church is popularly called as 'Madha Kovil' by non-Christians.
Talking about the school reminds me of some good educational institutions which Royapuram can boast of. Some of them are K.C. Sankaralinga nadar Hr. Sec. School, PAK Palanisamy Hr.Sec School, St. Peter's Higher secondary school, Kalaimagal Viddyalaya Hr.Sec School, St. Kevin's School situated at Arathoon Road (one of the peaceful and beautiful roads in the 1980s), Northwick Girls' School situated at Shaik Maistry Street, K.C.Sankaralinga Nadar higher Secondary school, "CSI Rajagopal School, Maria Matriculation School, St. Anne's Girls' School, and St. Mary's Matriculation School.
Also Royapuram has the legendary Robinson Park renamed as Arignar Anna Poonga after late chief minister of Tamil Nadu Arignar Anna. This park is a witness to various historic activities such as the birth of DMK and lot of public rallies during the early part of 1950s and 1960s. Now it has been transformed into a more green park with lot of facilities for walkers.
There are places of religious interests such as Kalmandapam Shafia Mosque at Shaik Maistry Street, Muslim Welfare Association for Muslims. Kalmandapam Temple for Hindus, and St. Mary's Church for Christians.
Royapuram stretches from Clive battery (old Northern Rampart of Black Town Wall) at one end to Kasimedu at the other end, it is primarily a fisherman community area migrated from Chepauk village in 1799 during East India Company's government. It has a fine blend of people from various ethnic groups as well (as rightly pointed out earlier). Royapuram retains its specialty as the principal suburb of the Parsi community of Madras. It is also recognized as one of the old residential areas for the Anglo-Indian community.
Royapuram has a deep history inculcated within itself and has been part of the Chennai (Madras) city for centuries. It is just in the face of the recent developments that Royapuram got edged out to the periphery of the Chennai.
There is a Government Home for Destitute Boys in Mannarsami Koil Street. The home is one of eight in Tamil Nadu, which detains, protects, and cares for "runaway and missing children, begging children, victims of child labour, children surrendered by parents, and NGO handover children", and at any moment in time this home houses 125–150 children. Children with no other option of family care normally stay at the home until they are 18.
(DMK), until 1984, when MGR and ADMK swept Tamil Nadu. Ever since then, other than 1989 and 1996, this constituent has consistently voted for the formation of the ADMK government at the state level. In 1989, ADMK was split between Janaki faction
and Jayalalithaa faction
, and only the Janaki faction contested in this constituency. More recently, when DMK and allies were able to win the election in 2006, due to anti incumbency factors, ADMK still did extremely well in this constituent, with D. Jayakumar, winning for 3rd time, out of the last four times he contested, losing only in 1996.
is part of Chennai North (Lok Sabha constituency)
.
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, is the place where the first railway station of south India
Royapuram Railway Station
Royapuram railway station is a railway station in the Chennai Beach–Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway network in Chennai, India. It is the first railway station of South India, and the first train of South India started operating in June 1856 from Royapuram station...
was constructed, and from where the laying down of the second railway line of the South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
commenced in the 1850s. This railway line extended from Royapuram (Madras) to Arcot, then capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the Carnatic region
Carnatic region
The Carnatic coast is the region of South India lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast, in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, south eastern Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh....
. This station was inaugurated on 28 June 1856 by the then Governor Lord Harris and the railway line was opened for traffic on 1 July 1856. The first train, manufactured by Simpson and Company, started its journey with 300 people from Royapuram to Wallajabad. The station covers about 76 acres.
Royapuram railway station
Royapuram Railway Station
Royapuram railway station is a railway station in the Chennai Beach–Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway network in Chennai, India. It is the first railway station of South India, and the first train of South India started operating in June 1856 from Royapuram station...
building, which was previously in a dilapidated condition, has now been refurbished. It is believed to be one of oldest surviving railway station structures of the Indian Railways.
Royapuram also has the Chennai's Port Trust located on its shores. Royapuram also has Kalmandapam alongside in its constituency. Previously Royapuram was a home to many Anglo Indians and today their numbers can be very low since people emigrate to other parts of city or to other countries.
It has a beautiful church known as St. Peter's Church built in 1829 by the boat people of Christian Community migrated from Chepauk in 1799, the Customs House and Master Attendants's Office were shifted to Black Town from Fort St. George in 1799. In consequent to the removal of Customs House and Master Attendant's Office to Black Town, the then Marine Board which was under the control of British East India Company, alloted lands to Christian boat people who were staying at Chepauk village, 300 yards away from the North Black Town Wall to settle in the new villaage. They built a small chapel in the year 1780. The boat people regularly paying toll to Marine Board. The Boat people withdrawn money from the Marine Board and built the present church in the year 1829 This church is popularly called as 'Madha Kovil' by non-Christians.
Talking about the school reminds me of some good educational institutions which Royapuram can boast of. Some of them are K.C. Sankaralinga nadar Hr. Sec. School, PAK Palanisamy Hr.Sec School, St. Peter's Higher secondary school, Kalaimagal Viddyalaya Hr.Sec School, St. Kevin's School situated at Arathoon Road (one of the peaceful and beautiful roads in the 1980s), Northwick Girls' School situated at Shaik Maistry Street, K.C.Sankaralinga Nadar higher Secondary school, "CSI Rajagopal School, Maria Matriculation School, St. Anne's Girls' School, and St. Mary's Matriculation School.
Also Royapuram has the legendary Robinson Park renamed as Arignar Anna Poonga after late chief minister of Tamil Nadu Arignar Anna. This park is a witness to various historic activities such as the birth of DMK and lot of public rallies during the early part of 1950s and 1960s. Now it has been transformed into a more green park with lot of facilities for walkers.
There are places of religious interests such as Kalmandapam Shafia Mosque at Shaik Maistry Street, Muslim Welfare Association for Muslims. Kalmandapam Temple for Hindus, and St. Mary's Church for Christians.
Royapuram stretches from Clive battery (old Northern Rampart of Black Town Wall) at one end to Kasimedu at the other end, it is primarily a fisherman community area migrated from Chepauk village in 1799 during East India Company's government. It has a fine blend of people from various ethnic groups as well (as rightly pointed out earlier). Royapuram retains its specialty as the principal suburb of the Parsi community of Madras. It is also recognized as one of the old residential areas for the Anglo-Indian community.
Royapuram has a deep history inculcated within itself and has been part of the Chennai (Madras) city for centuries. It is just in the face of the recent developments that Royapuram got edged out to the periphery of the Chennai.
There is a Government Home for Destitute Boys in Mannarsami Koil Street. The home is one of eight in Tamil Nadu, which detains, protects, and cares for "runaway and missing children, begging children, victims of child labour, children surrendered by parents, and NGO handover children", and at any moment in time this home houses 125–150 children. Children with no other option of family care normally stay at the home until they are 18.
Politics
| Year | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its... (AIADMK) |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar... (DMK) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 2006 The thirteenth legislative assembly election, of Tamil Nadu was held on May 8, 2006. It was held for all 234 constituencies to elect the government in the state of for the following five years. The votes were counted three days later on May 11, 2006 and all the results were out by the end of the day... |
53.3% 50,647 | 39.1% 37,144 |
| 2001 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 2001 The twelfth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on May 10, 2001. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam -led front won the elections and its leader, J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister, even though she could not legally run as MLA in this election. She was unanimously... |
56.8% 44,465 | 39.3% 30,753 |
| 1996 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1996 The eleventh legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 2 May 1996. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led front won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the chief minister.This was his fourth term in office. The incumbent Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government was... |
35.4% 27,485 | 57.8% 44,893 |
| 1991 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1991 The tenth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 24 June 1991. The Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Indian National Congress alliance won the elections in a landslide and ADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa became the chief minister. This was her first term in office... |
59.0% 46,218 | 37.8% 29,565 |
| 1989* Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1989 The ninth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 21 January 1989. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the Chief Minister. It was his third term in office... |
8.0% 6,532 | 46.0% 37,742 |
| 1984 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1984 The eighth legislative assembly election for Tamil Nadu was held on December 24, 1984. Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election and its leader, incumbent M. G. Ramachandran was sworn in as Chief Minister, for the third time. This was the last time, where a Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu has... |
50.3% 40,727 | 48.7% 39,432 |
| 1980 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1980 The seventh legislative assembly election to Tamil Nadu was held on May 28, 1980. Election was held two years before the end of the term of M. G. Ramachandran administration as it was dissolved by the then President of India Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam allied with the Indian... |
49.1% 36,455 | 50.3% 37,390 |
| 1977 Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1977 The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on June 10, 1977. Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam . M. G. Ramachandran was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time. The election was a four cornered contest between... |
31.3% 22,626 | 33.5% 24,217 |
State assembly politics
Since 1977, Royapuram has been voting for Dravida Munnetra KazhagamDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
(DMK), until 1984, when MGR and ADMK swept Tamil Nadu. Ever since then, other than 1989 and 1996, this constituent has consistently voted for the formation of the ADMK government at the state level. In 1989, ADMK was split between Janaki faction
Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran , popularly known as V.N. Janaki , was an Indian Tamil actress and politician. She was born to Rajagopal Iyer and Narayani Amma in the town of Vaikom in Kerala State. She had a brother P. Narayanan who was an educationalist...
and Jayalalithaa faction
J. Jayalalithaa
Jayalalithaa Jayaram ; born 24 February 1948) commonly referred to as J. Jayalalitha, is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian party. She is called Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by her...
, and only the Janaki faction contested in this constituency. More recently, when DMK and allies were able to win the election in 2006, due to anti incumbency factors, ADMK still did extremely well in this constituent, with D. Jayakumar, winning for 3rd time, out of the last four times he contested, losing only in 1996.
Lok Sabha politics
Royapuram assembly constituencyRoyapuram (State Assembly Constituency)
Royapuram is a legislative assembly constituency, that includes the locality, Royapuram. Royapuram assembly constituency is part of Chennai North Parliamentary constituency.- 1984 Election results :...
is part of Chennai North (Lok Sabha constituency)
Chennai North (Lok Sabha constituency)
Chennai North is one of the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Formerly it was known as Madras North.-Assembly segments:-1971 Delimitation :...
.