KariMccool73 at 19:25, 3 April 2026

2026-04-03T19:25:36Z

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{{Short description|Panchayat town in Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Gingee
| other_name = Singapuri, Senji
| settlement_type = Special Grade Town Panchayat
| image_skyline = Gingee Fort panorama.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = View of Gingee fort
| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu, India
| coordinates = {{coord|12.15|N|79.30|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Viluppuram district]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 92
| population_total = 43,731
| population_as_of = 2021 census
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code = 604202
| area_code = +91 4145
| registration_plate = '''TN-16'''
| website =
| footnotes =
}}

'''Gingee''', also known as '''Senji''' or '''Jinji''' and originally called '''Singapuri''', is a [[panchayat town]] in [[Viluppuram district]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Tamil Nadu]]. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the [[Sankaraparani River]].

[[File:Gingee Fort Hill.jpg|thumb|Gingee Fort Hill]]

==History==
Originally Gingee fort and its surrounding areas were ruled by a [[Kadava]] king of Pallava lineage titled Senjiyar Kon in Ottakoothar's Moovarula around 1123 AD.<ref name="விக்கிரம சோழனுலா">{{cite book|title=விக்கிரம சோழனுலா |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.jZY9lup2kZl6TuXGlZQdjZI2/page/16/mode/1up?q=%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%B5+|publisher=Kalakshetra, Adyar|date=July 1946|edition=First|access-date=August 10, 2025|language=ta}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title = The Cōḷas, Volume 2, Issue 1|author =K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|year =1937|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0aWCAAAAIAAJ&q=gingee+fort+kadava}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title = The Role of feudatories in later Chola history|author =M.S. Govindaswamy|year =1979|url =https://tamildigitallibrary.in/Articles/%E0%AE%A8%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D-13178-The%20Role%20Of%20Feudatories%20In%20Later%20Chola%20History}}</ref>.The Gingee country then came under the rule of the [[Hoysala]]s in the later part of the 13th and in the first half of the 14th century. From the Hoysalas, it passed to the first rulers of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]]. The imperial Vijayanagara dominion gradually expanded over Southern India and divided the administration of the tamil country into three important provinces, which were assigned to the [[Nayaka dynasties|Nayaks]]. These were the [[Nayaks of Madurai]], [[Nayaks of Tanjore]], and [[Nayaks of Gingee]]. Information about the Gingee Nayaks and their rule is very scant. It is said that [[Tubaki Krishnappa Nayak|Tupakula Krishnappa Nayaka]] (1490 to 1521) of a Chandragiri family was the founder of the Nayaka line of Gingee kings.<ref>Velcheru Narayana Rao, David Shulman. Classical Telugu poetry: an anthology, Page 63.</ref><ref>Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Penumbral visions: making polities in early modern South India, page 198.</ref><ref>BS Baliga. Tamil Nadu district gazetteers, page 427.</ref><ref>Delhi School of Economics. The Indian economic and social history review?, page 411 mentions: "... this time run by Balija and other Naidu families, and involving such personages in the 1630s and 1640s as Tubaki Krishnappa Nayaka of the Senji family, ..."</ref><ref>Sanjay Subrahmanyam. The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500-1650, page 304 mentions: "Achyutappa, it is generally believed, belonged to the Balija Chetti mercantile community, originally of Telugu extraction, but settled in the Tamil region as a part of the extensive migratory movement from the Andhra to the Tamil regions that began c.1350 and continued into our period."</ref><ref>Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Improvising empire: Portuguese trade and settlement in the Bay of Bengal, 1500–1700, page 206 mentions: "..perhaps as early as 1608, the VOC's factors had maintained close contact with a family of Achyutappa and his brother Chinnanna, but also two nephews, Koneri and Sesadra."</ref> He seems to have ruled along the coast from [[Nellore]] to the [[Kollidam River]] up to 1521. Under the Nayaks the forts were strengthened and the town was greatly enlarged.

[[File:Krishnagiri Fort Hill.jpg|thumb|Krishnagiri Fort Hill]]

The last Nayak of Gingee was forced to surrender to the invading [[Bijapur Sultanate]] army towards the end of December 1649. The booty acquired by the [[Turko-Persian]] sultan of Bijapur was 20 crore rupees in cash and jewels. Gingee assumed a new and enhanced strategic importance under the Bijapur governors. Bijapur was in possession of the fortress of Senji until 1677, when the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] monarch [[Shivaji|Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj]] conquered it in his Carnatic expedition. The Marathas greatly strengthened and fortified its defences.

The [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]s were then able to capture Gingee Fort from the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha emperor]] [[Rajaram I]] early in 1698, after a siege of seven years. [[Zulfikar Khan]], the son of [[Asad Khan (Mughal noble)|Asad Khan]], the Grand Vizier in the court of the [[Turko-Persian]] Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]], was in command of the siege operation of Senji and later its governance till he left the Carnatic after about a year from its fall.

After that, Aurangzeb granted a mansab of 2,500 rank and [[jagir]] of 12 lakhs to [[Swarup Singh of Senji|Raja Swarup Singh]], his [[Bundela|Bundela Rajput]] [[Domestic worker|servant]], along with the killedari (Fort Commandership) of Gingee in 1700. Raja Swarup Singh died of old age in 1714. His arrears of payments due to the [[Sadr Faujdari Adalat|faujdari]] amounted to 70 lakhs, being a defaulter for ten years. The Nawab of Arcot reported this matter to the Mughal emperor at Delhi. Hearing about the death of his father, [[Desingh]], the son of Raja Swarup Singh, started for Gingee from [[Bundelkhand]], his ancestral home.

On arriving at Gingee, Desingh assumed the governance of Gingee after performing the last rites of his father. Aurangazeb had granted a [[firman]] to his father and Desingh took formal possession of his father's jagir on the ground of his hereditary right. Desingh did not receive a warm welcome from the Mughal officers. The Nawab of Arcot, [[Saadatullah Khan I]], who attempted to dispossess Desingh, pleaded that the firman was not valid. When Payya Ramakrishna, who was his secretary, informed him of the legal necessity of getting the firman renewed by the new Emperor before assuming the jagir, Desingh replied that he had got the firman of Aurangzeb and that he need not apply to anybody else.

In fact after capturing the fort from Marathas, Aurangzeb had first appointed Nawab Daud Khan as the deputy [[subahdar]] of the Deccan. Nawab Daud Khan removed his headquarters from Gingee to the town of [[Arcot, Tamil Nadu|Arcot]], as he believed that the place was not healthy. This diminished the importance of Gingee. While shifting his headquarters, Daud Khan appointed Sadatullah Khan as his Diwan and Faujdar in 1708. Sadatullah Khan later became the Nawab of the two Carnatics in 1713, under Nizam-Ul-Mulk. He was the regular and acknowledged Nawab of the Carnatic between the years 1710 and 1732. After the death of Raja Swarup Singh he renewed the demand for the arrears of revenue with his son Raja Desingh. This led to a battle between the two, which ended in the death of the [[Rajput]], Desingh on 3 October 1714. He struggled at the age of 22, against the powerful Nawab Sadatulla Khan of Arcot in a struggle that was hopeless from the outset (Desingh's army consisted of only 350 horses and 500 troopers, while the Nawab's army had 8,000 horsemen and 10,000 sepoys). Ballads are sung in and around Gingee about his bravery. However, the fortress of Gingee lost its pre-eminent position and political importance within a few years of the extinction of the Rajput rule.[[File:Throne in Krishnagiri Fort.jpg|thumb|Throne in Krishnagiri Fort]]

Subsequently, the English and the French competed for the control of Gingee and the French won it for themselves on 11 September 1750, under the initiative of [[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau|Marquis de Bussy]], the Governor-General of [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]]. They took good care to secure the fort with a strong garrison, which was well supported with artillery and ammunition.

Gingee remained firmly in French possession until after the fall of Pondicherry to [[Sir Eyre Coote]] in January 1761. The English commander was Captain Stephen Smith. With the British conquest of Gingee, the French lost their last possession in the Carnatic.

[[File:Throne in Gingee Fort Hill.jpg|thumb|Throne in Gingee Fort Hill]]

Gingee regained its political importance for the last time in 1780, when [[Hyder Ali]] of Mysore, helped by some able French officers, invaded the Carnatic with a force of 90,000 men. Hyder's men appeared before the fortress and easily carried it by their assault in November 1780. The English re-conquered it at the close of the [[Second Mysore War]] from [[Tipu Sultan]] in 1799. After that Gingee had been free from the ravages and anarchy of war, but subject to desolation and decay. During the frequent Indo-French Wars, the British resident unsuccessfully petitioned for the demolition of the fort and the fortifications.

The presence of [[Turko-Persian]] Muslim rulers in Gingee is evident from the inhabitants of a nearby village called Minambur, where the Urdu speaking Navaitha Muslims living with their unique culture and tribes such as Shakir, Koken, Bhanday Bhonday, Choudary, Pappa, Aghalay, Hazari, Amberkhani, Sayeed etc.

===Gingee Fort===
{{main|Gingee Fort}}
[[File:Festningen Gingee i Karnatik - Peter Anker (1744–1832) - Kulturhistorisk museum, UiO - UEM4446.jpg|thumb|Gingee fort depicted in the late 18th century]]
Gingee is famous for its [[Gingee Fort]], a popular tourist attraction. The earliest mention of the hill fort of Gingee is found in an Inscription of Vikrama Chola (1120–63) dated in his 10th Year<ref>ARE 159 of 1930</ref> and a Kadava feudatory identified with Atkolli Kadavarayan calls himself the Lord of Senjiyar of the strong embattled fort.<ref>{{cite book|title = The Cōḷas, Volume 2, Issue 1|author =K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|year =1937|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0aWCAAAAIAAJ&q=gingee+fort+kadava}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title = Inscriptions in the Pudukkóttai State: Early, Cola and Pandiya inscriptionauthor =Commissioner of Museums, Government of Tamilnadu|year=2002|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oU5mAAAAMAAJ&q=gingee+fort+kadava}}</ref> The fort was later built up by the [[Imperial Cholas]] in the 12th century. It then passed from the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysala Emperors]] to the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Emperors of Vijayanagara]]. In 1638, Gingee came under the control of the [[Turko-Persian]] [[Bijapur Sultanate]]. In 1677, the great [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] monarch [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj]] conquered it. In 1698, it was captured by the [[Turko-Persian]] [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]s, when it became the headquarters of the [[Carnatic Sultanate|Carnatic]]. It changed hands to the [[France|French]] in 1750, and then to the [[United Kingdom|British]] in 1762. During this time, many sculptural aspects of Gingee were shifted to [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]] by the French.

To visit Gingee Fort, guides are available from archaeological office which is on the way to the fort. The office is open for visitors from 9:00 to 17:00 (9am to 5pm). The fee for visitors and tourists for visiting the fort is Rs.25.

==Geography==
Gingee is located at {{Coord|12.25|N|79.42|E|}}.<ref>[http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/25/Gingee.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Gingee]</ref> It has an average elevation of 92 metres (301 ft).

The nearest towns with railway stations are [[Tindivanam]], 28 km away, [[Viluppuram]] 38 km away and [[Thiruvannamalai]], 39 km away. Gingee is 147 km from [[Chennai]] and 64 km from [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]]. National Highway [[National Highway 77 (India)|NH 77]] connects [[Krishnagiri]] and [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]], passes through Gingee and State Highway SH 4 connects [[Arcot, Tamil Nadu|Arcot]] and [[Viluppuram|Villupuram]], passes through Gingee.

==Demographics==
===Population===
{{Historical populations|type=
|align = right
|state=collapsed
|1951|7941
|1961|8765
|1971|10222
|1981|15106
|1991|16990
|2001|21251
|2011|27045
|footnote=Source:
*1951 – 2001:<ref name="urbaninfraii">[[#urban|Urban Infrastructure Report]] 2008, p. 9</ref>
*2011:<ref name=2011census/>
}}
According to the [[2011 census of India|2011 census]], Gingee had a population of 27,045 with a sex-ratio of 975 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.<ref name="dashboard">{{cite web|title=Census Info 2011 Final population totals|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/censusinfodashboard/index.html|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|year=2013|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> A total of 2,893 were under the age of six, constituting 1,470 males and 1,423 females. [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes]] accounted for 19.8% and 1.12% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 76.4%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.<ref name="dashboard"/> The town had a total of 6,259 households. There were a total of 10.936 workers, comprising 487 cultivators, 640 main agricultural labourers, 414 in house hold industries, 5,721 other workers, 3,664 marginal workers, 45 marginal cultivators, 1,867 marginal agricultural labourers, 330 marginal workers in household industries and 1,442 other marginal workers.<ref name=2011census>{{cite web|title=Census Info 2011 Final population totals - Gingee|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=683354|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|year=2013|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref>

==Politics==
[[Gingee (state assembly constituency)|Gingee assembly constituency]] is part of [[Arni (Lok Sabha constituency)]]. Gingee itself a legislative constituency which is currently held by the DMK party and K.S.Masthan is currently the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Senji.
==Landmarks==
* Shiva temple, situated below the fort, was built during the reign of [[Desingh|Raja Desingh]], the [[Rajput]] king of Gingee.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}
[[File:Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG|thumb|[[Mel Sithamur Jain Math]], the residence of [[Bhattaraka Laxmisena]]]]
* [[Mel Sithamur Jain Math]] is a [[Jain Matha]] near Gingee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/News/2009/11-Nov/11_News_Updates_001.htm|title=News Updates|publisher=Www.Jainheritagecentres.Com|date=11 December 2009|access-date=27 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618134754/http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/News/2009/11-Nov/11_News_Updates_001.htm|archive-date=18 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It is the primary religious center of the [[Tamil Jain]] community.<ref name="southindianstates1">{{cite web |url=http://southindianstates.com/tamilnadu_districts/vilupuram/vilupuram-tourist-information1.html |title=Tourist Information of Vilupuram District Tamilnadu South Indian States India |publisher=Southindianstates.com |access-date=2012-05-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621053124/http://southindianstates.com/tamilnadu_districts/vilupuram/vilupuram-tourist-information1.html |archive-date=21 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It is headed by the primary religious head of this community, [[Bhattaraka Laxmisena]] Swami.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2FGSGmP4jNcC&q=Laxmisena+bhattaraka+tamil&pg=PA135 |title=Facets of Jainology: Selected Research Papers on Jain Society, Religion, and ... - Vilas Adinath Sangave - Google Books |isbn=9788171548392 |access-date=2012-05-27|last1=Sangave |first1=Vilas Adinath |year=2001 }}</ref> The Viluppuram area has been an important centre of Jainism since ancient times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/08/stories/2008080858372200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080811022707/http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/08/stories/2008080858372200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-08-11 |title=Front Page : Mahavira bas-relief tells a story |date=2008-08-08 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=2012-05-27}}</ref> Historically, there was a Jain Math at [[Kanchipuram]] but it was shifted to its current location here.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jainsamaj.org/rpg_site/literature2.php?id=2634&cat=40&subcat=123&subsubcat=42 |title=on www.jainsamaj.org ( Jainism, Ahimsa News, Religion, Non-Violence, Culture, Vegetarianism, Meditation, India. ) |publisher=Jainsamaj.org |access-date=2012-05-27 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103836/http://jainsamaj.org/rpg_site/literature2.php?id=2634&cat=40&subcat=123&subsubcat=42 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{Commons category|Gingee}}
<gallery>
Image:Gingee-Fort-Krishnagiri.jpg|Gingee Fort, [[Krishnagiri]]
Image:GingeeFort-Rajagiri.jpg|Gingee Fort, [[Rajagiri Fort|Rajagiri Hill]]
Image:GingeeFort1.JPG|Gingee Fort View
File:Gingee_Jain_Temple_6.jpg|Gingee Jain temple
Image:Residence of Bhattaraka Laxmisena, Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG|Residence of [[Bhattaraka Laxmisena]] at the [[Mel Sithamur Jain Math]]
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|3}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=7RW6MrAiJ-0C Questioning Ramayanas - by Paula Richman]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=xowUxYhv0QgC The Literary Cultures in History - by Sheldon I Pollock]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=FqLfdZ0gcoEC Further Sources of Vijayanagara History By K A Nilakanta Sastry]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=4Ju6z8PbTuAC Penumbral Visions - by Sanjay Subrahmanyam]
* {{cite report|url=http://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/CCBP/Gingee.pdf|publisher=Commissioner of Municipal Administration, Government of Tamil Nadu|title=Conversion of City Corporate Plan to Business Plan for Pudukkottai municipality|year=2008|access-date=9 May 2015|ref=urban}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gingee}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100817012221/http://www.kaladarshana.com/sites/gingee/ Gingee: History and Architecture]}}
* [http://www.gingeefort.com Gingee Fort]

{{Villupuram District}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Forts in India}}
{{MarathaEmpire}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Viluppuram district]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire]]

Gingee - Revision history

KariMccool73 at 19:25, 3 April 2026