Theni district
The district Theni (Tamil: தேனி மாவட்டம், also: Teni ) is a district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Administrative center is the eponymous city of Theni.
Geography
The district is located in southwestern Theni Tamil Nadu at the foot of the Western Ghats. Neighboring districts are in northern Dindigul, Madurai in the east, Virudhunagar in the southeast and Idukki in the West. The latter already belongs to the neighboring federal state of Kerala.
The area of the district of Theni is 2,872 square kilometers. The Distriktgebeit includes Kambam Valley (English Cumbum Valley) and the mountains that surround this in three directions. In the west, the Western Ghats form a natural border with Kerala. To the north are the Palani Mountains and to the south the Varushanad Mountains, foothills of the Western Ghats both. By Kambam Valley of Suruliyar, a source of the river Vaigai flows.
The district Theni is divided into five taluks Bodinayakkanur, Periyakulam, Theni, Uthamapalayam and Andipatti.
History
The area of Theni stood in the long course of its history under the influence of the nearby Madurai. After the area had come under British rule, it was incorporated in 1801 as part of the district of Madurai in the province of Madras. After Indian independence, the area came in 1956 to the newly formed State of Madras (now Tamil Nadu ). As an independent district Theni has existed since 1996, when it was formed by the cleavage of the western parts of the district of Madurai.
Population
According to the Indian census of 2011, the district Theni has 1,243,684 inhabitants. Compared to the last census in 2001 the population had grown by 13.7 percent. The growth rate is thus marginally lower than the average of Tamil Nadu ( 15.5 per cent). The population density is 433 inhabitants per square kilometer below the mean of the state ( 555 inhabitants per square kilometer). 53.8 percent of the residents of the district Theni live in cities. The degree of urbanization is thus slightly higher than the average of Tamil Nadu ( 48.5 per cent). The literacy rate is 77.6 percent below the average of the state ( 80.3 percent).
The population of the district of Theni make Hindus according to the 2001 census, 92.5 percent of the vast majority. There are also minorities of Muslims ( 4.4 per cent) and Christians (3.1 percent).