Chennai

Industrial port and capital of Tamil Nadu, India, on the Bay of Bengal; population (2001 est) 4,216,300. An all-weather artificial harbour handles cotton goods, oilseeds, hides and skins, and industrial raw materials. Main industries include cotton, cement, chemicals, railway, car and bicycle manufacture, electrical-engineering, rubber, fertilizers, oil refining, iron, and steel. Fort St George (1639) remains from the East India Company when Chennai was the chief port on the east coast; the fort now contains government offices and St Mary's Church, the first English church built in India (1680). Chennai was occupied by the French from 1746 to 1748 and shelled by the German ship Emden in 1914, the only place in India attacked in World War I. The University of Madras was founded in 1857, and there is a technical institute (1959).