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Salem
Metropolis
Clockwise from top left: Mookaneri Lake, Modern Theatres, Trumpet Exchange Flyover, Salem Collectorate and Salem Steel Plant
Nickname:  Steel City[1]
Salem Location in Tamil Nadu
Coordinates: 11°39′N 78°09′E / 11.65°N 78.15°E / 11.65; 78.15
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Salem
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	Salem City Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	A. Ramachandran DMK
Area
• Metropolis	91.34 km2 (35.27 sq mi)
• Metro [3]	799.59 km2 (308.72 sq mi)
• Rank	5
Elevation	278 m (912 ft)
Population  (2011)[4]
• Metropolis	1,189,000 [2]
• Rank	55th
• Metro [5]	2,463,367
• Metro rank	37th
Demonym(s)	Salemians, Salethar
Languages
• Official	Tamil
• Spoken	Tamil
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	636xxx
Telephone code	+91-427
ISO 3166 code	IN-TN
Vehicle registration	TN-27, TN-30, TN-54, TN-90
HDI	0.669 medium[6]
Sex ratio	987 ♀/ 1000 ♂
Literacy	84.42 % [7]
GDP per capita (2020–21)	₹44,228,123 (US$530,000)
Website	www.salemcorporation.gov.in

Salem, natively spelt as Selam^{[note 1]} (pronounced [seːlam] ^ⓘ), is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of the Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu surrounded by mountains. Salem is the fifth largest urban agglomeration in the state, exceeded by Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchirappalli, and third largest metropolitan region in the state only after to Chennai and Coimbatore metropolitan regions. The city is 124 km² (48 sq mi) large.^[8] Major products of Salem include silver anklets, sago, mangoes, steel, and textiles.

History

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Early period

During the third century BCE, there was the period of Bogar – a notable Tamil Siddhar, and at that time Jainism and Buddhism arrived. Around the beginning of the common era, the existence of a culturally and economically advanced society in Salem two thousand years ago is evident from the discovery of silver coins of the Roman Emperor Tiberices Claudices Nero (37–68 CE) in Koneripatti of Salem in 1987. Later, the Pandya dynasty started ruling the region around Salem. Afterwards, the Pallava dynasty arose in Salem, followed by Mahendra Varma Pallava coming to Salem and the rise of Saivite principles. Mahendra Varma Pallava was succeeded by Narasimha Varma Pallava. Soon, the Pandya dynasty ruled over Salem. The Hoysala rule established in Salem and parts around Salem was retained under the Pandya dynasty.

Medieval period

The city has also been a part of the Chola Dynasty. A mosque in the city is believed to have been built by Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore Kingdom in the present-day state of Karnataka. The town and the surrounding hilly regions were part of the Chola dynasty and were part of the trade route with the Roman empire.^[9] It was later governed by Poligars, who built temples and forts in and around the city.^[10] It was part of the Vijayanagara empire before being captured by Hyder Ali during the early 18th century, after the Mysore-Madurai war. It was ceded to the British in 1768 and the area became part of the struggle between Kongu Nadu, led by Dheeran Chinnamalai, and the British.^[11]

Modern period

Salem became part of Salem district since independence in 1947. Salem district was the first district to be formed in India on 4 April 1792 that spread over 7,530 sq km comprising the present-day Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri. Alexander Reed was the collector of the Salem district from 1792 to 1799.^[12]

Until 2008, the city was part of the Salem I and Salem II assembly constituencies. Salem is also a home to one of the earliest film studios in the country, Modern Theatres.^[13][14]

Geography and climate

Salem is located at 11°40′N 78°08′E / 11.67°N 78.14°E / 11.67; 78.14,^[15] at an average elevation of 278 m (912 ft.). The city is surrounded by hills: Nagaramalai on the north, Jarugumalai on the south, Kanjamalai on the west, Godumalai on the east and the Shevaroy Hills on the northeast. Kariyaperumal Hill is in southwestern Salem.^[16] The Thirumanimutharu River flows through the city, dividing it in two.^[17] The fort area is the oldest part of Salem.^[18]

Location

Salem lies in the foothills of Shevaroy hills which houses the famous hill Station 'Yercaud'. It is located about 140 kilometres (87 mi) northwest of Tiruchirappalli, 170 kilometres (106 mi) northeast of Coimbatore, 206 kilometres (128 mi) southeast of Bangalore and about 346 kilometres (210 mi) southwest of the state capital, Chennai.

Water bodies

Mettur Dam is the main water resource for Salem District.

Climate

Salem has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). January and February are generally pleasant; the hot summer begins in March, with the year's highest temperatures during April. Pre-monsoon thunderstorms occur during April and May. The Southwest monsoon season lasts from June to September. The northeast monsoon occurs from October to December.^[19][20]

Administration and politics

Municipal corporation

Salem is the headquarters of Salem district. The town was constituted as a municipality in 1867, and was upgraded to a special-grade municipality in 1979 and to a municipal corporation on 1 April 1994. The Salem municipal corporation has 72 wards,^[29] each with an elected councillor.^[30] The functions of the municipal corporation are divided into six departments: general administration and personnel, engineering, revenue, public health, city planning and information technology (IT). All six departments are governed by a municipal commissioner.^[31] Legislative power is vested in the 60-member council,^[32] headed by an elected chairperson and assisted by a deputy chairperson.^[33]

State Assembly

In 2008, the constituencies of Salem were redrawn as Salem North, Salem South and Salem West.^[34] The city elects the three members to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years.^[35] Present MLAs are R. Rajendran (Salem North) from , Arul Ramadoss (Salem West) from Paattali Makkal Katchi and Balasubramanian (Salem South) from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.^[25][26][27]

Parliament

The city is part of the Salem Lok Sabha constituency.^[36] The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is S. R. Parthiban from the DMK.^[28]

Law enforcement

Law and order is maintained by the Salem city subdivision of the Tamil Nadu Police, headed by a Police commissioner. Special units include prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and a district-level special branch headed by a superintendent of police.^[37]

Salem district have central prison at Hastampatti . It's one of the oldest jail and can able to host 1431 in house prisoners.

Economy

Salem is a major textile centre in Tamil Nadu, with more than 125 spinning mills, weaving units and garment units. Until the 1960s, it had fewer spinning mills. Private handloom weaving began to increase in the region after the 1960s and during the 1980s, the textile industry expanded with major spinning mills and dyeing units established supporting the industry.^[38]

The area also houses a number of sago factories for the production starch. In Salem district, 34,000 hectares (130 sq mi) of land are devoted to cassava and 650 industrial units are engaged in tapioca processing. In 1981, the Salem Starch and Sago Manufacturers Service Industrial Co-operative Society (SAGOSERVE) was established to promote the sago industry and nearly 80 percent of the national demand for sago and starch is met by SAGOSERVE.^[39] In and around Salem cassava yields are 25–30 tons per hectare, one of the highest in the world; the national average is 19 tons per hectare, and the world average is 10 tons.^[40]

The Salem Steel Plant, a unit of the Steel Authority of India, produces cold-rolled stainless steel and a hot-rolled stainless-carbon steel alloy. The plant is being expanded and modernized, with plans for steel-melting and continuous-casting facilities.^[41] The Southern Iron and Steel Company (part of JSW Steel) have their first integrated steel plant in Salem for the production of TMT corrosion-resistant bars and alloy steels.^[42][43] The Salem region is rich in mineral ores, with some of the largest magnesite and bauxite deposits in India. Public and private magnesite factories include Burn Standard and Company, Dalmia Magnesites and Tata Refractories.^[44]

Salem Mango^[45] belt contributes the economy in large scale by exporting mangoes to foreign countries and supplying mangoes all over India. The Leigh Bazaar is the region's largest market for agricultural products. The Tamil Nadu government and the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu are planning a 160-acre (65 ha) IT park in the city.^[46][47] The Steel Authority of India is planning a 250-acre (100 ha) steel special economic zone in its Salem plant,^[48] and an electrical and electronics industrial estate is in the Suramangalam area of the city.^[49]

Salem is also famous for its silver jewelry. Shevapet, Sivathapuram and Panangadu are the areas where the Silver Products are made in cottage industries. Salem produces World Class Artistic Silver Anklets, Toe Rings, Neck Chains, Pendents and Silverware. Salem has the presence of Multi-National Corporations, including Capgemini, First American (India) Financial Corporation (FAI), Whirlpool Warehouse, Vee Technologies, and SourceHOV LLC. The Tamil Nadu government is trying to get Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on board to set up a manufacturing unit at Salem as the state has been chosen for establishing the center's ambitious defense corridor project with Salem being one of the nodes.^[50]

Demographics

Salem had a population of 826,267 in the 2011 census. There were 987 females for every 1,000 males, significantly higher than the national average of 929. The main language spoken is Tamil. Kannada is spoken among Devayanga community.^[51] A total of 79,067 were under age six: 40,570 males and 38,497 females. The city's literacy rate was 76.37 percent, higher than the national average of 72.99 percent.^[51] Salem had 215,747 households and a total of 332,147 workers: 1,599 farmers, 3,040 agricultural laborers, 32,597 in household industries, 278,892 other workers, 16,019 part-time workers, 165 part-time farmers, 544 part-time agricultural workers, 1,937 part-time workers in household industries and 13,373 other part-time workers.^[4] As per the religious census of 2011, Salem had 89.79% Hindus, 7.48% Muslims, 2.36% Christians, 0.11% Jains, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists, 0.2% following other religions and 0.02% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.^[52]

Religious landmarks