:South India

"South India" is also known as "Peninsular India" indicating its location in a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides.{{cite book|year=2004|title=Word Histories and Mysteries: From Abracadabra to Zeus|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0547350271|oclc=55746553|page=216|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZ88p_bSt1EC&pg=PA216}} The term "Deccan", referring to the area covered by the Deccan Plateau that covers most of peninsular India excluding the coastal areas, is an anglicised form of the Prakrit word dakkhiṇa derived from the Sanskrit word dakshiṇa meaning south.{{cite book|title=Hobson-Jobson:The Definitive Glossary of British India|first1=Henry|last1=Yule|first2=A. C.|last2=Burnell|date=13 June 2013|publisher=Oxford|isbn=978-0-1916-4583-9|page=199|location=London}} Carnatic, derived from "Karnāḍ" or "Karunāḍ" meaning high country, has also been associated with South India.{{cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:415.hobson|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714033828/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:415.hobson|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2012|title=Origins of the word 'Carnatic' in the Hobson Jobson Dictionary|publisher=University of Chicago|access-date=15 September 2006|location=Chicago}}

{{Main|History of South India}}

{{See also|Spice trade}}

File:Rajendra map new.svg during Rajendra Chola I, c. 1030]]

Carbon dating shows that ash mounds associated with Neolithic cultures in South India date back to 8000 BCE. Towards the beginning of 1000 BCE, iron technology spread through the region; however, there does not appear to be a fully developed Bronze Age preceding the Iron Age in South India.{{cite book|last=Agarwal|first=D.P|url=https://www.arkeologi.uu.se/digitalAssets/483/c_483244-l_3-k_agrawal.pdf|title=Urban Origins in India|year=2006|publisher=Uppsala University|access-date=30 August 2023|page=3|archive-date=30 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530150947/https://www.arkeologi.uu.se/digitalAssets/483/c_483244-l_3-k_agrawal.pdf|url-status=dead}} The region was in the middle of a trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu linking the Mediterranean to East Asia.{{cite book|title=The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel And Trade In The Indian Ocean By A Merchant Of The First Century|first=Wilfred|last=Schoff|year=1912|publisher=South Asia Books|isbn=978-8-1215-0699-1}}{{cite book|first=Miller|last=J. Innes|orig-date=1969|title=The Spice Trade of The Roman Empire: 29 B.C. to A.D. 641|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-1981-4264-5}} Trade with Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Syrians, Jews, and Chinese began during the Sangam period (c. 3rd century BCE to c. 4th century CE).{{cite book|first=Bjorn|last=Landstrom|title=The Quest for India|publisher=Allwin and Unwin|year=1964|isbn=978-0-0491-0016-9}} The region was part of the ancient Silk Road connecting the East with the West.{{cite book|last=Elisseeff|first=Vadime|title=The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce|publisher=UNESCO Publishing / Berghahn Books|year=2001|isbn=978-9-2310-3652-1}}

Several dynasties such as the Cheras of Karuvur, the Pandyas of Madurai, the Cholas of Thanjavur, the Zamorins of Kozhikode, the Satavahanas of Amaravati, the Pallavas of Kanchi, the Kadambas of Banavasi, the Western Gangas of Kolar, the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, the Chalukyas of Badami, the Hoysalas of Belur, and the Kakatiyas of Orugallu ruled over the region from the 6th century BCE to the 14th century CE. In the 15th century, Vijayanagara empire was the last kingdom to conquer all of Southern India.{{cite book|title=A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar|isbn=978-0-1956-0686-7|publisher=Oxford University Press|first=Nilakanta|last=Sastri|year=1976|pages=7,69,179,199,214,239}} After repeated invasions from the Sultanate of Delhi, the Vijayanagara empire fell in 1646 and the region was ruled by various Deccan Sultanates, polygars and Nayak governors of the erstwhile Vijayanagara empire who declared independence.{{cite book|title=Rise and Fall of the Poligars of Tamilnadu|first=K.|last=Rajayyan|year=1974|publisher=University of Madras|page=2}}

File:Madras Prov South 1909.jpg]]

The Europeans arrived in the 15th century; and by the middle of the 18th century, the French and the British were involved in a protracted struggle for military control over South India. After the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799 and the end of the Vellore Mutiny in 1806, the British consolidated their power over much of present-day South India, with the exception of French Pondichéry. The British Empire took control of the region from the British East India Company in 1857.{{cite book|title=Great Mutiny: India 1857|first=Christopher|last=Hibbert|date=1 March 2000|publisher=Penguin|page=221|isbn=978-0-1400-4752-3}} During the British colonial rule, the region was divided into the Madras Presidency (later, the Madras Province), Hyderabad State, Mysore, and the Madras States Agency (composed of Travancore, Cochin, Jeypore, and a number of other minor princely states). The region played a major role in the Indian independence movement. Of the 72 delegates who participated in the first session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay in December 1885, 22 hailed from South India.{{cite book|title=Indian National Evolution: A Brief Survey of the Origin and Progress of the Indian National Congress and the Growth of Indian Nationalism|page=59|publisher=Cornell University Press|date=22 September 2009|isbn=978-1-1124-5184-3}}

After Indian Independence in 1947, the region was organized into four states Madras State, Mysore State, Hyderabad State and Travancore-Cochin.{{cite book|title=Constitution of India|chapter=Article 1|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-indexenglish.htm|publisher=Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India|access-date=31 December 2015|archive-date=2 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402064301/http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-indexenglish.htm|url-status=dead}} Dravida Nadu was a proposal for a separate sovereign state for the speakers of the Dravidian languages in South India. Initially, the demand of Dravida Nadu proponents was limited to Tamil-speaking regions, but it was later expanded to include other Indian states with a majority of Dravidian-speakers in the region.{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Richard Warren|title=Religion and Society: The First Twenty-five Years, 1953–1978|publisher=Christian Literature Society|year=1982|oclc=9007066|page=242}} The States Reorganisation Act 1956, which created linguistic States, weakened the demand for a separate sovereign state.{{cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romesh|author-link=Romesh Thapar|title=Change and Conflict in India|publisher=Macmillan|year=1978|isbn=978-0-8364-0222-3|page=75}}{{cite book|last=Rao|first=C Rajeswara|title=Defeat Separatist Conspiracy in Andhra|publisher=Communist Party of India|year=1973|oclc=814926|page=28}}

The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganized the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.{{cite web|url=https://www.india.gov.in/my-government/constitution-india/amendments/constitution-india-seventh-amendment-act-1956|title=Seventh Amendment|publisher=Government of India|access-date=19 August 2023|archive-date=22 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822235831/https://www.india.gov.in/my-government/constitution-india/amendments/constitution-india-seventh-amendment-act-1956|url-status=live}} As a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. The state was subsequently renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968.{{cite report|url=https://dgfasli.gov.in/en/book-page/background-information-1|title=Background information on state of Tamil Nadu|publisher=Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India|access-date=16 September 2023|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929014524/https://dgfasli.gov.in/en/book-page/background-information-1|url-status=live}} Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956. Kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. Mysore State was re-organized with the addition of districts of Bellary and South Canara (excluding Kasaragod taluk) and the Kollegal taluk of Coimbatore district from the Madras State, the districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, North Canara and Dharwad from Bombay State, the Kannada-majority districts of Bidar, Raichur and Gulbarga from Hyderabad State and the province of Coorg.{{cite report|url=https://thc.nic.in/Central%20Governmental%20Acts/States%20Re-Organisation%20Act,%201956.pdf|title=States Reorganisation Act, 1956|publisher=High Court of Tripura|access-date=16 September 2023|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929014519/https://thc.nic.in/Central%20Governmental%20Acts/States%20Re-Organisation%20Act,%201956.pdf|url-status=live}} Mysore State was renamed as Karnataka in 1973.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/30/archives/mysore-an-indian-state-is-renamed-as-karnataka.html|title=Mysore, an Indian State, Is Renamed as Karnataka|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 July 1972|access-date=24 July 2023|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929014516/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/30/archives/mysore-an-indian-state-is-renamed-as-karnataka.html|url-status=live}} The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahé. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organized into the union territory of Lakshadweep.{{cite report|url=http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1955_7/42/reorganisation_of_statesthe_approach_and_arrangements.pdf|title=Reorganisation of states|date=15 October 1955|publisher=Economic Weekly|access-date=31 December 2015|archive-date=18 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218051214/http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1955_7/42/reorganisation_of_statesthe_approach_and_arrangements.pdf|url-status=live}} Telangana was created on June 2, 2014, by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh and comprises ten districts in northwestern Andhra Pradesh.{{cite report|title=The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014|url=https://www.mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/APRegACT2014_0.pdf|publisher=Ministry of law and Justice, Government of India|access-date=3 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108223043/https://www.mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/APRegACT2014_0.pdf|archive-date=8 January 2016|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|title=Telangana bill passed by upper house|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/telangana-bill-in-rajya-sabha/liveblog/30712218.cms|newspaper=Times of India|access-date=20 March 2016|date=20 February 2014|archive-date=20 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220103407/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/telangana-bill-in-rajya-sabha/liveblog/30712218.cms|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Geography of South India}}

File:South India satellite.jpg

South India is a peninsula in the shape of an inverted triangle bound by Indian Ocean in the South, Arabian Sea in the west, by Bay of Bengal in the east and the Vindhya and Satpura ranges in the north.{{cite book|title=Chambers's Concise Gazetteer of the World|page=353|year=1907|publisher=W.& R.Chambers|first=David|last=Patrick}} The Narmada river flows westwards in the depression between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, which define the northern spur of the Deccan plateau.{{cite book|title=

Toward Sustainable Development? Struggling Over India's Narmada River|first=William|last=Fisher|year=1995|isbn=978-1-5632-4525-1|page=51|publisher=M. E. Sharpe|location=New York}} The low-lying coral islands of Lakshadweep are situated off the southwestern coast of India and the Andaman and Nicobar islands lie far off the eastern coast. The Palk Strait and the chain of low sandbars and islands known as Rama's Bridge separate the region from Sri Lanka, which lies off the southeastern coast.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Adam's bridge|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9003680|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2007|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=13 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113002452/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9003680|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/srilanka.pdf|title=Map of Sri Lanka with Palk Strait and Palk Bay|publisher=UN|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=17 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117132426/http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/srilanka.pdf|url-status=live}} The southernmost tip of mainland India is at Kanyakumari where the Indian Ocean meets the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.{{cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/tamil-nadu/kanyakumari-cape-comorin|title=Kanyakumari alias Cape Comorin|publisher=Lonely Planet|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=3 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103130726/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/tamil-nadu/kanyakumari-cape-comorin|url-status=live}}

File:AnaimudiPeak DSC 4834.jpg is the highest point of elevation in South India]]

The Western Ghats runs south along the western coast from south of the Tapti River to Kanyakumari and forms a narrow strip of land with the Arabian sea called Konkan region.{{cite journal|url=https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v403/n6772/fig_tab/403853a0_T6.html|title=Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities|journal=Nature|year=2000|doi=10.1038/35002501|access-date=16 November 2013|last1=Myers|first1=Norman|last2=Mittermeier|first2=Russell A.|last3=Mittermeier|first3=Cristina G.|last4=Da Fonseca|first4=Gustavo A. B.|last5=Kent|first5=Jennifer|volume=403|issue=6772|pages=853–858|pmid=10706275|bibcode=2000Natur.403..853M|s2cid=4414279|archive-date=9 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009072333/http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v403/n6772/fig_tab/403853a0_T6.html|url-status=live}} Anai Mudi in the Anaimalai Hills {{convert|2695|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} is the highest peak in South India.{{cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58540809|title=Southern India: its history, people, commerce, and industrial resources|last1=Playne|first1=Somerset|last2=Bond|first2=J. W|last3=Wright|first3=Arnold|year=2004|publisher=Asian Educational Service|oclc=58540809|access-date=30 August 2023|page=417|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331152850/https://search.worldcat.org/title/58540809|url-status=live}} The Eastern Ghats run parallel to the Bay of Bengal along the eastern coast and the strip of land between them forms the Coromandel region.{{cite web|url=https://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/pls/portal/url/page/GSI_STATIC/GSI_STAT_GEO_TOURISM_MONUMENTS|title=Eparchaean Unconformity, Tirumala Ghat section|access-date=20 September 2009|publisher=Geological Survey of India|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419091251/http://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/pls/portal/url/page/GSI_STATIC/GSI_STAT_GEO_TOURISM_MONUMENTS|archive-date=19 April 2013|df=dmy-all }} They are a discontinuous range of mountains, which have been eroded and quadrisected by the four major rivers of southern India, the Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Biomes|year=2020|isbn=978-0-1281-6097-8|publisher=Elsevier Science|first1=Dominick A.|last1=DellaSala|first2=Michael I.|last2=Goldstei|page=546|location=Amsterdam}} Both mountain ranges meet at the Nilgiri mountains which run in a crescent approximately along the borders of Tamil Nadu with northern Kerala and Karnataka, encompassing the Palakkad and Wayanad hills and the Sathyamangalam ranges, extending to the relatively low-lying hills of the Eastern Ghats on the western portion of the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border, forming the Tirupati and Annamalai hills.{{cite book|last=Eagan|first=J. S. C|title=The Nilgiri Guide And Directory|url=https://archive.org/details/nilgiriguideandd031416mbp|publisher=S.P.C.K. Press|location=Chennai|isbn=978-1-1494-8220-9|year=1916|page=30}}

The Deccan plateau is the elevated region bound by the mountain ranges.{{cite book|last=Dr. Jadoan|first=Atar Singh|title=Military Geography of South-East Asia|publisher=Anmol Publications|location=India|date=September 2001|isbn=978-8-1261-1008-7}} The plateau rises to {{convert|100|m}} in the north and to more than {{convert|1|km}} in the south, forming a raised triangle within the downward-pointing triangle of the Indian subcontinent's coastline.{{cite web|url=https://www.sanctuaryasia.com/resources/biogeozones/decpen.php|title=The Deccan Peninsula|publisher=Sanctuary Asia|date=5 January 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017150254/https://www.sanctuaryasia.com/resources/biogeozones/decpen.php|archive-date=17 October 2006}} It also slopes gently from West to East resulting in major rivers arising in the Western Ghats and flowing east into the Bay of Bengal.{{cite web|url=https://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/edeccan_plateau_moist_forests.cfm|title=Eastern Deccan Plateau Moist Forests|publisher=World Wildlife Fund|access-date=5 January 2007|archive-date=18 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118014518/http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/edeccan_plateau_moist_forests.cfm|url-status=live}} The volcanic basalt beds of the Deccan were laid down in the massive Deccan Traps eruption, which occurred towards the end of the Cretaceous period, between 67 and 66 million years ago.{{cite web|url=https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/volcanic-eruption-dinosaur-extinction-1211|title=What really killed the dinosaurs?|publisher=MIT|first1=Jennifer|last1=Chu|date=11 December 2014|access-date=28 August 2023|archive-date=26 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226120208/http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/volcanic-eruption-dinosaur-extinction-1211|url-status=live}} Layer after layer was formed by the volcanic activity that lasted many years and when the volcanoes became extinct, they left a region of highlands with typically vast stretches of flat areas on top like a table.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/154969/Deccan|title=Deccan Plateau|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=1 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501005236/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/154969/Deccan|url-status=live}} The plateau is watered by the east-flowing Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Penna, Tungabhadra, Vaigai rivers and their tributaries.{{cite book|title=Indian Journal of Earth Sciences|publisher=Indian Journal of Earth Sciences|first=Mihir|last=Bose|year=1977|page=21}}

Other prominent features include the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, which separates India from Sri Lanka; the Ten Degree Channel, which separates the Andamans from the Nicobar Islands; and the Eight Degree Channel, which separates the Laccadive and Amindivi Islands from the Minicoy Island to the south.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XwVX-85oI0EC&pg=PA10|page=10|title=Environment impact assessment|author1=J. Sacratees|author2=R. Karthigarani|publisher=APH Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-8-1313-0407-5}} Laccadive Sea is a smaller sea.{{cite report|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|page=21|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}} There are coral reefs located in the Gulf of Mannar and Lakshadweep islands.{{cite book|title=Coral Reefs of the World: Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Gulf|year=1988|page=84|publisher=United Nations Environment Programme|first1=Martin|last1=Jenkins}} Large lakes include Vembanad Lake and Pulicat Lake.{{cite book|title=Fisheries Development and Management in India, 1785-1986|page=37|isbn=978-8-1851-1960-1|year=1989|publisher=Northern Book Centre|first=Nune|last=Subba Rao}}

File:Koppen-Geiger Map IND present.svg

File:India southwest summer monsoon onset map en.svg

The region has a tropical climate and depends on monsoons for rainfall. According to the Köppen climate classification, it has a non-arid climate with minimum mean temperatures of {{Convert|18|C|F}}.{{cite book|last1=McKnight|first1=Tom L|last2=Hess|first2=Darrel|year=2000|chapter=Climate Zones and Types: The Köppen System|title=Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation|pages=[https://archive.org/details/physicalgeographmckn/page/205 205–211]|location=Upper Saddle River, NJ|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-1302-0263-5|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/physicalgeographmckn|url=https://archive.org/details/physicalgeographmckn/page/205}} The most humid is the tropical monsoon climate characterized by moderate to high year-round temperatures and seasonally heavy rainfall above {{Convert|2000|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} per year. The tropical climate is experienced in a strip of south-western lowlands abutting the Malabar Coast, the Western Ghats and the Lakshadweep islands.{{cite book|last=Chouhan|first=T. S.|year=1992|title=Desertification in the World and Its Control|publisher=Scientific Publishers|isbn=978-8-1723-3043-9}}

A tropical wet and dry climate, drier than areas with a tropical monsoon climate, prevails over most of the inland peninsular region except for a semi-arid rain shadow east of the Western Ghats. Winter and early summer are long dry periods with temperatures averaging above {{Convert|18|°C|°F|0}}; summer is exceedingly hot with temperatures in low-lying areas exceeding {{Convert|50|°C|°F|0}}; and the rainy season lasts from June to September, with annual rainfall averaging between {{Convert|750|and|1500|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} across the region. Once the dry northeast monsoon begins in September, most precipitation in India falls in Tamil Nadu, leaving other states comparatively dry.{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1994174.stm|title=India's heatwave tragedy|work=BBC News|date=17 May 2002|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331152820/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1994174.stm|url-status=live}} A hot semi-arid climate predominates in the land east of the Western Ghats and the Cardamom Hills. The region – which includes Karnataka, inland Tamil Nadu and western Andhra Pradesh – gets between {{Convert|400|and|750|mm|1}} of rainfall annually, with hot summers and dry winters with temperatures around {{Convert|20|–|24|C|F}}. The months between March and May are hot and dry, with mean monthly temperatures hovering around {{Convert|32|C|F}}, with {{Convert|320|mm|in|0}} precipitation. Without artificial irrigation, this region is not suitable for agriculture.{{cite book|last=Caviedes|first=C. N.|title=El Niño in History: Storming Through the Ages|edition=1st|publisher=University Press of Florida|date=18 September 2001|isbn=978-0-8130-2099-0}}

The southwest monsoon from June to September accounts for most of the rainfall in the region. The Arabian Sea branch of the southwest monsoon hits the Western Ghats along the coastal state of Kerala and moves northward along the Konkan coast, with precipitation on coastal areas west of the Western Ghats. The lofty Western Ghats prevent the winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau; hence, the leeward region (the region deprived of winds) receives very little rainfall.{{NatGeo ecoregion|id=im0209|name=South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests|access-date=5 January 2005}}{{WWF ecoregion|id=im0209|name=South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests|access-date=5 January 2005}} The Bay of Bengal branch of the southwest monsoon heads toward northeast India, picking up moisture from the Bay of Bengal. The Coramandel coast does not receive much rainfall from the southwest monsoon, due to the shape of the land. Tamil Nadu and southeast Andhra Pradesh receive rains from the northeast monsoon.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdchennai.gov.in/northeast_monsoon.htm|title=North East Monsoon|publisher=IMD|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=29 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229133725/http://www.imdchennai.gov.in/northeast_monsoon.htm|url-status=live}} The northeast monsoon takes place from November to early March, when the surface high-pressure system is strongest.{{cite book|title=Climatology|first1=Robert V.|last1=Rohli|first2=Anthony J.|last2=Vega|page=204|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7637-3828-0}} The North Indian Ocean tropical cyclones occur throughout the year in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, bringing devastating winds and heavy rainfall.{{cite report|url=https://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/ANNUAL_FREQ_CYCLONIC_DISTURBANCES.pdf|title=Annual frequency of cyclonic disturbances over the Bay of Bengal (BOB), Arabian Sea (AS) and land surface of India|publisher=India Meteorological Department|access-date=1 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805212718/https://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/ANNUAL_FREQ_CYCLONIC_DISTURBANCES.pdf|archive-date=5 August 2011}}{{cite web|url=https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/hurricane#hurricane|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302095537/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/hurricane?#hurricane|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 March 2014|title=hurricane|publisher=Oxford dictionary|access-date=1 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/cyclone.html|title=The only difference between a hurricane, a cyclone, and a typhoon is the location where the storm occurs|publisher=NOAA|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=11 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111165427/https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/cyclone.html|url-status=live}}

File:Elephas maximus (Bandipur).jpg population]]

File:A courting male in Eravikulam NP AJTJohnsingh DSCN2997.jpg, an endangered animal found in the Nilgiris]]

{{Main|Wildlife of Karnataka|Wildlife of Tamil Nadu|Wildlife of Kerala}}

{{Further|List of birds of South India}}

There is a wide diversity of plants and animals in South India, resulting from its varied climates and geography. Deciduous forests are found along the Western Ghats while tropical dry forests and scrub lands are common in the interior Deccan plateau. The southern Western Ghats have rain forests located at high altitudes called the South Western Ghats montane rain forests, and the Malabar Coast moist forests are found on the coastal plains.{{cite magazine|url= https://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial_im.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20010321011649/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial_im.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 21 March 2001|title=Indo-Malayan Terrestrial Ecoregions|magazine=National Geographic|access-date=15 April 2006}} The Western Ghats is one of the eight hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342/multiple%3D1%26unique_number%3D1921|title=Western Ghats|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=21 February 2014|archive-date=18 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118010253/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342/multiple%3D1%26unique_number%3D1921|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Clara|last=Lewis|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/39-sites-in-Western-Ghats-get-world-heritage-status/articleshow/14622091.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707023508/https://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-03/mumbai/32523277_1_radhanagari-wildlife-world-heritage-centre-western-ghats|url-status=live|archive-date=7 July 2012|title=39 sites in Western Ghats get world heritage status|date=3 July 2007|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=21 February 2014}}

Important ecological regions of South India are the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in the Nilgiri Hills, the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in the Agastya Mala-Cardamom Hills and Gulf of Mannar coral reefs.{{cite report|url=http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/biosphere.pdf|title=Biosphere Reserves in India|publisher=Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change|date=2019|access-date=5 February 2020|archive-date=5 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205222104/http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/biosphere.pdf|url-status=live}} The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of {{Convert|10500|km2|abbr=on}} of ocean, islands and the adjoining coastline including coral reefs, salt marshes and mangroves. It is home to endangered aquatic species, including dolphins, dugongs, whales and sea cucumbers.{{cite book|page=10|title=Environment impact assessment|first1=J.|last1=Sacratees|first2=R.|last2=Karthigarani|publisher=APH Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-8-1313-0407-5}}{{cite web|title=Conservation and Sustainable-use of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve's Coastal Biodiversity|place=New York|year=1994|url=https://www.gefweb.org/wprogram/May99/Bio/India_1.doc|format=doc|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616221152/https://www.gefweb.org/wprogram/May99/Bio/India_1.doc|archive-date=16 June 2007}} Bird sanctuaries including Thattekad, Kadalundi, Vedanthangal, Ranganathittu, Kumarakom, Neelapattu, and Pulicat are home to numerous migratory and local birds.{{cite book|title=The birds of southern India, including Madras, Malabar, Travancore, Cochin, Coorg and Mysore|first1=H.R.|last1=Baker|first2=Chas. M.|last2=Inglis|year=1930|publisher=Superintendent, Government Press|place=Chennai}}{{cite book|title=Birds of Southern India|first1=Richard|last1=Grimmett|first2=Tim|last2=Inskipp|date=30 November 2005|publisher=A&C Black}}

South India is home to one of the largest populations of endangered Bengal tigers and Indian elephants in India, being home to one-third of the tiger population and more than half of the elephant population,{{cite news|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150120/nation-current-affairs/article/tiger-population-rises-2226-2014-1706-2010|title=India's tiger population rises|newspaper=Deccan Chronicle|date=15 January 2015|access-date=19 March 2016|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172035/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150120/nation-current-affairs/article/tiger-population-rises-2226-2014-1706-2010|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=https://envfor.nic.in/pe/PE%20Note.pdf|title=Elephant Census 2005|year=2007|publisher=Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India|access-date=23 February 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312060920/https://envfor.nic.in/pe/PE%20Note.pdf|archive-date=12 March 2012}} with 14 Project Tiger reserves and 11 Project Elephant reserves.{{cite book|last=Panwar|first=H. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdC-wfyZwZEC&pg=PA110|title=Project Tiger: The reserves, the tigers, and their future|publisher=Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, N.J.|pages=110–117|year=1987|isbn=978-0-8155-1133-5|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331152818/https://books.google.com/books?id=YdC-wfyZwZEC&pg=PA110|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mysore/Project_elephant_status_for_Bhadra_sanctuary/articleshow/4066438.cms|title=Project Elephant Status|date=2 February 2009|newspaper=Times of India|access-date=24 February 2009|archive-date=2 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802102040/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mysore/Project_elephant_status_for_Bhadra_sanctuary/articleshow/4066438.cms|url-status=live}} Elephant populations are found in eight fragmented sites in the region: in northern Karnataka, along the Western Ghats, in Bhadra–Malnad, in Brahmagiri–Nilgiris–Eastern Ghats, in Nilambur–Silent Valley–Coimbatore, in Anamalai–Parambikulam, in Periyar–Srivilliputhur, and in Agasthyamalai{{cite book|last=Sukumar|first=R|year=1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=95MoRwdQlcYC|title=The Asian Elephant: Ecology and Management|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5214-3758-5|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=17 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317064803/https://books.google.com/books?id=95MoRwdQlcYC|url-status=live}} Other threatened and endangered species found in the region include the grizzled giant squirrel,{{cite web|url=https://www.forests.tn.nic.in/WildBiodiversity/ws_sgsws.html|title=Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary|year=2007|work=Wild Biodiversity|publisher=TamilNadu Forest Department|access-date=24 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409230945/https://www.forests.tn.nic.in/WildBiodiversity/ws_sgsws.html|archive-date=9 April 2009|df=dmy-all}} grey slender loris,{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=M.|last2=Lindburg|first2=D.G.|last3=Udhayan|first3=A.|last4= Kumar|first4=M.A.|last5=Kumara|first5=H.N.|year=1999|title=Status survey of slender loris Loris tardigradus lydekkerianus|publisher=Oryx|pages=31–37}} sloth bear,{{cite book|title=Daroji-an ecological destination|last=Kottur|first=Samad|publisher=Drongo|year=2012|isbn=978-9-3508-7269-7}} Nilgiri tahr,{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/nilgiri-tahr-population-over-3000-wwfindia/article7717561.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|title=Nilgiri tahr population over 3,000: WWF-India|date=3 October 2015|access-date=19 March 2016|archive-date=8 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208090051/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/nilgiri-tahr-population-over-3000-wwfindia/article7717561.ece|url-status=live}} Nilgiri langur,{{cite report|last1=Malviya|first1=M.|last2=Srivastav|first2=A.|last3=Nigam|first3=P.|last4=Tyagi|first4=P.C.|title=Indian National Studbook of Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii)|url=https://www.cza.nic.in/Nilgiri%20Langur%20studbook.pdf|year=2011|publisher=Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi|access-date=19 March 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023432/http://www.cza.nic.in/Nilgiri%20Langur%20studbook.pdf|url-status=live}} lion-tailed macaque,{{cite iucn|author=Singh, M.|author2=Kumar, A.|author3=Kumara, H.N.|date=2020|title=Macaca silenus|volume=2020|page=e.T12559A17951402|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T12559A17951402.en|access-date=12 November 2021}} and the Indian leopard.{{cite iucn|author=Stein, A.B.|author2=Athreya, V.|author3=Gerngross, P.|author4=Balme, G.|author5=Henschel, P.|author6=Karanth, U.|author7=Miquelle, D.|author8=Rostro-Garcia, S.|author9=Kamler, J.F.|author10=Laguardia, A.|author11=Khorozyan, I.|author12=Ghoddousi, A.|date=2020|title=Panthera pardus|volume=2020|page=e.T15954A163991139|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T15954A163991139.en|access-date=12 November 2021}}

{{Main|Politics in South India}}

Politics in South India is characterized by a mix of regional and national political parties. The Justice Party and Swaraj Party were the two major parties in the erstwhile Madras Presidency.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Political Parties|last=Ralhan|first=O.P.|year=2002|publisher=Print House|pages=180–199|isbn=978-8-1748-8287-5}} The Justice Party eventually lost the 1937 elections to the Indian National Congress, and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari became the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Self-Respect Movement, spearheaded by Theagaroya Chetty and E. V. Ramaswamy (commonly known as Periyar), emerged in the Madras Presidency.{{cite book|title=Political and Social Conflict in South India; The non-Brahmin movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916–1929|last=Irschick|first=Eugene F.|year=1969|oclc=249254802|publisher=University of California Press|url=https://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Irschick/Politics.pdf|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001539/https://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Irschick/Politics.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} In 1944, Periyar transformed the party into a social organisation, renaming the party Dravidar Kazhagam, and withdrew from electoral politics. The initial aim was the secession of Dravida Nadu from the rest of India upon Indian independence. After independence, C. N. Annadurai, a follower of Periyar, formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1948. The Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu led to the rise of Dravidian parties that formed Tamil Nadu's first government, in 1967. In 1972, a split in the DMK resulted in the formation of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led by M. G. Ramachandran. Dravidian parties continue to dominate Tamil Nadu electoral politics, the national parties usually aligning as junior partners to the major Dravidian parties, AIADMK and DMK.{{cite journal|last=Wyatt|first=A.K.J.|title=New Alignments in South Indian Politics: The 2001 Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu|journal=Asian Survey|volume=42|issue=5|pages=733–753|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|doi=10.1525/as.2002.42.5.733|df=dmy-all|hdl=1983/1811|url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/new-alignments-in-south-indian-politics-the-2001-assembly-elections-in-tamil-nadu(ccd8e236-7d18-4981-92b0-5a1d63ff695d).html|hdl-access=free|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212070038/https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/new-alignments-in-south-indian-politics-the-2001-assembly-elections-in-tamil-nadu(ccd8e236-7d18-4981-92b0-5a1d63ff695d).html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Hasan|first=Zoya|title=The democratisation of politics|newspaper=The Hindu|date=2 February 2003|url=https://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lr/2003/02/02/stories/2003020200180300.htm|access-date=19 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307083023/https://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lr/2003/02/02/stories/2003020200180300.htm|archive-date=7 March 2008|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

Indian National Congress dominated the political scene in Tamil Nadu in the 1950s and 1960s under the leadership of K. Kamaraj, who led the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru and ensured the selection of Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year=1990|page=[https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/164 164]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India|asin=B003DXXMC4}} Congress continues to be a major party in Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. The party ruled with minimal opposition for 30 years in Andhra Pradesh, before the formation of the Telugu Desam Party by Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao in 1982.{{cite news|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_telugu-desam-party-turns-29-nt-rama-rao-remembered_1364859|title=Telugu Desam Party turns 29, NT Rama Rao remembered|newspaper=DNA India|date=29 March 2010|access-date=31 May 2010|archive-date=1 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401144456/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_telugu-desam-party-turns-29-nt-rama-rao-remembered_1364859|url-status=live}} Two prominent coalitions in Kerala are the United Democratic Front, led by the Indian National Congress, and the Left Democratic Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For the past fifty years, these two coalitions have been alternately in power; and E. M. S. Namboodiripad, the first elected chief minister of Kerala in 1957, is credited as the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world.{{cite journal|first=Olle|last=Törnquist|year=1991|title=Communists and democracy: Two Indian cases and one debate|journal=Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars|publisher=Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars|volume=23|issue=2|pages=63–76|issn=0007-4810|url=https://criticalasianstudies.org/assets/files/bcas/v23n02.pdf|doi=10.1080/14672715.1991.10413152|quote=The first democratically elected communist-led government in India actually came to power in 1957 in the southwest-Indian state of Kerala|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=11 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811034858/https://criticalasianstudies.org/assets/files/bcas/v23n02.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|first1=Sarina|last1=Singh|first2=Amy|last2=Karafin|first3=Anirban|last3=Mahapatra|title=South India|date=1 September 2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-7417-9155-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/southindia0000unse}} The Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) are significant parties in Karnataka.{{cite report|last=Price|first=Pamela|url=https://www.isec.ac.in/Karnataka_Price16.5.05_aligned.pdf|title=Ideological Elements in Political Instability in Karnataka|publisher=University of Oslo|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525164515/https://www.isec.ac.in/Karnataka_Price16.5.05_aligned.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2006}}

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{{Image label|x=0.370|y=0.870|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Andhra Pradesh}}

{{Image label|x=0.275|y=0.90|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Karnataka}}

{{Image label|x=0.285|y=1.04|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Kerala}}

{{Image label|x=0.3425|y=0.96|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Tamil Nadu}}

{{Image label|x=0.3825|y=0.77|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Telangana}}

{{Image label|x=0.11|y=0.995|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Lakshadweep}}

{{Image label|x=0.43|y=0.995|scale={{{width|300}}}|text=Puducherry}}

{{Image label end}}

C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General of India post independence, was from South India. The region has produced six Indian presidents, namely, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1060415/asp/opinion/story_6099278.asp|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911200507/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060415/asp/opinion/story_6099278.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2012|title=Why Amartya Sen should become the next president of India|access-date=30 November 2008|first=Ramachandra|last=Guha|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=15 April 2006}} V. V. Giri,{{cite web|url=https://vicepresidentofindia.nic.in/giri.asp|title=Giri, Shri Varahagiri Venkata|access-date=30 November 2008|publisher=Vice President's Secretariat|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210115524/https://vicepresidentofindia.nic.in/giri.asp|archive-date=10 February 2009}} Neelam Sanjiva Reddy,{{cite news|first=G.S.|last=Bhargava|title=Making of the President – Congress chief selects PM as well as President|newspaper=The Tribune|location=India|access-date=6 January 2009|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070730/edit.htm|date=29 July 2007|archive-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417041209/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070730/edit.htm|url-status=live}} R. Venkataraman,{{cite news|first=Sanjoy|last=Hazarika|title=India's Mild New President: Ramaswamy Venkataraman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 July 1987|access-date=6 January 2009|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDD1239F934A25754C0A961948260&n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/India|archive-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812204533/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/17/world/man-in-the-news-india-s-mild-new-president-ramaswamy-venkataraman.html?n=Top%2FNews%2FWorld%2FCountries+and+Territories%2FIndia|url-status=live}} K. R. Narayanan,{{cite web|url=https://vicepresidentofindia.nic.in/krn.asp|title=Narayanan, Shri K, R|access-date=6 December 2008|publisher=Vice President's Secretariat|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210115549/https://vicepresidentofindia.nic.in/krn.asp|archive-date=10 February 2009}} and APJ Abdul Kalam.{{cite book|title=Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream|last1=Ramana|first1=M. V.|last2=Reddy, C.|first2=Rammanohar|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8-1250-2477-4|page=169}} Prime ministers P. V. Narasimha Rao and H. D. Deve Gowda were from the region.{{cite news|first=S.A.|last=Aiyar|title=Unsung hero of the India story|quote=Twenty years ago, Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister and initiated economic reforms that transformed India|newspaper=Times of India|date=26 June 2011|url=https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/unsung-hero-of-the-india-story|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=21 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121084956/http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/unsung-hero-of-the-india-story|url-status=live}}

South India consists of the five southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as the union territories of Puducherry, and Lakshadweep.{{cite web|url=https://www.mha.gov.in/en/page/zonal-council|title=Zonal council|publisher=Government of India|access-date=1 August 2023|archive-date=4 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204092004/https://www.mha.gov.in/en/page/zonal-council|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=http://interstatecouncil.nic.in/iscs/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/COMPOSITION-OF-SOUTHERN-ZONAL-COUNCIL.pdf|title=Present Composition Of The Southern Zonal Council|publisher=Government of India|access-date=27 December 2017|archive-date=17 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217223827/http://interstatecouncil.nic.in/iscs/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/COMPOSITION-OF-SOUTHERN-ZONAL-COUNCIL.pdf|url-status=live}} Puducherry and the five states each have an elected state government, while Lakshadweep is centrally administered by the president of India.{{cite web|url=https://knowindia.india.gov.in/states-uts/|title=States and Union Territories|publisher=Government of India|access-date=17 August 2023|archive-date=5 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205154934/https://knowindia.india.gov.in/states-uts/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://india.gov.in/knowindia/profile.php?id=21|title=Union Territories of India|publisher=National Portal of India|access-date=12 January 2016|archive-date=26 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126234503/http://india.gov.in/knowindia/profile.php?id=21|url-status=dead}}

Each state is headed by a Governor who is appointed by the President of India and who names the leader of the state legislature's ruling party or coalition as chief minister, who is the head of the state government.{{cite web|url=https://lawmin.nic.in/coi/contents.htm|title=Constitution of India|publisher=Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India|access-date=20 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325025912/https://lawmin.nic.in/coi/contents.htm|archive-date=25 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}{{cite book|first=Durga Das|last=Basu|title=Introduction to the Constitution of India|year=1960|pages=241, 245|publisher=LexisNexis Butterworths|isbn=978-8-1803-8559-9}}

Each state or territory is further divided into districts, which are further subdivided into revenue divisions and taluks / Mandals or tehsils.{{cite report|title=Statement showing the Nomenclature and Number of Sub-Districts in States/UTs|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/Admin_Units/Admin_links/subdistrict_nomeclature.html|publisher=Office of The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, New Delhi|access-date=19 March 2016|archive-date=20 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320145344/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/Admin_Units/Admin_links/subdistrict_nomeclature.html|url-status=live}} Local bodies govern respective cities, towns, and villages, along with an elected mayor, municipal chairman, or panchayat chairman, respectively.

• {{note|1|Note 1}} Andhra Pradesh was divided into two states, Telangana and a residual Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/T-party-today-Indias-29th-state-Telangana-is-born/articleshow/35912105.cms|newspaper=Times of India|title=Bifurcated into Telangana State and residual Andhra Pradesh State|date=2 June 2014|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=17 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917061527/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/T-party-Indias-29th-state-Telangana-is-born/articleshow/35912105.cms|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=https://www.egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2014/158365.pdf|title=The Gazette of India : The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 Sub-section|date=4 March 2014|access-date=23 April 2014|archive-date=27 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327091502/https://www.egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2014/158365.pdf|url-status=live}} Hyderabad, located entirely within the borders of Telangana, was to serve as joint capital for both states for a period of time not exceeding ten years.{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/andhra-pradesh-minus-telangana-10-facts-534339|title=Andhra Pradesh Minus Telangana: 10 Facts|first=Sanchari|last=Bhattacharya|date=1 June 2014|access-date=20 March 2016|work=NDTV|archive-date=16 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016002203/http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/andhra-pradesh-minus-telangana-10-facts-534339|url-status=live}}

{{multiple image

| header = Legislative assemblies of states

| perrow = 2

| total_width = 300

| caption_align = center

| image1 = Andhra Pradesh Secretariat.jpg

| width1 = 150

| caption1 = Shasana Sabha (Andhra Pradesh)

| image2 = Vidhana_Soudha_2012.jpg

| width2 = 150

| caption2 = Vidhan Soudha (Karnataka)

| image3 = Kerala Legislative Assembly, Thiruvananthapuram.jpg

| width3 = 150

| caption3 = Niyamasabha Mandiram (Kerala)

| image4 = Fort_St._George,_Chennai_2.jpg

| width4 = 150

| caption4 = Fort St. George (Tamil Nadu)

| image5 = Andhra_Pradesh_Legislative_Assembly.jpg

| width5 = 150

| caption5 = Shasana Sabha (Telangana)

| image6 = Pondicherry_Legislative_Assembly.jpg

| width6 = 150

| height6 =

| caption6 = Legislative Assembly (Puducherry)

}}

South India elects 132 members to the Lok Sabha, accounting for roughly one-fourth of the total strength. The region is allocated 58 seats in the Rajya Sabha, out of the total of 245.

The state legislatures of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are unicameral, while Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana have bicameral legislatures.{{cite book|title=The Pearson Concise General Knowledge Manual 2016|first=Showick|last=Thorpeand|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2015|isbn=978-9-3325-5884-7|chapter=Chapter 3|page=17}} States with bicameral legislatures have an upper house (Legislative Council) with members not more than one-third the size of the Assembly. State legislatures elect members for terms of five years.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Railways-and-roads#toc46435|title=State and local governments of India|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=12 January 2016|archive-date=29 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129115702/http://www.britannica.com/place/India/Railways-and-roads#toc46435|url-status=live}} Governors may suspend or dissolve assemblies and can administer when no party is able to form a government.

{{Main|Dravidian people|Telugus|Tamils|Kannadigas|Malayalis|Tuluvas}}{{See also|South Indian diaspora}}

As per the 2011 census of India, the estimated population of South India was 252 million, around one fifth of the total population of the country. The region's total fertility rate (TFR) was less than the population replacement level of 2.1 for all states, with Kerala and Tamil Nadu having the lowest TFRs in India at 1.7.{{cite journal|title=The surprising global variation in replacement fertility|last1=Espenshade|first1=TJ|last2=Guzman|first2=JC|last3=Westoff|first3=CF|s2cid=10798893|year=2003|journal=Population Research and Policy Review|volume=22|doi=10.1023/B:POPU.0000020882.29684.8e|issue=5/6|page=580}}{{cite report|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Bulletins/MMR_release_070711.pdf|title=Maternal & Child Mortality and Total Fertility Rates|publisher=Office of Registrar General|place=India|date=7 July 2011|access-date=3 December 2013|archive-date=28 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728095015/http://censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Bulletins/MMR_release_070711.pdf|url-status=live}} As a result, from 1981 to 2011 the proportion of the population of South India to India's total population has declined.{{cite book|last=Ishtiaq|first=M.|title=Language Shifts Among the Scheduled Tribes in India: A Geographical Study|year=1999|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|location=Delhi|isbn=978-8-1208-1617-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fkIgsfb95rAC|access-date=7 September 2012|pages=26–27}}{{cite report|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement5.htm|title=Comparative Speaker's Strength of Scheduled Languages – 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001|publisher=Census of India|year=1991|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411183701/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement5.htm|archive-date=11 April 2009}} Scheduled Castes and Tribes form 18% of the population of the region. Agriculture is the major employer in the region, with 47.5% of the population being involved in agrarian activities.{{cite report|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/A-Series/A-Series_links/t_00_009.aspx|title=Distribution of workers by category of workers, Census 2011|publisher=Government of India|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=31 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331054612/http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/A-Series/A-Series_links/t_00_009.aspx|url-status=live}} About 60% of the population lives in permanent housing structures.{{cite report|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/HLO_Tables.html|title=Houselisting and Housing, Census 2011|publisher=Government of India|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=22 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322002412/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/HLO_Tables.html|url-status=live}} 67.8% of South India has access to tap water, with wells and springs being major sources of water supply.{{cite report|url=https://data.gov.in/resources/households-access-safe-drinking-water/download|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806011859/https://data.gov.in/resources/households-access-safe-drinking-water/download|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 August 2020|title=Households access to safe drinking water|publisher=Government of India|year=2011|access-date=21 April 2014}}

After experiencing fluctuations in the decades immediately after the independence of India, the economies of South Indian states have, over the past three decades, registered growth higher than the national average. While South Indian states have improved in some of the socio-economic metrics,{{cite journal|url=https://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070716&fname=HThe+Stats&sid=1|title=Also A Head For Numbers|date=16 July 2007|journal=Outlook|access-date=22 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502014202/https://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070716&fname=HThe+Stats&sid=1|archive-date=2 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}{{cite journal|url=https://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070716&fname=AOpenning+Essay+%28F%29&sid=1|title=The Better Half|first=Ramachandra|last=Guha|journal=Outlook|date=22 July 2015|access-date=20 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320010101/https://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070716&fname=AOpenning+Essay+%28F%29&sid=1|archive-date=20 March 2016|df=dmy-all}} poverty continues to affect the region as it does the rest of the country, although it has considerably decreased over the years. Based on the 2011 census, the HDI in the southern states is high, and the economy has grown at a faster rate than those of most northern states.{{cite journal|url=https://medind.nic.in/iby/t08/i8/ibyt08i8p198.pdf|title=Human development, poverty, health & nutrition situation in India|first1=G.M.|last1=Antony|first2=A.|last2=Laxmaiah|journal=The Indian Journal of Medical Research|publisher=Council of Social Development, Southern Regional Centre & Division of Community Studies National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR)|date=20 April 2015|volume=128|issue=2|pages=198–205|pmid=19001685|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=8 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808134831/http://medind.nic.in/iby/t08/i8/ibyt08i8p198.pdf|url-status=dead}}

As per the 2011 census, the average literacy rate in South India is approximately 80%, considerably higher than the Indian national average of 74%, with Kerala having the highest literacy rate of 93.91%.{{cite report|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/india/Final_PPT_2011_chapter6.pdf|title=Literacy in South India|page=14|publisher=Government of Indiaformat=PDF|access-date=24 March 2020|archive-date=6 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706191931/http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/india/Final_PPT_2011_chapter6.pdf|url-status=live}} South India has the highest sex ratio with Kerala and Tamil Nadu being the top two states.{{cite report|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Report_2012/10_Chap_3_2012.pdf|title=Vital statistics report 2012|date=19 April 2014|publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|access-date=19 April 2014|archive-date=22 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422214407/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Report_2012/10_Chap_3_2012.pdf|url-status=live}} The South Indian states rank amongst the top 10 in economic freedom,{{cite report|url=https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/economic-freedom-india-2013/economic-freedom-states-of-india-chapter-1.pdf|title=Economic Freedom of the States of India: 2013|publisher=Cato Institute|page=24|year=2013|access-date=29 April 2014|archive-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429204352/http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/economic-freedom-india-2013/economic-freedom-states-of-india-chapter-1.pdf|url-status=live}} life expectancy

.,{{cite report|url=https://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/inequality_adjusted_human_development_index_for_indias_state1.pdf|title=Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index for India's States 2011|publisher=United Nations Development Programme|access-date=13 February 2013|archive-date=1 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301034958/http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/inequality_adjusted_human_development_index_for_indias_state1.pdf|url-status=dead}} access to drinking water,{{cite report|url=https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2012-13/estat1.pdf|title=Access to safe drinking water in households in India|publisher=Government of India|access-date=21 April 2014|date=|archive-date=6 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806182450/http://indiabudget.gov.in/es2012-13/estat1.pdf|url-status=dead}} house ownership,{{cite report|title=Houses and household amenities and assets|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/Data_sheet/India/HLO_Indicators.pdf|publisher=Government of India|access-date=13 January 2017|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212012344/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/Data_sheet/India/HLO_Indicators.pdf}} and TV ownership{{cite web|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/hlo_highlights.html|title=TV ownership|publisher=Government of India|access-date=21 April 2014|archive-date=27 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327054204/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/hlo_highlights.html|url-status=live}} The poverty rate is at 19% while that in the other Indian states is at 38%. The per capita income is {{INRConvert|19531}}, which is more than double of the other Indian states ({{INRConvert|8951}}).{{cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/dravida-nadu-what-if-south-seceded-republic-india-1413910|title=Dravida Nadu: What If The South Seceded From The Republic Of India?|work=IBT Times|date=10 March 2013|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=17 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317182458/http://www.ibtimes.com/dravida-nadu-what-if-south-seceded-republic-india-1413910|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/north-india-vs-south-india-who-is-doing-better-report-says-south-india/1/269761.html|title=Who is doing better?|work=India Today|date=7 March 2013|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308030232/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/north-india-vs-south-india-who-is-doing-better-report-says-south-india/1/269761.html|url-status=live}} Of the three demographically related targets of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations and expected to be achieved by 2015, Kerala and Tamil Nadu achieved the goals related to improvement of maternal health and of reducing infant mortality and child mortality by 2009.{{cite news|url=https://www.frontline.in/other/data-card/missing-targets/article5740024.ece|title=Missing targets|work=Frontline|date=12 March 2014|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=20 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620170437/http://www.frontline.in/other/data-card/missing-targets/article5740024.ece|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=https://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/mdg_26feb15.pdf|title=Millennium Development Goals – Country report 2015|publisher=Government of India|access-date=1 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113185746/https://www.mospi.nic.in/mospi_new/upload/mdg_26feb15.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2015|df=dmy-all}}

{{Pie chart

|caption=Languages of South India (2011 census){{cite report|title=Language – India, States and Union Territories|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf|work=Census of India 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General|pages=12–14, 49|access-date=8 September 2018|archive-date=24 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824120826/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf|url-status=live}}

|label1=Telugu |value1=31.09|color1=blue

|label2=Tamil |value2=26.98|color2=orange

|label3=Kannada |value3=16.83|color3=red

|label4=Malayalam |value4=13.48|color4=purple

|label5=Urdu |value5=6.09 |color5=green

|label6=Others |value6=5.53 |color6=grey

}}

{{Main|Dravidian languages|Telugu language|Malayalam language|Tamil language|Kannada language}}

The largest linguistic group in South India is the Dravidian family of languages, of approximately 73 languages.{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Caldwell|title=A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages|edition=3rd|place=New Delhi|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1998|isbn=978-8-1206-0117-8}} The major languages spoken include Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.{{cite book|first=K.A.|last=Nilakanta Sastri|title=A History of South India|edition=7th|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-1956-0686-7}} Tulu is spoken by about 1.5 million people in coastal Kerala and Karnataka; Konkani, an Indo-Aryan language, is spoken by around 0.8 million people in the Konkan coast (Canara) and Kerala; Kodava Takk is spoken by more than half a million people in Kodagu, Mysore, and Bangalore. English is also widely spoken in urban areas of South India.{{cite web|url=https://www.languageinindia.com/junjul2002/baldridgeindianenglish.html|title=Linguistic and Social Characteristics of Indian English|first=Jason|last=Baldridge|publisher=University of Edinburgh|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=2 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702122452/http://www.languageinindia.com/junjul2002/baldridgeindianenglish.html|url-status=dead }} Deccani Urdu a regional dialect of Urdu is spoken by the Muslims.{{cite report|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Social_and_cultural/Religion.aspx|title=Religious statistics, Census 2011|publisher=Government of India|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=17 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817063509/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Social_and_cultural/Religion.aspx|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.languageinindia.com/april2003/urduinap.html|title=Urdu in Andhra Pradesh|publisher=Language in India|first=A.R.|last=Fatihi|access-date=22 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713110121/https://www.languageinindia.com/april2003/urduinap.html|archive-date=13 July 2015}}{{cite book|last=Upadhyaya|first=Padmanabha|title=Coastal Karnataka: Studies in Folkloristic and Linguistic Traditions of Dakshina Kannada Region of the Western Coast of India|publisher=Govind Pai Samshodhana Kendra|isbn=978-8-1866-6806-1|year=1973}} Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, and konkani are listed among the 22 official languages of India. Tamil was the first language to be granted classical language status by the Government of India in 2004.{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3667032.stm|work=BBC News|title=India sets up classical languages|access-date=1 May 2007|date=17 September 2004|archive-date=4 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304074807/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3667032.stm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/18/stories/2004091806530100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303153544/https://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/18/stories/2004091806530100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2018|title=Tamil to be a classical language|newspaper=The Hindu|date=18 September 2004|access-date=1 August 2010|location=Chennai, India}} Later Telugu (2008), Kannada (2008) and Malayalam (2013) were also declared as classical languages.{{cite press release|url=https://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=44340|title=Declaration of Telugu and Kannada as classical languages|work=Press Information Bureau|publisher=Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India|access-date=31 October 2008|archive-date=16 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316055935/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=44340|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/classical-status-for-malayalam/article4744630.ece|title=Classical status for Malayalam|newspaper=The Hindu|date=24 May 2013|access-date=25 May 2013|location=Thiruvananthapuram|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927134256/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/classical-status-for-malayalam/article4744630.ece|url-status=live}} These four languages combined have literary outputs larger than other literary languages of India.{{cite web|title=Dravidian literature|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Dravidian-literature|access-date=10 August 2021|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518091824/https://www.britannica.com/art/Dravidian-literature|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Hinduism in South India}}

{{Pie chart

|float=right

|caption= Religion in South India (2011){{cite report|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361|title=Religion, Census of India|publisher=Government of India|access-date=1 November 2023|archive-date=15 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215232537/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361|url-status=live}}

|label1=Hinduism

|value1= 82.64

|color1=orange

|label2=Islam

|value2= 11.57

|color2=Green

|label3=Christianity

|value3= 5.11

|color3=dodgerblue

|label4=Others

|value4= 0.68

|color4=grey

}}

Evidence of prehistoric religion in South India comes from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings depicting dances and rituals, such as the Kupgal petroglyphs of eastern Karnataka, at Stone Age sites.{{cite news|title=Ancient Indians made 'rock music'|work=BBC News|date=19 March 2004|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3520384.stm|access-date=7 August 2015|archive-date=26 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426034642/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3520384.stm|url-status=live}}

Hinduism is the major religion today in South India, with about 84% of the population adhering to it, which is often regarded as the oldest religion in the world, tracing its roots to prehistoric times in India.{{cite book|publisher=Merriam-Webster|title=Encyclopedia of World Religions|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/484 484]|first=Merriam|last=Webster|isbn=978-0-8777-9044-0|year=1999|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/484}} Its spiritual traditions include both the Shaivite and Vaishnavite branches of Hinduism, although Buddhist and Jain philosophies were influential several centuries earlier.{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Religion|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre13elia|url-access=limited|first1=Mircea|last1=Eliade|first2=Charles J.|last2=Adams|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre13elia/page/169 169]|year=1993|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-0289-7135-3}} Ayyavazhi has spread significantly across the southern parts of South India.{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Janak|title=World religions and the new era of science|year=2010|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4535-3572-1|page=5}}{{cite book|last1=Wallis|first1=Graham Harvey|last2=Wallis|first2=Robert|title=The A to Z of shamanism|year=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=978-0-8108-7600-2|page=101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf-xa4cisbUC&q=Ayyavazhi|access-date=4 October 2014|archive-date=18 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818093136/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf-xa4cisbUC&q=Ayyavazhi#v=snippet&q=Ayyavazhi&f=false|url-status=live}} Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy is prominent among many communities.{{cite web|title=Shaiva-siddhanta {{!}} Hindu philosophy|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shaiva-siddhanta|access-date=4 August 2021|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|archive-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318092809/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shaiva-siddhanta|url-status=live}}

Islam was introduced to South India in the early 7th century by Arab traders on the Malabar Coast, and spread during the rule of the Deccan Sultanates, from the 17th to 18th centuries. About 11% of the population In South India follow Islam.{{cite report|title=Muslim Population in India - State wise Population|url=https://www.census2011.co.in/data/religion/2-muslims.html|publisher=Census2011|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=12 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512063202/https://www.census2011.co.in/data/religion/2-muslims.html|url-status=live}} Muslims of Arab descent in Kerala are called Jonaka Mappila.{{cite book|first1=Shail|last1=Mayaram|first2=M. S. S.|last2=Pandian|first3=Ajay|last3=Skaria|title=Muslims, Dalits and the Fabrications of History|year=2005|publisher=Permanent Black and Ravi Dayal Publisher|isbn=978-8-1782-4115-9|pages=39–}} About 4% follow Christianity.{{cite report|title=Population By Religious Community – Tamil Nadu|year=2011|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html|format=XLS|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|access-date=13 September 2015|archive-date=13 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913045700/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html|url-status=live}} Christianity was introduced to South India by Thomas the Apostle, who visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 CE and proselytized natives, who are called Nazrani Mappila.{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity|volume=5|first=Erwin|last=Fahlbusch|publisher=Eerdmans Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8028-2417-2}}{{cite book|title=The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities|first=Orpa|last=Slapak|publisher=The Israel Museum, Jerusalem|year=2003|page=27|isbn=978-9-6527-8179-6}} Kerala is also home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, who are supposed to have arrived on the Malabar coast during the reign of King Solomon.{{cite book|first=James|last=Henry|year=1977|title=The Jews in India and the Far East|page=120|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=0-8371-2615-0}}{{cite book|last1=Katz|first1=Nathan|last2=Goldberg|first2=Ellen S|year=1993|title=The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India|publisher=Univ. of South Carolina Press|isbn=0-8724-9847-6}}

The major metropolitan areas in south India are as follows:

{{Largest cities

|country=South India

|stat_ref ={{cite report|title=World Urban Areas 19th Annual Edition|url=http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf|publisher=Demographia|date=August 2023|access-date=16 November 2023|archive-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503021711/http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf|url-status=live}}

|list_by_pop=

|div_name=State

|city_1=Bengaluru

|img_1=UB City.jpg

|div_1=Karnataka

|pop_1=15,257,000

|city_2=Chennai

|img_2=Chennai_Central.jpg

|div_2=Tamil Nadu

|pop_2=11,570,000

|city_3=Hyderabad

|img_3=Charminar on Eid.JPG

|div_3=Telangana

|pop_3=9,797,000

|city_4=Kozhikode

|img_4=IIM_Kozhikode_Aerial_View_s.jpg

|div_4=Kerala

|pop_4=3,049,000

|city_5=Thiruvananthapuram

|div_5=Kerala

|pop_5=2,851,000

|city_6=Coimbatore

|div_6=Tamil Nadu

|pop_6=2,551,000

|city_7=Kochi

|div_7=Kerala

|pop_7=2,381,000

|city_8=Madurai

|div_8=Tamil Nadu

|pop_8=2,048,000

|city_9=Visakhapatnam

|div_9=Andhra Pradesh

|pop_9=2,005,000

|city_10=Malappuram

|div_10=Kerala

|pop_10=1,868,000

}}

File:India roadway map with population density.svg

South India has an extensive road network with {{convert|20573|km|mi|abbr=on}} of National Highways and {{convert|46813|km|mi|abbr=on}} of State Highways. The Golden Quadrilateral connecting Chennai with Mumbai and Kolkata traverses Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.{{cite report|url=https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/48.pdf|title=Year at a glance|access-date=19 March 2023|page=3|publisher=Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India|archive-date=20 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120174316/https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/48.pdf|url-status=live}} Bus services are provided by state-run transport corporations, namely the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation,{{cite web|title=Profile, APSRTC|url=https://www.tnstc.in/innerHtmls/pdf/Tamil%20Nadu%20STUs-pages.pdf|publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331121802/https://www.tnstc.in/innerHtmls/pdf/Tamil%20Nadu%20STUs-pages.pdf|url-status=live}} Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation,{{cite report|url=https://www.tnstc.in/innerHtmls/pdf/Tamil%20Nadu%20STUs-pages.pdf|title=About TNSTC|publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331121802/https://www.tnstc.in/innerHtmls/pdf/Tamil%20Nadu%20STUs-pages.pdf|url-status=live}} Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation,{{cite web|title=History of KSRTC|url=https://www.ksrtc.in/pages/history.html|publisher=Government of Karnataka|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=5 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105141248/https://www.ksrtc.in/pages/history.html|url-status=dead}} Telangana State Road Transport Corporation,{{cite web|url=https://www.tsrtc.telangana.gov.in/history.php|title=Telangana SRTC History|publisher=Government of Telangana|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321210332/https://www.tsrtc.telangana.gov.in/history.php|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=It will be TGSRTC from June 2|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/it-will-be-tgsrtc-from-june-2/article6014676.ece|first=Suresh|last=Krishnamoorthy|date=16 May 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|location=Hyderabad|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=6 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606235217/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/it-will-be-tgsrtc-from-june-2/article6014676.ece|url-status=live}} Kerala State Road Transport Corporation,{{cite web|url=https://www.keralartc.com/history.html|title=Kerala SRTC History|publisher=Government of Kerala|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121221950/https://www.keralartc.com/history.html|url-status=dead}} and Puducherry Road Transport Corporation.{{cite news|title=PRTC set for Revival|newspaper=The Hindu|location=Puducherry|first=Rajesh|last=Nair|url=https://www.hindu.com/2009/09/22/stories/2009092252840300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925162759/https://www.hindu.com/2009/09/22/stories/2009092252840300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 September 2009|date=22 September 2009|access-date=21 March 2016}}

In 1832, the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOILAQAAMAAJ|title=Reports, Correspondence and Original Papers on Various Professional Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Engineers, Madras Presidency|last1=Smith|first1=John Thomas|year=1839|publisher=University of Virginia|access-date=24 January 2024|archive-date=13 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713020727/https://books.google.com/books?id=sOILAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/Heritage/2021/PDF/3%20Presentation%20Shradha%20Arora%20IRICEN%202019.pdf|title=Understanding Indian Railway Heritage|publisher=Indian Railways|page=6|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=26 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226101121/https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/Heritage/2021/PDF/3%20Presentation%20Shradha%20Arora%20IRICEN%202019.pdf|url-status=live}} In 1835, a railway track was constructed between Red Hills and Chintadripet in Madras and became operational in 1837.{{cite news|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/apr/16/chennai-the-track-record-1801999.html|title=Chennai: The track record|date=16 April 2018|newspaper=New Indian Express|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812065026/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/apr/16/chennai-the-track-record-1801999.html|url-status=live}} The Madras Railway was established in 1845. The Great Southern of India Railway Company was founded in England in 1853 and registered in 1859.{{cite journal|journal=Herepath's Railway and Commercial Journal|page=3|title=Indian Tramway Limited|date=1 January 1870|volume=32|issue=1595}} The construction on the first main line in the South between Royapuram in Madras and Arcot started in 1853, which became operational on 1 July 1856.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/on-the-forgotten-track/articleshow/99129882.cms?from=mdr|title=On Forgotten Road|date=31 March 2013|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812065104/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/on-the-forgotten-track/articleshow/99129882.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}} Construction of track in the Madras Presidency began in 1859 and the {{convert|80|mile}} link from Trichinopoly to Negapatam and a link from Tirur to the Port of Beypore at Kozhikode on the Malabar Coast, which eventually got expanded into the Mangalore-Chennai line via Palakkad Gap were opened in 1861.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/lifeline-of-malabar-turns-125/article4250472.ece|title='Lifeline' of Malabar turns 125|newspaper=The Hindu|date=29 December 2012|access-date=19 December 2020|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415104255/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/lifeline-of-malabar-turns-125/article4250472.ece|url-status=live}} The Carnatic Railway Company was founded in 1864 and opened a Madras–Arakkonam–Conjeevaram–Katpadi junction line in 1865. These two companies subsequently merged in 1874 to form the South Indian Railway Company.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/always-the-second-station/article3195520.ece|title=Always the second station|newspaper=The Hindu|date=3 July 2006|access-date=19 March 2016|archive-date=7 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107144028/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/always-the-second-station/article3195520.ece|url-status=live}} In 1880, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, established by the British, built a railway network radiating from Madras.{{cite book|first=Shyam|last=Rungta|title=The Rise of Business Corporations in India, 1851–1900|url=https://archive.org/details/riseofbusinessco0000rung|url-access=registration|year=1970|publisher=Cambridge U.P.|isbn=978-0-5210-7354-7|page=17}} In 1879, the Madras Railway constructed a line from Royapuram to Bangalore; and the Maharaja of Mysore established the Mysore State Railway to build an extension from Bangalore to Mysore.{{cite report|title=Origin and development of Southern Railway|url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12705/10/10_chapter%202.pdf|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091255/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12705/10/10_chapter%202.pdf|url-status=live}} The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was founded on 1 January 1908 by merging the Madras Railway and the Southern Mahratta Railway.{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol 2|page=755|publisher= Orient Blackswan|first1=Tapan|last1=Raychaudhuri|first2=Irfan|last2=Habib|year=1982|isbn=978-8-1250-2731-7}}{{cite web|url=https://indianrlys.wordpress.com/tag/royapuram-railway-station/|title=Third oldest railway station in country set to turn 156|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=13 February 2013|archive-date=8 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708053152/http://indianrlys.wordpress.com/tag/royapuram-railway-station/|url-status=live}}

On 14 April 1951, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway were merged to form the Southern Railway, the first zone of Indian Railways.{{cite web|url=https://www.indianrailways.gov.in/financecode/ADMIN_FINANCE/AdminFinanceCh1_Data.htm|title=Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background|publisher=Ministry of Railways|access-date=13 February 2013|archive-date=19 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419121522/http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/FinanceCode/ADMIN_FINANCE/AdminFinanceCh1_Data.htm|url-status=live}} The South Central zone was created on 2 October 1966 as the ninth zone of Indian Railways and the South Western zone was created on 1 April 2003.{{cite web|url=https://www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,291,360|title=Secunderabad Railway Division|access-date=24 March 2014|publisher=Indian Railways|archive-date=24 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324070038/http://www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,291,360|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://swr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,1,800,801|title=Profile of South Western Railway|access-date=24 March 2023|publisher=Indian Railways|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402082430/https://swr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,1,800,801|url-status=live}} Most of the region is covered by the three zones, with small portions of the coasts covered by East Coast Railway and Konkan Railway. In 2019, a new South Coast Railway zone was announced but is yet to become operational as of 2023.{{cite press release|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=189105|title=Cabinet approves South Coast Railway zone|work=Press Information Bureau Government of India|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402144738/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=189105|url-status=live}} The Nilgiri Mountain Railway of Southern Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.{{cite web|url=https://www.tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in/destinations/the-nilgiri-mountain-railway|title=Nilgiri Mountain Railway|publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu|access-date=8 March 2023|archive-date=13 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313203733/https://www.tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in/destinations/the-nilgiri-mountain-railway|url-status=live}} Indian Railways under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India operates the railway system.{{cite report|url=https://iritm.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1680252282408-PDF%20Year%20Book%202021-22-English.pdf|title=Indian Railways Year Book 2021–22|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=3 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103050732/https://iritm.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1680252282408-PDF%20Year%20Book%202021-22-English.pdf|url-status=dead}}

{{main|Urban rail transit in India}}

Currently, operational metro systems are there in four cities Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.{{cite web|url=https://www.india.gov.in/topics/transport/metro|title=Metro rail transport|publisher=Government of India|access-date=31 August 2023|archive-date=1 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901191527/https://www.india.gov.in/topics/transport/metro|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/ylEObaYWxcC7lGO2E2e4wJ/The-rise-of-metro-rail-network-in-India.html|title=How metro rail networks are spreading across India|first=Jyotika|last=Sood|date=26 July 2017|work=Livemint|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202200414/https://www.livemint.com/Politics/ylEObaYWxcC7lGO2E2e4wJ/The-rise-of-metro-rail-network-in-India.html|url-status=live}} Chennai Suburban founded in 1928 is one of the oldest and largest urban networks in the country. Opened in 1995, Chennai MRTS was the first elevated urban railway in India. Hyderabad MMTS was opened in 2003, becoming the second city in South India to have a local rail transit system. As of December 2022, South India has 205.06 km of operational metro lines and 16 systems.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/metro-lines-cover-only-3-of-gurugram/articleshow/70905439.cms|title=Metro lines cover only 3% of Gurugram|newspaper=The Times of India|date=30 August 2019|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=31 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831131021/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/metro-lines-cover-only-3-of-gurugram/articleshow/70905439.cms|url-status=live}}

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In 1915, Tata Sons started a regular airmail service between Karachi and Madras marking the beginning of air transportation in the southern part of India.{{cite press release|url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=69345|title=100 years of Civil Aviation|date=25 January 2011|publisher=Government of India|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=26 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226224125/https://pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=69345|url-status=live}} In March 1930, a discussion initiated by pilot G. Vlasto led to the founding of the Madras Flying Club, which became a pioneer in pilot training in South India.{{cite book|title=Indian Aviation|year=1952|first=R.L.|last=Saraogi|page=192}}{{cite news|last=Janardanan|first=Arun|title=Madras Flying Club: High on quality|newspaper=Times of India|location=Chennai|date=14 June 2011|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/madras-flying-club-high-on-quality/articleshow/8842647.cms|access-date=25 December 2022|archive-date=1 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901172935/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/madras-flying-club-high-on-quality/articleshow/8842647.cms|url-status=live}} On 15 October 1932, Indian aviator J. R. D. Tata flew a Puss Moth aircraft carrying mail from Karachi to Juhu aerodrome, Bombay; and the aircraft continued to Madras, piloted by Neville Vincent, a former Royal Air Force pilot and friend of Tata.{{cite book|title=Britain's Imperial Air Routes, 1918 to 1939|last=Higham|first=Robin|page=168|publisher=Shoe String Press|year=1961|isbn=978-0-2080-0171-9}}{{cite journal|title=De Havilland Gazette|year=1953|page=103|journal=De Havilland Aircraft Company}}

There are 12 international airports, 2 customs airports, 15 domestic airports, 5 state owned/private airports and 15 air bases in South India.{{cite report|url=https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/basic_page_files/list%20of%20airport%20bilingual.pdf|title=List of Indian Airports|publisher=Airports Authority of India|access-date=11 July 2022|archive-date=12 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212185132/https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/basic_page_files/list%20of%20airport%20bilingual.pdf|url-status=live}} Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kochi international airports are amongst the 10 busiest in the country.{{cite report|url=https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/traffic-news/Jul2k24Annex3.pdf|title=Traffic Statistics-July 2024|publisher=Airports Authority of India|access-date=1 August 2024}} Chennai International Airport serves as the Southern Regional Headquarters of the Airports Authority of India, the Southern Region comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, and the union territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep.{{cite web|title=Regional Headquarters of AAI|publisher=Airports Authority of India|url=https://www.aai.aero/en/node/4004|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154446/https://www.aai.aero/en/node/4004|url-status=live}} Four of the ten busiest airports in India are in South India.

The region comes under the purview of the Southern Air Command of the Indian Air Force headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. In addition, the National Training Command is headquartered at Bengaluru. The Air Force operates nine air bases in Southern India.{{cite web|title=Indian Air Force Commands|url=https://indianairforce.nic.in/|publisher=Indian Air Force|access-date=29 June 2010|archive-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002044147/https://indianairforce.nic.in/|url-status=live}} In the region, the Indian Navy operates airbases at Kochi, Arakkonam, Uchipuli, Vizag and Chennai.{{cite web|title=Organisation of Southern Naval Command|url=https://indiannavy.nic.in/content/organisation-southern-naval-command-kochi|publisher=Indian Navy|access-date=26 August 2023|archive-date=6 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151206221912/https://indiannavy.nic.in/content/organisation-southern-naval-command-kochi|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=ENC Authorities & Units|url=https://indiannavy.nic.in/content/enc-authorities-units|publisher=Indian Navy|access-date=26 October 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072321/http://indiannavy.nic.in/content/enc-authorities-units|url-status=live}}

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|caption2 =Chennai Port

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The region is covered by water on three sides and has a long coastline. A total of 67 ports are situated in South India: Tamil Nadu (18), Kerala (14), Andhra Pradesh (13), Karanataka (11), Lakshadweep (10) and Pondicherry (1).{{cite report|url=https://dwiep.ncscm.res.in/images/port.pdf|title=List of ports|publisher=Government of India|access-date=29 August 2023|page=1|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320115121/https://dwiep.ncscm.res.in/images/port.pdf|url-status=live}} Major ports include Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Ennore and Kochi.

The Kerala backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes, and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways.{{cite book|title=Inventory, Ecology, and Management|volume=15|year=1993|via=Kluwer Academic Publishers|publisher=University of Wisconsin|page=358|first1=Dagmar|last1=Dykyjová|first2=Dennis F.|last2=Whigham|first3=Slavomil|last3=Hejný}} The Eastern Naval Command and Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy are headquartered at Visakhapatnam and Kochi respectively.{{cite web|url=https://www.joinindiannavy.gov.in/en/about-us/basic-organization.html|title=Basic Organization|publisher=Indian Navy|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004063836/https://www.joinindiannavy.gov.in/en/about-us/basic-organization.html|url-status=live}} In the region, the Indian Navy has its major operational bases at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kochi, Karwar, and Kavaratti.{{cite web|url=https://www.joinindiannavy.gov.in/en/about-us/bases.html|title=Bases of Indian Navy|publisher=Indian Navy|access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=2 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002115721/https://www.joinindiannavy.gov.in/en/about-us/bases.html|url-status=live}} Kochi Water Metro is the first water metro service in India launched in 2023.{{cite news|first1=Amit|last1=Chaturvedi|title=India's First Water Metro To Be Inaugurated In Kochi Today: 5 Points|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-first-water-metro-to-be-inaugurated-in-kochi-on-tuesday-5-points-3974915|publisher=NDTV|date=25 April 2023|access-date=25 April 2023|archive-date=25 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425025045/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-first-water-metro-to-be-inaugurated-in-kochi-on-tuesday-5-points-3974915|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Economy of South India}}

File:Infosys (4911287704).jpg]]

After independence, the economy of South India conformed to a socialist framework, with strict governmental control over private sector participation, foreign trade, and foreign direct investment. From 1960 to 1990, the South Indian economies experienced mixed economic growth. In the 1960s, Kerala achieved above-average growth while Andhra Pradesh's economy declined. Kerala experienced an economic decline in the 1970s while the economies of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh consistently exceeded national average growth rates, due to reform-oriented economic policies.{{cite web|url=https://www.icrier.org/pdf/wp144.pdf|title=Economic Growth in Indian States|publisher=ICRIER|first=K.L.|last=Krishna|date=September 2004|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032647/http://www.icrier.org/pdf/wp144.pdf|url-status=live}} As of March 2015, there are 109 operational Special Economic Zones in South India, which is about 60% of the country's total.{{cite web|title=Special Economic Zones|url=https://commerce.nic.in/pquestion/RS20150311.pdf|access-date=15 January 2016|publisher=Government of India|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128151624/https://commerce.nic.in/pquestion/RS20150311.pdf|archive-date=28 January 2016|df=dmy-all}} As of 2019–20, the total gross domestic product of the region is ₹67 trillion (US$946 billion). Tamil Nadu has the second-highest GDP and is the second-most industrialised state in the country after Maharashtra.{{cite web|title=Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at Current Prices|url=https://planningcommission.nic.in/data/datatable/0306/table%20168.pdf|publisher=Planning Commission Government of India|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715140421/https://planningcommission.nic.in/data/datatable/0306/table%20168.pdf}} With the presence of two major ports, an international airport, and a converging road and rail networks, Chennai is referred to as the "Gateway of South India".{{cite news|last=Grover|first=Amar|title=Chennai unwrapped: Why the city is the great international gateway to South India|newspaper=The National|location=Chennai|date=17 September 2019|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/travel/chennai-unwrapped-why-the-city-is-the-great-international-gateway-to-south-india-1.911568|access-date=31 December 2021|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231145928/https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/travel/chennai-unwrapped-why-the-city-is-the-great-international-gateway-to-south-india-1.911568|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Sharma|first=Reetu|title=Chennai turns 375: Things you should know about 'Gateway to South India'|newspaper=One India|location=Chennai|date=23 August 2014|url=https://www.oneindia.com/feature/chennai-turns-375-years-old-things-you-should-know-1507481.html|access-date=20 March 2021|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032944/https://www.oneindia.com/feature/chennai-turns-375-years-old-things-you-should-know-1507481.html|url-status=live}} South India contributes 30% of India's GDP{{cite news|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/gsdp-these-south-indian-states-contributes-to-30-per-cent-of-indian-economy-all-details-article-100036029|title=GSDP: These South Indian states contributes to 30 per cent of Indian economy- All details|date=6 May 2023|work=Times Now|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=8 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508131452/https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/gsdp-these-south-indian-states-contributes-to-30-per-cent-of-indian-economy-all-details-article-100036029|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/economy/which-south-indian-state-in-india-has-strongest-economy-11683326670106.html|title=Which South Indian state in India has strongest economy?|date=6 May 2023|work=Live Mint|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=18 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818093056/https://www.livemint.com/economy/which-south-indian-state-in-india-has-strongest-economy-11683326670106.html|url-status=live}} with a higher per capita income and lower debt-to-GDP ratio than the national average. According to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad are amongst the most integrated with the global economy with Bengaluru classified as an alpha- city, Chennai as beta and Hyderabad as beta-.{{cite web|title=GaWC - The World According to GaWC 2020|url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/geography/gawc/world2020t.html|access-date=31 July 2022|publisher=Lboro|archive-date=16 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316190541/https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/geography/gawc/world2020t.html|url-status=live}}

{{Pie chart

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|caption = Share of GDP (2019-20)

|label1 = South India

|value1 = 30.6

|color1 = red

|label2 = Rest of India

|value2 = 69.4

|color2 = orange

}}

File:Beauty of Village1.jpg is the staple and predominant crop]]

Agriculture is the primary occupation in South India with nearly 5.31 crore people engaged in agriculture and allied activities in 2021.{{cite report|url=https://eands.dacnet.nic.in/PDF/Agricultural%20Statistics%20at%20a%20Glance%20-%202021%20(English%20version).pdf|title=Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2021|access-date=30 August 2023|publisher=Directorate of Statistics, Department of Agriculture, Government of India|pages=32–33|archive-date=18 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918191235/https://eands.dacnet.nic.in/PDF/Agricultural%20Statistics%20at%20a%20Glance%20-%202021%20(English%20version).pdf|url-status=live}} Rice is the staple food and major crop in the region.{{cite web|url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/food-staple/|title=Food Staple|publisher=National Geographic Society|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=31 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831171422/https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/food-staple/|url-status=live}} South India is a major producer of spices with black pepper, cardamom, clove and nutmeg grown exclusively in the region.{{cite report|url=https://nrcss.icar.gov.in/Uploads/637558912727143380.pdf|title=State wise major spice production|publisher=ICAR, Government of India|access-date=30 August 2023|pages=1–4|archive-date=31 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831101117/https://nrcss.icar.gov.in/Uploads/637558912727143380.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx|publisher=UN Food & Agriculture Organization|title=Production of Spice by countries|year=2011|access-date=20 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713020710/https://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx|archive-date=13 July 2011}} Some of the main crops cultivated in South India include sugarcane, chilli, banana, cotton, turmeric, millets and pulses.{{cite news|url=https://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-12-29/news/28384976_1_turmeric-lakh-bags-quintal|title=Turmeric at an all-time high price|date=29 December 2009|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306023813/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-12-29/news/28384976_1_turmeric-lakh-bags-quintal|url-status=dead}}{{cite report|url=https://iisr.icar.gov.in/iisr/aicrp/download/Sugarcane_in_India.pdf|title=Sugracane in India|publisher=ICAR, Government of India|access-date=30 August 2023|page=64|archive-date=31 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831101117/https://iisr.icar.gov.in/iisr/aicrp/download/Sugarcane_in_India.pdf|url-status=live}} Other plantation crops include cashew, coffee, tea, rubber, betel, areca nut, coconut, bamboo and cocoa.{{cite web|url=https://www.tnhorticulture.tn.gov.in/plantation|title=Plantation crops|publisher=Department of Horticulture, Government of Tamil Nadu|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=31 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831101116/https://www.tnhorticulture.tn.gov.in/plantation|url-status=dead}} The region accounts for 92% of the coffee{{cite web|url=https://ip.cals.cornell.edu/courses/iard602/2006spring/documents/sample_papers/value_coffee.ppt#1|title=Value Addition to Coffee in India|access-date=5 October 2005|publisher=Cornell Education|first=Salomey|last=Yeboah|date=8 March 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060919130235/https://ip.cals.cornell.edu/courses/iard602/2006spring/documents/sample_papers/value_coffee.ppt|archive-date=19 September 2006}} and 85% of the natural rubber production in the country.{{cite book|title=South Asia 2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YG8bAQAAMAAJ|access-date=18 November 2012|year= 2005|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=291|isbn=978-1857433180}}

Other major agricultural products include poultry and silk.{{cite web|url=https://www.tnsericulture.gov.in/prototype2/briefnoteonesriculture.htm|title=Sericulture note|publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu|access-date=20 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527142455/https://www.tnsericulture.gov.in/prototype2/briefnoteonesriculture.htm|archive-date=27 May 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.financialexpress.com/news/tamil-nadu-poultry-industry-seeks-export-concessions/88614|title=Tamil Nadu Poultry Industry Seeks Export Concessions|newspaper=Financial Express|date=28 June 2013|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402114342/https://archive.financialexpress.com/news/tamil-nadu-poultry-industry-seeks-export-concessions/88614|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Being a peninsular region, aquaculture is a major contributor to the economy. As of 2017–18, the region produced 53.68 lakh tonnes fish contributing to nearly 43% of total fish production in India.{{cite report|title=Indian States fish production|url=http://dof.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-08/HandbookonFS2018.pdf|access-date=23 August 2023|page=23|publisher=Department of fisheries, Government of India|archive-date=25 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225110812/https://dof.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-08/HandbookonFS2018.pdf|url-status=live}} Like most of the Indian subcontinent, agriculture in the region is largely dependent on seasonal monsoons{{cite news|title=How dependent is India on monsoon rains|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/how-dependent-is-india-on-monsoon-rains-1956132-2022-05-30|author=Samrat Sharma|location=New Delhi|date=30 May 2022|access-date=31 August 2023|publisher=India Today|archive-date=31 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831101108/https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/how-dependent-is-india-on-monsoon-rains-1956132-2022-05-30|url-status=live}} and monsoon failure often leads to droughts forcing farmers into debt, selling livestock and sometimes into committing suicide.{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/poor-monsoon-could-spell-disaster-for-indias-agriculture-based-economy-say-experts/articleshow/92314973.cms?from=mdr|date=19 June 2022|access-date=30 August 2023|publisher=The Economic Times|title=Poor monsoon could spell disaster for India's agriculture-based economy, say experts|archive-date=31 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831101118/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/poor-monsoon-could-spell-disaster-for-indias-agriculture-based-economy-say-experts/articleshow/92314973.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3769981.stm|title=Suicide spree on India's farms|access-date=10 April 2006|date=3 June 2004|work=BBC News|first=Omer|last=Farooq|archive-date=20 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060520043818/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3769981.stm|url-status=live}}

File:ALCOB_Ashok_Leyland_Corporate_Building_in_Guindy,_Chennai.jpg]]

South India's urban centres are significant contributors to the Indian and global IT economy. Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are amongst the major information technology (IT) hubs of India.{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/06/tech/bangalore-india-internet-access|title=How the 'Silicon Valley of India' is bridging the digital divide|last=Canton|first=Naomi|publisher=CNN|access-date=6 December 2012|date=6 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218052853/https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/06/tech/bangalore-india-internet-access|archive-date=18 December 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/business/worldbusiness/20bangalore.html|title=Is the Next Silicon Valley Taking Root in Bangalore?|last=Rai|first=Saritha|work=The New York Times|access-date=20 March 2006|date=20 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013023256/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/business/worldbusiness/20bangalore.html|archive-date=13 October 2011|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20201666|title=Can the 'American Dream' be reversed in India?|last=Vaidyanathan|first=Rajini|publisher=BBC World News|access-date=5 November 2012|date=5 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105101908/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20201666|archive-date=5 November 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/business/amazon-hyderabad-india.html|title=In South India, Amazon Builds Its Largest Office Yet|last=Abdul|first=Geneva|publisher=nytimes|access-date=29 December 2022|date=29 December 2022|df=dmy-all|archive-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229052958/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/business/amazon-hyderabad-india.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/microsoft-india-inaugurates-largest-facility-outside-us-in-hyderabad/articleshow/3357520.cms?from=mdr|title=Microsoft India inaugurates largest facility outside US in Hyderabad|publisher=The Economic Times|access-date=29 December 2022|date=29 December 2022|df=dmy-all|archive-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229053004/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/microsoft-india-inaugurates-largest-facility-outside-us-in-hyderabad/articleshow/3357520.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}} The presence of these hubs has spurred economic growth and attracted foreign investments and job seekers from other parts of the country.{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/after-delhi-maharastra-tn-received-highest-fdi-equity-inflows-in-fy15-114113000130_1.html|title=Maharashtra tops FDI equity inflows|newspaper=Business Standard|date=1 December 2012|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=23 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723070339/http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/after-delhi-maharastra-tn-received-highest-fdi-equity-inflows-in-fy15-114113000130_1.html|url-status=live}} Software exports from South India grossed over {{INRConvert|640|b}} in fiscal 2005–06.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-info-tech/tn-software-exports-clock-32-pc-growth/article1733052.ece|title=TN software exports clock 32 pc growth|date=7 May 2006|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|access-date=5 October 2006|archive-date=12 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612064256/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-info-tech/tn-software-exports-clock-32-pc-growth/article1733052.ece?|url-status=live}}

Manufacturing is various states are governed by state owned industrial corporations like APIIC (Andhra Pradesh), KIDC (Karnataka), KSIDC (Kerala), TIDC (Tamil Nadu) apart from central government owned companies. The automotive industry in Chennai accounts for about 35% of India's overall automotive components and automobile output with Andhra Pradesh is emerging as another automobile manufacturing hub.{{cite web|author=Subramanyam Javvadi|title=Eight auto majors are looking at Andhra Pradesh as their base for operations|url=https://www.autocarpro.in/Interview/subramanyam-javvadi-eight-auto-majors-are-looking-at-andhra-pradesh-as-their-base-for-operations-55581|access-date=8 September 2020|work=Autocar|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928113215/https://www.autocarpro.in/interview/subramanyam-javvadi-eight-auto-majors-are-looking-at-andhra-pradesh-as-their-base-for-operations-55581|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.rediff.com/money/2000/oct/25cars.htm|title=Madras, the Detroit of South Asia|work=Rediff|date=30 April 2004|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133843/http://www.rediff.com/money/2000/oct/25cars.htm|url-status=live}} Coimbatore supplies two-thirds of India's requirements of motors and pumps, and is one of the largest exporters of wet grinders and auto components, as well as jewellery.{{cite web|url=https://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2007/8/Pages/India-s-Gems-and-Jewellery-Market-is-Glittering.aspx|title=India's Gems and Jewellery Market is Glittering|publisher=Resource Investor|access-date=30 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926235942/https://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2007/8/Pages/India-s-Gems-and-Jewellery-Market-is-Glittering.aspx|archive-date=26 September 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Another major industry is textiles{{cite news|title=Lok Sabha Elections 2014: Erode has potential to become a textile heaven says Narendra Modi|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-lok-sabha-elections-2014-erode-has-potential-to-become-a-textile-heaven-says-narendra-modi-1979317|newspaper=DNA India|date=17 April 2014|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119120152/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-lok-sabha-elections-2014-erode-has-potential-to-become-a-textile-heaven-says-narendra-modi-1979317|url-status=live}} with the region being home to nearly 60% of the fiber textile mills in India.{{cite web|title=State wise number of Textile Mills|url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=108277|publisher=Press Information Bureau, Government of India|date=7 August 2014|access-date=23 January 2023|archive-date=1 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901165437/https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=108277|url-status=live}} State owned companies include Bharat Electronics (electrical components), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (power equipments) and HMT (machine tools).{{cite web|url=http://dhi.nic.in/psewebsite.aspx|title=Links to the websites of Central Public Sector Enterprises under Department of Heavy Industry|publisher=Department of Heavy Industry|access-date=3 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120521142626/http://dhi.nic.in/psewebsite.aspx|archive-date=21 May 2012|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|title=BHEL & Bharat Electronics, two PSUs in top R&D spenders in India|newspaper=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/bhel-bharat-electronics-two-psus-in-top-rd-spenders-in-india/articleshow/7175544.cms?from=mdr|access-date=23 August 2023|archive-date=18 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418015943/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/bhel-bharat-electronics-two-psus-in-top-rd-spenders-in-india/articleshow/7175544.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}} Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, operated by Indian Railways is the oldest and largest producer of railway coaches and wagons.{{cite news|last=Kumar|first=S. Vijay|title=Railways may buy readymade trains from private players|newspaper=The Hindu|location=Chennai|date=15 July 2019|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/railways-may-buy-readymade-trains-from-private-players/article28430579.ece|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-date=7 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107232455/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/railways-may-buy-readymade-trains-from-private-players/article28430579.ece|url-status=live}}

File:GSLV F11- Vehicle being moved from Solid Stage Assembly Building at SDSC SHAR.jpg Vehicle assembly building at the rocket launch station at Sriharikota, north of Chennai]]

Defense establishments include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore which manufactures fighter aircraft, helicopters and aircraft components.{{cite web|title=Our History|url=https://hal-india.co.in/Our%20History/M__111|publisher=Hindustan Aeronautics Limited|access-date=27 March 2021|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416230604/https://hal-india.co.in/Our%20History/M__111|url-status=live}} DRDO which is India's premier defense agency operates various facilities in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mysuru in South India.{{cite press release|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=(Release%20ID%20:160059)|title=Press Information Bureau|publisher=Government of India|access-date=29 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329140705/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=%28Release%20ID%20%3A160059%29|archive-date=29 March 2017}}

File:Hogenakkal Falls Close.jpg contributes significantly to the GDP of the region; Pictured is Hogenakkal Falls on the Kaveri river]]

There are three Ordnance factories in Aruvankadu (Tamil Nadu), Tiruchirappalli and Medak.{{cite news|agency=PTI|date=2021-09-28|title=Govt. dissolves Ordnance Factory Board, transfers assets to 7 PSUs|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-dissolves-ordnance-factory-board-transfers-assets-to-7-psus/article36707478.ece|access-date=2021-09-28|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928140631/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-dissolves-ordnance-factory-board-transfers-assets-to-7-psus/article36707478.ece|url-status=live}}{{cite press release|date=15 Oct 2021|title=Seven new defence companies carved out of OFB|url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1764148#:~:text=of%20the%20country.-,The%20seven%20new%20Defence%20companies%20are%3A%20Munitions%20India%20Limited%20(MIL,Gliders%20India%20Limited%20(GIL).|access-date=15 Oct 2021|publisher=Government of India|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406005242/https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1764148#:~:text=of%20the%20country.-,The%20seven%20new%20Defence%20companies%20are%3A%20Munitions%20India%20Limited%20(MIL,Gliders%20India%20Limited%20(GIL).|url-status=live}} AVANI, headquartered in Chennai manufactures Armoured fighting vehicles, Main battle tanks, tank engines and armored clothing for the use of the Indian Armed Forces.{{cite news|last1=Roche|first1=Elizabeth|title=New defence PSUs will help India become self-reliant: PM|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/pm-urges-restructured-defence-units-to-help-india-become-military-industry-power-11634288891758.html|access-date=16 October 2021|work=mint|date=15 October 2021|archive-date=22 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122133224/https://www.livemint.com/news/india/pm-urges-restructured-defence-units-to-help-india-become-military-industry-power-11634288891758.html|url-status=live}}{{cite press release|title=Seven new defence companies, carved out of OFB, dedicated to the Nation on the occasion of Vijayadashami|url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1764148|access-date=16 October 2021|publisher=Government of India|date=5 October 2021|archive-date=14 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514174348/https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1764148|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Pubby|first1=Manu|title=Modi to launch seven new PSUs this week, Defence Ministry approves Rs 65,000-crore orders|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/seven-new-psus-this-week-defence-ministry-approves-rs-65000-cr-orders/articleshow/86946027.cms|access-date=16 October 2021|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=12 October 2021|archive-date=14 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514175130/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/seven-new-psus-this-week-defence-ministry-approves-rs-65000-cr-orders/articleshow/86946027.cms|url-status=live}} Bharat Dynamics manufacturers of ammunitions and missile systems and is based in Hyderabad.{{cite web|url=http://bdl.ap.nic.in/aboutbdl.htm|title=Bharat Dynamics Limited|publisher=Bharat Dynamics|access-date=22 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230081649/http://bdl.ap.nic.in/aboutbdl.htm|archive-date=30 December 2010|df=dmy-all }}

ISRO is the premier Indian space agency primarily responsible for performing tasks related to space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. It is headquartered in Bangalore.{{cite web|title=Indian Space Research Organisation|url=https://www.isro.gov.in/profile.html|access-date=22 August 2023|publisher=ISRO|archive-date=5 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105193909/https://www.isro.gov.in/profile.html|url-status=live}} It operates research facilities in Thiruvananthapuram and Tirupati, test facility at Mahendragiri, satellite development facilities at Bangalore, launch facilities at Sriharikota and Thiruvananthapuram, tracking facilities at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Hassan and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology at Thiruvananthapuram.{{cite book|last=Ojha|first=N.N.|title="India in Space ", Science & Technology|publisher=Chronicle Books|pages=110–143|location=New Delhi}}

Tourism contributes significantly to the GDP of the region, with four states – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana – among the top 10 states for tourist arrivals, accounting for more than 50% of domestic tourist visits.{{cite web|title=India Tourism Statistics at a Glance|url=https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/english%20India%20Torurism%20Statics%20020917.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Tourism, Government of India|access-date=30 April 2018|archive-date=9 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009093426/http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/english%20India%20Torurism%20Statics%20020917.pdf|url-status=live}}

Tamil Nadu has the largest tourist inflow in India both domestic and international as of 2020.{{cite web|title=India Tourism Statistics 2020|url=https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2021-05/INDIA%20TOURISM%20STATISTICS%202020.pdf|access-date=10 August 2021|archive-date=8 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608163829/https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2021-05/INDIA%20TOURISM%20STATISTICS%202020.pdf|url-status=live}} In 2023, Kerala was listed at the 13th spot in The New York Times' annual list of places to visit and was the only tourist destination listed from India.{{cite news|title=Kerala Only Indian State In New York Times List Of Places To Visit In 2023|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/new-york-times-names-kerala-in-its-list-of-52-places-to-visit-in-2023-3688909|work=NDTV|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326041931/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/new-york-times-names-kerala-in-its-list-of-52-places-to-visit-in-2023-3688909|url-status=live}} Kerala was named by TIME magazine in 2022 among the 50 extraordinary destinations to explore in its list of the World's Greatest Places.{{cite news|title=Ahmedabad and Kerala on TIME magazine's list of World's Greatest Places of 2022|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/travel/story/ahmedabad-and-kerala-on-time-magazine-s-list-of-world-s-greatest-places-of-2022-1975386-2022-07-14|access-date=1 December 2023|work=India Today|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326041937/https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/travel/story/ahmedabad-and-kerala-on-time-magazine-s-list-of-world-s-greatest-places-of-2022-1975386-2022-07-14|url-status=live}}

{{Main|South Indian culture}}

As defined by Ministry of Culture of the Government of India to promote and preserve the cultural heritage, most of the region falls under the purview of South Zone Cultural Center at Thanjavur.{{cite web|url=https://indiaculture.gov.in/about-us/autonomus-bodies/zonal-cultural-centers|title=Zonal Cultural Centers|publisher=Ministry of Culture|access-date=1 April 2024}}

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South Indian women traditionally wear a sari, a garment that consists of a drape varying from {{convert|5|yd|}} to {{convert|9|yd|}} in length and {{convert|2|ft|}} to {{convert|4|ft|}} in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff, as according to Indian philosophy, the navel is considered as the source of life and creativity.{{cite book|last=Boulanger|first=Chantal|title=Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping|year=1997|publisher=Shakti Press International|location=New York|isbn=0-9661496-1-0}}{{cite book|last=Lynton|first=Linda|title=The Sari|year=1995|publisher=Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8109-4461-9}} Ancient Tamil poetry such as the Silappadhikaram, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari.{{cite book|last=Parthasarathy|first=R.|year=1993|title=The Tale of an Anklet: An Epic of South India – The Cilappatikaram of Ilanko Atikal, Translations from the Asian Classics|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-2310-7849-8}} Madisar is a typical style worn by Brahmin women from Tamil Nadu.{{cite web|url=https://tamilnadu.com/fashion/madisar-pudavai.html|title=Tamilnadu {{!}} The Brahmin Way of Wearing A Saree|date=13 March 2014|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122194931/https://tamilnadu.com/fashion/madisar-pudavai.html|url-status=dead}} Women wear colourful silk sarees on special occasions such as marriages.{{cite book|title=Sociology of Religion|first1=Susanne|last1=C. Monahan|first2= William|last2= Andrew Mirola|first3=Michael|last3= O. Emerson|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=2001|isbn=978-0-1302-5380-4|page=83}} Kanchipuram silk sari is a type of silk sari made in the Kanchipuram region in Tamil Nadu and these saris are worn as bridal and special occasion saris by most women in South India. It has been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India in 2005{{ndash}}2006.{{cite news|title=Weaving through the threads|newspaper=The Hindu|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/weaving-through-threads-of-kancheepurams-history/article3264339.ece|access-date=7 March 2015|archive-date=14 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614090426/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/weaving-through-threads-of-kancheepurams-history/article3264339.ece|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://ipindia.nic.in/girindia/|title=Geographical indication|publisher=Government of India|access-date=28 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826183844/http://ipindia.nic.in/girindia/|archive-date=26 August 2013 }} Kovai Cora Cotton is a type of cotton saree made in the Coimbatore.{{cite web|url=http://coimbatore.nic.in/industry.html|title=Industry of Coimbatore|publisher=Coimbatore Corporation|access-date=28 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730121603/http://coimbatore.nic.in/industry.html|archive-date=30 July 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/31-ethnic-Indian-products-given-GI-protection-in-0708/292305|title= 31 ethnic Indian products given|newspaper=Financial Express|access-date=28 June 2015}}

The men wear a dhoti, a {{convert|4.5|m}} long, white rectangular piece of non-stitched cloth often bordered in brightly coloured stripes. It is usually wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted at the waist.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dhoti|title=About Dhoti|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=12 January 2016}} A colourful lungi with typical batik patterns is the most common form of male attire in the countryside.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Clothing|title=Clothing in India|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=12 January 2016}}

People in urban areas generally wear tailored clothing, and western dress is popular. Western-style school uniforms are worn by both boys and girls in schools, even in rural areas. Calico, a plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton, was originated at Calicut (Kozhikode), from which the name of the textile came, in South India, now Kerala, during the 11th century,{{cite encyclopedia|title=calico|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/calico-textile|access-date=2021-02-01}} where the cloth was known as Chaliyan.{{cite book|first=Jill|last=Condra|title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History: 1801 to the Present|year=2008|volume= 3|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-0-3133-3665-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6FI2czFz6MC&q=calico+calicut}} The raw fabric was dyed and printed in bright hues, and calico prints later became popular in the Europe.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuQyRKaoJmUC&q=calico+calicut|title=Lynda Mugglestone "The Oxford History of English"|date= 27 July 2006|isbn=978-0-1916-2317-2|access-date=2014-01-16|last1=Mugglestone|first1=Lynda|publisher=OUP Oxford }}

{{main|South Indian cuisine}}

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Rice is the staple food in South Indian meals.{{cite web|url=https://faostat.fao.org/site/616/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=616#ancor|title=Food Balance Sheets and Crops Primary Equivalent|publisher=FAO|access-date=17 August 2012|archive-date=3 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003034113/http://faostat.fao.org/site/616/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=616#ancor|url-status=dead}} Coconut and spices are used extensively in South Indian cuisine. The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes comprising rice, legumes, and lentils. Its distinct aroma and flavour is achieved by the blending of flavourings and spices, including curry leaves, mustard seeds, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, coconut, and rosewater.{{cite book|last=Czarra|first=Fred|year=2009|title=Spices: A Global History|url=https://archive.org/details/spicesglobalhist0000czar|url-access=registration|publisher= Reaktion Books|page=[https://archive.org/details/spicesglobalhist0000czar/page/128 128]|isbn=978-1-8618-9426-7}}{{cite book|last=Dalby|first=Andrew|title=Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices|publisher=Berkeley: University of California Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-5202-3674-5}}

The traditional way of eating a meal involves being seated on the floor, having the food served on a banana leaf,{{cite book|title=Advancing banana and plantain R & D in Asia and the Pacific|page=84|last1=Molina|first1=A.B.|last2=Roa|first2=V.N.|last3=Van den Bergh|first3=I.|last4=Maghuyop|first4=M.A.|publisher=Biodiversity International|year=2000|isbn=978-9-7191-7513-1}} and using clean fingers of the right hand to take the food into the mouth.{{cite book|title=India: The Culture|first=Bobbie|last=Kalman|publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company|year=2009|page=29|isbn=978-0-7787-9287-1}} After the meal, the fingers are washed; the easily degradable banana leaf is discarded or becomes fodder for cattle.{{cite web|url=https://www.iskconhighertaste.com/served-on-a-banana/|title=Serving on a banana leaf|publisher=ISCKON|access-date=1 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114232758/https://www.iskconhighertaste.com/served-on-a-banana/|archive-date=14 January 2016|df=dmy-all}} Eating on banana leaves is a custom thousands of years old, imparts a unique flavor to the food, and is considered healthy.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatimes.com/health/healthyliving/the-benefits-of-eating-food-on-banana-leaves-242512.html|title=The Benefits of Eating Food on Banana Leaves|publisher=India Times|date=9 March 2015|access-date=20 March 2016}}

Idli, dosa, uthappam, pesarattu, appam, pongal, and paniyaram are popular breakfast dishes.{{cite book|first=K.T.|last=Achaya|title=The Story of Our Food|date=1 November 2003|publisher=Universities Press|isbn=978-8-1737-1293-7|page=80}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206094937/https://www.thehindu.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 December 2014|title=Changes in the Indian menu over the ages|newspaper=The Hindu|date=21 October 2014|first=D.|last=Balasubramanian|access-date=20 March 2016}} Rice is generally served with sambar and rasam for lunch. Tamil cuisine includes a typical virundhu for lunch with poriyal, kootu and kuzhambu.{{cite book|title=The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine|year=2023|page=18|isbn=978-1-350-12864-4|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing}} Particular dishes include sevai, paniyaram, parotta and opputtu.{{cite book|title=Arts Of Hindustan|first=Kayalvizhi|last=Saravana selvam|isbn=979-8-508-82055-8|page=74|publisher=Kayalvizhi saravana selvam }} Kerala cuisine includes dishes like appam idiyappam, puttu, and pathiri and a full-course vegetarian meal is known as sadya.{{cite book|author=Bhandari Laveesh|title=Indian States at a Glance 2008–09: Performance, Facts and Figures – Kerala|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MG1SoemjeXAC&pg=PT36|access-date=26 June 2012|year=2009|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-2340-1|pages=36–}} Andhra cuisine is characterized by pickles and spicy curries with popular dishes including Ulava charu, Bobbatlu, Pootharekulu and Gongura.{{cite news|url=https://archives.deccanchronicle.com/130731/lifestyle-food/gallery/look-telangana-cuisine|title=The Telangana Table|last=Lesley|first=A.|newspaper=Deccan Chronicle|date=1 June 2012|access-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225113155/https://archives.deccanchronicle.com/130731/lifestyle-food/gallery/look-telangana-cuisine|archive-date=25 February 2014|df=dmy-all}} Chettinad cuisine is famous for its non-vegetarian items, and Hyderabadi cuisine is popular for its biryani.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/05/26/stories/2003052600120400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030628053658/https://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/05/26/stories/2003052600120400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 June 2003|title=Varieties from Chettinad cuisine|date=26 May 2003|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=20 March 2016}} Udupi Cuisine, which originates from Udupi located in the Coastal Kanara region of Karnataka is famous for its vegetarian dishes and Neer dosa, Ragi mudde, Maddur vada, Obbattu, Bisi Bele Bath and Dharwad pedha are some of the popular cuisines of Karnataka.{{cite book|page=211|title=Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages of India: Science History and Culture|year=2020|isbn=978-9-8115-1486-9|publisher=Springer Nature|location=Singapore|first=Jyoti Prakash|last=Tamang}} Fish and sea food form an integral component of the diet along the coast.{{cite web|url=https://www.keralatourism.org/kerala-food/seafood/|title=Food: sea food|publisher=Tourism Kerala|access-date=1 December 2023}}

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The traditional music of South India is known as Carnatic music, which includes rhythmic and structured music by composers such as Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Tyagayya, Annamacharya, Baktha Ramadasu, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Shyama Shastri, Kshetrayya, Mysore Vasudevachar, and Swathi Thirunal.{{cite news|url=https://www.hindu.com/seta/2005/01/13/stories/2005011300111500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050331184754/https://www.hindu.com/seta/2005/01/13/stories/2005011300111500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 March 2005|title=The music of we primates:Nada Brahmam|newspaper=The Hindu|date=13 January 2013|access-date=19 March 2016}} Nadaswaram, a reed instrument that is often accompanied by the thavil, a type of drum instrument are the major musical instruments used in temples and weddings.{{cite book|title=Sound of Indian Music|first=Ganavya|last=Doraisamy|date=5 August 2014|isbn=978-1-3045-0409-8|publisher=Lulu|page=35}}

South India is home to several distinct dance forms with major being Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Mohiniaattam and Yakshagana.{{cite book|url=|title=India's Dances Their History, Technique, and Repertoire|last=Massey|first=Reginald|year=2004|isbn=978-8-1701-7434-9|publisher=Abhinav|location=New Delhi}}{{cite book|last=Samson|first=Leela|title=Rhythm in Joy: Classical Indian Dance Traditions|year=1987|publisher=Lustre Press|location=New Delhi|page=29|isbn=978-9-9919-4155-4}} Other regional folk dances include Andhra Natyam, Karakattam, Kavadi, Kerala Natanam, Koodiyattam, Margamkali, Oppana, Ottamthullal, Oyilattam, Puravaiattam and Theyyam.{{cite book|title=The Handbook of Tamil Culture and Heritage|year=2000|publisher=International Tamil Language Foundation|location=Chicago|page=1201}}{{cite book|last=Banerjee|first=Projesh|title=Indian Ballet Dancing|date=1 February 1989|publisher=Abhinav Publications|location=New Jersey|page=43|isbn=978-8-1701-7175-1}}{{cite book|last= Bowers|first=Faubion|title=The Dance in India|date=June 1953|publisher=AMS Press|location=New York|pages=13–15|isbn=978-0-4040-0963-2}}{{cite book|title=Fairs and Festivals of India|volume=2|first1=Madan Prasad|last1=Bezbaruah|first2=Krishna|last2=Gopal|year=2003|isbn=978-8-1212-0809-3|page=286|publisher=Gyan Publishing House}} The dance, clothing, and sculptures of South India exemplify the beauty of the body and motherhood.{{cite journal|last=Beck|first=Brenda|year=1976|title=The Symbolic Merger of Body, Space, and Cosmos in Hindu Tamil Nadu|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|volume=10|issue=2|pages=213–243|doi=10.1177/006996677601000202|s2cid=143220583}}

File:WLA_lacma_12th_century_Maharishi_Agastya.jpg of the First Tamil Sangam]]

South India has an independent literary tradition dating back over 2500 years. The first known literature of South India is the poetic Sangam literature, which was written in Tamil 2500 to 2100 years ago. Tamil literature was composed in three successive poetic assemblies known as Tamil Sangams, the earliest of which, according to ancient tradition, were held on a now vanished continent far to the south of India.{{cite book|author=Zvelebil, Kamil|year= 1973|title=The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India|publisher= Leiden|quote=Zvelebil dates the Ur-Tolkappiyam to the 1st or 2nd century BCE}} This Tamil literature includes the oldest grammatical treatise, Tholkappiyam, and the epics Silappatikaram and Manimekalai.{{cite journal|title=Women and Farm Work in Tamil Folk Songs|year=1993|first=Vijaya|last=Ramaswamy|volume=21|issue=9/11|pages=113–129|doi= 10.2307/3520429|quote=As early as the Tolkappiyam (which has sections ranging from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD) the eco-types in South India have been classified into|journal=Social Scientist|jstor=3520429}}

References to Kannada literature appear from the fourth century CE.{{cite book|last=Ramanujan|first=A. K.|year=1973|title=Speaking of Śiva|publisher=Penguin|page=[https://archive.org/details/speakingofiva0000rama/page/11 11]|isbn=978-0-1404-4270-0|url=https://archive.org/details/speakingofiva0000rama/page/11}}{{cite book|first=R.S.|last=Mugali|year=2006|title=The Heritage of Karnataka|pages=173–175|publisher=Read Books|isbn=978-1-4067-0232-3}} Telugu literature adopted a form of Prakrit which in course of development became the immediate ancestor of Telugu.{{cite book|title= A History of Telugu Literature|last= Chenchiah|first= P.|author2=Rao, Raja Bhujanga|year= 1988|publisher= Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-8-1206-0313-4|page=16}} Distinct Malayalam literature came later in the 13th century.{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/359722/Malayalam-language|title=Malayalam Language|publisher=Britannica|access-date=1 January 2016}}

File:Andal Temple.jpg is a hallmark of Dravidian architecture]]

South India has two distinct styles of rock architecture, the Dravidian style of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Vesara style of Karnataka, Telangana.{{cite book|last=Harman|first=William P.|title=The sacred marriage of a Hindu goddess|date=9 October 1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=6|isbn=978-8-1208-0810-2}} The Architecture of Kerala is a unique architecture that emerged from the Dravidian architecture in the southwestern part of India.{{cite web|url=https://nitc.academia.edu/BPhilip/Papers/374480/TRADITIONAL_KERALA_ARCHITECTURE|title=Traditional Kerala Architecture|last1=Philip|first1=Boney}}

In Dravidian architecture, the temples considered of porches or Mantapas preceding the door leading to the sanctum, Gate-pyramids or Gopurams in quadrangular enclosures that surround the temple and Pillared halls used for many purposes and are the invariable accompaniments of these temples. Besides these, a South Indian temple usually has a tank called the Kalyani or Pushkarni.{{cite book|last= Fergusson|first= James|title= History of Indian and Eastern Architecture|orig-date= 1910|edition= 3rd|year= 1997|publisher=Low Price Publications|location= New Delhi|page= 309}} The Gopuram is a monumental tower, usually ornate at the entrance of the temple forms a prominent feature of Koils and Hindu temples of the Dravidian style.{{cite book|first=Francis D.K.|last= Ching|year= 2007|title= A Global History of Architecture|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|location=New York|isbn=978-0-4712-6892-5|page= 762|display-authors=etal}} They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial and function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex.{{cite book|first=Francis D.K.|last= Ching|year= 1995|title= A Visual Dictionary of Architecture|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|location=New York|isbn=978-0-4712-8451-2|page= 253}} The gopuram's origins can be traced back to the Pallavas who built the group of monuments in Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram.{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249|title=Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=3 April 2022|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202145914/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249|url-status=live}} The Cholas later expanded the same and by the Pandya rule in twelfth century, these gateways became a dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance.{{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=George|title=The Hindu Temple|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1988|location=Chicago|pages= 151–153|isbn=978-0-2265-3230-1}}{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037402/gopura|title=Gopuram|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=20 January 2008}} Vimanam are similar structures built over the garbhagriha or inner sanctum of the temple but are usually smaller than the gopurams in the Dravidian architecture with a few exceptions including the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur.{{citation|author=S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|title=Middle Chola Temples|publisher=Thomson Press|year=1975|isbn=978-9-0602-3607-9|pages=16–29}}{{cite journal|last1=Neela|first1=N.|last2=Ambrosia|first2=G.|title=Vimana architecture under the Cholas|journal=Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science & Humanities|date=April 2016|volume=3|issue=4|page=57|url=https://www.shanlax.com/wp-content/uploads/SIJ_ASH_V3_N4_008.pdf|access-date=5 July 2019|issn=2321-788X}}

Vesara style of architecture originated during the reign of Chalukyas and later adopted by Western Chalukyas and Hoysalas.{{cite book|author=Sinha, A.J.|year=2000|title=Imagining Architects: Creativity in the Religious Monuments of India|publisher=University of Delaware Press|pages=77–83|isbn=978-0-8741-3684-5}} The later Vijayanagara architecture incorporated the features of both Dravidian and Vesara styles.{{cite book|title=New Light on Hampi, Recent research in Vijayanagara|author1=John M. Fritz|author2=George Michell|publisher=MARG|year=2001|isbn=978-8-1850-2653-4|page=9}} The temples at Mahabalipuram, Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram,{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/115|title=Decision 28 COM 14B.32. Extension of Properties Inscribed on the World Heritage List (Great Living Chola Temples)|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=3 April 2022|archive-date=April 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421114539/https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/115|url-status=live }} Hampi{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/241|title=Group of Monuments at Hampi|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=3 April 2022|archive-date=November 19, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119115851/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/241|url-status=live }} and Pattadakal{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/239|title=Group of Monuments at Pattadakal|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=3 April 2022|archive-date=March 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326134122/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/239|url-status=live }} are declared UNESCO World Heritage sites.

{{see also|Cinema of South India}}

File:AVM Studios Globe.jpg in Chennai, the oldest surviving studio in India]]

Films done in regional languages are prevalent in South India, with several regional cinemas being recognized: Kannada cinema (Karnataka), Malayalam cinema (Kerala), Tamil cinema (Tamil Nadu), and Telugu cinema (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana). The first silent film in South India, Keechaka Vadham, was made by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1916.{{cite news|url=https://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/09/07/stories/2009090750790300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912035730/https://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/09/07/stories/2009090750790300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 September 2009|title=The pioneer 'Tamil' film-maker|newspaper=The Hindu|date=7 September 2009|access-date=29 June 2011|location=Chennai, India}} Mudaliar also established Madras's first film studio.{{cite news|last=Muthiah|first=S.|title=The pioneer 'Tamil' film-maker|url=https://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/09/07/stories/2009090750790300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912035730/https://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/09/07/stories/2009090750790300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 September 2009|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=7 September 2009}} The first Tamil talkie, Kalidas, was released on 31 October 1931, barely seven months after India's first talking picture, Alam Ara.{{cite book|last=Velayutham|first=Selvaraj|title =Tamil cinema: the cultural politics of India's other film industry|year=2008|url=https://archive.org/details/tamilcinemacultu00vela|url-access=limited|page=[https://archive.org/details/tamilcinemacultu00vela/page/n18 2]|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4153-9680-6}}

Swamikannu Vincent built the first cinema studio of South India, at Coimbatore, introducing the "tent cinema", which he first established in Madras and which was known as "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone".{{cite news|url=https://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/04/30/stories/2010043051340400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505150330/https://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/04/30/stories/2010043051340400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2010|title=He brought cinema to South|work=The Hindu|access-date=26 September 2011|location=Chennai, India|date=30 April 2010}} Filmmakers K. N. T. Sastry and B. Narsing Rao in Telugu cinema; K Balachandar, Balu Mahendra, Bharathiraaja, and Mani Ratnam in Tamil cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun, John Abraham, and G. Aravindan in Malayalam cinema; and Girish Kasaravalli, Girish Karnad and P. Sheshadri in Kannada cinema produced realistic cinema in parallel with each other throughout the 1970s.{{cite book|author=Rajadhyaksha, Ashish|year=1998|title=Oxford Guide to Film Studies|publisher=Oxford: Oxford University Press|page=65}}

South Indian cinema has also had an influence on politics of Tamil Nadu.{{cite book|first1=K.|last1=Moti Gokulsing|first2=Wimal|last2=Dissanyake|year=2004|title= Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change|publisher=Trentham Books Limited|isbn=978-1-8585-6329-9}} Prominent film personalities such as C N Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, N. T. Rama Rao, and Jayalalithaa have become chief ministers of South Indian states.{{cite book|last=Kasbekar|first=Asha|title=Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle|page=215|year=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-8510-9636-7}} As of 2014, South Indian film industries contribute to 53% of the total films produced in India.{{cite web|url=https://www.filmfed.org/IFF2017.HTML|title=Film Federation Of India|publisher=FFI|access-date=7 February 2022|archive-date=24 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124213649/https://filmfed.org/IFF2017.HTML|url-status=dead}}

File:Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, Chennai.jpgAll South Indian states rank in the top 10 in institutional delivery in India{{cite report|url=http://rchiips.org/NFHS/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml|title=National Family Health Survey|publisher=Government of India|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129010243/http://rchiips.org/NFHS/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml|url-status=dead}} and life expectancy. South India also rates higher in maternal health and reduction infant and child mortality. Chennai attracts about 45 percent of health tourists and is known as India's health capital.{{cite news|url=https://thelogicalindian.com/history/tamil-nadu-healthcare-system-33860|title=Health Capital Of India: How Tamil Nadu Became One Of The Most Preferred Destinations For Medical Education?|publisher=Logical Indian|date=9 February 2022|access-date=23 August 2023}}

The number of public facilities in South India as of 2018:

The number of Government Hospitals and Beds in Rural & Urban Areas as of 2017:

As per the 2011 census, the average literacy rate in South India is approximately 80%, considerably higher than the Indian national average of 74%, with Kerala having the highest literacy rate of 93.91%. South India is home to some of the nation's largest and most prominent public and private institutions of higher education.

{{multiple image

|header=Major Educational Institutions

|direction=horizontal

|image1=Senate House (University of Madras).jpg

|width1=125

|caption1=University of Madras, one of the oldest and premier university

|image2 =IIMB_Entrance.jpg

|width2 =125

|caption2 =IIM Bangalore, one of the top ranked management institutes

|image3 =IITMmensa.jpg

|width3 =125

|caption3 =IIT Madras, one of the oldest and prominent IITs

|image4 =Sheeju iisc.jpg

|width4 =125

|caption4 =IISc Bangalore, one of the premium research institutes

}}

The table below is correct {{as of|2022|11|26|lc=yes}}.

Following are the Institutes of National Importance present across the region.{{cite web|title=Institution of National Importance|url=https://www.education.gov.in/institutions-national-importance|access-date=12 August 2023|publisher=Government of India}}

File:MA_Chidambaram_Stadium_In_the_Night_during_a_CSK_Game.jpg in Chennai, one of the oldest cricketing venues]]

Cricket is the most popular sport in South India.{{cite web|url=http://sporteology.com/top-10-most-popular-sports-in-india/|title=Top 10 Most Popular Sports in India|date=31 October 2022|publisher=Sporteology|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622111511/https://sporteology.com/top-10-most-popular-sports-in-india/|url-status=dead}} The region has five current international cricket venues: M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium in Vishakapatnam, Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad and Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Six more defunct venues have also hosted international matches in the past.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/international-cricket-venues-in-india/article19834348.ece|title=International cricket venues in India|newspaper=The Hindu|date=10 October 2017|access-date=1 December 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/afghanistan-to-face-bangladesh-in-first-t20i-at-dehradun-on-sunday/19482197|title=Afghanistan To Face Bangladesh In First T20I At Dehradun On Sunday|work=Mid Day|date=2 June 2018|access-date=1 December 2023}} Tennis ball cricket is played throughout the region.{{cite web|url=http://www.synovate.com/news/article/2003/11/study-finds-india-sports-a-high-awareness-of-celebrity-brand-endorsements-and-sachin-is-number-one.html|title=Ipsos – Nobody's unpredictable|publisher=Synovate.com|access-date=2012-06-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414120435/http://www.synovate.com/news/article/2003/11/study-finds-india-sports-a-high-awareness-of-celebrity-brand-endorsements-and-sachin-is-number-one.html|archive-date=14 April 2012}} Indian Premier League is the premium T20 cricket competition which has three teams from the region namely Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chennai Super Kings is the most successful franchise in IPL.{{cite news|date=30 May 2023|title=IPL 2023: As Chennai Super Kings clinch record-equalling fifth title, a look at the list of winners|url=https://scroll.in/field/1050018/ipl-2023-as-chennai-super-kings-clinch-record-equalling-fifth-title-a-look-at-the-list-of-winners|access-date=1 December 2023|work=Scroll}}

File:Sadugudu sadugude.jpg is the state game of all the states in the region]]

Football is also popular with the Indian Super League being the major club competition. There are four teams from the region:Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, Hyderabad FC and Kerala Blasters FC. The Southern Derby or Southern Rivalry, is the name given to a derby contested by any two of the three professional football clubs Bengaluru, Chennaiyin and Kerala Blasters.{{cite web|date=11 July 2020|title=Indian Super League: The Southern Derby|url=http://www.theturffootball.com/articles/indian-super-league-the-southern-derby/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109150456/http://www.theturffootball.com/articles/indian-super-league-the-southern-derby/|archive-date=9 January 2021|access-date=28 December 2020|work=Turf football}}{{cite news|date=12 November 2016|title=Chennaiyin FC versus Kerala Blasters in ISL's most bitter rivalries|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/football/chennaiyin-fc-versus-kerala-blasters-in-isl-s-most-bitter-rivalries/story-kg8r1jJxyAuRdhe8nTjk5O.html|access-date=6 December 2020|newspaper=Hindustan Times|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109150451/https://www.hindustantimes.com/football/chennaiyin-fc-versus-kerala-blasters-in-isl-s-most-bitter-rivalries/story-kg8r1jJxyAuRdhe8nTjk5O.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=ISL 2020-21: Bengaluru FC renew rivalry with Chennaiyin FC|url=https://www.theweek.in/news/sports/2020/12/04/isl-2020-21-bengaluru-fc-renew-rivalry-with-chennaiyin-fc.html|access-date=6 December 2020|work=The Week|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109150536/https://www.theweek.in/news/sports/2020/12/04/isl-2020-21-bengaluru-fc-renew-rivalry-with-chennaiyin-fc.html|url-status=live}} Santosh Trophy is a football competition amongst states organized by the Indian Football Association.{{cite book|author1=Majumdar, Boria|author2=Bandyopadhyay, Kausik|date=1 February 2006|title=Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i55oAAAACAAJ|location=New Delhi|publisher=Penguin India|isbn=978-0-6700-5874-7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408140616/https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Goalless_the_Story_of_a_Unique_Footballi.html?id=i55oAAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y|archive-date=8 April 2022}}[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nrE-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=QkwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6023%2C180366 Maharaja of Santosh dead], Indian Express, 1 April 1939, p. 15 As of 2022, South Indian teams have won 17 championships.{{cite web|title=Santosh Trophy Winners|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/indiasantoshhist.html|publisher=RSSSF|access-date=28 November 2013|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918131806/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/indiasantoshhist.html|url-status=live}}

Kabaddi is a contact sport which is the state game of all the states in South India.{{cite web|url= https://sportycious.com/introduction-kabaddi-history-rules-information-91452|title= Kabaddi Introduction, Rules, Information, History & Competitions|date=31 December 2016|publisher=Sportycious|access-date=28 January 2020}} It is played across the region. Pro Kabaddi League is the most popular region based franchise tournament and has three teams representing the region: Bengaluru Bulls, Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans.{{cite web|title=Pro Kabaddi League Teams|url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/teams|access-date=23 August 2023|publisher=Pro Kabbadi}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28660432|title=Kabaddi gets the IPL treatment|date=7 August 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306160132/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28660432|url-status=live}}

Chess is a popular board game which originated as Sathurangam in the seventh century A.D.{{cite book|author=Murray, H. J. R.|title=A History of Chess|publisher=Benjamin Press|year=1913|isbn=978-0-9363-1701-4}} Traditional games like Pallanguzhi,{{cite book|last=Russ|first=Laurence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXeCAAAAMAAJ&q=pallanguli|title=Mancala Games|date=1984|publisher=Reference Publications|isbn=978-0-9172-5619-6|pages=60}} Uriyadi,{{cite news|title=Traditional sports and games mark Pongal festivities|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/traditional-sports-and-games-mark-pongal-festivities/article1096563.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|date=17 January 2011|location=Erode, India}} Gillidanda,{{cite book|first=Steve|last=Craig|year=2002|title=Sports and Games of the Ancients: (Sports and Games Through History)|isbn=978-0-3133-1600-5|page=63|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group}} Dhaayam{{cite book|last=Finkel|first=Irving|year=2004|contribution=Round and Round the Houses: The Game of Pachisi|editor-last=Mackenzie|editor-first=Colin|editor2-last=Finkel|editor2-first=Irving|title=Asian Games: The Art of Contest|publisher=Asia Society|pages=46–57|isbn=978-0-8784-8099-9}} are played across the region. Jallikattu,{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/nation-world/this-2000-year-old-sport-is-making-news-in-india-heres-why/what-is-jallikattu/slideshow/56473058.cms|title=What is Jallikattu? - This 2,000-year-old sport is making news in India. Here's why|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=17 January 2017}} Rekla{{cite news|title=Madurai man wins 'rekla' race|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/16/stories/2009021656890600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220053243/http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/16/stories/2009021656890600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2009|date=16 February 2009|newspaper=The Hindu}} and Kambala{{cite book|last=Chaudhari|first=Sarith|title=Primitive tribes in contemporary India : concept, ethnography and demography|year=2005|publisher=Mittal Publications|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8-1832-4026-0|pages=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=foQK2klkzIcC&pg=PA120}} are traditional sporting events involving bulls. Traditional martial arts include Silambattam,{{cite news|last=Nainar|first=Nahla|date=2017-01-20|title=A stick in time …|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/A-stick-in-time-%E2%80%A6/article17067195.ece|access-date=2023-02-11|issn=0971-751X}} Gatta gusthi,{{cite news|last=P.|first=Anand|title=Understanding Gatta Gusthi: Kerala's own style of wrestling|url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/features/web-exclusive/understanding-gatta-gusthi-kerala-s-own-style-of-wrestling-gatta-gusthi-wrestling-kerala-fortkochi-1.5891683|access-date=9 August 2021|work=Mathrubhumi|date=8 August 2021|archive-date=9 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809122153/https://english.mathrubhumi.com/features/web-exclusive/understanding-gatta-gusthi-kerala-s-own-style-of-wrestling-gatta-gusthi-wrestling-kerala-fortkochi-1.5891683|url-status=live}} Adimurai{{cite book|title=The Origin and the Historical Development of Silambam Fencing: An Ancient Self-Defence Sport of India|last=Raj|first=J. David Manuel|publisher=College of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Univ. of Oregon|year=1977|location=Oregon|pages=44, 50, 83}} and Kalari.{{cite news|last=Radhakrishnan|first=S. Anil|date=10 January 2021|title=Kalaripayattu academy braces for action|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/kalaripayattu-academy-braces-for-action/article33539155.ece|access-date=7 April 2021|issn=0971-751X}} Vallam kali is a boat race organized in Kerala.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37081393|title=The great snake boat race of India|publisher=BBC|date=15 August 2016|access-date=23 August 2023}}

{{Portal|India}}

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