Vellore is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separated into four zones that are further subdivided into 60 wards, covering an area of 87.915 km2 and housing a population of 423,425 as reported by the 2001 census. It is located about 137.20 kilometres (85 mi) west of Chennai, and about 213.20 kilometres (132 mi) east of Bangalore. Vellore is located on the Mumbai–Chennai arm of the Golden Quadrilateral. Vellore is governed under a mayor and the Vellore Municipal Corporation. It is a part of both the Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies of Vellore. Vellore is the home to Christian Medical College & Hospital, The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and Sripuram Golden Temple. The Vellore region is the largest exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Leather exports from Vellore account for more than 37% of India's leather exports and leather-related products. Vellore is one of 27 cities chosen by the Government of India to take part in the country's Smart Cities Mission.
The recorded history of Vellore dates back to the ninth century, as seen from a Chola inscription in the Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Vellore is strategically located and well-connected by rail and bus routes to major towns in the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. Many dynasties and rulers dominated Vellore throughout its history, including the Pallava dynasty, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Sambuvaraya chieftains, Vijayanagar, the Nawabs of the Carnatic, and the administration of the British. In the 18th century, Vellore was involved in the Carnatic Wars between Britain and France. It was situated close to several decisive battles, including those at Ambur (1749), Arcot (1751), and Vandavasi (1760). Vellore Fort is important to Vellore's history. Due to a lack of historical records, it is not known exactly when the fort was constructed, but estimates based on stone inscriptions suggests that the fort was most likely built during the rule of Chinna Bommi Nayak between 1526 and 1595. The fort is a good example of Tamil Nadu military architecture, while the Jalakandeswarar Temple within the fort represents Vijayanagara architecture. Christian Medical College & Hospital, founded in 1900 by the American medical missionary Dr. Ida S. Scudder, is another Vellore landmark. The hospital has grown into a medical institution of international repute. The central prison in Vellore, established in 1830, had imprisoned notable figures like C. Rajagopalachari and Ramaswamy Venkataraman. Other landmarks include the Aruganthampoodi mausoleums, located close to the section of National Highway 48 between Vellore and Arcot, where the family members of Tipu Sultan were buried; and the Muthu Mandapam, a memorial on the banks of Palar River built by the Tamil Nadu Government to honor Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka, who ruled from 1798 to 1815 and was imprisoned in Vellore Fort for 17 years until his death.
Vellore Fort is the most prominent landmark in the city. During British rule, Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha, were held as royal prisoners in the fort. The fort houses a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter known for its carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it witnessed the massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya. The fortifications consist of a main rampart, broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections. The main walls are built of massive granite stones, surrounded by a broad moat fed with water by subterranean pipes from the Suryagunta reservoir.
Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. The fort houses the Tipu Mahal where Tipu Sultan is believed to have stayed with his family during the war with the British; the graves of Tipu's sons are found at Vellore. It is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vellore Fort has been declared a Monument of National Importance and is a famous tourist attraction.
The State Government Museum is inside the fort and opened to the public in 1985. It consists of art, archaeology, prehistory, weapons, sculptures, bronzes, wood carvings, handicrafts, numismatics, philately, botany, geology, and zoology exhibits. Historical monuments of the North Arcot District are contained in the gallery. Special exhibits include a double bronze sword from Vellore Taluk dating to 400 BCE, stone sculptures from the late Pallava to Vijayanagar periods, ivory chess boards and coins used by the last Kandian King of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Raja Singha. Educational activities at the museum include an art camp for school students and the study of inscriptions and iconography for college students.
Vellore is considered a prominent destination for medical and technological education in India. It has a state-government university, a private technological university, one government and one private medical school and several engineering and arts and science colleges. Notable Islamic and Arabic college in Vellore is Bakqiyat Salihat Arabic College.
Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. The fort houses the Tipu Mahal where Tipu Sultan is believed to have stayed with his family during the war with the British; the graves of Tipu's sons are found at Vellore. It is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vellore Fort has been declared a Monument of National Importance and is a famous tourist attraction.
The country's first stem-cell translational research centre was established in Vellore in December 2005. The central government's biotechnology department selected the Christian Medical College (CMC) as the first in a series of centers as it already had world-class clinical hematology and biochemistry departments. The college made a breakthrough which attracted the attention of the country's medical and scientific community: the Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Christian Medical College succeeded in reprogramming cells from adult mice to make them function like stem cells found in the human embryo. The agricultural research station at Virinjipuram is in the Northeastern Zone of Tamil Nadu. It is one of 32 research stations of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). The Government of India-sponsored National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) scheme has been in operation since October 1997, and it makes conservation measures conducted in water and soil of 18 watersheds in the Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts.
Thiruvalluvar University was split off from the University of Madras and is located near Vallimalai, Vellore. Most government-run arts and science colleges in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts are affiliated with Thiruvalluvar University. Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology is the only government engineering college in Vellore. The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has been ranked best private engineering university in India by the magazine India Today. Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), one of the largest hospitals in India and Asia, is based out of Vellore. It is a major health care provider for the surrounding districts.
Auxilium Women's College (founded in 1954) is the first women's college in Vellore district; Other arts and sciences colleges in the city are the Dhanabakyam Krishnaswamy Mudhaliar Women's College (DKM) near Sainathapuram and the Muthurangam Government Arts College (MGAC) in Otteri, near Bagayam. Voorhees College (founded 1898) is the oldest college in the district and known as the institution where Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (former president of India) studied; a commemorative stamp for the centenary of the college was issued by the government of India. C. Abdul Hakeem College is in Melvisharam. Arignar Anna Arts College for Women (AAA) is located in Walajapet.
The Government Law College was established in 2008. It offers a three-year Bachelor of Laws (BL) degree with an annual intake of 80 students. The college is in Katpadi, Vellore. There are several Arabic colleges in Vellore such as the Madrasa Al-Baqiyathus Salihath (popularly known as Baaqiyaath), founded by Shah Abdul Wahab and is the second oldest Arabic college in India after Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh. Schieffelin Institute of Health – Research and Leprosy Centre (SIH-R & LC) is located near Vellore and was established in 1955 to care for leprosy patients.