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(m drăs´, mdräs´)
, officially Chennai
(chĕn´nī)
, city (1991 pop. 5,421,985), capital of Tamil Nadu state, SE India, on the Bay of Bengal. A commercial, railway, and manufacturing center, it has large textile mills, chemical and automobile plants, and tanneries. Providing offshore and back-office services to foreign corporations is also an important industry. Largely built around Fort St. George, a British outpost that became the seat of the British East India Company until 1773, the city became an important British trading center. The French captured it in 1746, but the British recovered it two years later. Together with docks and warehouses, the harbor provides modern transportation linkages to peninsular India. A cultural center, the city houses the Univ. of Madras (1857) and institutes of dance and music. There are many large public buildings and a famous shore drive, the Marina. Near the city is Mt. St. Thomas, the traditional site of the martyrdom ( 68) of Thomas the apostle. He is supposedly buried in Madras at the Cathedral of St. Thomé. In 1996 Madras was officially renamed Chennai, its ancient name. Coastal areas of the city were hit by the Dec., 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami.
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