The capital of Tamil Nadu, India’s southernmost state, is Chennai, formerly known as Madras. Situated on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, it is the primary city of the state. Chennai is the sixth most populated city in India and the fourth most populous urban agglomeration, according to the 2011 Indian census. The Greater Chennai Corporation was established in 1688 and is the second-oldest municipal corporation globally, behind London. It is the oldest in India.

The area has historically belonged to the kingdoms of the Chola, Pandya, Pallava, and Vijayanagara at different points in time. The British East India Company bought the coastal area, which at the time housed the fishing village Madrasapattinam, from Chennapa Nayaka, the monarch of the Nayaks, in the seventeenth century. The British garrison constructed Fort St. George, the first British fortress in India, as well as the city and port of Madras. The Madras Presidency, a British Raj colonial province on the Indian subcontinent, designated the city as its winter capital. Madras remained the capital of the Madras State and modern-day Tamil Nadu following India’s independence in 1947. In 1996, the official name of the city was changed to Chennai.

The city is contiguous with the Chennai district, which, along with the surrounding suburbs, makes up the Chennai Metropolitan region, which is home to one of India’s largest metropolitan economies and the 35th-largest urban region worldwide in terms of population. Chennai is home to the third-largest expat community in India and the country’s fifth-largest urban economy. Chennai, which serves as a gateway to South India, is one of the most visited Indian cities and ranks 36th globally in terms of tourists in 2019. Chennai, one of the safest and best places to live in India, is consistently ranked as a beta-level city on the Global Cities Index.

Chennai is known as “India’s health capital” and is a key hub for medical tourism. Chennai is known as the “Detroit of India” since it is home to a sizable share of the country’s auto sector. It was the only city in South Asia to appear in National Geographic’s “Top 10 Food Cities” list for 2015, and it came in at number nine on Lonely Planet’s list of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. Chennai was included on the list of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) cities in October 2017. The Tamil-language film industry is based there, and it is a significant hub for film production.