Chengalpattu

<!-- See WikiProject Indian cities for details -->Chingleput or Chengalpattu or Chengalpet (Tamil: செங்கல்பட்டு) is a city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the headquarters of the Chengalpattu taluk of Kanchipuram district. It is located on the Palar River about 56&nbsp;km south-southwest of the city of Chennai (Madras). Chingleput is an important railway junction and commercial center. It has a medical school and other colleges affiliated with the University of Madras.

History

Chingleput was formerly a capital of the kings of Vijayanagara, after their defeat by the Deccan sultanates at Battle of Talikota in 1565. In 1639 a local governor or Nayak, subject to these kings, granted a piece of coastal land to the British East India Company where Fort St George now stands, which became the nucleus of the city of Madras. The fortress at Chingleput, built by the Vijayanagara kings in the 16th century, was of strategic importance, owing to its swampy surroundings and the lake that flanked its side.

Chingleput was taken by the French in 1751, and was retaken in 1752 by Dharaniraj, after which it proved of great strategic advantage to the British, especially when Lally failed to capture the fortress in his advance on Madras.

During the wars of the British with Hyder Ali of Mysore it withstood his assault, and afforded a refuge to the nearby residents; in 1780, after the defeat of Colonel W. Baillie,...
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