Fort St George

Jayalalithaa has indicated that she will shift the secretariat back to the historic Fort

(The above photo was corrected after the comments were posted)

Fort St George was Tamil Nadu’s seat of power till last year, when the then Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi, built a brand new secretariat building costing Rs 1,200 crore.

The new secretariat has strong influence of Caliphate architecture and is still incomplete. Jayalalithaa, in her campaign, had indicated that she would shift the secretariat back to the historic Fort.

The Assembly building inside it currently houses the Tamil Classical Language Library. During the glory days of the Raj’s Madras Presidency, the state legislature was located here.

Fort St George was the British gateway to the southern hinterland off the Bay of Bengal and founded by the East India Company. In 1640, British traders Francis Day and Andrew Cogan built a warehouse there and named it after England’s patron saint, St George. Day had obtained the land at Channapatnam from the governor of the Vijayanagar kingdom. It was soon fortified to house a garrison.

The French, who ruled nearby Pondicherry, eyed the fort and even annexed it in 1746. It was returned to the British three years later under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the Austrian wars of succession in Europe. As the British expanded their territory inland, they built a port in 1865. By then, the fort area could accommodate 4,000 soldiers.

After 1947, the Fort became the seat of power. The Assembly was shifted out only once between 1952 and 1956, when its strength went up to 375. After the states’ reorganisation, the strength came down to 190. It now stands at 235, while it has a seating capacity of 260.

Tamil Nadu politicians’ battle cry has always been to capture the Fort to capture power. This still rings true.

About The Author

Anil Budur Lulla