Madurai, the administrative headquarters of the Madurai District, with a population of more than a million, is the third largest city by population of Tamil Nadu, and the 44th most populated city of India, with a literacy rate of 90%.The native and most spoken language is Tamil. As per the 2011 census, the total population of Madurai district is 3 million, 83.5% is the literacy rate and 45% are in the working age. This includes 35 percent of the workers that are engaged in the agricultural sector, 3 percent in the household industry and the large segment of 62 percent that are employed in industry and services. Madurai is located on the banks of River Vaigai and the surrounding flat and fertile plains fostered by the Periyar Dam are utilized well for agriculture to primarily cultivate paddy and cotton. Traditional industries include brick and pottery making, poultry farming, dairy farming and carpentry. Medium and Large Industries related to Software, Rubber, Automobiles,Textiles, Granite and Chemical flourish in the district. In the religious city of Madurai, the large Meenakshi Amman Temple and the Tirumalai Nayak Palace are some of the most significant, historical and visited sights built in the Dravidian architectural style. Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language, and the third Tamil Sangam, a major congregation of Tamil scholars is said to have been held in the city. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Chanakya, by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the Maurya empire, by Roman historians such as Pliny the Younger and Ptolemy, by the Greek geographer Strabo and also in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 300BC are evident from excavations at Manalur. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled at different times by the Pandyas, Cholas, Madurai Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks and the Carnatic kingdom. In 1801, Madurai was annexed to the Madras Presidency, coming under the direct control of the British East India Company and was constituted as a municipality in 1866.
