Violence
47 events, 1801 to 2024; 7 marked as turning points.
1801
After a lengthy siege and heavy shelling, Colonel Agnew's Company troops took the rebuilt fort of Panchalankurichi.
Execution of the Maruthu brothers
Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu, rulers of Sivaganga and leaders of the 1800-01 rising, were hanged at Tiruppathur fort.
Oomaithurai, brother of Kattabomman, was captured and hanged at Panchalankurichi with Sevathaiah, ending the Second Polygar War.
1805
Execution of Dheeran Chinnamalai
Dheeran Chinnamalai, a Kongu chieftain who fought the Company for several years, was hanged at Sankagiri Fort.
1806
Indian sepoys of the Madras Army rose against the East India Company at Vellore Fort over new dress regulations.
1882
Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Salem over a procession route past a new mosque; the trials that followed made C. Vijayaraghavachariar famous.
1899
In and near Sivakasi, Maravar-Nadar clashes killed 22 people and burnt hundreds of houses until troops stepped in.
1911
Assassination of Collector Robert Ashe
Vanchinathan shot dead Robert Ashe, Collector of Tinnevelly, at Maniyachchi railway station and then killed himself.
1914
German cruiser Emden shells Madras
Early in the First World War, the German light cruiser SMS Emden shelled Madras, setting fire to oil tanks in the harbour area.
1920
Police fired on Piramalai Kallar villagers at Perungamanallur near Madurai who resisted registration under the Criminal Tribes Act.
1932
Freedom fighter Tiruppur Kumaran died of injuries from a police assault during a protest march, holding the national flag.
1957
Violent caste clashes broke out in Ramanathapuram district between Thevar and Dalit communities after the 1957 elections.
Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran murdered
Immanuel Sekaran, a Dalit activist and former soldier, was murdered amid caste tensions in Ramanathapuram district.
1967
M. G. Ramachandran shot by M. R. Radha
Actor M. R. Radha shot M. G. Ramachandran at his home weeks before the 1967 election; MGR survived after surgery.
1968
Around 44 Dalit agricultural labourers' family members, mostly women and children, were burnt to death at Kilvenmani in Thanjavur district.
1982
Mandaikadu Hindu-Christian clashes
Tensions between Hindus and Christians in Kanyakumari district escalated during the Mandaikadu temple festival, leading to police firing and deaths.
1983
Black July and the arrival of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees
Anti-Tamil pogroms in Sri Lanka in July 1983 sent the first large wave of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to Tamil Nadu.
1984
Meenambakkam airport bomb blast
A bomb exploded at Meenambakkam airport in Madras, killing several people.
1989
Uthapuram caste violence and the 'untouchability wall'
After caste violence in Uthapuram near Madurai in 1989, caste Hindus built a wall separating the Dalit area of the village.
Clash in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on budget day
DMK and AIADMK members clashed in the Assembly as Karunanidhi rose to present the budget; Jayalalithaa left vowing to return only as Chief Minister.
1990
EPRLF leader K. Pathmanabha killed in Madras
EPRLF leader K. Pathmanabha and others were shot dead by gunmen in a Kodambakkam flat in Madras, in killings attributed to the LTTE.
1991
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber at an election rally in Sriperumbudur.
Anti-Tamil violence in Karnataka over Cauvery award
Mobs attacked Tamils in Bangalore, Mysore and other parts of southern Karnataka after the Cauvery interim award was gazetted.
1992
In Dharmapuri district, a raid on the tribal village of Vachathi by police, forest and revenue officials left villagers assaulted and women raped.
1993
Al Ummah, a militant group founded in Coimbatore by Syed Ahmed Basha, was banned after the 1998 Coimbatore bombings.
Palar landmine blast by Veerappan's gang
A landmine attack by the sandalwood smuggler Veerappan near Palar killed 22 members of a police and forest team from Tamil Nadu.
Bombing of RSS office in Chennai
A bomb destroyed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office in Chetpet, Chennai, killing several people.
1995
Mani Ratnam's Bombay released amid controversy
Bombay, Mani Ratnam's film about an inter-religious couple during the 1992-93 Bombay riots, drew controversy, and bombs were thrown at his Madras home.
About 600 policemen raided the Dalit village of Kodiyankulam in Thoothukudi district, destroying property amid caste clashes in southern Tamil Nadu.
1997
Dalit panchayat president K. Murugesan and six other Dalit men were murdered at Melavalavu near Madurai by members of a dominant caste.
The killing of a traffic constable in Coimbatore was followed by communal riots in which 18 Muslims and 2 Hindus were killed.
1998
Twelve bombs exploded across Coimbatore, killing 58 people, ahead of a campaign meeting by BJP leader L. K. Advani.
2000
Pleasant Stay verdict and the Dharmapuri bus burning
Jayalalithaa was sentenced to a year's imprisonment in the Pleasant Stay hotel case; in the violence that followed, three agricultural students were burnt to death in a bus at Dharmapuri.
Veerappan kidnaps actor Rajkumar
Forest brigand Veerappan abducted Kannada film star Rajkumar from Gajanur in Erode district and held him for 108 days.
2004
Veerappan killed in Operation Cocoon
The forest brigand Veerappan was killed by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force near Dharmapuri, ending a decades-long manhunt.
2007
Attack on the Dinakaran office in Madurai
After Dinakaran ran a survey on Karunanidhi's political heir, its Madurai office was firebombed and three people were killed.
2009
Police and lawyers clash in the Madras High Court
A police action against lawyers on the Madras High Court campus led to an inquiry by former Supreme Court judge B. N. Srikrishna.
2011
India protests Sri Lankan Navy attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen
India formally protested to Sri Lanka over alleged Sri Lankan Navy attacks on Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait.
Police opened fire on Dalits protesting at Paramakudi on the Immanuel Sekaran memorial day, and the death toll rose to seven.
2012
Mobs burned Dalit homes in three villages near Dharmapuri after an inter-caste marriage.
2013
At Marakkanam, PMK cadres heading to a Vanniyar youth festival clashed with Dalit villagers, setting off violence in the northern districts.
2015
Seshasamudram violence over a Dalit temple car procession
A dominant-caste mob attacked the Dalit colony of Seshasamudram and burned a temple car on the eve of its procession.
2017
Kodanad estate robbery and murder
A watchman was killed during a break-in at the Kodanad tea estate in the Nilgiris, a retreat used by J. Jayalalithaa.
2022
Edappadi K. Palaniswami takes control of the AIADMK
The AIADMK general council made Edappadi K. Palaniswami interim general secretary and expelled O. Panneerselvam.
Violence at Kaniyamoor school over student's death
Protests over the death of a Class 12 student at a private residential school in Kallakurichi district turned violent.
2023
Nanguneri attack on Dalit student and his sister
A 17-year-old Dalit student and his sister were attacked with sickles at home in Nanguneri by schoolmates from dominant castes.
2024
Murder of BSP state president K. Armstrong
Prominent Dalit leader K. Armstrong, who headed the Bahujan Samaj Party in Tamil Nadu, was hacked to death near his house in Chennai.