Javadi Hills
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Javadi Hills
A detached group of hills, in Madras, lying between 12 degree 18' and 12 degree 54' N. and 78 degree 35' and 79 degree 11' E., and for the most part situated in the south-west corner of North Arcot District, though spurs run down into South Arcot and Salem. In North Arcot some of the peaks attain an elevation of over 3,000 feet. They are there sepa- rated from the Eastern Ghats by the broad valley of the Palar. This narrows in the neighbourhood of Ambur, where the Javadis and the Eastern Ghats almost join, but it widens again as it leaves North Arcot and passes into Salem. The Javadis are made up of numerous small plateaux, which contain in North Arcot no hamlets, or clusters of huts, inhabited by a Tamil-speaking hill tribe called Malaiyalis.
These people number nearly 10,000 ; and though they appear to be ethno- logically of the same stock as the Tamils of the low country, their long isolation has led to divergencies in their ways, and they possess certain peculiar customs of their own. The climate of the hills is malarious at certain seasons, but does not merit the utter condemnation generally accorded it Spurs from the main range extend in a north-easterly direction as far as the town of Vellore, gradually declining in height as they approach the Palan One detached peak, Kailasagarh, 2,743 feet in height, is only 6 miles distant from Vellore, and the small bun- galow upon its summit forms a pleasant retreat during the hot season. The Javadis used to be covered with fine forest, but this has been almost entirely destroyed. Much damage was done when the construc- tion of the south-west line of the Madras Railway was in progress, enormous quantities of timber being at that time felled for sleepers. Careful conservation is now helping to remedy the recklessness of past years. Game is fairly abundant in these hills. Bison, sdmdar, spotted deer, leopards, and an occasional tiger are found in them. The Javadis are one of the only two tracts in the Presidency where the cul- tivation of the intoxicating ganja (Cannabis satwa) is permitted under licence. A little coffee cultivation has been attempted on the South Arcot side, and the produce is sold in the local markets. There are relics of Hindu temples, with some inscriptions, at Kovilanur on the way from Patrakad to Komatiyur, and signs of former occupation by a civilized nation.
