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A historical town in the state of Tamil Nadu, in southernmost India, Vellore is now the headquarters of the district of Vellore (formerly a part of North Arcot-Ambedkar district).
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Fort in Vellore
Vellore is on the Palar River, on the site of a fort built in the 16th century by Sinna Bommi Nayak, a subordinate Chief under Sada Sivaraya and Sri Ranga Maharaj. The fort was built during the Vijaynagar Kingdom in the third quarter of the 16th century. Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. The fort is one of the most perfect specimens of military architecture in Southern India. The Sultan of Bijapur seized Vellore by the middle of the 17th century. In 1676 the fort was captured by the Marathas who were in turn ousted by Daud Khan of Delhi in 1708. The fort was under the charge of Dost Ali Khan, Nawab of Arcot who gifted it in 1710 to his son-in-law, whose son Mohammed Ali kept the Fort as a stronghold for nearly 20 years.
In 1760 the Fort was occupied by a British garrison, and finally after the fall of Srirangapatnam and the death of Tipu Sultan, the English kept Tipu's sons and daughters in captivity in the fort. The fortification consists of a main rampart broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections. The main walls are built of massive granite stones surrounded by a broad moat fed with water by subterranean drains from the Suryagunta tank.
One of the interesting features of this Vellore fort is that there is a Hindu temple, Christian church and Muslim mosque inside the fort.
One of India's most prestigious teaching hospitals, the Christian Medical College & Hospital, is located in Vellore; so is the Vellore Institue of Technology, an internationally known and growing educational institution.
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