Krishnagiri
Krishnagiri is a district in northern Tamil Nadu, India, carved out of Dharmapuri district on 9 February 2004, with administrative headquarters in Krishnagiri city, named for its prominent black granite hills.[1][2] Covering 5,143 square kilometers between latitudes 11°12’N to 12°49’N and longitudes 77°27’E to 78°38’E, it borders Vellore and Tiruvannamalai to the east, Karnataka to the west, Andhra Pradesh to the north, and Dharmapuri to the south, featuring varied elevations from 300 to 1,400 meters and an annual rainfall of 830 mm.[2] As of the 2011 census, the district had a population of 1,879,809, with 960,232 males and 919,577 females, a density of 370 persons per square kilometer, and a literacy rate of 72.41 percent.[2] The district's economy relies heavily on agriculture, particularly horticulture including mango cultivation as a major crop alongside paddy, maize, and banana, with significant sericulture employing over 24,000 people across 5,069 acres of mulberry.[2] It leads Tamil Nadu in mango production, contributing over 60 percent of the state's output from more than 32,000 hectares under cultivation, and supports processing industries like pulp manufacturing for export.[2][3] Industrial activity, concentrated in Hosur, encompasses automotive components, electronics, and granite quarrying and export, bolstered by national highways converging in the region.[2][4] Historically, Krishnagiri holds prehistoric importance with Paleolithic to Iron Age artifacts, and was ruled successively by dynasties such as the Cholas, Vijayanagara emperors—who constructed local forts—and later the British following the Mysore Wars.[1]