The economy
of Tamil Nadu has shifted decisively to a high growth trajectory with service
sector contributing more than 54 % of the GDP with manufacturing sector at
around 34%. This figure when seen in the light of historical evidence is
neither surprising nor unexpected. Industrial goods have turned up in
archaeological excavations at Keeladi, Adichanallur, Kodumanal,
Pattaraiperumbuddur and several other places. The megalithic sites distributed
over the dry plains of Tamil Nadu have yielded beads made of carnelian and
other semi-precious stones like agate, beryl and amethyst. The social
organization necessary for such sophisticated industrial enterprises is
reflected in the development of craft guilds and specialized merchant bodies which
traded goods produced in Tamil Nadu like steel, textiles, ceramics and metal
ware all across the Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to the Straits of Malacca and
beyond.
Chola Inscription
The history
of trade and mercantile activity from the Coromandel Coast to port towns
located in present day Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam forms the mainstay of
research both by Indian and Western scholars. Inscriptions of the early
medieval period in both Tamil and other languages attest to the presence of
merchant bodies like the famous “nanadesi” merchants who traded in the “five
hundred directions”. This particular guild which is revealed in early inscriptions
had a long presence and seems to have operated almost till the end of the
twelfth century. Originating in Aihole in Karnataka, this merchant body worked
in nagaram or trading centers where they carried out business
activities which included sale of commodities which included essentials like
Rice, Salt and Cloth. Luxury goods like Silk and Aromatic products were in the
hands of merchants who specialized in the exchange of such goods. Inscriptions
from Kanchi Managaram from the early Chola period speak of the active role
played by traders carrying out trade in this luxury product.
Farm products
like arecanuts, flowers, ginger, turmeric figure prominently in medieval
inscriptions. Forest products like timber, animal skins and elephant tusks are
also known to have formed part of the goods involved in trade. In addition we
have finished goods like iron ingots, gold and silver jewelry and textiles
being exported from the region.
The rise of
the Cholas in the Kaveri region around the middle of the ninth century AD gave
further fillip to the flourishing trade with South East Asia, particularly the
Srivijaya empire. Chinese sources speak of trade missions that reached China
from the Pandyan kingdom. The archaeological evidence from the port of Quanzhou
suggests that merchants from Tamil Nadu were living in the port and an
inscription of AD 1279 points to the presence of a temple at that site.
Excavations have led to the discovery of a temple whose fragments are now
preserved in the museum. Similarly, an ocean-going vessel was recovered from
Kadakkarappally, a site in Kerala which can be dated to the medieval period.
Artifacts of Tamil origin have been found in South East Asia and these include
textiles, religious icons, vessels made of copper and bronze and iron tools and
weapons.
Historians
are unanimous is placing the Tamil region as a preeminent trading and
commercial hub of the medieval period. In A D 1025 when Rajendra Chola I
(1014-1044) launched a naval expedition against Srivijaya, it appears that
mercantile interests were significantly impacted as several towns and cities in
Srivijaya were destroyed.
The trade in
goods was sustained by the organized production of artisans in craft centers
which contained weavers, carpenters, jewelers, metal workers and potters all of
whom carried out their trade in fixed peasant localities termed as nadus.
Merchants and traders belonging to various guilds gathered the goods produced
and helped to distribute them across the region and through the trans-oceanic
routes to China and South east Asia. Marco Polo’s testimony of the shipping he
witnessed when he arrived at Kayalpattinam suggests that even as late as the 13th
century goods produced in the region were finding their way across the Bay of
Bengal.
The coastal
region of Tamil Nadu has closely mimicked the patterns of trade commerce and
exchange throughout history. The trade with the Roman Empire is seen in the
numerous hoards of Roman coins distributed throughout the peninsula. Gold
bullion in the form of coins flowed into India in exchange for textiles, gems
and animals. The wild animals let loose in the Colosseum originated in India,
as Africa lay largely beyond Roman imagination. The sudden eruption of the Huns
of the Steppes of Central Asia and the attacks on Rome disrupted the demand for
goods from the region and therefore we see a shift towards South east Asia from
around the 5th and 6th centuries coinciding with the rise
of the Pallavas. From the 9th
century onwards China made its presence
felt in the region and Chinese ceramics of the Tang and Sung dynasties have
been found in the coastal regions as well as in important medieval sites such
as Maligaimedu, the site of the Chola royal residence near
Gangaikondacholapuram.
In more
recent times we have seen trading communities from South India emerge as entrepreneurs
and bankers in different parts of South east Asia particularly Malaysia and
Myanmar. Building up on historical links with the region trading communities
with adequate skills and social capital built up thriving businesses that could
hold thir own even against discriminatory practices introduced by the colonial
rulers.
Hence it is
certainly not difficult for us to understand that in the light of History the
Tamil region has always been at the cutting edge of trade commerce and
exchange.
This article was published in Times of India, Chennai June 23 2025
