ARCOT, the name of a city and two districts of British India in the presidency of Madras. Arcot city is the principal town in the district of North Arcot. Prominent in the history of the Brit ish conquest, it has now lost its manufactures and trade and pre serves only a few mosques, tombs and ruined fortifications as traces of its former grandeur. It is a station on the line of rail way from Madras to Beypur. The most famous episode in its history is the capture and defence of Arcot by Clive. In the mid dle of the 18th century, during the war between the rival claim ants to the throne of the Carnatic, Mohammed Ali and Chanda Sahib, the English supported the claims of the former and the French those of the latter. In order to divert the attention of Chanda Sahib from the siege of Trichinopoly, Clive attacked Arcot—which was garrisoned by a force of I,1 oo—with a force of only 200 Europeans and 30o natives, and took the fortress without a struggle. Chanda Sahib was obliged to detach a large force of 10,000 men to recapture the city, and the pressure on the English garrison at Trichinopoly was removed. Arcot was afterwards captured by the French; but in 1760 was retaken after the battle of Wandiwash. It was also taken by Hyder Ali when he ravaged the Carnatic in 1780, and held by him for some time. The town of Arcot, together with the whole of the territory of the Carnatic, passed into the hands of the British in 1801. Pop. (1931), 14,232.
The district of North Arcot is bounded on the north by the district of Chittore; on the east by the district of Chingleput ; on the south by the districts of South Arcot and Salem; and on the west by the Mysore territory. The area of North Arcot is 4,648 sq.m., and the population in 1931 was 2,266,989. The country is flat and uninteresting in the east and south, but the west, along the foot of the eastern Ghats, as well as all the country northwards from Trivellam to Tripali and the Karkambadi Pass, is moun tainous. The western elevated platform is comparatively cool, being 2,000f t. above the level of the sea. The hills are principally granite and syenite, with little vegetation, but they abound in min erals, especially copper and iron ores. The narrow valleys be tween the hills are very fertile and well watered at all seasons. The principal river is the Palar, which rises in Mysore and flows through North Arcot from west to east, eventually falling into the sea at Sadras. Although a considerable stream in the rainy season, and often impassable, the bed is dry or nearly so during the rest of the year. The largest towns are Vellore (the district headquarters), Tirupati (a great religious centre), and Wallajapet.
The district of South Arcot is bounded on the north by the districts of North Arcot and Chingleput ; on the east by the French territory of Pondicherry and the Bay of Bengal; on the south by the British districts of Tanjore and Trichinopoly; and on the west by the British district of Salem. It contains an area of 4,207 sq.m., and its population in 1931 was 2,454,507. The country is low and sandy near the sea, and for the most part level till near the western border, where ranges of hills form the boundary be tween this and the neighbouring district of Salem. These ranges are in some parts about 5,000ft. high, with solitary hills scattered about the district. The principal river is the Coleroon which forms the southern boundary of the district, separating it from Trichinopoly. This river flows strongly for most of the year, and two irrigating channels distribute its waters. Other rivers are the Vellar, Pennar and Gadalum. A considerable proportion of land is irrigated from the rivers and from tanks. Manufacture and ex port of native cloth have now been almost entirely superseded by the introduction of European piece goods. The chief seaport of South Arcot is Cuddalore, close to the site of Ft. St. David. The principal crops in both districts are rice, millet, other food grains and ground nuts.