. It has an average elevation of 92 metres (301 ft). The nearest towns with railway stations are Tindivanam, 28 km away, and Thiruvannamalai, 39 km away. Gingee is 147 km from Chennai and 64 km from Pondicherry. National Highway NH 77 connects Krishnagiri and Tindivanam, passes through Gingee and State Highway SH 4 connects Arcot and Villupuram, passes through Gingee. Demographics Population According to the 2011 census, Gingee had a population of 27,045 with a sex-ratio of 975 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 2,893 were under the age of six, constituting 1,470 males and 1,423 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 19.8% and 1.12% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 76.4%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 6,259 households. There were a total of 10.936 workers, comprising 487 cultivators, 640 main agricultural labourers, 414 in house hold industries, 5,721 other workers, 3,664 marginal workers, 45 marginal cultivators, 1,867 marginal agricultural labourers, 330 marginal workers in household industries and 1,442 other marginal workers. Politics Gingee assembly constituency is part of Arni (Lok Sabha constituency). Gingee itself a legislative constituency which is currently held by the DMK party and K.S.Masthan is currently the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Senji. Landmarks Shiva temple, situated below the fort, was built in the period of Desingu Raja who was the king of Gingee Fort Mel Sithamur Jain Math is a Jain Matha near Gingee. It is the primary religious center of the Tamil Jain community. It is headed by the primary religious head of this community, Bhattaraka Laxmisena Swami. The Viluppuram area has been an important centre of Jainism since ancient times. Historically, there was a Jain Math at Kanchipuram but it was shifted to its current location here. Gallery Notes References Questioning Ramayanas - by Paula Richman The Literary Cultures in History - by Sheldon I Pollock Further Sources of Vijayanagara History By K A Nilakanta Sastry Penumbral Visions - by Sanjay Subrahmanyam External links Gingee: History and Architecture Gingee Fort Cities and towns in Viluppuram district Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire