Sivagangai is the land of marudhu pandyas who opposed the colonial power with the patriotic fervour. They were a nightmare to the british who in the guise of traders grabbed the whole of india and founded an empire here. Had there been many marudhus, the history of India would have been different from what it turned out to be. Sivagangai is now the headquarters of the district. It was formed out of ramanathapuram as a separate district in 1985.