All about Kerala(India)

The name Kerala is widely explained as the "the land of coconuts", derived from Malayalam word "kera" which means coconut. However, pre historic edits of Emperor Asoka period dating back to 273-236 BC had etymological reference of Keralaputra,meaning the land of Cheras (of Chera dynasty) sons. The present State of Kerala, a 560-km long narrow stretch of land, having not more than 15,000 square miles and at its widest a mere 120-km from the sea, was created on the 1st of November 1956, with the political merging of three earlier distinct areas; the North Malabar region, as far up the coast covering Tellicherry, Cannanore and Kasargode and excluding the tiny pocket of French possession, Mahe , the princely State of Cochin forming the middle section and the third region comprised Travancore, another princely State, covering the southern area. Origin There is a persistent legend which says that Parasuram, the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Hindu Trinity, stood on a high place in the mountains, threw an axe far in to the sea, and commanded the sea to retreat. Geologists have postulated the elevation of Kerala from the sea was the result of some seismic activity, either suddenly or gradually. Alternate theory is the rivers of Kerala emptying into the Arabian seas bring down enormous quantities of silt from the hills. The ocean currents transport quantities of sand towards the shore. The coastal portions could well be due to the accumulation of this silt over thousands of years. No relic of the Stone Age, not a single authentic Neolithic implement, has been discovered in any parts of Kerala. Megaliths or huge burial stones carved by iron implements are scattered all along the ghats of Wynad in the north to Trivandrum in the south. Various researches show a pattern of distribution for these stones extending all the way from Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh along the Nepal Valley down through the Vindhya Mountains to Tamil Nadu and the High Ranges of Kerala. This pattern indicates that Kerala's early people were originally from the Northwest of India. The megalithic types of Kerala -- similar to those of Brittany and Cornwall-are isolated and multiple dolmens, port-hole cists, menhirs, kudakallus or umbrella stones, topikallus or cap stones, and rock-cut caves. In many caves archeologists have found, especially during the Varkala Tunnel construction, old pots of the "black-andred-ware" variety and human bones. At some sites even terra cotta figurines have been discovered. Topikallu and kudakallu are sepulchral monuments under which are found burial urns in pits. The remarkable thing about the Kerala megaliths is that they are not as old as the Harappan culture (2500-1500 B.C.). According to Sir Mortimer Wheeler and many historians, the megalith culture was introduced into Kerala between 300 B.C. and 50 A.D. Megalithic evidence shows that the builders came originally from Northwestern India and entered Kerala's High Ranges around 200 B.C.

Though we are unable to identify these early inhabitants of Kerala with any certainty, we can be certain that their descendants are alive and well in Kerala today.

These people, Keralites of Kerala and elsewhere, are, in the view of anthropologists, "an ethnological museum." Several racial strains are easily recognized in the racial composition of the Keralites of different communities. Some point out the Negrito element as representing the earliest inhabitants of Kerala; some members of the hill tribes of Kadar, Kanikkar, Uralis, and Paniyar have curly to frizzy hair, black skin, broad noses, thick lips, and round heads that are characteristic of the Negroes of the Andaman Islands, Malay Peninsula, and Africa. However, the Australoids also have similar features; the Australoid group is the major racial element in the Munda or Kolarian population of North and Central India and in the Dravidian population of South India. Some anthropologists even notice distinctive Mongoloid features in Kerala Dravidians.

Modern History

The area has been settled for at least six thousand years but its existence was not recorded in writing until the third century BC, on a rock edict by Ashoka the Great who ruled over much of India at that time. It has a long history of international trade and penetration by new religions, beginning with Hinduism.

Over the last two thousand or more years, Kerala exported ivory, sandalwood, peacocks and spices in exchange for goods such as gold. It was visited by Jews, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, Portuguese, Malayans, Filipinos, Javans, Dutch, French, British and, of course, people from other parts of India, some of whom brought Jainism and Buddhism.

Christianity arrived shortly after it became the official religion of the Roman Empire and Islam followed the spice trade in the seventh. Some visitors settled, stayed and continued to practise their religion or to try to convert the local population. After the Portuguese established domination over Kerala in the early 16th century, Catholic missionaries arrived in increasing numbers, until the protestant Dutch defeated the Portuguese in 1663 and ordered the expulsion of allforeigners.

In 1705 the British, in the form of the East India Company, took control of most of India and forced the Dutch out of Kerala. From 1859 India was ruled by the British government, directly or indirectly. Thus, until 1947, Kerala under British rule was divided between two distinct kinds of jurisdiction: that of Malabar, ruled directly by the British as part of the Madras Presidency; and that of the princely states of Travancore and Cochin.

The earliest inhabitants of Kerala were the Pulayas, Kuravas and Vetas and much later the migratory Aryan populations from the north landed and subjugated them through caste system. By the beginning of the Christian era,the Cheran Dynasty was spread up to Western Ghats. The armies of Mauryan Dynasty could not enter the lands of the Cheras. With time the rule of Cheran Dynasty declined, it coincided with the rise of the Brahmins in Kerala.

By the 10th century, they were powerful entity from Gokurnum (North Kerala) to the Cape Comorin. These land owning class of Brahmins were well on their way to great wealth and power. To consolidate their power, they developed Caste System (segregation between classes of people). Lands were leased out to next higher castes for share-cropping, and these in turn would further be leased out to those lower on the caste hierarchy and to non-Hindus. The lowest castes of course were only laborers and were traded along with the land. In such a rigid hierarchy, the all-powerful Namboothiries were the unquestioned rulers.

The Christians who had arrived from the Middle East in the 3rd century AD and the Muslims who arrived in the 8th century were generally traders and were not involved in this social segregation and generally kept aloof from the ambit of caste politics. The Jews who arrived in Kerala in the early years of the Christian era were given privileges to trade and became an influential part of the melting pot of Kerala's population.

Gradually Kerala entered a phase of feudal chieftains or warlords (naduvazhis). At the turn of the 11th century AD there was a power struggle in the caste system supported by the Landlords and ruled by the warlords. This in turn gave rise to instability in the absence of strong central leadership. Wars and conflicts were common.

Ultimately three warlords emerged with some semblance of authority in their regions - the Zamorin of Calicut (Samuthiri of Kozhikode) to the North, Moopins of Perimpadappu (near modern day Kochi) in the central regions and chieftain of Kollam.

This is precisely when the Europeans found a sea-lane to the fabled land of spices and gold, a preface to the next five centuries of colonial rule.

European Arrival

Arrival of the Europeans marked the beginning of another era in the history of Kerala. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached Kappad, near Kozhikode. This was followed by the arrival of a number of Europeans. Though the main aim of their visit was trade and discovery of a shorter sea route to the Malabar coast, the prevailing political instability paved way for their entry into the administration.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a stronghold in Kerala. This was later followed by the Dutch and the British. A number of battles were fought between the provincial rulers against each other and against the Portuguese. In 1524 Vasco da Gama was appointed the Portuguese Viceroy of Kerala. Kochi and Kozhikode were the main provinces of the time. Zamorins, the rulers of Kozhikode, fought a number of battles against the Portuguese.

Following the Portuguese, the Dutch reached Kerala. They began by the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in the year 1592. In 1604, the Dutch army arrived at the Malabar Coast. They entered the arena of Kerala politics by making use of the rivalry between Kochi and Kozhikode. Their arrival marked the beginning of another phase of European domination. The Portuguese slowly began to loose control over to the Dutch. Dutch established their base at various parts of Kerala and made a number of treaties with local rulers.

These treaties bestowed them with more powers. The Dutch supremacy lasted only for a short period before the British entry into Kerala. In 1725, the French established their base at Mahe. But unlike in the African continent, they were unable to make a move in on. Even while the Europeans emerged as great powers, war continued between the provinces. Marthanda Varma (1706 - 1761), the ruler of Travancore, was one of the strongest rulers of the time. With the arrival of the British begins another chapter of Kerala history.

British Rule Like any other Europeans, British also had great interest in Kerala. They too were attracted by the spices and other natural treasures of the land. British supremacy in Kerala started by the mid seventeenth century and lasted for the next 200 years until independence. Though a number of wars and revolts were made against them, the British were able to suppress them quickly. This was mainly because of the lack of unity among the provinces. Kochi and Travancore were the prominent kingdoms. The rule of the British saw many changes in the social and cultural life of Kerala. Slavery was slowly abolished. English missionaries played an important role in improving the living standard of the people. During this period a number of educational institutions and hospitals were opened. Many railway lines, roads and bridges were constructed by the British. In a way, Kerala is indebted to the British for its modernization. This period also saw the emergence of a number of social reformation movements.Many reformers like Chattambi Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali played a vital role in the upliftment of the downtrodden and the emancipation of the women folks. Post Independence Kerala's post independence history is a saga of Leftist movement and Indian National Congress. The deep social, communal and economic division in Kerala was on the boil. The Communist Movement which initially began as naxalite movement, waged a full might against the Suppression. EMS Namboothiripad, AK Gopalan and P Krishna Pillai were the unquestioned leaders of the Communist Movement. By 1957, they had become the first democratically elected Communist Government anywhere in the world. The story of Kerala after 1959 is a story of many governments of the Congressled or Left-led parties coming and going at regular intervals. Kerala has seen no fewer than 17 Ministries till now. The recent history of Kerala comprises of a prelude to independence, the communism road and the evolution of the modern state Kerala. All the communities of Kerala bears the same language, Malayalam, which is a mixture of Tamil and Sanskrit languages.

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