History of Kerala

us:This article concerns itself with the history of Kerala, a state in South India.

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Vasco da Gama landing in Kerala.

Part of a series on the
History of Kerala
Pre-history
Pre-history of Kerala  · Edakkal Caves · Marayur
Sangam period
Sangam literature Muziris · Tyndis  Economy · Religion · Music Early Cheras Early Pandyas Ezhimalai kingdom Ay kingdom Saint Thomas Christians
Medieval age Kalabhra interregnum Mappila Later Cheras Kulashekhara Alwar Adi Shankara Medieval Chola Empire Zamorins of Calicut Venad Kolathunad Kingdom of Travancore Kingdom of Cochin Kerala school Vijayanagara Empire
Modern age
Vasco da Gama Dutch East India Company Travancore–Dutch War Battle of Colachel Mysore invasion Pazhassi Raja British East India Company Madras presidency Third Anglo–Mysore War Velu Thampi Malabar Rebellion Punnapra-Vayalar uprising Narayana Guru Travancore-Cochin Indian independence Madras State Kerala Communist Party of India

The history of Kerala goes back more than several millennia. Stone age carving in Edakkal Caves had pictorial writings believed to be dating to at least 5000 BC, from the Neolithic man, indicating the presence of a prehistoric civilization or settlement in this region. From as early as 3000 BC, Kerala had established itself as a major spice trade center. Kerala had direct contact across the Arabian Sea with all the major Red Sea ports and the Mediterranean ports as well as extending to ports in the Far East. The spice trade between Kerala and much of the world was one of the main drivers of the world economy. For much of history, ports in Kerala were the busiest (Muziris) among all trade and travel routes in the history of the world.

A 3rd-century-BC rock inscription by emperor Asoka the Great attests to a Keralaputra. Around 1 BC the region was ruled by the Chera Dynasty, which traded with the Greeks, Romans and Arabs. The Tamil Chera dynasty, Ays and the Pandyan Empire were the traditional rulers of Kerala whose patriarchal dynasties ruled until the 14th century. The Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Chola Empire and Rashtrakuta Empire. In the 8th century Adi Shankara was born in central Kerala, who travelled extensively across the Indian subcontinent, establishing institutions of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Feudal Namboothiri Brahmin and Nair city-states subsequently gained control of the region.

Contact with Europeans after the arrival of Vasco Da Gama in 1498 gave way to struggles between colonial and native interests. In 1795, the area was under British dominion. After independence, the state of Kerala was created in 1956 from the former state of Travancore-Cochin, the Malabar district of Madras State, and the Kasaragod taluk of Dakshina Kannada.

Mythological origins

Parashurama, the sixth avatara of Vishnu

There are myths concerning the origin of Kerala. One such myth is the creation of Kerala by Parasurama, a warrior sage. The Brahminical myth proclaims that Parasurama, an Avatar of Mahavishnu, threw his battle axe into the sea. As a result, the land of Kerala arose and was reclaimed from the waters.

He was the sixth of the ten avatars (incarnation) of Vishnu. The word Parasu means 'axe' in Sanskrit and therefore the name Parasurama means 'Ram with Axe'. The aim of his birth was to deliver the world from the arrogant oppression of the ruling caste, the Kshatriyas. He killed all the male Kshatriyas on earth and filled five lakes with their blood. After destroying the Kshatriya kings, he approached assembly of learned men to find a way of penitence for his sins. He was advised that, to save his soul from damnation, he must hand over the lands he had conquered to the Brahmins. He did as they advised and sat in meditation at Gokarnam. There, Varuna -the God of the Oceans and Bhumidevi - Goddess of Earth blessed him. From Gokarnam he reached Kanyakumari and threw his axe northward across the ocean. The place where the axe landed was Kerala. It was 160 katam (an old measure) of land lying between Gokarnam and Kanyakumari. Puranas say that it was Parasuram who planted the 64 Brahmin families in Kerala, whom he brought down from the north in order to expiate his slaughter of the Kshatriyas. According to the puranas, Kerala is also known as Parasurama Kshetram, i.e., 'The Land of Parasurama', as the land was reclaimed from sea by him.

This legend, however, may be a Brahmin appropriation of an earlier Chera legend where a Chera King, Velkezhu Kuttavan, otherwise known a Chen Kuttuvan flings his spear into the sea to claim land from it. The myth of Parashurama is debatable as the legendary king Mahabali, under whose rule Kerala was the land of prosperity and happiness, was granted rule over netherworld (Patalam) by Vamana the avatar of Vishnu, who actually comes before the avatar of Parashurama according to the avatar stories of Hindu mythology. There is however a counter-point to this line of argument, because as per the 'Vishupuranam' Mahabali was ruler of the entire World (there is no mention of a place called Kerala) and eyed to capture the abode of the Devas when Vishnu incarnated as 'Vamana' and banished him. Also it is not necessary for one Avatara to end before the other one begins. Parasurama also appears along with Sri Rama in the Ramayana as well as the Mahabharata,as a Guru for Karna.

One legend of Kerala even makes Parasurama a Pandya ruler. In another legend, the Pandyas themselves are the manifestations of Parasurama. P.N. Chopra writes, "Parasurama is deemed by the Keralites as the father of their national identity." The Kollam Era is also known as "Parasurama-Sacam". Travancore Rajas claim descent from Chera King Bhanu Bikram, who according to legend was placed on the throne by Parasurama. Scholar K. Narayanan Sivaraja Pillai mentions, "Even as the West Coast owes its very rudiments of civilized life to Parasurama...". In the Keralolpatti, Parasurama is said to have selected goddess Durga (Kali) to be the guardian of the sea-shore of Kerala. According to legend, Chera King Kuttuvan Chera (also called Kota Varman) once enraged, threw an into the sea, thereby causing it to retreat and the land to dry. According to another legend, a Pandyan called "Vadimbalamba ninrapandyan" threw his spear into the sea, hereby causing the same effect. There is another story of Ukkira Pandiyan obtaining a spear from the Sivan of Madura, and throwing it into the sea, causing the shore to retreat. Tradition says that Parasurama minted gold coins called Rasi and that in Travancore, he sowed them and buried the surplus in Cairns.

Early history

First mention

Kerala finds mention in the annals of international trade from as early as 3000 BC, having established itself as the major spice trade centre of the world and traded with Sumer. The Aitareya Aranyaka is the earliest Sanskrit work that specifically mentions Kerala.

Muziris in the Tabula Peutingeriana, an itinerarium showing the road network in the Roman Empire.

Ilango Adigal, author of Silappatikaram

A 3rd-century-BC rock inscription by emperor Asoka the Great references Kerala as Keralaputra. According to the first century annals of Pliny the Elder and the author of Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Muziris in Kerala could be reached in 14 days' time from the Red sea ports in Egyptian coast purely depending on the South West Monsoon winds. The Sangam works Puṟanāṉūṟu and Akanaṉūṟu have many lines which speak of the Roman vessels and the Roman gold that used to come to the Kerala ports of the great Dravidian kings in search of pepper and other spices, which had enormous demand in the West. It is not known if the region was inhabited during Neolithic times. Dolmens belonging to this period have been unearthed from Idukki district. The Edakkal Caves in Wayanad have carvings dating back to the early Stone Age period of 5000 BC A cave near the Edakkal Caves in Thovarimala Ezhuthupara, Wayanad district, known locally as "Ezhuthupara" also carries pre-historic carvings dating back many millennia.

The earliest written record mentioning Kerala is contained in the Sanskrit epic known as the Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, such figures as Katyayana (circa 4th century BC) and Patanjali (circa 2nd century BC) exhibited in their writings a casual familiarity with Kerala's geography. Megasthanes, the Greek Ambassador to the court of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (4th Century BC) mentions in his work Indica on many South Indian States, including Automela (probably Muziris), and a Pandian trade centre. Ancient Roman Natural philosopher Pliny the Elder mentions in his Naturalis Historia (N.H. 6.26) a Muziris probably modern-day Kodungallur or Pattanam as India's first port of Importance. Later, the unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea notes that "both Muziris and Nelkunda (modern Nillakal) are now busy places".

Laterite rock-cut caves (Chenkallara), Hood stones (Kudakkallu), Hat stones (Toppikallu), Dolmenoid cists (Kalvrtham), Urn burials (Nannangadi) and Menhirs (Pulachikallu) are the Megalithic monuments found in Kerala.

A Keralite identity is associated with the development of Malayalam, subsequently evolved sometime during the 8th and 9th centuries (Kerala's main native language). It believed to be originated as an offshoot of Tamil as all historical records available till date from Kerala is in Tamil, the principal native language of neighboring Tamil Nadu was Tamil. Malayalam (derived from the local words: mala (means Mountain) and aalam (means kingdom)) as a composite phrase means the living/inhabitants of Mountain Kingdom. This phrase, which in earlier times implied the geographical location of the region, was later replaced by Kerala.

Adi Shankara, the Hindu philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, was born in the Later Chera kingdom

Kerala and Tamil Nadu diverged into linguistically separate regions by the early 9th century BC. The ancient Chera Empire, whose court language was Tamil, ruled Kerala from their capital at Vanchi Karuvur (modern Karur in Tamil Nadu). As Kerala Society was more Feudal than Royal with Aryan Namboothiri communities heading the Social order with the help of matriarchal Nairs who happened to be their cousins through the peculiar marriage system known as "sambandham". Kerala at that time was composed of 5 regions: Venadu, Kuttanadu, Kudanadu, Karkanadu and Puzhinadu each ruled by Nair chieftains. Allied with the Pallavas, they continually warred against the neighbouring Chola and Pandyan Empire. History says that (recorded in Mackenzie records) a Chozha (Chola) princess was married to the Chera of Karur and he got a dowry of 48,000 agriculturists from the Chozha (Chola) country. These people were settled in the then forested region of Kerala and thus the first agricultural settlements arose in what is called Kerala today.

Buddhism and Jainism reached Kerala in this early period. As in other parts of Ancient India, Buddhism and Jainism co-existed with early Vaishnavism and Shaivite beliefs during the first five centuries. By the 8th and 9th centuries, 2nd Chera kings inclined to Vaishnavism and some of them wrote great literary works in the stream of Vishnu Bhakthi. In the 8th century Sri Sankara (also known as Adi Shankara) was born at Kaladi in central Kerala, who travelled extensively across the length and breadth of the Indian sub-continent, establishing institutions of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. The places of his visit and location of the Muths that he had instituted in the north, south, east and west, are broadly considered to be limits of the geographical expanse of ancient India.

Overseas contact

Thomas the Apostle visited Kerala in 52 AD

The significant presence of West Asians - primarily traders - on the Malabar coast has been recorded in many Roman and Tamil sources. They were encouraged to settle and set up trading outposts and factories by the local kings. Many migrations into Kerala were to escape religious and/or racial persecution. Jews of Kerala claimed to be remnants of the Jews that left the northern Kingdom of Israel following the Assyrian invasion of 721 BC. The white Jews were refugees from Spain following the promulgation of the Edict of Expulsion. Thomas the Apostle visited this region in 52 AD and preached Christianity among many enlightened Hindu Groups and Jewish people who are now known as Nasranis. Another well recorded arrival (in the Tharisappally records) is of Mar Sabor and Mar Proth on invitation from the Kollam King. They arrived from Assyria in the 9th century AD and were the founders of the present Christian religion in Kerala shores independent from Vaishnavism. With the advent of Islam in West Asia the traders visiting Kerala's shores contained ever larger proportions of Muslims. Malik Ibn Dinar created the first Muslim settlement in Kerala in the 7th century AD. Arab Muslims eventually dominated the sea trade with Kerala until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century AD. As the Muslim settlers gained strength clashes erupted between them and the Christian & Jewish settlers in the 9th century AD. This resulted in Muslim control of trading centres and the latter communities scattering to places such as Angamaly and others further south.

Colonial period

Vasco da Gama's voyage to Kerala from Portugal in 1498 was largely motivated by Portuguese determination to break the Arabs' control over trade of spices grown in Kerala. The spice trade with the Middle East pre-dates Islam.

In the famous Battle of Colachel (1741), Marthanda Varma's army defeated the Dutch East India Company, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar.

Da Gama established India's first Portuguese fortress at Cochin (Kochi) in 1503 and taking advantage of rivalry between the royal families of Calicut and Cochin, ended the Arab monopoly. Conflicts between Calicut and Cochin, however, provided an opportunity for the Dutch to come in and finally expel the Portuguese from their forts.

The Dutch were, in turn, routed by the Nairs of Travancore (Thiruvithamcoore) ruler Marthanda Varma at the Battle of Kulachal in 1741. Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered northern Kerala in the 18th century, capturing Kozhikode in 1766. Hyder Ali and his successor, Tipu Sultan, (but Nairs under the capable Diwan of Travancoore Raja Keshavadas (Keshava pillai Diwanji) defeated Tippu near Aluva) came into conflict with the British, and the four Anglo-Mysore wars were fought across southern India in the latter half of the 18th century. Tipu Sultan ceded Malabar District to the British in 1792, and South Kanara, which included present-day Kasargod District, in 1799. The British concluded treaties of subsidiary alliance with the rulers of Cochin (1791) and Travancore (1795), and they became princely states of British India, maintaining local autonomy in return for a fixed annual tribute to the British. Malabar and South Kanara districts were part of British India's Madras Presidency.

Organised expressions of discontent with British rule were relatively not infrequent in Kerala. Uprisings of note include the rebellion by Pazhassi Raja, Velu Thampi Dalawa and the Punnapra-Vayalar revolt of 1946. In 1919, consequent to their victory in World War I, the British abolished the Islamic Caliphate and dis-membered the Ottoman Empire.

Captured Mappila prisoners of 1921 revolt taken after a battle with British troops

This resulted in protests against the British by Muslims of the Indian sub-continent which is known as Khilafat Movement, which was supported by Mahatma Gandhi in order to draw the Muslims into the mainstream national independence movement.

In the year 1921, the Khilafat Movement in Malabar culminated in widespread riots against the British government and Hindu population in what is now known as Moplah rebellion. Kerala also witnessed several social reforms movements directed at eradication of social evils such as untouchability from among the Hindus, pioneered by reformists like Srinarayana guru, Chattambiswami etc. The non-violent and largely peaceful Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 was instrumental in securing entry to the public roads adjacent to the Vaikom temple for people belonging to untouchable castes.

In 1936, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balaramavarma the ruler of Travancore issued the Temple Entry Proclamation, declaring the temples of his kingdom open to all Hindu worshippers, irrespective of caste.

Modern post-colonial

After India's independence in 1947, the princely states of Travancore and Kochi were merged to form the province (after 1950 a state) of Travancore-Cochin on July 1, 1949. Madras Presidency became India's Madras State.

E. M. S. Namboodiripad is often regarded as the most influential personality in post-colonial Kerala

The state of Kerala was created on November 1, 1956 when Malabar District of Madras Presidency, Tranvancore-Cochin and Kasargod taluk of South Kanara District were merged to form the state of Kerala and Kaniyakumari from Travancore was given over to Tamil Nadu based on the recommendations of the State Reorganisation Commission set up by the Government of India. Elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly were held in 1957; this resulted in the formation of a communist-led government headed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Many Indians consider this the first democratically elected communist government in the world; however, both San Marino (in 1948) and Guyana (in 1953) had elected communists to power years earlier. The social factors leading to elections of the communists was discussed in the 1959 book The red interlude in Kerala by Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai. Radical reforms introduced by the E. M. S. Namboodiripad government in favour of farmers and labourers helped change, to a great extent, the iniquitous social order that had prevailed in Kerala for centuries.

Another feature was the large migration of people, especially Syrian Christians from Central Kerala to Malabar regions; termed as Malabar Migration. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of Mappilas numbering between 3 and 4 million people have left Kerala to seek employment in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Omen, Bahrain and Qatar.

See also

• Kerala
• Malayalam

External links

• History on the official website of the government of Kerala state
• Malabar on the Columbia University, New York website
• About the Dutch colonial presence in Kerala
• About the feudal kingdoms in Malabar, Cochin and Travancore

References

• Government of Travancore (1906), The Travancore State Manual, Travancore Government Press, http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=RdzaPW-kEvQC, retrieved January 12, 2006 .
• Jose, D (1998), "EMS Namboodiripad dead", Rediff, http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/mar/19ems.htm, retrieved January 12, 2006 .

• Plunkett, R; Cannon, T, Davis, P, Greenway, P; Harding, P (2001), Lonely Planet South India, Lonely Planet, ISBN 1-86450-161-8, http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=JmL9KqczbRYC, retrieved January 12, 2006 .