Encyclopedia
Kerala is a
state on the tropical
Malabar Coast of southwestern
India. To its east and northeast, Kerala borders
Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka; to its west and south lie the
Indian Ocean islands of
Lakshadweep and the
Maldives, respectively. Kerala envelops
Mahé, a coastal
exclave of
Pondicherry. Kerala is one of four states that comprise the linguistic-cultural region known as
South India.
First settled in the 10th century BCE by speakers of Proto-South Dravidian, Kerala was influenced by the
Mauryan Empire. Later, the
Cheran kingdom and feudal
Nair-Namboothiri
Brahminical city-states became major powers in the region. Early contact with overseas lands culminated in struggles between colonial and native powers. Finally, the States Reorganisation Act of November 1, 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood.
Social reforms enacted in the late 19th century by
Travancore were expanded upon by post-
Independence governments. The living standard of Keralaites too is high when compared to the national level. With a population of about 30 million, the state is India's most progressed society in terms of education, literacy and health. In fact, Kerala has the highest Physical Quality of Life Index in India and the highest Human Development Index.
With the highest
literacy rate in the country, highest
life expectancy, least
population growth, lowest
infant mortality, Kerala has been adopted by the world bodies as the role model for developing countries. However, Kerala's rates of suicide, unemployment, and violent crime rank among India's highest.
The etymology of the name "Kerala" is disputed. The prevailing theory states that it is an imperfect portmanteau that fuses
kera and
alam . Natives of Kerala — "Keralites" or "Malayalees" — thus refer to their land as
Keralam. Other theories have the name originating from the phrase
chera alam . The
Kerala tourism industry has adopted the slogan "God's own country".
History
Popular legend has Kerala saved from the aggressing sea by an act of Parasurama — an
avatar of Mahavishnu. During prehistoric times, Kerala's rainforests and wetlands — then thick with malaria-bearing mosquitoes and man-eating tigers — were largely avoided by
Neolithic humans. The first evidence of habitation dates to the 10th century BCE, when pottery and granite burial monuments were left behind. These were produced by speakers of a proto-Tamil language from northwestern India, suggesting that Kerala and Tamil Nadu once shared a common language, ethnicity and culture; this common area is known as Tamilakam. Kerala then became a linguistically separate region by the early 14th century. The ancient Chera empire, whose court language was Tamil, ruled Kerala from their capital at Vanchi and was the first major recorded kingdom. Allied with the
Pallavas, they continually warred against the neighbouring
Chola and
Pandya kingdoms. A Keralite identity — distinct from the
Tamils and associated with the second Chera empire and the development of
Malayalam — evolved during the 8th–14th centuries. In written records, Kerala was first mentioned in the
Sanskrit epic
Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, figures such as Katyayana,
Patanjali,
Pliny the Elder, and the unknown author of the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea all displayed familiarity with Kerala.
The dependence of the Chera kings on trade with West Asia meant merchants from these regions were allowed to establish trading outposts and settlements on Kerala's shores. Many of them - especially the Jews and early Christians - arrived here to escape religious persecution. The constant contact, settling and patronizing over millennia of these peoples resulted in the thriving
Nasrani Mappila and Muslim Mappila communities of the Malabar Coast. According to several scholars, the Jews first arrived in Kerala in 573 BCE, thirteen years before the destruction of the first temple of
King Solomon of Israel. The works of scholars and several
Eastern Christianity writings states that
Thomas the Apostle visited
Muziris in Kerala in 52 CE to proselytize amongst the Jewish settlements and trading posts of the Malabar coast. Thus was established by
Apostle Thomas the Malabar
Syrian Christian Church who are also known as
St. Thomas Christians. However, the first verifiable migration of
Jewish-Nasrani families to Kerala is of the arrival of Knai Thoma in 345 CE. Muslim merchants settled in Kerala by the 8th century CE. With
Vasco Da Gama's arrival in 1498, the Portuguese sought to control the lucrative
pepper trade by harassing the Mappila communities, attacking West Asian shipping to Kerala's shores and forcing the Nasrani community into obedience to Europe.
The modern day Kerala historically largely isolated from India. The Mauryans & Great Mughals empires reached only upto the borders of present day Kerala.
The modern history of Kerala begins with
Marthanda Varma who inherited the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign 1729–1758. He signed a treaty with the British East India company and with their help destroyed the power of the eight feudal land lords who supported the Thampi sons of the king Maharaja Rama Varma. In successive battles, he defeated and absorbed the kingdoms right up to Cochin including Attingal, Kollam, Kayamkulam, Kottarkara and Ambalapuzha. He succeeded in defeating the
Dutch East India Company during the Travancore–Dutch war, the most decisive engagement of which was the Battle of Colachel in which the Dutch Admiral De Lennoy was captured. On January 3 1750 AD, , he dedicated his kingdom to his tutelary deity Sri. Padmanabha of
Trivandrum and from then on the rulers of Travancore ruled the kingdom as the servants of Sri. Padmanabha . In 1753, the Dutch signed a peace treaty with the Maharajah. With the battle of Ambalapuzha in which he defeated the union of the deposed kings and the Raja of Cochin, Marthanda Varma crushed all opposition to his rule. In 1757 AD, a treaty was concluded between Travancore and Cochin, ensuring peace and stabilty on the Northern border. He organised the tax system and constructed many irrigation works.
Conflicts between the cities of
Kozhikode and
Kochi provided an opportunity for the Dutch to oust the Portuguese. In turn, the Dutch were ousted at the 1741 Battle of Colachel by
Marthanda Varma of
Travancore . The Dutch commander Captain Eustance De Lenoy was captured, and
Marthanda Varma agreed to spare the Dutch captain's life on condition that he joined his army and trained his soldiers on modern lines. Admiral De Lennoy, who was captured as a
Prisoner of war in the famous Battle of Colachel was given appointment as the Senior Admiral .He modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery. He made the 'maravan pada' as his personal security guard and a special security force based on colachel serving the Travancore kingdom.
Meanwhile,
Mysore’s
Hyder Ali conquered northern Kerala, capturing Kozhikode in 1766. In the late 18th century,
Tipu Sultan — Ali’s son and successor — launched campaigns against the growing
British East India Company; these resulted in two of the four
Anglo-Mysore Wars. However, Tipu Sultan was ultimately forced to cede Malabar District and
South Kanara, to the Company in 1792 and 1799, respectively. The Company then forged tributary alliances with Kochi and
Travancore . Meanwhile, Malabar and South Kanara became part of the
Madras Presidency.
Kerala saw little mass defiance against the
British Raj— nevertheless, several rebellions occurred, including the October 1946 Punnapra-Vayalar revolt. Many mass actions — spurred by such leaders as
Narayana Guru and
Chattampi Swamikal — instead protested such social mores as
untouchability; these included the 1924
Vaikom Satyagraham, and the Guruvayoor Satyagraha . On November 12, 1936, the Maharaja of Travancore,
Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, issued his famous Temple Entry Proclamation which opened the doors of Hindu temples to Hindus of all castes. Ten years later.
Cochin and
Malabar also enacted their versions of laws on temple entry for
Dalits.
After India's independence in 1947, the princely states of
Travancore and
Cochin were merged to form the province of Travancore-Cochin on July 1, 1949. The King of
Travancore, His Highness
Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma served as the Rajpramukh of the Travancore-Cochin Union from July 1, 1949 until October 31, 1956. On 1950-01-26 , Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. In the same time, the Madras Presidency became Madras State in 1947. Finally, the
Government of India's November 1, 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state — Kerala — incorporating Malabar District, Travancore-Cochin , and the taluk of
Kasargod,
South Kanara. A new Legislative Assembly was also created, for which elections were held in 1957. These resulted in a communist-led government — one of the world's earliest — headed by
E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Subsequent social reforms introduced by Namboodiripad's administration — and continued by subsequent governments — favoured tenants and labourers. This facilitated, among other things, improvements in living standards, education, and life expectancies.
Geography
Kerala’s 38, 863 km² landmass is wedged between the
Arabian Sea to the west and the
Western Ghats — identified as one of the world's twenty-five biodiversity hotspots — to the east. Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and east longitudes 74°52' and 72°22', Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics. Kerala’s coast runs for some 580 km, while the state itself varies between 35–120 km in width. Geographically, Kerala can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands , the central midlands , and the western lowlands . Located at the extreme southern tip of the
Indian subcontinent, Kerala lies near the centre of the
Indian tectonic plate; as such, most of the state is subject to comparatively little
seismic and volcanic activity. Geologically, pre-Cambrian and
Pleistocene formations comprise the bulk of Kerala’s terrain.
Eastern Kerala lies immediately west of the
Western Ghats's
rain shadow; it consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys. Forty-one of Kerala’s west-flowing rivers — and three of its east-flowing ones — originate in this region. Here, the Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad, where a pass known as the Palakkad Gap breaks through to provide access to the rest of India.
The
Western Ghats rises on average to 1,500 m above sea level, while the highest peaks may reach to 2,500 m. Standing tall at a height of 2695 meters , Anai Mudi in Kerala is the highest peak in
South India. Just west of the mountains lie the midland plains, comprising a swathe of land running along central Kerala. Here, rolling hills and valleys dominate. Generally ranging between elevations of 250–1,000 m, the eastern portions of the Nilgiri and Palni Hills include such formations as
Agastyamalai and
Anamalai.
Rivers
Kerala’s western coastal belt is relatively flat, and is crisscrossed by a network of interconnected
brackish canals, lakes,
estuaries, and rivers known as the
Kerala Backwaters.
Vembanad Lake — Kerala’s largest body of water — dominates the Backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is more than 200 km² in area. Around 8% of India's waterways are found in Kerala. The most important of Kerala’s forty-four rivers include the
Periyar River , the
Bharathapuzha , the
Pamba , the
Chaliyar River , the Kadalundipuzha and the Achankovil River . Most of the remainder are small and entirely fed by monsoon rains. These conditions result in the nearly year-round waterlogging of such western regions as
Kuttanad, 500 km² of which lies below sea level.
Climate
Kerala's climate is mainly wet and maritime tropical, heavily influenced by the seasonal heavy rains brought by the
Southwest Summer Monsoon. In eastern Kerala, a drier tropical wet and dry climate prevails. Kerala receives an average annual rainfall of 3,107 mm — some 70.3
km3 of water. This compares with the all-India average of 1,197 mm. Parts of Kerala's lowlands may average only 1,250 mm annually, while the cool mountainous eastern highlands of Idukki district — comprising Kerala's wettest region — receive more than 5,000 mm of orographic precipitation annually. Kerala's rains are mostly the result of seasonal monsoons; meanwhile, more anomalous factors resulted in the 2001
red rains. As a result, Kerala averages some 120–140 rainy days a year.
In summers, most of Kerala is prone to gale-force winds, storm surges, and torrential downpours accompanying dangerous cyclones coming in off the Indian Ocean. It is also vulnerable to occasional droughts and rises in sea level and cyclonic activity resulting from
global warming. Kerala’s average maximum daily temperature is around 36.7 °C; the minimum is 19.8 °C. Mean annual temperatures range from between 25.0–27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands to between 20.0–22.5 °C in the highlands.
Flora and fauna
Kerala harbours significant biodiversity, most of which is concentrated in the east. The state's 10,035 plant species comprise a disproportionately large 22% of India's total; these include 3,872
flowering plants , among which exist 900 species of highly-sought
medicinal plants. Its 9,400 km² of forests include tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests , tropical moist and dry deciduous forests , and montane subtropical and temperate forests . Altogether, 24% of Kerala is forested. Two of the world’s Ramsar Convention-listed
wetlands — Lake Sasthamkotta and the
Vembanad-Kol wetlands — are in Kerala, as well as 1455.4 km² of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Subjected to extensive clearing for cultivation in the 20th century, much of Kerala's forest cover is now protected from clearfelling. Kerala's fauna are notable for their diversity and high rates of endemism: 102 species of mammals , 476 species of
birds, 202 species of freshwater
fishes, 169 species of
reptiles , and 89 species of
amphibians . These are threatened by extensive habitat destruction .
Eastern Kerala’s windward mountains shelter
tropical moist forests and
tropical dry forests, which are common in the Western Ghats. Here,
sonokeling ,
anjili ,
mullumurikku , and
caussia number among the more than 1,000 species of trees in Kerala. Other flora include bamboo, wild
black pepper , wild
cardamom, the calamus
rattan palm , and aromatic
vetiver grass . Living among them are such fauna as
Asian Elephant ,
Bengal Tiger ,
Leopard ,
Nilgiri Tahr ,
Common Palm Civet , and
Grizzled Giant Squirrel . Reptiles include the
king cobra, viper,
python, and
crocodile. Kerala's birds are legion —
Peafowl, the
Great Hornbill ,
Indian Grey Hornbill, Indian Cormorant, and
Jungle Myna are several emblematic species. In lakes, wetlands, and waterways, fish such as
kadu and
choottachi can be found.
Subdivisions
Kerala's fourteen districts are distributed among Kerala's three historical regions: Travancore , Kochi , and Malabar .Travancore consists of
Idukki,
Alappuzha ,
Kottayam, Pathanamthitta,
Kollam , and
Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi includes
Thrissur and
Ernakulam districts. Malabar includes
Kasargod,
Kannur ,
Wayanad ,
Kozhikode , Malappuram, and
Palakkad .
| Districts of Kerala |
Mahe, a part of the Indian union territory of Pondicherry, is a coastal exclave surrounded by Kerala on all of its landward approaches. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital and most populous city. Kochi , Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kollam and Thrissur are the other major commercial centres of the state. The High Court of Kerala is situated at Ernakulam. Kerala's districts, which serve as the administrative regions used for taxation purposes, are further subdivided into a total of 63 taluks; these have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders, including maintenance of local land records.
Politics
Like other Indian states, Kerala is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy; universal suffrage is granted to residents. There are three branches of government. The legislature, or the legislative assembly, consists of elected members and special office bearers elected by assemblymen. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker . The judiciary is composed of the Kerala High Court and a system of lower courts. The executive authority — composed of the Governor of Kerala , the Chief Minister of Kerala , and the Council of Ministers . The Council of Ministers answers to the Legislative Assembly. Auxiliary authorities known as panchayats, for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs.
Kerala hosts two major political alliances: the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front . At present, LDF is the ruling coalition and V.S. Achuthanandan of the CPI is the Chief Minister. Kerala is among India’s few left-wing states. Compared with most other Indians, Keralites are keener participants in the political process.
The Kerala state government's tax revenues amounted to 111,248 million INR in 2005, up from 63,599 million in 2000. Its non-tax revenues of the Government of Kerala as assessed by the Indian Finance Commissions reached 10,809 million INR in 2005, nearly double the 6,847 million INR revenues of 2000. However, Kerala's high ratio of taxation to gross state domestic product has not alleviated chronic budget deficits and unsustainable levels of government debt, impacting social services.
Economy
Since its incorporation as a state, Kerala's economy largely operated under welfare-based democratic socialist principles; nevertheless, the state is increasingly — along with the rest of India — liberalising its economy, thus moving to a more mixed economy with a greater role played by the free market and foreign direct investment. Kerala's nominal gross domestic product is an estimated 89451.99 crore INR, while recent GDP growth has been robust compared to historical averages . Nevertheless, relatively few major corporations and manufacturing plants choose to operate in Kerala; this is mitigated by remittances sent home by overseas Keralites, which contributes around 20% of state GDP. Kerala's per capita GDP — 11,819 INR — is significantly higher than the all-India average, although it still lies far below the world average. Additionally, Kerala's Human Development Index and standard of living statistics are the nation's best. This apparent paradox — high human development and low economic development — is often dubbed the "Kerala phenomenon" or the "Kerala model" of development, and arises mainly from Kerala's strong service sector.
The service sector along with the agricultural and fishing industries dominate Kerala's economy; nearly half of Kerala's people are dependent on agriculture alone for income. Some 600 varieties of rice are harvested from 310,521 ha of paddy fields; 688,859 tonnes are produced per annum. Other key crops include coconut , tea, coffee , rubber, cashews, and spices — including pepper, cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Around 10.50 lakh fishermen haul an annual catch of 6.68 lakh tonnes ; 222 fishing villages are strung along the 590 km coast, while an additional 113 fishing villages are spread throughout the hinterland. Traditional industries manufacturing such items as coir, handlooms, and handicrafts employ around ten lakh people. Around 1.8 lakh small-scale industries employ around 909,859 Keralites, while some 511 medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms are located in Kerala. Meanwhile, a small mining sector involves extraction of such materials as ilmenite , kaolin, bauxite, silica, quartz, rutile, zircon, and sillimanite. Home gardens and animal husbandry also provide work for hundreds of thousands of people. Tourism, manufacturing, and business process |
