The Malabar Marriage Commission was formed in 1891 by the Government of Madras

Madras Presidency

The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

 in response to a bill that was introduced to the Madras Legislative Council

Madras Legislative Council

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initially created as an advisory body in 1861, by the British...

 in 1890 by Sir C. Sankaran Nair, a lawyer of the Madras High Court

Madras High Court

The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....

. The Commission was to inquire into matrilineal customs among the Hindus of Malabar

Malabar District

Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...

 and explore the desirability of introducing changes in marriage, inheritance and family organization through legislation. The response of the Madras Government to the Commission's report was to pass the Malabar Marriage Act, 1896

Malabar Marriage Act, 1896

In 1896, the government of Madras passed the Malabar Marriage Act in response to the recommendations of the Malabar Marriage Commission of 1891. This allowed members of any caste practising marumakkatayam in Malabar to register a sambandham as a marriage...