THE MODERN IN KERALA - studyguideindia.com · Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja was a ruler who questioned the British usurpation of the right to collect taxes and the removal of royal power

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THE MODERN IN KERALA

8 THE MODERN IN KERALA

Indians had to live under British domination for a long time. Ourpredecessors had suffered the brutalities perpetrated by foreignrule. They fought for the freedom of the country suffering thistorture and adversities. Several revolts, big and small, defiancesand resistances led finally to the dawn of freedom. Residents ofthe vast territory from Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the southhave participated either directly or indirectly in these episodesmarked by sacrifices of the highest variety.

East India Company in KeralaWhen did the British tighten their hold over Kerala? How was itpossible for them? How did the British harass the people ofKerala? Several such things are to be enquired into.

Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan from Mysore arrived in Kerala whenthe land was administered by local rulers and chieftains. Tiputook over the control of Malabar. The rulers of Kochi andTravancore sought the help of the British to save their states fromTipu’s invasion. Henceforth, it was in the English East Indiacompany that the local chieftains found their hope. The rulers ofKochi and Travancore, too, considered the British as their saviour.The Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley enabledthe British to bring the native states under their control easily.The British ruled Malabar directly according to the terms of thetreaty of Srirangapattanam. Travancore and Kochi accepted theparamountcy of the British.

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Standard X - Social Science I

The local rulers and chieftainshoped that they could continuetheir rule once their territories weresaved from Tipu. But the Britishsubjugated all of them. Thus thewhole of Kerala came under theEnglish East India Company.

Colonial domination existed not inthe political sphere alone.Economic exploitation andintellectual hegemony were alsopart of this process. Above all,exploitation affected the livelihoodof ordinary people.

Subsidiary AllianceLord Wellesley, the Governor General of India,introduced a clever device of Subsidiary Allianceto bring the native states under their control.According to this, the responsibility of protectingthe native states was with the British army.Theexpenditure of maintaining that army should bemet by the states. These states lost their rights tokeep their own army. The sole right of decidingforeign policy of these states were vested with theBritish. A British Resident was sent to each state toensure that the provisions of the agreement wereobserved. The mutually quarrelling native statesconsidered this arrangement as an attractive one.

The Subsidiary Alliance and the Treaty of Srirangapattanam brought theentire Kerala under British control. Analyse this statement.

Against the RegimeThe East India Company ruled the Indianterritories by organising them as provinces.Malabar, which was under the BombayPresidency till 1800, was later brought underthe Madras Presidency.

The British followed anti people policies inMalabar. The Company declared that boththe rulers and their subjects should be underits control. The people were required to paythe high taxes under pain of stringent action.This led to anti-British feelings everywherein Malabar. When new officers wereappointed to collect taxes, disputes beganto surface.

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja was a ruler whoquestioned the British usurpation of theright to collect taxes and the removal of royalpower. The revolt staged under hisleadership was very difficult for the Britishto deal with. To begin with, Pazhassi Rajawas among those who helped the British in

collecting taxes and other things. But whenhe realised the real intention of theCompany, he led a revolt against them.Kerala Varma knew very well that it wasdifficult for him fight the well equippedarmy of the British. He expected that in thefeud among the members of the royal familythe Company should stand by him. But hewas disappointed. It was in this context thathe mobilised his forces against theCompany.

Opposition EscalatesFollowing the friendly relations with theBritish and the conclusion of treaties withthem, Kochi and Travancore accepted theirsuzerainty. Against the attempts to intervenein the internal affairs of Travancore DivanVelu Thampi took an independant position.The Divan opposed the move of theCompany to appropriate huge amountsfrom the royal treasury. This even cost himhis Divanship. Thereupon he attempted to

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resist the British by strengthening anti-British feelings among the people. TheKundara Proclmation of 1809 was part ofthis move. In Kochi too Paliath Achan raisedthe banner of revolt against Britishhegemony. The Kurichia revolt of Vayanadwas a reaction against the revenue reformsintroduced by the British. The Kurichiasused to pay tax in kind. But the Britishdeclared that tax would be collected only in

cash. This caused resentment among them.Those who were in arrears of tax werepunished by the British by confiscating theirproperties, household utensils, ransackingtheir huts, eviction from land, etc. With this,a spontaneous resistance against the Britishwas thrown up. It developed into an openrebellion. The Kurichia revolt was a popularresistance against British domination.

It was the British land revenue policy and economic exploitation that formedthe basis of anti-British revolts. Examine this statement in the light of theresistance led by Velu Thampi and Kerala Varma as well as the Kurichiarebellion.

Before the establishment of British rule thevillages were more or less self-sufficient. Theessential articles for day-to-day life andclothes were produced within the respectivevillages. Those things which could not beproduced within were brought from outside.With the beginning of British rule theindigenous production of goods began todecline. British products were imported intheir place.

The British took away raw materialsnecessary for the industries of England atcheap prices. The English products wereimposed on the natives at high prices. Roadsand bridges and rail roads were constructedfor enabling the easy transportation of armyand commodities. British products wereavailable aplenty in every village. As a resultthe rural economy was in ruins. Manyfamilies were reduced to starvation. Ourland became a ground for the Britishcapitalists to make enormous profit.

The establishment of monopoly in trade bythe East India Company made the life of thepeople miserable. Trade on salt, tobacco,timber, spices, etc. came under the controlof the Company. The prices of theseproducts shot up. As a result, the poorpeople were thrown to great misery.

By making the teak wood industry ofMalabar a monopoly of the Company, thetimber workers and traders began to suffer.The Company tried to increase their incomeby imposing taxes irrespective of the size orquality of the houses.

More TaxesThe strangle hold of revenue systemheightened its grip on other articles ofdaily use besides taxes on land, salt, to-bacco, etc. Houses, shops, cattle, ferry, fish-ing net, looms, toddy, arrack, knives, etc.were important among them. In effect,nothing was spared from the grip of theGovernment. About fifty more differenttaxes were imposed.

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When prices of products increased,landlords would evict old tenants whomthey did not like. They would assign thatland to tenants who were ready to payhigher rents. Each landlord levied manyexactions from tenants over and above therent. The plight of the tenants was made evenmore miserable by practices like“polichezhuthu”.

Renewal of lease andsuperimposition

Tenants had to renew the contract with thelord every twelve years. This was knownas “Polichezhuthu”. On this occasion thelord used to collect several kinds of leviesfrom him. Assigning the land held by onetenant to another after receiving more rentwas known as “melcharth”. This was asuper imposition. This harassed thepeasants considerably.

The peasants had to but obey whatever thelord and his manager commanded. Or else,they had to suffer severe consequences. Thepeasants and leaseholders lived in utter fearof the landlords.

The peasants were harassed to the maximumby the British government, landlords, policeand judiciary. Resenting this, peasantsprotested. Their ire turned against the lordsand the officials who assisted them. Thisturned into organised revolts. TheGovernment imposed mass fines not onlyon those who resisted but on entire villages.This resulted in furthering the resentment.

Table: Taxes on Tobacco and Saltcompared with land revenue

Year salt tobacco Total Land revenue

1809-13 1,30,756 21,426 1,52,182 17,18,782

1819-23 1,84,517 2,21,267 3,04,784 17,45,587

1829-33 2,44,363 4,14,125 6,58,488 15,48,839

1839-43 3,40,12 5,34,006 8,74,127 16,40,098

1849-53 3,35,870 4,88,270 8,24,140 16,35,574

These kinds of taxes, too!The British tried to collect huge amountsthrough petty taxes. Let us have a look atthe sufferings of the people on account ofthem.Women who earned their livelihood bycollecting firewood from the forests werenot permitted to take home the samewithout paying the tax.Those who had to cross rivers had to paya tax. Many who tried to swim across toevade tax were drowned in the river.

Easy ExploitationThe land laws introduced by the Britishbrought many hardship to the people.

• Land revenue was collected in cash

• Land revenue was increased many times

• Actual peasants were denied ownershipof land

• Landlords got rights over all land

• Landlords were granted more rights andpowers

• The exploitation by, and cruelties of,landlords increased as never before.

What kind of difficulties were caused to rural life by the alliance between theBritish and the landlords formed to plunder the ancestral wealth of our land?

(Source: K.N.Panikkar: Against Lord and State

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Peasant Uprisings of MalabarThe revolts against the British in Malabarwere the culmination of the protests of theMappila tenants, agricultural labourers,artisans, petty traders, etc. over a period oftime.The involvement of the ordinary peoplein this struggle was noteworthy. A sizeablenumber of the peasants of Eranad andValluvanad taluks of Malabar were MappilaMuslims. It was they who participated inthese struggles. Hence these uprisings werecalled ‘Mappila uprisings’ by the British.

During the time of Mysorean invasion thechieftains and landlords of Malabar fled toTravancore for asylum.The land owned bythem was distributed among the Mappilatenants.They enjoyed the land after payingtax. After Malabar came under the British,the landlords who had gone to Travancorereturned. The British recovered land fromthe Mappilas and gave it back to thelandlords.The landlords were allowed tocollect revenue from the tenants.

The British realised that they could carry onimperialist exploitation only with thesupport of the landlords and chieftains. Theynever forgot how it took many years tosuppress just one chieftain, Keralavarma.They realised that if the entire chieftainsjoined together and revolted, their interestswould be heavily hindered.

The British calculated that if they were ableto gain the support of the natives bywinning over the landlords and chieftains,they could continue their rule for a longtime. The landlords in their turn thought thatthey could remain influential in their localitycollecting rents as they wished so long asthey did not question the authority of thecompany. The landlords and chieftainsrealised that their interests would be safeunder the political authority of the British.The British allowed them high social status

and considerable economic power andrights. It was as a result of the British policyof exercising complete control over thenatives through a number of local notableswhom they so created and who dependedon them in all fields, that landlordism wassustained in Kerala even under theimperialist regime.

Janmam and KanamThere were several shades of right overland enjoyed by many people. The highestof these was known as Janmam. He whohad the Janmam right was the Janmi. Thetenure under which land was taken fromhim for cultivation after depositing acertain amount of money as security to thelandlord was called Kanam. He who tookthe land on Kanam tenure was the Kanamtenant. He should pay a fixed amount asmoney or paddy to the Janmi every year.This was rent. The interest on the securityamount could be deducted from this. Itsperiod was twelve years. When land wastaken on lease from the landlord withoutany security for cultivation, it was knownas Verumpattam. Such peasants werecalled Verumpattam tenants.

The landlords harassed the peasants byimposing excessive rent. This was the resultof the British-landlord alliance. MostMappila peasants were small scale peasantsand agricultural labourers. The impositionof heavy rent sowed the seed of anger inthem. The British and the landlords nurseda special enmity to the Mappila tenants andagricultural labourers on the plea that theywere the aides of Tipu. This ended up inrevolts. As those who revolted wereMappilas and those against whom therevolts were directed were Hindu landlords

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and officers who supported them, the Britishrepresented these peasant revolts ascommunal riots. The British employed thepolicy of divide and rule even in this context.The landlords and others assisted the Britishin their despicable acts of suppressing therevolt by creating a communal rift andincreasing hatred in society.

Pandarappattam ProclamationCircumstances arose in the princely statesof travancore and Cochin following theestablishment of British rule. It was in the19th century that changes came about in theland relations of Travancore. During thetime of Marthanda Varma, state-owned land(Pandaravaka) was leased out to Christiansand Muslims on rent. Later, Ezhavas andother backward communities were alsogiven land. The purpose of it all was toincrease the revenue of the State treasury byexpanding agriculture. Resources tomaintain the British army and to pay tributesto the British had to be raised. This was theinspiration behind the proclamation.

A rich section began to grow in Travancorethrough agriculture and trade of pepper andcardomom. Gradually, these agriculturiststried to graduate their possession right intoright of ownership. Clamours were made tothis end. Finally, the Government ofTravancore conceded this right. Through thePandarapattam proclamation, those who

possessed state-owned land got rights ofownership and inheritance.

However, even after the Pandarapattamproclamation and the Janmi Kudiyanproclamation that followed, the actualpeasant did not get any right of ownership.It was only those who possessed landowned by the state or Devaswam orBrahmaswam land that got such right ofownership. Actual peasants were left out.They were subjected to severe harrassment.More rent were exacted from tenants. TheJanmis got the right to evict the tenants whofailed to pay such high rents and assign thelands to new tenents. They began attemptsto evict actual cultivators from agriculturallands. The British officials, police, andjudiciary stood for assisting the activities ofthe landlords in Travancore and Cochin.

The problems of the tenants continuedunaltered. Their resistance grew intoprotests. Organized peasant movementscame forward to take up their issues duringthe period by the Freedom Movement andafter.

Although the Pandarapattam Proclamationand the Janmi-Kudiyan Proclamationaggravated the miseries of peasants, theycreated an atmosphere for the sale andpurchase of land. With this, major changesbegan to come about in the use ofagricultural land.

What were the changes effected by the Pandarappattam and Janmi-KudiyanProclamations? To what extent did they help the peasants?

Plantation CropsCultivation of cash crops in the place ofpaddy became widespread in many areas.Crops linked to industry had a greaterspread. The heavily forested High Rangeswere opened up for cash crops andplantation crops. To begin with, huge

plantations under the ownership of theBritish came up. Gradually, migrationsbegan from the plains. Migrations spread tothe High Ranges first and then to the forestedareas of Malabar. Most immigrants becameowners of large estates. Thus, the valleys ofKerala became the production ground ofcash crops.

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"Devasyachan was thinking of buying some landin Malabar for some time. About fifty families fromhis own village had already taken the train toMalabar. Even an acre of wasteland, wherenothing grows, costs about a hundred or twohundred Rupees in Travancore. In the case ofMalabar, they say, good forest land is available

for four or five Rupees an acre. It may not beproprietary right; but leasehold for fifty or sixtyyears, with good possibility of renewal. The rent,too, will be very nominal. In the event of eviction,compensation for improvement is also available…"

From Kadu, by E.M.Kovoor.

Capital InvestmentThe British had started investing capital inKerala by the second half of the nineteenthcentury. They invested in the field ofplantations in the hilly regions to begin with.The investments made by Murdoch Brown,Kannan Devan Company, E & S Company,Malayalam Plantations, etc. are examples ofthis. The British had one-and-a-half lakhhectares of land in Travancore alone as wellas fifty thousand in Malabar and twenty-fivethousand in Cochin. Thousands of labourersworked in these. They were from bothTamilnadu and Kerala. Apart from the fieldof plantations, the British also invested inareas such as trade and banking as well. TheHarrison and Crossfields Company, whichinvested in plantations, trade and banking,is a good example for this.

Companies such as Pierce Leslie andAspinwall too invested capital in Kerala.Among the more important financialinstitutions were the Imperial Bank, TheIndian National Bank, the Chartered Bank,etc. All these companies came together andestablished the Chamber of Commerce inCochin in 1857. This facilitated closerconnections between Kerala and the worldmarket. British capital worked as a link init.

With this, peasants and workers left theirtraditional occupation and moved toindustrial fields such as in tile and coir.Many found employment in public works,police and the military. This resulted in clearchanges in social relations. Behind theexpansion of education in Kerala, too,changes in land relations were a major factor.

We saw that capitalist countries had invested capital in colonies the world overas a result of imperialist expansion. What are the different ways in which theinvestments made by British Companies in Kerala exerted influence in theeconomic and social fields? Discuss.

KarshakasamghamPeasants organized themselves intoorganizations in order to put an end to theirhardships. They had to struggle for long inorder to bring their demands to the attentionof the Government and seek relief from their

miserable plight. The first collective of thepeasants in Kerala was the Akhila MalabarKarshaka Sangham.

The peasant movement in Kerala had its birthas a result of the protest against thedisabilities of the peasants who had exerted

Discuss the transformation brought about by changes in land-ownership in thefield of agriculture. Were they conducive to improvement in agriculture?

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considerable influence in social progress bytaking part in the process of production.

See how A.K.Gopalan, the first people'srepresentative in Parliament from Malabarin Independent India, describes thecondition of peasants of those days in hisautobiography:

The plight of peasants is … pitiable. Unbearableburden of tax, debt, rent. He goes on incurringloss according to the needs, sorrow or urgencyof the landlord. Each birth and death in thefamily of the landlord adds to the burden of thetenant. On each occasion he has to renderunpaid labour service. He must tend thelandlord's cattle for no wage. He must guardthe lord's door; he must give landlord way, hishead hanging low. He should not wear goodclothes. His rags should not reach up to hisknees. He should not grow stout. His womenshould not be beautiful. The lamp of knowledgeshould not light up his mind. The peasant shouldnot approach or touch the landlord.The landlord will not take up the planting,manuring and guarding the field. The onlyright he has over land is that piece of stampedpaper authorizing his ownership by theGovernment. If the crop fails on account ofstorm, flood, drought or other calamities, it willnot affect the landlord. He will not recognizefall in prices either. 'I must get what waspreviously agreed upon!' If the tenant failed,the Government and the law assured it to him.But the peasant could not tell between friendand foe. He thinks that the entire world is againsthim. He holds on to the ignorance andsuperstitions of the feudal system. He has nocourage to take one step forward crossing it.'The peasants, who are dying for a morsel ofgruel, were like so many cattle on two feet' -what the poet wrote is entirely true in the caseof the peasants. (My Life Story - p. 63)

Education in KeralaThe educational institutions of the past inKerala included ezhuthupallis, salais,gurkulas, sabhamathas, kalaris, and such-like. The majority of people had no relationwhatever with these institutions of formaleducation, more particularly people of thelower castes and women. The complexity ofcaste system and attitudes towardseducation contributed to the continuance ofthis condition in the matter of education.

MissionariesIt was the Christian missionaries, who cameto Kerala with the chief aim of religiouspropaganda under British rule, who startedEnglish education in Kerala. Theyestablished centres of public instruction.This helped in making at least some changesin the backward nature of public education.

The arrival of the missionaries and the publicschools they established were immenselyhelpful to the British Government. Thenecessary justification of their ways ofgovernance and the extension of Englishways of life were achieved in an easymanner. The officials of the East IndiaCompany took particular care to ensure thenecessary help from the native princes forthe Missionaries.

The English East India Company was inneed of people who were literate enough tomanage their affairs. They took measures toextend education both in the directlyadministered Malabar and in Travancoreand Cochin, where the British Residents hadinfluence over the rajas.

It was the missionary organizations likeLondon Mission Society (L.M.S.), ChurchMission Society (C.M.S.), Basel EvangelicalMission (B.E.M.), etc. that inaugurated thespread of modern education in Kerala.

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InstitutionsThe Church Mission Society established aCollege and Seminary in Kottayam in 1813under the leadership of Rev. Mead. As peran order issued by the Regent ofTravancore, Gouri Parvati Bai, VernacularSchools were established in Travancore.It was from then that the Governmentstarted to bear all expenses of education.Svati Tirunal started the Raja's Free Schoolin Trivandrum in 1836. A GovernmentPress, too, was established in Trivandrumin the same year.

The London Mission Society's area of activitywas largely Travancore. It was among theTamil-speakers and among a section of theMalayalam-speakers that they concentratedtheir work.

The Church Mission Society worked inTravancore and Cochin while the BaselEvangelical Mission was active in Malabar.The work of these organizations has beenhelpful in spreading modern Englisheducation. The missionaries used educationalso as a means of religious propaganda.

It was among the depressed communitiesthat the missionaries had carried out theirwork. They took greater interest inestablishing schools of the western style.They established separate schools for girls.Schools which would give admission tochildren without any discrimination basedon caste and creed came into existence inmany places. Dictionaries and grammarswere prepared. The work of Benjamin Bailey,Rev. George Mathen and Hermann Gundertwas in this direction.

It was following the work of the missionariesin the field of public education that theGovernment entered the field. In theGovernment Schools established inTravancore, only children of the upper castesgot an opportunity to study. Childrenbelonging to the lower castes studied onlyin private schools. In the beginning it wasonly caste Hindus who were taken togovernment service in that area. Many bookswere printed and circulated in the pressesestablished by the missionaries. With thespread of printing and publishing, sectionsof society that did not belong to the uppercastes started raising demand for moderneducation. Schools under the managementof missionaries were more numerous thanGovernment schools at that time.

The progress registered in the fields ofagriculture and commerce by the end of thenineteenth century caused economicprosperity among sections of populationincluding Izhavas. This was helpful inspreading education among them. Attemptsfor education made by the backwardcommunities inspired changes in thegovernment policy on education. With this,many government schools were thrown opento all sections. The Government took up theresponsibility of giving free primaryeducation to all children in 1904.

Education in MalabarThe missionary presence was clear in thefield of modern education in Malabar.Scholars like Dr. Hermann Gundert workedas both Inspector of Schools and authors ofbooks. He established a school in Thalasseriin 1839. The English Primary Schoolestablished by the Basel Evangelical Missionin Kallayi (Kozhikode) grew into theMalabar Christian College in course of time.It was with the establishment of schoolsunder the leadership of the Malabar DistrictBoard that there was any progress in primaryeducation. Children of all sections weregiven admission in such schools. TheGanapath Schools established in the Calicut

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AryavaidyasamajamAfter the [Kottakkal] Aryavaidyasala had beenestablished in Kanni 1078 (September 1902),Brahmasri Vellanasseri Vasunni Moossathdecided to establish a Vaidyasala calledVijnanachinthamani and to convene anassembly of physicians on the day of itsinauguration. It was decided that an annualassembly on these lines, to be called"Aryavaidyasamajam", should be formed. Itsfirst meeting was held in Kottakkal on Makaram12 and 13, 1078. Future plans of theorganisation were chalked out and it wasresolved to conduct an annual examination toqualify Ayurvedic medical practitioners. Thesecond meeting, in 1079, was under thepatronage of Vidwan Ettan Thampuran ofCalicut and in his place. Many physicians fromKochi, Travancore and Malabar were present.

(E.P.Krishna VarierShashtivarshikacharitram,

Kottakkal, 1929, p. 81)

region are examples of schools begun byindividual management. Schools were alsoestablished in Nileswaram, Chirakkal andKadathanadu by the Rajas of the respectiveregions. The Zamorin, too, establishedschools in Calicut and Kottakkal. As acontinuation of school education, collegeswere also established for higher education.It was the Free School established inTrivandrum that was later expanded into theMaharajas College (today's UniversityCollege). The Maharaja’s College in

Ernakulam, Brennen College in Thallaseriand Victoria College in Palghat wereestablished in subsequent years. They wereaffiliated to the University of Madras. Thefirst university in Kerala, namely theUniversity of Travancore, was established in1937 in Trivandrum. The aim of theeducation introduced under the British rulewas to propagate the superiority of Westerneducation by denigrating native knowledge.It was as a result of this new style thatmodern knowledge reached here.

The new avenues of employment and economic growth opened up by imperialistexpansion inspired the spread of modern education. Discuss this statement inthe light of the history of the growth of education in modern Kerala.

HealthcareNative systems of treatment such asAyurveda, Unani, Siddha medicine, etc. wereprevalent in Kerala before the spread ofWestern medicine. Later, with the arrival ofAllopathy, the traditional systems oftreatment were ignored. There were alsolaws which discouraged native medicine.The British government did not show anyinterest in understanding their importanceor in promoting them.

The Western system of medicine reachedIndia for the treatment of the employees andthe soldiers of the East India Company. Thespread of contagious diseases wasresponsible for gaining importance to thissystem of medicine in Kerala. "EnglishMedicine" was very effective in preventingcontagious diseases like small pox andcholera which took away the lives of manythousands. There was a time when peopledreaded vaccination against small pox. Theroyal family of Travancore came forward tocreate an atmosphere among peopleconducive to the preventive measures by

accepting vaccination against small pox. Theprinces of Travancore and Cochin createdfacilities for preventive measures and thus

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took a position different from the areasdirectly under the British rule. Theyestablished hospitals and extended facilitiesfor treatment in attempts useful to people.Travancore registered much progress in thisfield through adopting a scientific policy ofpublic health, by ensuring healthcare at lowcost, by facilitating education, etc.

The first modern hospital of Travancore wasTrivandrum General Hospital. This was laterraised to the status of Civil Hospital. Almostall modern facilities were available there. A

hospital for women and children wasestablished in Trivandrum. A major stepforward in the field of healthcare was theestablishment of a factory of small poxvaccine in 1888. Vaccines against typhoidand scabies were also made available inTravancore. The award of scholarships towomen as an encouragement to gain medicaleducation outside Travancore was a factorbehind the awakening in the field ofhealthcare.

Social TransformationSociety in Kerala was based on caste system.Abuses and superstitions were rampant inall castes. So also, people of the lower casteswere denied the right of passage, worshipand holding government jobs. Social reformmovements arose in order to seek redressalof such grievances. The leaders of Keralarenaissance fought against caste disabilitiesboth theoretically and practically. Mentionmust be made of the work ofVaikunthaswami, who gave leadership tothe movement to put an end to thedisabilities of the Channar community in theTravancore region. It was he who providedthe Channar sections with strong mindscapable of fighting, by making themrecognize their social position throughmaking use of the educational opportunitiesinaugurated by the missionaries. TheChannar women created history by staginga struggle for the right to wear upper clothes.The Channar Revolt for gaining this right,begun in 1822, came to a successful end in1859. It was following this prolongedstruggle that the Maharaja had to issue anorder allowing Channar women to wearupper clothes.

Among the most prominent leaders whoprovided an ideological shield for theresurrection of non-Brahmins wasChattampi Swamikal. He argued throughhis work that all sections of non-Brahminshad the right to study Vedas and worshipgods.

Sree Narayana Guru gave practicalexpression to the ideas and positions ofChattampi Swami. The ideas ofVaikunthaswami too had considerableinfluence on the Guru. Sree Narayana Guruwas one of the chief architects of KeralaRenaissance. His attempt was to release manfrom the prison of a complex caste systemand patterns of worship based onsuperstitions. He exhorted people to gainstrength through organization and awakenthrough education. It is in Sree NarayanaGuru that we can see the roots of theachievements of Kerala in 20th century in thesocial, cultural, literary and political fields.So also, the ideas and activities of manyRenaissance leaders such as Ayyankali,Vakkam Abdul Khadar Maulavi and

It is said that healthcare sector in Travancore maintained a higher standard thanin Malabar during the British rule. What could have been responsible for this?Discuss.

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Reception to Vaikkam Satyagrahis

Kumaragurudevan were factors behind thebirth of modern Kerala society.

In one sense, the protest movements whichdeveloped among different sections ofsociety were part of the freedom movementled against imperialism. What the leadersof Renaissance did through breaking theshackles of caste was, in fact, to make adeclaration of human freedom. It was therealizations arising out of these strugglesthat led the national liberation struggle inKerala. The protests against the abuses andinjustice in society were consciously linkedto the independence movements againstimperial rule. If that had not happened, theBritish authorities could have easilysuppressed the protests here.

One of the chief aims of the nationalmovement was to do away with socialinequality. The Kakkinada session of IndianNational Congress in 1923 had adopted aresolution to this effect. The leaders ofRenaissance made people conscious of theimportance of a strong movement against theall powerful untouchability, ensuring theunity of people. The recognition thatactivities against social abuses were verymuch part of anti-imperialist strugglebecame widespread. The VaikkamSatyagraha and Guruvayur Satyagraha wereparts of this.

Restrictions on right of passageIt was only people of high castes who hadthe right of passage on the road around theMahadeva temple of Vaikkam inTravancore. Demand for throwing the roadopen for all became stronger and stronger.A satyagraha was started in 1924 on thetemple premises towards this end.T. K. Madhavan, K. P. Kesava Menon,Barrister George Joseph, A. K. Pillai,C. V. Kunjuraman and other leaders of thestruggle for freedom and social reform were

at the forefront of this. This struggle receivedconsiderable popularity in, and supportfrom, all over the country. Representativesof the Akali Dal from the Punjab and a largenumber of people from Tamilnadu underthe leadership of E. V. Ramaswami Naicker,along with a large number of people fromdifferent parts of the country, thronged atVaikkam.

Mahatma Gandhi and Sree Narayana Gurusupported the struggle. A procession on footwas taken from Vaikkam to Trivandrumunder the leadership of MannathPadmanabhan carrying a letter of consentfrom caste Hindus. This letter was submittedto the ruler of Travancore. The problem wassolved following a settlement betweenMahatma Gandhi and Government ofTravancore. The Raja issued an orderdeclaring all roads, except a small entranceto the temple, open to the public. Thestruggle, which lasted for about a year, cameto an end with this.

Freedom of worshipThe struggle for the right of passage hadmany repercussions in the social sphere.Those who were marginalized as lowercastes among Hindus were denied the rightof entering the temples. The GuruvayurSatyagraha was started with the demand thatall Hindus should be allowed to enter the

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Guruvayoor Temple

temple. It was according to a decision takenby the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committeein August 1931 that the Satyagraha began onNovember 1st in that year. This struggle tooattracted nation-wide support. Resolutionsrequesting the fulfillment of the demands ofthe protestors were sent to the trustee of thetemple, the Zamorin of Calicut, fromdifferent parts of the country. Processionsand public meetings were held. K. Kelappan,T. Subrahmanian Thirumunpu,A.K. Gopalan, P. Krishna Pillai and othersgave leadership to the satyagraha. Theorthodox sections cruelly manhandledA.K. Gopalan, who was the volunteercaptain. With this, the premises of the templebecame tense. Following a negative attitudetowards the satyagrahis, the authorities ofthe temple closed the temple down.

The struggle which lasted for many days indifferent stages was stopped following theintervention of Mahatma Gandhi. Thoughbelated, the satyagraha helped in creatingan occasion for the Temple Entry

Proclamation. In a referendum held amongthe caste Hindus in the Ponnani taluk inwhich the temple was situated, 77 percentsupported temple entry. The popularfeeling which arose in support of suchsatyagraha was a warning against those whoturned their face away from social change.It was following the struggles for achievingthe freedom of worship that theGovernment of Travancore issued theTemple Entry Proclamation in 1936.

The social reform movements and struggles against caste segregation led bythe harbingers of Renaissance in Kerala paved the foundation for anti-colonialstruggles. Discuss.

National Movement in KeralaWith the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi at theleadership of Indian National Congress, thenational movement all over the countryreceived a new awakening. He wassuccessful in rallying all sections ofpopulation against the British through thenon-violent means of non-cooperation. Hetried to bring the Muslims and Hindus underone banner through the Khilafat Movement.The activities of Congress were lively onlyin Malabar and Kerala. The decision takenin the Nagpur session of Indian NationalCongress to reorganize states on linguisticbasis and to include the native states within

the purview of the states helped in bringingall regions together.

An all Kerala Congress session was held atOttappalam in April 1921. A special featureof the session was that people from Malabar,Cochin and Travancore joined together inthis. The workers of Kerala welcomed thedecisions of the Nagpur session of theCongress. One of the resolutions of theNagpur session was to request parents notto admit their children to schools run by theBritish Government or receivingGovernment grants. The other resolutionsincluded

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Abdul Rahiman Sahib

P. Krishna Pillai

• Lawyers should stop practice

• Foreign clothes should be boycotted

• Only Swadeshi articles should be used

• Prohibition and removal ofuntouchability should be givenimportance.

Indian National Congress had decided toboycott the Simon Commission when itsnumbers disembarked in Bombay inFebruary 1928. Organizing protest meetingsand hartals in the nooks and corners ofKerala, people took to propagating anti-Simon Commission sentiments.

The World Depression of 1929 had affectedour country also. The price of agriculturalproducts in Kerala fell steeply. But theBritish did not make any compromise aboutcollecting rent and tax from the peasants.Peasants and small landlords suffered underfinancial problems. Starvation andunemployment plunged the country intoterrible fear. There was unrest everywhere.

Civil DisobedienceThe national leaders were engaged inremarkable anti-imperialist activities byraising anti-British sentiments and thusbringing the people together. The SaltSatyagraha held in 1930 under the leadershipof Mahatma Gandhi brought the Indianminds together. In Kerala too, strongprogrammes of propaganda were organizedas part of Salt Satyagraha. A batch ofvolunteers under the leadership ofK. Kelappan took out a procession fromCalicut to Payyanur on foot to break the SaltLaw. Another group under the leadershipof T. R. Krishnaswami Iyer too went there.The processions proceeded acceptinggreetings of people on route. The style ofthe struggle underwent a change followingthe arrest of the Mahatma on 5th May. The

police brutally suppressed the satyagrahiswho came to break the Salt Law at Calicutbeach on 12th May. Mohamed AbdulRahiman Sahib, P. Krishna Pillai,

R.V. Sharma, T.R. Krishnaswami Iyer andK. Madhavan Nair were sentenced torigorous imprisonment.

Civil Disobedience continued all overMalabar. Anti-British sentiments grewstrong through the manufacture of salt,processions, public meetings and picketing.

Attempts were on from the 1930's to linklocally arising issues and the NationalLiberation Struggle. Karshaka Sanghamshad been formed in most places in Malabarin order to take up the peasants' problemsin the villages. Workers were organized inthe field of industrial labour. Consciousness

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Memorial of Salt Satyagraha - Payyannur

workers of Feroke Tile Factory struck workin February 1935. Similarly the workers ofCalicut Cotton Mill staged a strike on 11th

November 1935.

Struggles for rights gained in strength.Organized struggles became widespread.Anti-British sentiments were aflame. August9th 1942 witnessed programmes of protest allover the country raising the slogan of 'QuitIndia'. Every street saw processions andevery street corner, public meetings. Bannedpamphlets were distributed and courts andeducational institutions were boycotted.Protest took a violent turn in certain parts ofMalabar. The Registry Office and railwaystation of Chemancheri were burned. Manywere punished after being accused ofmaking bombs in the Kizhariyur Bomb case.

The peasant revolts in Kayyoor in 1941 andKarivalloor in 1946 were popularexpressions of the protest againstlandlordism and imperialism. ThePunnappra-Vayalar Revolt of 1946 was anindication of the growth of the strong processof democratization under the leadership ofworking class against imperialism.

United KeralaThe importance of the notion of a unitedKerala reached the people along with theemergence of the national movement. Thepeople of Kerala, in spite of speaking thesame language, had earlier the experienceof living under different political systems.The distinct existence of the regions ofTravancore, Cochin and Malabar stood in theway of the Malayali's sense of unity.

When did the thought of a collective for theMalayali's emerge? The idea of a Kerala hadtaken shape long before the clamour for aunited Kerala began. Such an idea can beseen in texts like the Keralolpatti. When thewaves of national movement rose indifferent parts of country, everybodyrealized the need for unity of the landswhere Malayalis lived. This idea took apractical shape when Pradesh CongressCommittees were formed on a linguistic

of the rights and consciousness of freedomgrew simultaneously as a result of this.

The Railway Strike of July 1928 had verygood response in Kerala as well.

"Theses strikes are the inevitable reflections ofthe self consciousness and wakefulness that theworkers have gained in recent times."(Editorial, The Mathrubhumi, July 31, 1928)

Such struggles inspired the workers in thefield of small scale industries. The CivilDisobedience Movements of 1930-1932created awakening among the workers. Theworkers of the Commonwealth WeavingMill started a strike on March 5th 1931following reduction of their wages. The

How are the strikes led by the working class related to the anti-imperialist strugglesof the national movement? Examine.

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basis as per the decision of the Nagpursession of Indian National Congress in 1920.The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committeewhich included the regions of Travancore,Cochin and Malabar came into existence in1921. In the Congress session held atOttappalam in the same year, workers fromall the regions participated.

On the occasion of the meetings of differentorganizations, resolutions in favour of aunited Kerala were adopted. The Congresssession held in Payyannur in 1928demanded that Kerala should bereorganized as a separate state when aconstitution for independent India would begiven shape.

Going beyond resolutions, the demand fora united Kerala took shape as part of thefreedom struggle. Indeed, in the VaikkamSatyagraha of 1924 and the GuruvayurSatyagraha of 1931-1932, people from allparts of Kerala were participants. Acommittee to discuss the formation of aunited Kerala was constituted in 1945. A

United Kerala Convention was held atThrissur in 1947 on this basis. Its presidentwas K. Kelappan and it was inaugurated bythe then Raja of Cochin. The DharCommission appointed by the constituentassembly came to Kerala and collectedevidence. With the merger of Travancore andCochin on 1st July 1949, the movement for aunited Kerala gained strength. Thelegitimacy of a united Kerala was broughthome by a book Onnekaal Kodi Malayalikal byE. M. S. Namboodirippad. The self sacrificeof Potti Sreeramulu in Andhra acceleratedthe process of state formation on linguisticbasis. When, finally, the state of Kerala cameinto existence by joining together the regionswhere Malayalam is spoken, the Thovala,Agastheesvaram, Kalkkulam andVilavankodu taluks of Trivandrum districtbecame part of Madras State. Similarly theKasargode and Hosdurg taluks, which wereparts of the district of South Canara, wereadded to the State of Kerala. Thus came intoexistence a new state of Kerala comprisingMalabar, Cochin and Travancore.

What are the changes possible in a region as a result of the formation of states onlinguistic basis? Analyse in the light of the history of the formation of the stateof Kerala.

MinistriesA general election was held in 1957following the formation of the state of Kerala.The Communist Party of India formed aministry under the leadership ofE.M. Sankaran Namboodirippad. Thelegislative assembly passed a billpreventing eviction, the Land Relations Actgiving fixity of tenure to the tenant and aneducation bill controlling the privatemanagement in running schools. Landlordswho lost their lands and school managerswho lost the right to appoint teachers raisedtheir voice against the Government. This

protest was staged in different parts of thestate, calling itself a Liberation Struggle. Atthis juncture, the President of India invokedArticle 356 of the Constitution and dismissedthis ministry on the plea that law and orderin the state had broken down. This was thefirst experience of a government which cameto power through the ballot box bydemocratic means being dismissed.

A midterm election was held in 1960. Acoalition ministry where Congress had themajority came to power. Pattam Thanu Pillaibecame the Chief Minister. The ministryresigned owing to differences among the

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coalition partners. Thereafter it became ausual practice where the coalition partnerswould leave the coalition and ministrieswould collapse.

Kerala marches aheadIt was in the fertile ground prepared jointlyby the social reform movements, workersand peasant movements and the nationalmovement that the state of Kerala sprouted.Land reforms brought about in the wake ofthe formation of the state helped in makingthe basic changes in the socio-economicfields of Kerala. Kerala is the first Indianstate in which landlordism was put to asuccessful end.

Landlordism came to an end with the LandReforms Act passed in 1969. The ceiling ofland in the possession of individuals andfamilies as well as the grant of land tohutment dwellers are the salient features ofthis act. The demand of the peasants,namely, 'land to the tiller', was achievedthrough this act. Peasants spent the incomefrom agriculture in education andhealthcare. This created social awarenessand a consciousness of public health. Thiswas also responsible for the increase in thenumber of educational institutions andhospitals. All children got an opportunityfor education. School education was made

free. The deserving were given scholarships.Institutions for acquiring higher educationincreased both in the public and in theprivate sectors.

Arrangements for public health wereexpanded. Contagious diseases like smallpox and malaria were wiped out. The rateof infant mortality fell. Average longevityincreased. Welfare activities proliferated.The number of institutions concerned withsocial security increased. Welfare pensionsand schemes for senior citizens were started.Public distribution networks gained instrength. Kerala achieved total literacy in1990, thus becoming an example for otherstates to follow. As part of the ConstitutionalAmendment, the three-tier Panchayat cameinto existence. Decentralization acceleratedthe process of democratization. Theavailability of resources to the three-tierPanchayaths and urban bodies in the fieldsof public distribution and socialdevelopment further strengthened theprocess of decentralization of power. Thisgave a greater fillip to the socialdevelopment in Kerala than in other states.'The Kerala Model of Development', withlow per capita income and highdevelopment index, is renowned all over theworld.

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Activities

• Assessing the past of Kerala, prepare suggestions for thecreation of a new Kerala society.

• Collect from elders and reading materials moreinformation regarding landlord-tenant relations and theconditions of life of peasants in those days. Prepare a paperon the subject "The Agricultural Sector in Kerala underthe British".

• National Movement in Kerala was not only about nationalfreedom but also about liberation from social abuses.Discuss this statement.

• Analyse the changes in Kerala society brought about bysocial reform movements.

• Substantiate the circumstances that led to the information of Modern Kerala.

• Kerala did not achieve necessary progress in the field of agriculture or industry; noris there a condition of high per capita income. Yet, Kerala has been able to performwell in the field of healthcare. Analyse this statement.

• Female literacy is indispensable for progress in the field of healthcare. Explain howfemale literacy and progress in education are an index to the growth in the field ofhealthcare.

• Organise a discussion on the subject 'Colonisation and national liberation'.

Documents

THE MODERN IN KERALA - studyguideindia.com · Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja was a ruler who questioned the British usurpation of the right to collect taxes and the removal of royal power