Chapter 3

3.~ Ke~: a §9qie~x in transition

The earliet• chapters provided the ra tlonale for

studying migration in general and peasant migx~t1on 1n

partic.ular; they also provided a theoretical focus for

the present study. This chapter attempts to sketch the

histo~~cal process of continuity and change in Kerala

soc1e.ty ·~ in order to pl.ace the accelerated rate of social

cbange ana poptd.ation mobUity in recent years compared to

centuries of stagnation and 1mmob11ity. The central arguo ..

men t 1s. that changes 1n diverse spheres of the econo1117 and

soci~ty at dlfferen~ b1Storical. periods ha4 differential

impact on social groups and collectivities due to their

st7rt1otural compatibility or 1nco:npat1bU1ty to ad3ust to

and take advantage of changes. Particularly important in . this context 'tlere the famUy organization, attitudes to

oocupat1on.s, etc. of different social groups.

~his chapter is divided into two main sections. In

the f~st we present social organization and economic

arrange~ents as they existed 1n the l"lal.ayalam speaking region

at the arrival oi" the British. In the next section we

unfold the changes wh~ch resulted directly or indirectly

from the impact of British colonialism and other spontaneous

developments.

.... 62 -

Pgt~tJ&a1 pttpgyt£§

"Modern Kerala was born in 1956 as a resUlt of the

linguistic reorganization of Indian States. At independence

Kerala comprised three distinct political unitsa the Malabar

d1.str.lct ot the Madras Presidency of the British~ in the

N~th; the princely t)tate of Cochill in the Centre; and the

princely state of Travanoore 1n the Sout~. Upto the 12th

century Korala experienced some amount o£ political unity

under the Chens. But afte1• the clecline of Chera po1-ror the

land was divided into numerous petty principalities and the

chiefdoms boUl\ded by natural geographical barriers like

rivers and ldllocks. In the eighteenth centuey, however,

three powe~u1 local chiefs, namely tho ~o~in of Cslicut

in Malabar't Sbaktan Tbampuran 1b Cocbin and ~tbanda Varma

in ~ravanc~r~ were able to subjugate lease~ Chiefs.

several £actors are responsible for this long period

of political di,sunity. One of them is Kerala's peculiar

ecological obaracter. The whole region is criss-crossed with

rJ.vers an4 ~~vulets which become virtually uncrossabl.e during

the monsoons; At a time when communications were poor~

developed ~ontact betueen the different regions was difficult,

assisting. the local chiefs to be independent of any central

authority.1 A second reason is that since almost a11 the

- 63 -

cUltivable land tas well-supplied uith rain uater the

need for the construction and maintenance of large scale

il~~igatio" works did not arise since pressure of population

on land ~~s not acute. In most oriental societies irrigation

uorks was a major springboard of central authority and in 2

Kerala this did not obtain. A third reason is that th0

\>Jestern Ghats effectively acted as an insurmountable barrier

to aggressors .from the rost of India and this preempted the

need· for uniting against a common enemy. This left Kerala

to evolve its ot~ personality and culture.

Hotrover Kerala ~ras never entirely devoid of external

influences. It had a long tradition of sea-borne trade tdth

the Chinese, the Homans, the Arabs etc. Fror;n the very

beginning of the Christian era Kerala had small Christian

a~d Jewish communities. Later Islam came to Kernla via the

Arabs and Jainism and Budhism throUgh Ceylonese monks. With

the arrival of Aryan immigrants from the North (who came to be

known as Nambood1r1 Brahmins)~ Kerala came into contact with

the larger Hindu culture and the earlier Dravidian, Jain and

Budhist religions could not ~ithstand the Aryan onslaugbt.4

Kerala ~s ~lso the £irst entry point of colonial European

powers. Vasco-da-Gama arrived at Calicut 1n L498. Thereafter

Kera1a came under the influence of Portuguese, Dutch and British

- 1 onialism. Of these, the British alone were able to effect

,~~t impact on the evolution of Kerala soc~ety

4-q l.9th century onuards.

- 64 •

SOcial.. ·R£gagipt1on

During tbe period of po1it1cal disunity the only

common thread in Kerala society was the Namboodiri Brabm1n

dominated feudal social arrangements, the chief feature of

which was the cnathDUAEDZfls system of social differentiation.

In this system the Brahmill ~s accorded the highest ranking

in ritual as well as economic spherc:ls. From the indigenous

population they created a Warrior and ruling class of

Kst1§l;Rim.s ltho accepted the Brahmins as advisors and took

upon themselves the task of protecting the ritual and economic

position of the Brahmins. All the other classes ot the c 1

popUlation ~ere treated as Sudras.

m The SJ» thul'Jtarnp system as applied to Kerala, however,

contained several functional lacunae. ~he I<;sbAt;~.., a . , numericallY insignificant section of the population eoq.ld not

supply the militia. A segment of the .§Sdras, the Nail's, hence

developed ·into the warrior caste. SimUarly, the Brahmin

law givers qid not provide for a trad1ng or Vai.§bm community

and t.b.is role was assumed by the communities outside the

pa~e of Hindu soc~ety such as the Christians in ~ravancore

and Cocbin and the l-ioplah l-luslims in Ifalabar. The Moplabs

and the Christt"ans also engaged themselves in cultivation as

tenants o~ landlords.

Another major body of cul ti va tors was provided by the

Ezh.avas {known as Theeyas in f-lalabar) • They also engaged in

coconut picking, toddy tapping and jaggery making. Their

- 6·6 -

touch would pollute the castes from the Nairs upuar4s and

this l'"estricted their contact sith the •superior• castes.

The most depressed sect1on of the population vas tba slave­

castes comprising the Parayas, Pularas etc, t1ho were the

argestlc slaves of rulers• mUitaey men and landlords ~nd

agrl9ultural labourers of superior tenure holders. Even

their s,1ght t1as considered polluting to the castes from Ezbavas

upwards.

The family organization of the diffe1-ent caste groUpS

~s also ·aes.1gned to meet the demands of a typical feudal

society. The Namboodiris followed a fo1~ of patrilineal

patrUocal joint family system 1ft which only the eldest son

was permi~·ted to marry and a valid marriage coul.d be contracted

only with a ~ambood1r1 girl; only his children could inherit

3oint famUy property. The other male members were permitted

and even encouraged to ente1,. into a type of liaison called

§amb§ndb§m w~th Nair females~ children of this union belonged

'to the mothet•.s. Na1J." xaarc.u:Si· Nambood1r1 property passed along

the male lin~. Prope11;y could not be sold though i't coUld be

leased or mortjgaged. Children of most Namboodiri ma1es

woUld noli l;)ecome Nambooei1r2.~. 6 This system ha(l several

consequences• Fustl.y it d1scoUX"aged subdivision of: family

property •. It also restricted growth of Namboodi.ri. popu1at1on

because many females oi" this caste remained unmarried and

offspring of mo:Jt mal.es were bom outside the caste. ~ircUy

through the alliance with Nair females Namboodiris were able

.. 66 ..

to exert influence on the management of Nau· property and

customs, Accretion to Namboodir1 land holdings through gUts

and purcbaso, the virtual absence of population grouth and

the influence exerted on Nair affairs assured the Namboodir1s

·Virtual monopoly of land tUl very recent times. 7

~he Nair matrU1neal system of family and inheritance

was complementary to the wamboodiri system. Descent was

t1"a~ed thrOugh a female ancestress, residence \'laS matrU.ocal,

1'atn11y propf:!rty was impartible and inherited tlu:ougb the

female line ·and managed by tha eldest surviv~ng male member '

called the .l@ransyan. such a famUy and inheritance unit

uas called the ~rwa4 which often consisted of several

generations ot descendants and several huneired members

living unde~ the same roof. 7he kyanma or the manager

bad very swE)ep1ng powers 1n the management of fw.nily

· property an4 enforcing d1So1pl1ne among the members but

land coU14 1n no way be sold or perpetually alienated without

, the approva~ or aU adult male members of the J:a£11Sa... Since

tbo ~£Bnavan•s wife and children belonged to and lived 1n

another tArcsA he could not provide for them from h1s .taJ:tmd

property or even from his self-acquired income. 'lbis gave

rise to very l:reak conjugal ties, the husband v1s1t1ng his mfe

at her xanmd only at night. ~he union c;ould be dissolved

any time by the wife by S)'mbolieal17 plac1ng her spouse• s

sandals outside her bedroom.

- 67

1'bough 1n the early times some of the castes such as

Ezhavas followed the matrilineal joint famUy system• later

on. they changed over to the patrilineal, nuclear family.

The Muslims except in South Malabar by and large followed

the patrilineal system and the Christians were patrilineal

~9~out. As we shall see later on, the type of famUy

organi~tion bad important consequences for the different

caste groups in adjusting to the cash economy ~rllich was to

devel,.op in the t\<~entieth century. Those communities

which followed or changed over to the patrilineal nudear

family SfStem were more favourably disposed to take advantage

of the opportunities offered by a monetized economy.8

Agrarian structux:e

The land tenure system of Kerala evolved through

centuries of customt and usage. The myth that the land of

Kerala ~s redeemed from the sea by Lord Parasurama and

gifteq_to the Namboodir1 Brahmins gained wid@ acceptance 1n

Kerale~., ro transfer the land to the Namboodiris or to the

temples c~trolled by them would be a token of respect to the

Brahmin ~~d thereby an assurance of salvation. 9 It was

stipulated that the original o1mers who now beeame tenants

woUld be the actual occupants in perpetuity. ~ere was an

additional incentive to such voluntary surrenders since wars

bettfeen rival chieftains was only too common and there was

altmys the possibility of coversion of the land into the

- 68 -

per;;o~l demesne of the conquering chie.ftain. No chieftain

woul<i~ howeve1·, Clare attacb the properties of the Brah.!nlns

(}lmhm§tJIPms> and of the temples (D§wp.sngmg) • The petty

owners, as tenants of Brahmins and temples were assured un~te­

rrup~a access to land since the latter hel.d the land in

trust. By Logan's time the surrender of land to temples had

· becotne ~ common device of many janm1s to oscape land revenue

assessment or to prevent family land froQ baing sold or

attached to meet debt paymonts.10 Thus ttu-oug.hout the

length and breadth of Kerala the Bra~1ns1 the temples, local

Chieftains and a fov Nair mil1tar.y men who helped protect

the intet#ests of Brabm1ns and ebieftaiJ\9 became the ,1aomi,~

(owners of land by birth right literally). fb1s was a

societT uhere the right to om land was determined by caste

status,. Social relationships vere goveX'l'!ed b7 tenure status

which in tum was govel"ned by caste a.n4 kinsh1p ties.

Part of a Nambooa1r1 1 s exalted position stemmed from his status as a ... 11Ar),m1c but the right of ~!n~ was defined 1n soch a way as virtually to confine its en3oyment1io Namboodiris and Nairs ot the highest caste.

The · janmis, however considered performance or manual

field operations to be a bemeaning occupation. In order to

ensure cultivatS.on of land and appropriate a sbare of the

ag1'1cul tura1 income, -::he janmis created a tenurial system

called Kanom.~2 Most of the kanom tenancies were conferred

on the Na.1rs who, in their turn, created subtenancies such

- 69 -

as Jgrgm;atJ:OJI (a simple lease). .Most of the verumpattakkars,

ox· actual tUlers of the soil were Christians and Ezbavas 1n

Travanco~e and Moplah Muslims and ~heeyas in Malabar. Untou­

chable castes like the Parayas and Pulayas 11rere argestic

slaves or agricultural labourers.

This monolithic agrarian structure started undergoi!lg

dramatic cbanges in the l.Sth century. In Malabar 0 under the

impact of the Mysorean invasion, several rajas and janmis

fled to ~ravancore leaving their possessions tf.Lth their

Moplah tenants. In order to raise cash through land revenue,

vhioh vas the prime motive for the invasion of Malabar, the •

Mysorean conquerors introduced a comprehensive land revenue

assessment 1n cash and made direct settl.ements with

Moplabas and Theeyas Who were the actual tUl.ers of tbe soU.

In 'lravancore, Marthanda Varma, the rUler of Venad;

defeated the Dutch at Kolachal in l. 74l. and annexed the

territories of rebellious local chieftains and converted

them into aUCAE(governmont) lands.13 However, the territories

of the lo~l chieftains was left undisturbed.· By the end of

the eighteenth century about one half of the cultivated

land of Travancore -eas under direct State ownership and

the ~tate -was the largest Janm1. But it fully respected

the customa17 rights of the tenants.14

• 70 -

towards the end of the eighteenth centur.y Kerala

came under the umbrella of British colonialism. The

Mysore interregnum ended ~ Malabar 1n 1792 with the

defeat of Tipu ~ultan and Malabar vas annexed to the

Bombay Presidency. Treaty arrangements with Travancore

in 1788 and with Cochin in 1791 brought these units under

British suzerainty, though they were treated as princely

states ot:ring allegiance to the Paramount power. Thereafter

British colonialism dictated the pattern and pace of

social and economic developments in Malabar directly

and in Travancore and Cocbin indirectly. Below we trace

the develop~ents in ~labar and Travancore leaving out

Cochin (since it iS not relevant for purposes of our study)

as we are dealing with migrants from Travancore region to

tiJalabar.

~he immediate impact of British colonialism on

Travancore was the burden of annual cash indernni ty pa~ ble

to the British as per treaty arrangements. In order to

meet this the State uas compelled to levy land revenue

even Without systematic 'sett1ements• with land owners

and tenants.15

,

- 71 -

By this t~e 80 percent of the cultivated land and

almost whOle of the l'mste lands were under direet State

ot1!lershi_p.. Revenue assessment was very moderate, and the

purest form of ;mp~ land tenure assessment was imple­

mented for sJ.rar land. Though the rzo_ta bad no ownership

rights they enjoyed f~ty of tenure.16 However one third

of the cultivated land was under private janmta who were

enjoying them as free-hold oD favourable tenures with a

sllgbt assessment called m3Abho,gy. The teno.nts under them

had no f~1ty of tenure and were harassed by their landlords

in several ways.

However the janmis could not go too far 1n explo~ting

their tenants due to the easy ava1lab111tv of government

wasteland which was tax free for the first ten y~s and

cl~s for the cost of improvement of neWly reclaimed waste

land was readUy accepted. The most dramatic change in the

agrarian structure of Travanoore took place in 1866 when

full ownersbip right was granted to tenants who were holding

over 20,-000 acres of msmr na~tom <»andareyak@ pat.tgml land

subject to the payment of l.and revenue assessment. The

implications were far reaching. Since restrictions on

transfer of land mlS removed land became a commodity that

could be bought or sold in the market. Wltbin one year of

the Proclamation land valued at ns.4.75 l.akb was sold among

the cul tivators.1 7 The sellers were mostly Nairs who needed

- 72 -

cash for eduoa tion t the performance of a cost)Jr ceremony

like the ta,1ikettu kal.DD!At or the repayment of an old debt.

Cb1'ist1ansi Babavas and other cultivating and tra<llng

communities benefitted from such transactions.

A proclamation in 1867 benefitted the ~aem tenants

of private Japmi§ which prohibited eviction, provided tha

tenant paid rent an4 other dues in accordance with custom,

usage and laW. Recognizing tbat the inferior sub-tenants

continued to be expl.oited the tZanm,i and KgSJAAn AcJi of 1896

lfas enacted• The 1.932 amenclment to th1s Act converted !mD2m

tenants .1nto real proprietors under the on.ly obligation

or paying. ,.1a.nmiJSamm~8

Another development having far reaching consequences

was the creation of the Public WorkS Department (fWD) in

1863. It employed scores of labourers belonglng to the

backward ~stes such as Eehavas• Pulayas, Pax~ayas etc. on

cash wages; fbus the lower castes who prev1ousl1' had to

perform forced labour ( ur~) were now introduced to a

cash e~nolUY an4 made relatively independent of their feudal

masters.19 Landowners were fo~ced to pay higher uages to

thoir l.abourers. Another class which prospered were contra­

ctors and E)ntrepreneurs, chiefly non-Malayal1 Brahmins,

Christians a~d TamU Sudras. Skilled staff like engineers,

. supervisors, clerks etc. also came f'rom these sections. 20

- ?3 -

~1ithin a short period t.he PWD uas able to improve

communication~ and road networks. The netdy constructed

Kottayam..,M~d~a road was of immense use in establishing

plantations by helping to bring cheap labour and Provisions

from the Madras Presidency and to cart the estate produce to

Kottayam. Betel nut, pepper and othell cash crops of Kerala

· found theu my to l~d:'as tbrough this road and KottayamJa

Syrian Christian c;entre, experienced unprecedented prosperity. Sl.

several commercial innovations such as the abolition

of the State monopoly 1n pepper and tobacco Which had

encouraged conuption and smugGling, abolition of import

~nd export dutS,es payable by 'rravancore ports etc. worked

. wonders, Alle.ppy grew 1n to Travancore 's chief port and

trading centre!t Petty trade and retailing became profitable

and benefitted Non•Malaynli Brahmins, Muslim-s and Syrian

Christians. There was a pepper boom 1n the 1880s. Export

from Wravancore increased dramatically and gove~ment were

able to generate impressive budgetary surpluses 1n contrast

to the deficit budgets ~hieh Travancore was used to previousl~

From 1860 .government offered all types of encouragement

to i.n.duce European capital. to the pl.anta.tion sector. Forest

land was leased Qut to planters on the High Baru~es with a

·· yeey 11ght assessment ub1eh varied £rom flive armas to ~.one

per acre for coffee and tea and rupees two and throe for

- 74 -

rubber and qal'damom rElspectively. 23 In l926 for eve1 .. y

acre of tea the value of exported tea tt19.s &.soo/-24 A major

share of -tho income earned by government by way of sale of

land and :y:evenue assessment was spent on constt.~ct1on of

roads, roadbu11d1ng subsidies to planters and surveys. 25

These measures bad the desired effect. In 1906 the

plantation companies incorporated and working in Travancore

vera only three and the number 1ncol~poratetl outside but

WOl"k1ng in travancore was not known. fhe figures 1--ose to

89 and 1.9 respect1vel.y in 1945,26 similarly there was a

rapid in~re~se 1n the area cultivated ~ith plantation crops

such as tea, coffee, cardamom and l'Ubber. Thus plantations

spread in~ the whole of the eastern high range areas of

Travanco~e. The pz.--edominance of .suropean capital can be

gauged f~om the fact that the companies registered outside

and w0i'k1ng 1n T~avancoro had a paid ~ capital of &.?7

mUlion as against onlY 28 million for the companies

regist$red w1tbin Travancore.27

fhougb a majority of plantation labourers we~:e

imported ~rom the nearby !famil districts, educated Malavalees,

especiaur'syr1an ChriStians, were abl.e to occupy the

managerial and c1er1cal positions offered by the plantations.

Planting was at its lowest ebb 1.n 1885 but stUl. the1.~e were

300 Cbr14tSans, excluCling coolis, on the plantations all the

year round. Some or the Christians even opened up their own

- 75 -28

plantations, and tuo of such holo1ngs exceeded 600 acres.

This period also saw great demand by peasants for

recla!mable agricultural waste. !his was aided by the

numerous incentives offered by governwont fo~ reclamation

of t-tasteland and the example set by the planters • It was

mainly on the ~Y areas in the m14land and h.\gbland regions

t}lat this tremendous expansion was taking place. fh1s ~ras

.1;he region east Qt Kottayam, on the newly constructed

Kottayam ... Madura road, the heartland of Syrian Christians.

Qne of the British Residents wrote 1n 1.874,

tbat this road was changing the whole Character of the country •••••• In some sections these roads traverse forests w.blch along the intermediate line are rapidly giving way to a succession of clearings ••••• At other sections the countr.v

: traversed is comparatively open, boldly undlat1ng with valleys and slopes of considerable productiveness. But· the people seem to ha,e 29 rested curiously remote from 1ntercommun.1cat1on.

fhe reclai~ed area was cultivated with cash crops

11ko popper, gir,lger, lemon grass and tapioca. Though reliable

o~op data are available only after 1920 it is reasonable to

a~sume that from tha second half of the 19th century cash

crops constituted nearly 40 percent of total cUltivated area

of ~ravanoore.30 On the m~dland and high land regions cash

crops must have been three fourtbS of the total area.

~here was an important reason for the expansion of

cult~vat1on on dry land. As the sample survey undertaken by

Varghese31has revea1ed the rate of exploitation by the land-

- 76 ..

1ord on dey land vas not as high as on wet land. For Wb1le •

charging rent, the landlord had to aliow for the greater cost

ot cultivation of cash crops on dr~ land.

Sometimes the reclamation of forest went on in an

unauthorised way, leading to "the ~nton destruction of

forests" as observed by a government communique 1n 1899.32

Land offered far &her))a133caltivat1on by certain local ch1efs

bad led to th~ unauthorized permanent occupation particularlY

at f.fundakayam, Peruvant.ha.nam and Peerumedu etc. which ~rere

thQ possessions of the Van3ipuzha chief, and adJacent to

the areas \'Jhere Syrian Christians predominated. Government

contemplated ·several measures such as acquisition of the

chieftain's ~ossessions to prevent deforestation.34

In the .low lands, though cultivable area had reached

satu~ation. pO!."lt, there remained one more avenue wMch could

be tapped - the backwaters. Reclamation of the backwaters

for cultivat~on, popUlarly known 1n Kerala as lm:X$1 cultivat1on~5

began 1n right earnest at the beginnitlg of the 20th century

by the big~ price of rice and the inability of r1ee production

to keep pace l:tlth population growth. HeJPe agaift Syrian

Christians "took the lead, part1cular1y the capitalists among

them since reclamation of the backwaters is capital intensive.

Ka,xal cUltivation though subJect to several x·isks, ~"as

extremel.y profitable. The surplus generated by these cul.ti­

vators trere reinvested in acquil .. ing l.and and starting pl.ant-

- 77 -

a tions 1n the High Bange s and ~ Mala bar. 36

All these developmentfl le~L to an average of nearly

two percent per annum increase in cult1vate4 area 1n Travan­

core betveen 1820 and l9U. The cadastral survey of l.9ll.

~evealed.tbat out of the total surveyed area over 64 percent

was cultivateci and 23 percent ws cultivable 'mlste. Culti-

. vated land came to about 72 percent of the arable lanas,

- vi thout counting the plantations and other eul tiva ted area

1n the unsurveyed tracts. The cul t1 vated area increased to

79,7 percent 1n 1921, to 96.3 percent 1n 1.931 and 97.7 percent

in 1941.31

Ezhavas, PUlayas and Parayas in North fravancore and

the Shanars 1n South Travnncore suffered sevex-al injustices

for eentur1eG w1 thoatt questioning. In the middle of the

nitleteenth century, however• conversion to Christianit¥,

chiefly Protestantism, offered them a possible chance of

escape from tnditional d1sab1l.it1es. 38 Missionary work

w~s carried on 1n south Travancore by the London Missionary

society (L~) and 1n the North by the Church Missionary

Society ( CMS) • The missionaries ardently supported their

lower caste converts to f'igbt against social d1.serim1nation.

~he chief' issues .. aroun4 which they mobilized the lover

.castes were abolition of slavery and forced labour, freedom

to use pub11e roads, appear in public places and speak and

dress like the 41-ghest castes. The missionaries politicized

- 78 -

the issues by publishing articles and pampbletst petitioning

the f.tadras Government and so on. The first victory was

· scored 1n 1885 when sirkar slaves were emancipated and legal

recognition to all aspects of slaver.y w1th~~.39 As a

result of f•lissionary activity lower castes in general and

converts in part1cular became restive and began to question

tra<atlona1 easte rules. Clashes between lowel' castes and

higher cas~es eruJ)ted periodically, and culminated in the

•breast clothe disturbances• of 1859. In JUly of the same

year an official proclamation pe~itted Sbanar women to

cover tbGir· breasts but the other lower castes bad to t·rait

t111 1865 for the same prerogative. In 1870 eerta1n roads

(lesignated as •public• t.;ere thrown open to all castes. Judges

were 1nstl'Ucted to mnke alternative arrangements for hearing

the cases of lot-rer castes baz•red from certain otflces and

1aw courts near temples. But most of these concessions only

r~mained on paper since the government of£1c1a1s, who belonged

to the highe~ eastes flouted them S.n practice giving rise

to all ro~d cynicism among the lower castes.40

The missionaries did not rematn content with agitating

fo~ the ciVil rlghts o£ their converts. In prder to raise

their economic position they imparted them education and

emp1oyment.. ~n those days even the higher castes had to

<lepend on m1~s1onaey institutions for education. Ellglish

eduoa tion helped to get empl.o~ent not only Sn ~vancore

but also out~ ide. 4J.

• 79 •

wlth a vielf to breaking the missionary monopoly in

~4uea t1on De~n Madbav Bao' s adm1n1stra tion pa tron1Zed

'English an4 Ve~nacular education. Academic qual.1ficat1ons

ve11G mGtle the basis tor recruitment to ee.1tta1D posts in

·Government sen1ce. Jibglish schools were established in /

eight chief tcmns and by' 1864 there were more than 1.500

students 1n these schools. By 187~ most ot the 245 revenue

vUlaBeS in the ~tate had vernacular schools anti literacy

increased ~p1dly.42

Bowe•e~o~ su~luu. .. schools we1 .. e open only to high castes

and Jnfluen~ial Syrian Christians, and this state oZ affairs

continued for e. long period. t-Iiss1onary schools l!rere the

only re4ourso· ~o louer castos. In 1860 LtlS and CMS schools

had an en;-olment of ab0u1i l.O,OOO students ancl the schools

run by JaCQbites, Roman S)Pr1ans, and Latin Catholics had

4o,ooo stud~nts.43 It l:JSS at this period that the Homan

Syrians began showing interest in the educational f1el<l.

DurSng the lB70s ana the 1880s, disputes and 11tigat1on

between different denomina t1ons of ChriStiane ha<l the indirect

resul.t o~ expansion of educational institutions since each

sect competed with the other in estab11sh1ng educational.

~stitutlons... In l.879 the Mar1bomas Athanas1us faction of

the OrtbQdox Syrians had 82 schools wtd.ch received grants-in­

aid. The ·Mar Dion;vsius t'action had 52, al.J. Boman Catholics

n11 and Protestants 207. ~his number increased to 1.03, 92,

49 and 468 respectively in A895.44

- so •

7he 'immediate resUlt of t>ladhav Rao• s new recruitment

polic7 ws the influx of non-l{alaya11 Brahmins. This \filS

resented by a t-lide section of educated 1-lalayalees. The free

boarding and lodging at govel'nment expense prov1ded to the

Brabmins.; the1~ dominance in the trade of rice? tobacco•

and clothe* the fac~ of the1~ being moneYlcn~ers and the

lnfluenqe $erted by the King's favourite, Saravanni Anand

Narayana Ayyar on state affairs ~sere other causes of

popular annoyance with the non-t-talaya11 Brahm1ns.45

Witllin the context of their d1sintegrating family

system and the fear of losing their economic dominance to

the Chri{:Jtians t the Na1rs hoped to 1·eta1n their dominance

through government service. Literacy among them rose

from 21 percent ·in 1875 to 37 percent 1n 1891.46 They

wore also successfUl in capturing more than a qua~ter

or· the choicest posts in govemment, but this was far

less than ~eir share in the total popUlation. so, inorder

to oust the foreign Brahmins there developed an aU1ance

of the Nai,rs with Christians and other Mala~i communities,

Insp~~e of their achi.evement Sn the educational. field •' ~ .

C.br1st!l)ns .were kept out f1."0m government serv.lee. The

refusal ot" sovernmont to offer employment to the first

London edu~te4 MD.layal.i l.awyer ( T. c. Poonen, a Ct4~ CbrJ.stian) ,

demonstrf;l.t~ government• s reluctance to employ anyone other

• 81 -

than caste .Hindus. In 1872 only l.O out of 880 government

3obs apto lb!/60/• a month and four out of 215 jobs on more

than lb.50/~ a month -vrere held by Christians~ 47 Educated

· Christians, however, were mucb 1n demand by European planters

and merchants as elerkst supervisors and managers. The

virtual Christian monopoly of tile f 1eld of journalism

en.abled tbem to voice thei1· resentment from exclusion

from government set"v1ce. By the beginning of the 20th

century Christians ot all denom1nat1ons were read)' for an

alliance '\d th the Nairs and tho Ezbavas.

thQugh barred trom government schools the converts

had the bE)nefit of missionary assistance 1n education. the

missionaries EU.so helped some converts to start plantations

on the ASbambu h1lls. However, due to oppos~ tion from their

Syrian adherents, the OMS converts could receive the sama

kind of patronage as the Lt1S converts only after the final

break with the :.iyrians 1n the ~aaos.

Though the Ezbavas (U.ci not convert in large numbers,

the tbrea t of eonvers1on l-:as used by them effectively to

wrest concessions from caste Hindus t~ll the 1936 ~emp1e

Entry Procl.amation. Between 1870 and 1890 the Ezhavas

expenenc.eci unprecedented prosperi~y due to tbe riSe in

the export val.ue of coconut. Though the Q\),"llers o~ coconut

gardens were Nairs or Syrian Christians, coconut tr.1de could

not be carried on witbout the Bzhava skill j,n pl.ueld.ng,

• 82 ..

p~ocessing and treating coconuts. This assured the gzbavas

almost full emplo,ment. Some prosperous Ezbavas a1so ow.nG4

coir factorles and aoquif'ed coconut gardens during thiS

period,. ~~Y ~so cornered large profits i'rom the tod<W '

Be~en 1875 and 1891. literacy among the Bzhavas

itac~eased from 3.15 pellcent to 12 percent 1nspite of their

~elusion f~oin government schoo1s.49 The educated JOWlS

men were also -~red from government serv.tee. One of them

was lb;l. Palpu, a medical practitioner, tmo on l'Sfusal of a

3ob 1n T»avancore had to migrate to Mysore tel get a 3ob.

He was late~ to lead the Ezbava moveme~tt as the lieutenant

c>t t>ri wara,ana Guru b'Wa!Q'.

!bus by the beginning ot the 20th century jnte1~st

vas beginning to get articUl.a ted around eommanal lines

w~ch remains the cbaraoter1st1c featw.•e of politics in

· ~->ntempora# Jtei'ala •. The broad anti Brabm1n aU!ance of

'N~us, szhaVa$·,, .. Christians e.nd Muslims resulted in tbo

. iMala.Jali Memor~ pr$sented to the Maharaja 1n 1.891. 49

~~ a 1-.esUlt o.~ th;e memorial and subsequent agitations,

·a truce was effeQted between the govertVllent and the Nair

~lite anti Na~ got positions o~ influence with the .· ...

. o·overnment •. <.·· . ,

- 83 -

(1) !liM BUS

Insp1te of their success in getting access to

government service the Nair social organization uas not

equal to the demands of a growing cash economy. several

Nair tarwads became unmanageable units marked by intel'nal

dissension and laCk of natural affection. ~1tigation

regar<Ung famUy property tj(id become tbe order of the day

especSAUy after the Pattom Proclamation which bad made

tenants proprietors. In the year after the proclamation

litigation in muns1f' s courts rose from 9804 to 1B44l. cases

as peop1e attempted to T~iSe new val.ues of lnnd. Between

1879.SO and l888..S9 there was an aveftge ot 60 suits a year

for partition of tarwads even Without the consent of all

adult ·nenbers. !he yearly suits between 1889•90 and

189&.99 was 80 and bettreen 1899-1900 and 1903-<>4 VJas sa. 50

Litigation and mismanagement leril. to the paUpe~ization of

maJW tarwaas. The extent of mismanagement is indicated by

the faet; that during the 18 months of 1907 and 1908 property

worth near1y ns.19 lakbs was a11ena ted by tbe Nairs by sale,

mortgag~ or bypothacatJ.on more tban they acquired by purchase. Sl.

~b1S was ~t ·a time When joint property could not 1egall.y be

al.iena ~d.. Agreed partition rose from 301. in 1.896-97 to .. 52

616 1n ~~07.

• 84 -

fhe abolition of slavery and the consequent rising

cost of labour ancl rice further strained tha resources of

the t.am«•- l.fany families became .indebted by borrowing for

ceremonies like h1%et,t,y ka1eJuw and for education of the

ehUcb.•en. E4ucat1on brought about further 4issens1ons on

the qu.est1on of wbioh chUd was to bo sent for education:

often the ~tatJI!M 'A ChUdren ttere preter~Gd causi!lg h18

nephews to Pevolt.

fbe N$1r youth were painfully aware of the redlcale

their tamUy ana marriage system was being sub3ected to by

other communities and the restraints it p1aced on 1n<11v14ual

Nd»s in their· -competition With Cbr1st1ans. fbey revolted

against the old Nair elite Vbo had found aceomodat1on 1n

g9vernment servs.ee and attempted to organi2e Nairs fort

social. J:"Gfo~m-. Their efforts culminateei 1n the founding

of the Nair service Society (NSS) 1n 191.4 by Mamath

P~u:lmai!a bban and others. 53 It campaigned tor abolition

of the W\W~kl$RtM¥BPJ system of inb.er1tanee and Nair.

N~bootUrl mtll'1ta.1 alliances and ~or the partition of large

Nair taJ:m\A§· into sm.al.ler units. It al.so strove for the

edueati.onal ~r.4 eul. tura1 1~v1va1 of the NaJ.rs.

~bough (lttempts had been made to amend the Nair

inher'-tance ~al( as ~ar back as 1890, no meaningful reform

.cQul.d be Unde~~ken till 1925 due to intrigues by the

'B~hminst Rs~tJ>iYQ$ and CO!lservat1ve Naira. The Nab

tlegul.ation of ).~25 perm.itted partition ~ joint i'am111es

- 85 -

into different subfamilies called ?;q!3a~hUl~ lt also

enabled the uife and children of any member of the joint

famUy to. inherit the self-acquired property of ~hat membor~ This latter provision accelerat9d the se~aration of the

nuclear units of the joint family and ultimately to the

dis~tegrat1on of the entire ~d system.

Tbs .immediate consequence of this reform uns e net

transfer vf Nair property 1n favour of tho Christians and

other communities.

f~ugh peeved at exclusion from government jobs

inspito of their high educational attainmGnt the Christian

community tmf) spuned on to other fields of endeavour.

A section of them particularly the Shanar eonve~ts and ths

c.u.s. Syrians sought employment from private sources,

chiefly European merchants and planters. ~other section,

chiefly Jacob1tos and I1athomitas, prosperod in trade,

commerce and banking (kuris and ehitt1s) 56 and invested

their surpluses in plantations. The Catholics, uho ware

the most depressed sections among the Syritln Christians

since they had no link mth English mi.ssionax-ies and through

them to the Empire, took to ngrieUl tur0 in a big auay •

. Since popu1at1on increase had placed tremendous pressures

on land resources, the Syrian ChriStians, particularly

Catholics, began to reclaim agricultural waste land for

- 86 -

cultivation and began to push back the 3tttigle eastuards

to the High Ranges.66 In thO plains itself lot of Nair

land passe'd into Cbl'istian bands who \'rere erstttbUe

tenants of Na1rs.

~he·se developments resulted in tbe all.-round material

and social. progress of Christians. ~his uas facUitated

by the unifYing role of church leadership which offetted

advise and a1a. 57 'fhe famUy organization and the system

of 1nhe~1tance and succession were also conducive to the

development of individual initiative. 58 The Syrian

Cbr1Stian$ developed into a class of entrepreneurs motivated

by the pur~tan etb1c or material progress as an indicator

of ~rorl41Y success.59

HOwever, 1t a str1et Protestant ethic ~~s applieable

for the $nSan Christian community 1n Kerala, it should have

been lim1teC1 to those sections of christians which came into

contact with L.M.s and C~M.S missionaries. Bouever, as we

bave seen,: the Sptan Ca tho lies cU.4 not lag behind. A

partial. ~planation of this was the *demonstration effect'

of mate~~ progress of other Cbr1stians60 as also the role

of re~erence groUp bebavour. A more Smportant reason 1s

suggested by George Mathew.6~

One defen1te conclusion is that they ~ere driven to the corner by othe" communities and the sheer pressure o~ c.ircumstances to survive made them to act. P~~haps an equally important explanation j.s that the Boman catholics 1b Keral.a,

- 87 ..

because t!Wy belonged to the Syrian Christian Commun~i;y., bad the sam.e social characteristics and outlook like the Jacob1tes, ~hom!tes and Cl~S Syrians. But even it we take Roman cathot·ic1$Dl .DB Mt according to Roberts:J_ it has ~he votent1al1ty to develop 'econ . c• inti1dual1$!D •

As Christians and Ezhavas became economica11Y pl'Osporous

anci soc1a11y. aware they began to struggle aga!ftst all forms o1'

discrimination. In 1.868 the Travancore and Coohin Christian

AS3oe1at1on, embracing oll the Syrian Christian sects ~s

to:omed and a mGmor1a1 was presented to the govezonment 1b the

next uear liSting several instances of dlscr1minatlon against

the Cbristtans. file Ohrists.an newspape.r, homsa ttarne4 of

• strong(;Jr .measures if petitions -f<liled' to acbieve the resUlts. ' . .

several ot its features highlighted the picture ~ the "-4·-.. . J!l62 'vants .. ~~& Christian graduate• forced to leave his native len"•

The over . .-epr~se.ntation of the Nai~s s.n the Sri Moolam PopUlar

Assetnbly- ,formed in J.904 was partieularl)' unpalatable to the

Chr1St1e.~s.. 31 talukS S~nt 65 ~presentat.S.ves of WhiCh 1.2

were Na~ and 8 probably Nail's. Even 1n the 1\ottayam division

where the Christians 'l<rere in a ma3ority, of the 361. landl.ords

paying 1and tax of more than ft3.l.OO/- a year• 100 were Nalrs

and only .98 were Christians. 63 This resulted from the fact

tbat landownership was the Chief criterion of eligibility for

membership in the Assembly.

Amqng the Ezbavas, Dr. Pal.pu was in the forefront of

the attempt to organiZe them. Having failed to wrest any­

concessions through the Malayali t4emorial, he submitted

4!P 88 -

several petitions to the government providing unchallengeable

stat1s1;1e£J ~bout the dcscrimination agaln~t Edlava$.. Dis ...

gusted ~ith govarnm.ent•s refusal to aceeae to tlW petit1ons9

he joined forces Witb the greatest religious. ttev1va11st of

Kerala• $:"1 Narayana Gu.ru and the greatest Malayalam poet•

Kwnaran Asan, both Ezbavas.

The :S'1 warapna Dharma Paripalan Yogam (&WDP) ws

found$d ~n 1902. The 1905 general meeting Gt the Yogam vas

followed by an industrial exh1b1t1on w1ch proved a phenomenal

success.: , Peeved at the neu-found assertiveness (4 Ezbava.s

the Naii's· Clashed with them at several places~ Indirectly

the v~ol,.ets~ clashes helped the Ezhava cause by giving it wide

coverage ~~~ the Maaras press. In l.90? SNDP t~as given

representation in the Sr1 Moolam Assembly.64

Whe: post~1alayal1 Memorial dominance of Nairs 1n

governme.n~ affairs and employment disappointed Christians,

EBbaV~S;~~ Mu$11ms and led them to a new $nt1~a1~ alliance.

In 1919 t~ C1vU Rights league was form.e4 uhich demanded . "

the biful."c.a tion ot tho Jl,EUm.s_wgm from the Revenue department.

Ons ot the chief reasons £or the exclu&ion of non~caste

people fi"Qm employment 1n tbe Revenue Department, which was

the 1arge:jat state employer, was the combination o~ Devaswom

and Revenue departments. Agitation b,y the League 1ed to the

sepu .. ation of the two in 1922, but discrimination still

peTs~ted.

- 89 •

The retention of property qual1f1cat1ons as the basis

for the right to contest elections led to the intensification

of agitations tor constitutional reforms guaranteeing

political justice and equality ·of opportunity• The SNDP

Yogam, the Ezhava 2ol1t1cal League, !fravancore State catholic

Leagu.e, the Latin Cbristtan t~aha~ana Babha, and the All

Tra:vancore Muslim Service League were unanimous 1n rejecting

the ~932 reforms as retrograde. On December 17; 1.932, tha

~ravabcore Pol.itical Congress was formed as a joint pol1t1cal

iront ot all back.uard co.mmun1t1es.65 In January 1.933 the

Congress sutmitted a memorial to the Ds~n and took thO

momentous decision to boycot the forthcoming elections to

the A~sembtv based on the 1932 refo~s~ ThiS movemen~ came

to· be knoun as tha Abstention movement. fhis movement

rece~ved -che unst;iftted support of the Congress Soeial.ist

PaJ"tY which propaga tea it as a part of the national. struggle

to~ heed.om.

Government branded tho agitation as a sectarian

movement launched by tha Syrian Christians. It tried to

woo the Ezhava community by gtv!llg it minor concessions.

It a.lso 1resorted to repression and banning freedom of expre­

ssion and association. Inspite of this a vast majority of

the: voters boycotted the elections held in June 1933.66Atter

the elections the Jo1nt Political Congress intensified the

agitation <lemanding equal representats.on of aU communities

- 90 -

in the military, adult franchise and responoib1e government.

Government uare forced to give :;ome major concessions. 40

percent of the 'intermedj.ate sector• ot public se>."viee t-ras.

reserved for the bac~rd coffimunities. ThG Nair brigade ~s

reorgan1eed and r~cruit~ent to thG army and police force ~s

declared open to all communities. The ~emple Entry Procla­

cation '1as a major land mark of thi~ period.

Tho Joint Political Conference t-7aS dissolved in 1.938

and the Travancore State Congress was fol"m.ed wl th the obje­

ctive of attaining responsible government. Though most of

the leaders of the new party were from the Joint Political

Conference,. it lJaS able to draw in a w.idar section of tne

people including sone enlightened Nairs. Along w1 th the

Youth League, an ea~ly form of the Communist Pa~y, the

Congfess intensified the agitation for responsible govern­

ment~ A spate 'of repressive measures 'rere unleashed and

the Dotvan Sir C'!'P. Ramaswamy Aiyer undertook several

unscrupulous measures like wrecking the Travaneor.e National

and QuUon Bank o'Gl'led by c.P. l1athen,67 a prominent leader

of the Congress, and confiscating the property of the leaders.

Tho Congress and the Youth League responded to repression by

direct action ancl the ttro organizat.ions were dselared unl.e.~Tful.

A Civll Disobedience Movement uas launched in 1.938. Wj.tbin

a month J.o,ooo people broke the ban and courted arrest and a

feu persons lost their lives. Police fired at the strikdng

factory workers at Alleppy and Shertal.ai which resulted 1n

several martyrs of the Communist Party. On tha edviee of

- 91. -

Gandhiji the Sto.te Congress w1thdrm·r the agitation. This

divided the Congress and the progressives joined the Youth

League.

The State Congress actively participated in the Quit

India movement. ~lhen independence arrived finally in 1947,

tho Oewn tried a last ditch attempt to stay on as the dicta­

tor by declaring Travaneore as an independent State, but in

the face of people's opposition he had to make an ignominious

retreat. In 1.949 Travaneore and Coeh1n ~re merged to form

the Travaneore.Coch1n State.

To sum Up, though Travancore uas never tliroctly Under

BritiSh rulet social developments in Travancore were closely

linked to British colonialism. A major impact was the spread

of education due to missionary work. This <r>nseientized the

lo~r castes and they began to question caste disabilities.

On the agrarian front, Legislation bad the effect of encoura­

ging the 1nvestmen.t conscious classes of peoplG. Due to

introduction of cash crops and plantations the agrarian

economy became highly monetized. The family organization of

Naira ~s unequal to the demands of a cash economy in ~hieh

traditional caste restrictions were meaningless and the

Nairs l.ost economic pol1er to the Syrian Christians. The

l.atter developed into a class of entrepreneurs and bseamo

leaders in education, trade, commerce, banking and agriculture.

In the context of their rising material progress the Syrian

Christians, aUying tsi th Ezhavas and MuSlims began to agitate

- 92 -

for reforms in the employment and political spheres

emphasizing merit rather than caste. Dy independenccap

they were able to achieve much of their objectiVOSo The

Na.irs and other • superior• castes had to adapt to the changed

situation. Th~i.r family organization became more conjugal. and

nuclear. l;hey also began to take up occupations like trade,

~ommerce and agriculture. Today social life 1n Kerala is

marked by an intense competition between the prominent

colll.D1Un1~1es .... Christiansp Nairs, Ezhavas and MuslimS ...

in every sphero of social life and thiS accounts for the

unstable nature of Kerala!s coalition politics. Now we

turn to the consideration of the Malabar situation.

- 93 -

Unlike fravancoret. Malabar was under di~ect British

~he Br1 t1sh. l1<Win1strators were unfamiliar with age-. . ..

·o1.u customs ana usages regarding diverse sph~es of social

l.pte ln Malabar;. Apart from this they ttere motivated to

·J?;t,Qmote their own 1nterests 1n interpreting local laws an.d

introducing their own concepts of 3urisprudence. ~hese led

~· crucial differenQes be~een the developments in Travancore

~~d 1n Malabar.

~he land tenure system ~bich developed in Malabar under

"t'he Br1t.1sh ha..d three principal. features which cU.tferent1Bted

·~~.·from the pre-British system. Firstly, the Brlti-sh inter •

. ~reted the Jan--~8right as pr1va te property $ lA fioman Rsunin!Ym

.. <Ievoid ot the customary obligations of the Jymi to the various

right bol4e&-s. ~n the same plot of land. i.'lery inch of land,

.~neludlng wa~tes ~re declared private property except in

the Wl')tad t-mere a new type of ownership called government 3anmam

was created. ~en Jmngm69tenures were declared as mere usu.tru­

otuary mortgages nthout even the right of occupancy. This

po11c~ was the result of political expediency rather than

of prinoiplos. For, by reinstating the janm1s ~o had fled '

~talabar in the" -taco of the Mysorean invasion they hoped to

·c~eate a class ot supporters and agents. Declaring kaoPm

as a usufru~~~ey mortgage was a clever way of neutralizing

94 -

the power_ .c;~ the Muslims who were at that time holding

large areas of land as virtual proprietors. The policy

was also part~y due to the unfamiliarity of British officials

with the customary law of Malabar.

The second feature of the new land tenure system was

the extreme concentration of land in the hand of a fe~r

ianmi§. The principal janmis were the Zamorin of Calicut,

the Baja Qf Nilambur, Kavalappara Nayar; Kottakal Kizhake

Kovilakam, the Raja of Kollengode, Poomal.i Namboodiri,

Chirakkal ~ja, Kalyat Esamanan, VengayU Nayanar and a few

templ.es and devaswoms. In 1920-23., over 50 percent of the

cult1vat~d land was held by 32 janmis. The Zamor1n paid

nearly 1 •. 25 lakh British rupees as land revenue every year,

and his lands were spread over six tal.uks and 520 villages.

The typical large estate ot~er leased out his land to

thousands of immediate tenants and an unknown number of

subtenants .• 70

~he third feature was the competition between the

janmi ~rid the kaDakkar, an intermediary between the Janmi

and the xorumpattakkar, the actual cUltivator, for approp­

riation of the major share of the value added by the

cultivator.. The evolution was as follows: First, the

regular coll.ection of land revenue b.1 the British 1n cash

mo~ized the economy.71 Initially land revenue assessment

was f~xed quite high. Several landlords borrowed money

- 96 -

from merchants in return for ~ deeds. ~ kanakkar~

1n turnt sublot his land to another subtenant, the latter

again to another one, so that, 't1hen it camG to the actual

cultivator, there were several intermediaries batusen the

tiller and the State. The share of the Steto and thejapm1

together came to two thirds of the net produce after

deducting an insufficient amount as expenditure on culti­

vation. In ,practice evon the remaining _$hare of the

cultivator was appropriated by tho janmi through various

forms of feudal gifts ouch as nuri, vasi, multkalt moonni•

dangezhi, vecchukanal, seelaRashu etc.72 As Moora73

1n fact a labourer on subsistence uages, though it suits his landlord t9 bin« him by a contract. It happens not•.,fr2equently that the rent which the tenant coyenants to ~Y ~s more than the land can yield, and 1n vhiS ease tho burden of debt accumulates o.round him.

It may bo observed tbAt the •contract• uas very often

unreeor4ed and a form of leasing called 'Y2kknl en&~'

{oral leaJle) gained currency in several parts of Halaror.

1\'henever the State or th.e janm:i raised S.ts demand

for ~ont~ the 1ntermodiacy lroul<l pass on the demand to the

cultivator. The ront extracted frQm the cultivator uas

15 to .20 times the land revenuG assessment. In this

competition for rent, the non-cultivating kanakkara.n

appropriated 70 to 75 pereet"t~ of tho !4Gt produce t1bUe the

• 96 0

lnrilor<i•t> Gnd cultivators share ron~~a ~tweo~ tYO ~d

12 nat! lS ead 26 po~cont r<)spoet!v~ly .. 74 fho largo

ltailtZ~.k..'mi?e ~o~D cl,oo aueeeasful ilD pueb~ am.t\11 lmnllhoo~

to tho lovd!. of ~~ts-at-mU9 Tb.ua alcngs!do t!w

tonl!cncy gcw tho eo~cof'ltrotion of hol<linC$ ~t tho janot•s lovell.~

therG "'.mo (}1® o concen~rat!on at thO kr.tna!1lm~1 o lovoa.

Toon t~ eo<i11:?Scmt~ ot l.ana lat1 ~ ~he B.r1ti$ll~

~stead OZ Cr:1COUl"agins the ~aotmont ctm_~Qi()US olaosao~

~o~ere~~ ~~o pn~o£tto el~seeo ot 1ana1o~ a~d intormoa~wioa.

lt £~cll1tatoo ~ach ronts.nz and tm.oloseJ.0 <JVicticn of !)lcaoont!ll 9 s~ritloti tho invcato ment 1>fl 1~so b.Ol<iara &f'4 eaac$rbntCO. t~ eo~unn1 st~Uo ttbich ha(i Etlasuaa anrori~V! ve1ati~no7~t~co the t~~ of tno ltyoo~~an OGn(!UQOt.

13$~6 tQJP ~ooved gtN>u bio sub-;onanto, both peyoiooUu

ai'78 nocie.llv, ~t ~o not pwaetlcablo fol' t:lG terce lan<ilo!'&

to ~1vo any ootolrial. aca1aw.neo 1a cultivation ar..4 he t.:Cls

satlof~(lu it tto 1"~«3ivea hi~ GJttos ~a(;lula~lY• i1lo ~Jto(i® of

u~S.11znt.ioa ot? ~oattnl tnee:ne aleo b.loc!tetl eapittll aecumuc:a

!CAt~on. 4t ~o ur.K~cnc

(a) fo1' t~ upkoop of t!l5lf}l.~s ~ plc.oetl~ ~cb oo~u&t?~

a. l.~G n~v of asr\r--anes ~ pr1oots Gn~ ~~f\CFaJ

(b) fow tt)o nn&n~nanee of o !o.rgc joint faoily~ an(A,

~c) fol"' tru~n eol<l~ l~d or 1wm1~1oa. ?a

• 97 ..

The ~ranavan, usually an old man, had to depend on

nominallY pa.id agents called lsarpsthans, mostly east ... eoast

Brahmins or' Mf?nons, a subcaste o~ R(drs. fhe latta~• s role

as rent qoUectors gave them tremendous power over the

tenants and 'they extorted bribe on threat o~ raising rents

or not assJ.st1ng in obta1n!ng rsnewl contracts. The ' '

.karms~b.ans very often paid to tne janmi only a part of . ' '

In respect of estates OWbed by Nairs, the conflict

between th~ axanavans and their nephews was an additional

factor leading to mismanagement. In order to h14e his

misdeeds the. katagavao vould make the records unintelligible

to his suc~essor. ~us in t.falabar 1t was not unusual to

find l.andlords who 41<1 not know the exact bounclarS.es of

theU po$~~ss1Qns, the contracts by which tbey are bound,

the debts they owe ~nd so on and this was one of the

perennjal reasons tor litigation regarding land which

abounded there.

~he introduction of land revenue assessment by the

Mysorean.s and later the BritiSh and its collection in cash

.accelerat.ed the monetizat!.on og the Malatsr economy. fbrough­

out centu~~os the Malabar coast was producing cash crops 11ke

coconut t p~pper, ginger etco for export 1n small production

units on ·g~rden or dry lands. A special tenure called

- 98 -

uzhil@nsm.was· developed by the landlords to bring forests

Qnder cultivation and during the early decades of the British

rule, uten$1Ve "reas of jungle appear to have been converted

into garden 1ands.

Since the area that could be brought under paddy

e.~ tivation, or •t1et• lan4s bad been exhausted even before·

the British annexed Malabar there was no significant increase

in area und~r paddy. Available statiStics show that wbUe the

ar<!3a under food crops (wet land) remained constant up to

1941.• cash crop area increased at the rate of about three

percent ever1 five years?7 Thus tabUe population dens1ey

on cash crop land has !llcreased onlY slightly, the pressure

on food ct-op land has been dramatic making import of rice

necessary.

l-tonetizat1on went to a greater extent on the dry land

than on wet land because money rent was prevalent 1n the

former. 78 Traditional.ll' the rent extracted on garden land

was less than <>n ~-:et land and also higher compensation l1aS

paid for imp~vementa on ~ land. However towards tne

beginning -ot. the 20th. century the odds were turn2tlg against

t.he cUl:t1~1:c)_r of dr~ land. The increasing trend for

~victlons in the wake of rise 1n the price of rico and the

inadequate compensation paid on eviction snui'fed out all

i-ncentive tor recl.am.atJ.on ot uaste.

- 99 -

A major innovation ot BritiSh rule was the 1ntrodu­

¢t.ion of p~antations of tea, coffee, carcmm=, etc.

Plantat1ons dia not, however, replace the peasant production

of coconut and pepper. Compared to Travancore, plantations

did not make much headtmy in Malabar even though 1 t taas a

Br1t1sb possession. This was probab1y because most lands

fit for cultivation of plantation cropS ~Jere with private

janmis and the. tenure terms offered by than weJ.te unfavourable

to the planters ccmpare4 to the all-out effort ot tho

'ravancote government to woo them. Still, plantations

provided a subst;&ntial share of the agricUltural output

ot Mal.a~ tboueJl most of tha profit was exported by

foreigners.. In l.95l. plantations provided emplo~ent to

over four percent or the work force of Malabar. 79 Besides •

by opening up hitherto inaccessible areas, such as the

W~ad, and ir,o,proving communications and contl'Oll1ng

epidemics l1ke mal.arta, the plantations paved the way

tor peasant col-onization of ~eas adjacent to them.

Development of banking companies and industries l'faS

ver:; slow in ~abar. ~hose industries lfbich developed

were mostly agro...abased sttch as coir and tobacco manufa­

ctuint:h saw mill.s, brick &lJ.d tUe 1ndustru and bandl.ooms.

In l.9Sl.. only f1.ve percent of the labour torce was engaged

in 1nd us t17• Other sectors of tne econonw ~bich provided

empl.oyment ~ere f1sh1ng, eomme~tce~ transport and servJ.ces.

l.OO •

Dw."ing the ~1ysore interregnum continuous fighting bad

decimated population. By creating political stability, putting

an end to internecine wrfa~e and removing epidemic diseases

.like malaria, British rule paved ~he tmY for rapid growth of

population. The period 1.921.-51 Has one of accelerc.ted

population growth. Bet\1een l.9ll-21. the deeenntal rate of

population growth Mls only 3 percent, t·lhile it ~ras 14 percent

bett1een l.92l..;.3l., ll. porcent between l93l.Al., and 23 percent

bet~een l94l-5l. During 191.1-21 density psr ~~t (irrigated)

land \'.'aS 5.75 and of total agricultural land 't'.<aS 2.2 which

increased to a.?s and 2.42 respectively in 1951. The density

of population in 195). was 870 persons par square mUe. 80

Holrever, the pressuro of population was differGntiaUy

felt by clifferent communitiesc. The peculiar system of

primogeniture and inheritance runong the Uamboodiris, as noted

earlier, helped their population to remain static throughout

centurios and continued to remain so during the British period~~ The group wh~oh was affected most adversely by pressu~e of

popula t1on ~s the Nairs. Having been displaced by Tamil

Brahmin and European officers from the bureaucracy and the

military, the Nairs had to fall back on the agricultural

resources of their ,ml!lmds. The cash &nd kind payments \:lhich

sovereigns made to their retainers and militia stopped b$1ng a

source of income for the Nairs. The removal of war caoualities,

•· l.Ol. •

which upto now bad acted as a natural check on pOpulation

.gJ"owth, a.nd · the continuance of Namboodir1..-Na1r marital

alliances, .effected a net transfer of population of Nairs

· .dependent on .apiculture. 82 The Nair youth diSplaced from

\181' began to ques~1on the authority of the emnayanth

demand increasing share in fam1l.y property and decision

making, end forge more permanent marital and fUial rela tion•

ships. Side by s1de they questioned tl'.e validity of Namboo<l1r1

aU.tance and began olamour1ns for the reform of Nair marriage

and 1nherit~nce laws.

Bo~ver reform took a much more tortuous course 1n

Malabar than 1n Tt~avancore because oppos1t1on from Namboodiris

and Ksbatrlyas was stiffer and fo-reign rulers were not too

keen to interfere in local customs. The Malabar t-iarriage Act

of 1896 permitted Nairs to register their marriage. This

legalued famUy as distinct from ~ ties. It also

ensured that the self -acquired property of any member whO

41ed 1nta$tate, but whose marriage was recorded, was

1nhar1ttlble by his vite and children. ~he l.ta<lras Maruma.

kkatbayam Act of 1933 which permitted partition of .t"A~d§

into dl.f·ferent subgroups or taivazhees finally led to the

disintear~tion of the .t.iU\Wd system, as in Travancore.,

~he grm11ng trend of young Nail's to get educated

and enter the professions and services, however, partial.l:r

offset the pressu.re on agricultural resources.

- 102 -

British policy 414 no~ advocate state aided education.

But they gave a11 encouragement to Western missionaries to

establish educational institutions. Tho zamorin of Calicut

and the llaja of Kollengode were great patrons of e4ucation. 83

By 1891,11•4 percent of the males and o.66 percent of females

were li.terate ~n the fJT.adras Presidency. In the ttalabnr

district the percentage of literacy must hAve been b1cher.

But aU castes did not embrace education readU~. ~he Namboo­

db1s, since they bad large landed eatatee and whose socio-economic

.position was not tbreatene4 by the arrival of the Bri.tS.sh,

did not have much incentive in sending their children to

school. ~be t4uslims, Who had no hope of entering Br1 tish

bureaucracy due to their suspected d1sloyaltF to the ~itish

had no use for Western education. It was the Wail's who had

urgent neeCi tot' education. This was because th~ir traditional

sources of income, name1y,eash and kind pa71D$nts by sovereigns

had dJ'ied up. They had to look for alternative employment

in the bureauct .. acy or 1n the professions. PEu ... formanee of

agricultural operations or trade were cons~ered taboo.

Engl.1.Sh educat.lon, and possibl.e emp1oyment 1n ~facb."'as ~s the

only way out.

Another group tfho be came educa t.ionall.y advanced mlS

the Theeyas~ They received educat~on at the German Basel

Evangeli.cal Mission School. at ~el1icherry estab11shed in ~839

and other schoo1s run by tll.is mission in the Northern parts

~03

of Malabar. This enabled them to get employment in

British bureaucracy, plantations and m1li~ary~ Many

Theeyas prospered due to this Western contact and started

investing in land although traditionally they were not

permitted ·to otm land.

T~oughout the British period, education was

concentrat~d 1n certain urban centres like Cal1cut,

Tellicherry and Palghat. Hence the spread of literacy

in rural areas was very slow and limited to the rural

elite. Besides, colleges on the Malabar coast to~ere affil1a ted

to the Madras University and did not offer professional

courses such as law and medicine. Students desirous of

higher education had to go all the way to Madras.

Peasant Movements

By 183~ agricultural prices showed a rising trend

l'Thich continue,d for the next 50 ~ars. This had several

consequence~. Firstly it lowered the proportionate incidence

of land revenue assessment which hitherto had been a great

burden on the agriculturists. In 1841 for example, the

total value of the agricultural produce of Malabar was

l.0.3 mUlion while land revenue assessment did not exceed 85 Rs.1.6 million, bare~y one seventh of the value of production.

This helped landlords to accumulate enough money to pay off

moneylenders and mortgages. And f~ly recognizing their

net·T status as absolute proprietors of land they started

evicting the~ tenants on a t'1ide scale, particularlY

the1r weak :tenants. On eviction, the tenants uar-e paid

compensati~n ~t· the old rates and not commensurate with

the rise ~ prices. Law courts also generall7 went by the

old rates. ·

Stl"'~U~ tenants, such as large Jsarmkka,&§. ware able

to wt.thstan¢ these pressures since they coUld outlast

pri)longea 1e8G1 battles; 1n the event of eviction they could

claim larger compensation through over utU1zat1on of land.

So the latter invented an ingeneous way to get out of tb1s

predicament. Wbis was the me,l.9harthu (or an over-lease by

the ,1iDIQ1 of· a pl.ot of land to a third party superseding

th.e existing right in land) o The maJJ!hf!rthy llolder would

$Ue the earlietr title holder freeing the weak Jaom& from

.legal proc~(;)d,1ng~J. 86 Other metbods adopted by the 3a.nm.1

were enbancement of rent and renewal fees, non•issue ot

rent receiptS, etc. Some 3anmiS even made fake receipts

.stating that. the tenant had received advance payment in lieu

ot futur$ 1mp~ovements.87

~his 't1as the backgt.'Ouna to the various pensant

movements w~h developed 1n Malabar. An6 agrarian legis­

lations vere the result of prol.onged struggles by peasants

unlike in. ~ragancore. Poli.tical consciousness al.so

developed as a. r.esul.t of peasant agitations whereas in

.Travancore ~t ~s the result of the movement for eivi.l

~1ghts and political equality.

• 105 -

Ma1abar oc~upied pride of place 1n the peasant movement of

Malabar, Between 1830 and 1921 several spontaneous out­

bl'eaks of Moplabs bad shook the exploitative land system of

Ma.labar as t1all as their British protectors. In the abSence

of class ~onsc1ousness and proper leadership, 'the ideological

influence of religion provided the necessary moral force

and justi.fi.~ation to s-crugglo against eXploitation and

oppression.88 ~he ag~rian basis of the Moplah riots was

amply proveu by William Logan 89 Who inquired into the

causes of tbe r1otB. Be attributed 1t to the replacement

o~ the traditional,;law of r~ah9.:r b7 the British and the

consequent eltplo1tat1on, rack renting and evictj.on of the

peasants. WhUe Logan•s recommendation to give fiX-ity of

tenure to the xuom~;ttam tenant was rejected by 6overnment,

they t-Tent al,l out to bring about a compromse between the

interests or the Jaom~s and the hanakka,r,s. This resUlted

1n tbe larg~st of the Moplah riots in 192l within the

context of the Congress-Kb11afat movement.

~he second phase of the tenant movement was spearheaded

by the kanom tenants, who bad received certain concess~ons

t~U.>ough the l.S87 Act and 1ts amenament in 1900.. fhe

kanalskars tounded the Malabar Kudian Se.ngh U4KS) in 191.5 and

establ1she4 .tts branches in several. tlll.uks. The organ1.zat1on

was led by prominent Congress leaders like M. Krishnan Nayar,

K.P. Bamsn Menon and G. Sankaran Nayar an.d the movement

received wbo~ehearted support by the national leadership

• 1.06 -

leadib(t to the resignation of janmi representatives from

the party• 90 Krishnan Nasar, the MKS leader was returned

to the Madras Assembly 1n the el.ect~ons held 1ft 1923. In

1.926. h~ :successfully pioloted a bill protecting the interests

of the ~nom tenants. The refusal of the Governor to grant

assent to the bill drew wide spread protest and government

were f~~~ed to pass the Mal.abar Tenancy Act of 1930. The

Act ~posed: restraints on lAndlords fl"'m csvicting certain

classes. of tenants. Though fair rents were specified their

implementation was postponed for 12 years. Moreover the

rights e_njoyed by al.l tenants under the act were derived

from the immediate landlords and if the latter's right

laps·e(l; under thG act t the right of the SUbtenant t S alSO

would. lapse, Tba Act was condemned by all classes of tenants~1

ln the wake of the Great Depression and the second

Worl.d. t:1ar the conditions of the ye£.Ytp,p~tQm tenants deterto­

rateae: Due to the stoppage of Burma nee prices skyrocketed and

the ~ndlords bogan to evict their tenants 1n large numbers

in t~ guise of personal cultivation in order to assure I

themsQlves an adequate stock of rice or to profit from the

anti~1~ted price rise. Eviction suits fUed increased rrom

1.250 ··during 194o-4l. to 2900 1n 1.945-46.92 This gave rise

to the third pbase of tenantst mowment 1n Mal.abar under

the leadership ot the Congress Social~st Party and later

the <:ommun1st Party of India.

... 107 -

The Ke~D.la Karshaka sangbam (RKS) uas formed in 1933

and its un1t(s were established in practiealll' every vUlage.

the movement lms particularl.y strong in Northern Malabar.

The ch1et demands ~rere abolition of feucia~ levies and illegal

exaction~; uso of standardized measures in place o~ fake

measures~3 rati.onalisation of rent, permission fol' peasants

for aanam, cUlt1vation00etco The chi.~ activities undertaken

by the sangham between 1940 and 1960 1-1ere organiz~ peasants

to ~orciblY cccqpy land for punam cultivation if the requast

was not acceded to by landlords( in Payyannoor ftrka, ttawoor

village and NUamboor and Amarambalam v11J.ages) ~ agitate for

the use of govel'nment mns!W (fal,lot>J) land (in Cbirakal

ta.luk and the Perambra u.nd Bal.usseri firkas); agitate for

the rtgbt of peasants to coll.ect green manure from private

forests (in Kasargodu taluk) , preventing landlords from

collecting paddy as rent for purposes of hoa~ding tn the

post-wa~ famlne conditions but forcing them to distribute

amcng peasants at reasonable rates (the Chirakkal tbampuran

vas prev~nte4 from collecting padd,y from Karivelloor village,

PaUYSnnoor 'f'irka). 95 The peasants were educated and tlle

peasant QaUee was propagated through popular literature and

the ~tage' t,K.Damo4aran• s dramas, ,eatta,PaJdd and Ra~..af!i'Mm d

were superhits). Congress Governm.sn.t then in power sided with

the lancU.ora~ to repress the movement. 'ihe Payyannoor,

IrUtkoor ~d NUeswaram fultas ~re turna4 into camps ot

the l1al.abar Speci.al. Pol.1ce, peasants gatherings vere fired

- 108 -

at, and most .. peasant leaders imprisoned and implicated in

orim1nal ca~os. fhe manhunt ~or communist rebels cUlminated

in the firing incident at the Salem jail Uh1Ch resUlte<l 1n

the death of 22 political prisoners, 19 of whOm were arrested

1n t.fala bar. 96

fbough repression was able to quell the movement for

a t1me being; government were forced to amend the ~abar

.. Tenancy Act of 1930 in 1951. But this did not sta1sfy

peasant demands since several provisions of the act such as

advance payment of one year• s rent permission to evict tenants

on several gtounds an4 the lack of protection to landless

homestead dwellers etc. With the release of their leaders

from prison; the movement came back to life with renewed

vigour and succeeded 1n bringing about several amendments

to the 1951. Act. The CommuniSt f.11n1strv which assumed the

he.lm of affairs in unified Kerala passed the Stay of Eviction

Proceedings Act, 1957, pending a comprehensive ag~artan

relations bill a~ed at reforming the agrarian structure

a$ well as bringing uniformity of land tenures between the

d~fferent political units of Keral.a.

~o concl.ude, British co1on1al.1sm brought in far

reaching charu~es in an apparently stagnant and inward looking

pre-Br1 tj,sh t.fal.aya11 soc1ety. However the course o~ Ciavel.op­

ments in the different political units which comprise present

day Kerala vas d.if.terent. In the agrarian sphere Travancore

developed into a region of peasant proprietors wbile '~labar

- 109 -

developed Jnto a region of landlords and intermediaries.

In Travl:lncore investment conscious and enterprising sect1on.s

of rural. ·society were encouraged whUe in lfalabar a paras1 tS.o

class of ~ent receivers was encouraged. In both regions

institutional structures wh1oh could not withstand modern

trends like commercialization and monetization o£ agr1cultUl'e

and the economy crumblecl. Due to the lacuna in the traditional

Xart:J.A 41vis1Dn of labour, certain groups outside the varna

scheme took Up occUpatS.ons like trade, banklng and trans­

portat19n and this resulted in thejz economic prosperity.

~b,eoe \1G?!G the Christians 1n Travancore and Muslims 1n

Mnla't}ii:\r with the Theeyas/Ezhavas occup1J,ng an intermediate

position.

In the next chapter we attempt to show how obanges

in the ~oclo.economic spheres affected and moulded patterns

of popUlation mob111t.1 1n Kerala.

l..

3.

s.

6 .•

7.. s.

J.o.

Susan Le'\9andot:1Ski t tUetation nng Et;bnJcitl( in UrMn· Jridlf?. - l{erala Ml~rauQ 1n ,th@ Citg of l·t1qrns, l.870. l.970a Netr Delhia Manohar, 1980, p.l7.

' t',

ID.~s. Namboodiripad, National, Q.uest1on in Kerala 0 People's Publishing House, 1952,· p~~lG-20

Some m-iters are of the vie\'J that a•J. \..-ommuniti3s in Kerala are indegenous and not immigrants since there -_1s no racial difference betuaen themo- Sea E.M.So Nambood1ripad~ ,mu.s:l.S.., p.1.2

A. Sraedhara I(enon? A.§tU:V§}t g£ KeralA Hi stoti:t Kottayanu Nattonnl Bookstall, 1967, pp.92•97.

i'he simple and literary mean 1ng of s.,ai?f' is the functional division of Hindu society into four or ers, viz.? Brahmin (priest or scholar), Kahatriya (ruler or soldier), Vaishya (merchant) and Sudra (peasant t le bourer and servant). The first three orders are 'twice-born'. The untouchables are outside the vatpa scheme. Howaver, as Srinivas has pointed out the concept of xnm& nsubsumes values uhich are ideally complementary but, as a matter of actual and historical. fact, have been competitive if not conflict1ngu, and probably "does not ~efleet the social order as it existed everywhere and at all timesn., M.N. Srinivas, ,Casta in tfodetn India end othe; Essaxs, Bombays Media Promoters and Publishers, 1962, p.6l,63.

X. H. Shea, Jr., X,l:le t,.and TenurtJ S.t;:nctnre o£ !§e1abar and ita Influence upon Cf.\p1tal For~t;ion in ,Jlg.J:icnlture, Ph.D. dissertation, University of ennsylvania, :l959 (fascimUe) t p.77 .•

Elamk.Ulam Kunjan Pill.a1, JS;eralA Charithrethilg Irnladanja §slggal. (Hal.) , Kottayam: t~a t1onal Dook stall~ 2nd edth tion ~

1.962, p.l.2l..

UUliam Logan~ "l-1alabar Land Tenures; Report of the Malabar 1.881.-82~ ~ecial Cornm1saionQ~ Vo1.2, p.225, f.n.2.

17.

- l.U-

f.t>~•. $hea, ap.cJ..tu.t p.434

Kanom is a customary tenure interpreted b.V the BritiSh Courts as possessing the character1stJ.ce of both tease and mortgage. However it originAted as a feucial tenure wit.h right of permanent occupancy.

x~e~ Varghese, AJl.•P.U•t p.3o .1M-d. pp~29-32

~bid; p.l9

ibidt p.31

Rob.~tn Jeffrey, .tbe ~QJSne Qf iaiAr »om'nance' Society $D\4 .Pol1t1os 1n Travanooret 1847-1908, New Delhi# Vikas, 1.97~, p.89.

G~C! l;.eiten, "The nature of tmlvanc~e•s economy bG~en the two World Wars, Journal Qf Jeta1 a stnd1ca, Vol~Vt l.fareh 1975, p.l07.

l.9. Robin. Je~trey, op.cit p.91

20. ibid, p.92

22.

23.

24.

26.

26.

27.

28~

29.

1b.14, p.97

G,~t Leiten, PR•cl~•t p.114

,. W.d .. t p .us Rob~.3ef~Yt op.cit., p.99

ii'C~ Varghese, op.c1t., p.U.?

~bj_4,• » p.UB

Robin Jeffrey, S.'l.1LSU•t p.100

Letter by Ba.l1ud to the Acting Chief Secretary, Feb.~l.3, 1..874, quoted by Je~f~y, op.cit., p.95

Va~ghese, op.c~t., p.l.OS

ibid•, p.l.S0-1.83

Government o~ Travancore 1 ;Land~engecPf"'ua.1:, Procee ... dingfh "The management or chel.. s an orest 1an4s beiong~g to 3anm1s and Edavagais" t P•983.

- ll2 -

33 • Che£ikal cultivati.on was a form of slash-a.nd-bui'n cu1tivat1on on forest land practiced every 25 year$. For this purpose landlords used to lease out land to sh§VJtal. cul.tivators,. However, as population inareased the frequency of eherikal cultivation increased and very often led to permanent occupation by eultivatorso

34. Govt.of Travancore, op.cit., p.984.

as. ~nJ@l .literally maans backwater or lagoon t!hi:&!? hns a narrow outlet to~rds the sea,.

3G. x.c. Varghese, anL9!t•t p.ll9

37. ibid., p.91

38. Robin Jeffrey, .ruu._ct.t.t, p.37

39. ibid •• p.48

40. ibid., p.83

41. In 1856, Rev. John Russel pleaded tTitb the merchants!) p~anters and landlords of CeYlon to help nthe educated Christians of South Travancore who t-rere eager to escape to r@ l7 opportunities". See} Jaffrey, op. cit.p.52.

42. ibid •• pp.75-80~

43. The Clu-istians of Keral.a may be divided into three principal denominations. Thes·e are; (a) Catholics~ (b) otber Syrians; (c) Protestants. The Catholics recognize the authority of the Pope as the spiritual leador· of the church. They follot1' three forms of relig~ous uorship: the Syro-Malankara rite (a section of the Jaeobites ~ho converted to eatholie1sm but follo~ the rita of the Jacobites for uorship), the Syro-!>ialabar rite (Romo-Syrians), and the Latin rite (prineipal1y those converted by Franeis Xavior in the coastal areas). The other Syrians consist of Jaeobites (Orthodox Syrians}, Har Th.omD.itos, and Anglican (O.M.S) Syrians. ~e Protestents consist o£ S~nar converts of South Travancore (L.M.S) and Pu1aya and Paraya converts o~ North Travaneore (C.l1. 8) • The texom Syrian Chl'istians is usuallY appl.i~d to Catholics of thb Syro-Malabar and Syro-Hal.ankara rites, Jacobites, Ma~thomites and Anglican Syriaus. See George Ha tihEn.'l, SUl,AC~., p-5J.-53. For the social. back ground of the Syrian Christians see L.K .. Ananth.a.krishna Yyer, Antbro~nlogy gf sxrsan CbristSnn§, Eranakulams Cocbin Government Press~ ~926. For the historical back­ground see c.P. Mathews and M.r1 .. Thomo.s, ?;he Indian

47.

48.

so.

53o

56.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---~- -

- ll3 -

Churches of st, ~hpma..s-4 Delhi~ lSPCK~ l.967i_ L. ~1. Broun, J:h~ Indian Christjans Qf St.. Thomas, Cambriuge Univer­sity Press, ~956.

Jeffrey, op.eit., P•l23

ibi<i.; p.l59.

ibid., p.l.O? •

ibid., p.l22.

ibid., :p ..• ~?>~-

ibid.,~;p .15'"9_1'75"

ibid. t p.l83.

llepoJ::t gLTm~core r=tarurnaJskA,tha.~m Comm~ttee• l.9Q6~ para 105. ~

Robin Jeffrey, op.cit.~ p.l53

P .K. Parame shwran Nair "Nair Service Societyyude ara noottandu 11 (i<Ial.) » ~uyax:nagrandb.am, pp • .l3-l.5.

T.c. Varghese, op.cit. pp.lOOwlOl.

Kur~e§ and Qbitt~e~ were indigenous credit institutions peculiaT to Kerala whiCh mobilized savings ana distributed credit. A fEJtt persons \-Jould organize under the leader ship o£ a promo~r to fom such a credit organization~> The early ~Jli,..t.ti.~§ and k.grJ..es were organ izad around christian parish churches. some of the0 developed into commercial banks, \'Thich were run by prominent Syrian Christians as famUy business. They uera looated mostly in villages around Thiruvalla and other Christian centres and received deposits from and gave credit to small farmers an,d traders, accepting land as collateral. The expansion of trade during the 19th century, the sharp price riSe in cash crops, and rasultant pr0$pe.~ity of fnrmers gave a big push 1n the expansion of banking business. For detaUs see t>1.A. Oommen, "Rise and Growth of Banking in Kerala"P Soc~ Sqientist, 5(3), Ootobe~ 1976, pp.24-38. Also T.c.arghese, op.e1t., pp.l.ll-l.l.G.

After noting a heavy flow of people to the High Ranges for occupation of cultivable land, and the expansion of area under pepper ginger, lemon grass and tapioca, Varghese says that this was the region adjacent to the predominantly Christian areas. uThese christian peasants

.... ll.4 -

vere largely responsible tor bringing .the new lands under cultivation". See farghese, op.ci.t.p •. U9. Also George t'lathew, op.cit. 9 p.94.·

67 • R, R.amakrisb.nan Nair, Sggls] gtrygtnre and Pol if;1.Qa1 nA)lolopment tn Jemla. Trivandrum: The Kerala Academy of Political. Science, 1976,p.l.O,.

ss. Jeffrey, op.cit. • p.128 says that the :>yrian Christians who had a strong farming t_!"ad1 tion _ . tie:!i·l unlike nairs, unencumbered b7 an 1mpart1-=ble joint f Y• · In youth they had the advantage of a recognized parental obligation to provide education and a start in life: nonetheless, individuals were expected to make their own ~ later. see al.soT .c. Va·l'ghese, op.cit., p.100. George Mathe-w, op.cit., p~96.

59. Th1S may be termed 'spirit of capitalism' a la t.fa& Weber or 'economic individualism• a lo. Bobertsont The latter bas demonstrated how the industrial bourgeoisi.e in Catholic France was sought to be leg1t1mized by the Jesuitso see li.~. ~bertson, AS»ftW of thelUae of Eeongm1c In41111c2na= U!ml• New York: Kelley & lUllman, Inc., 1959 pp.l.66-l67 •

" Gl.o Geo~ge l1athew, 9P•SAA• pp.J.27•l.28

Ga. Jeffrey, op.c1t. p.204.

63. ibid •.• p.224.

64. ibid.,, p,210.

as. K.K~ l(uswnan, :£be !bste~ion Hovemant .... Trivandrwn: lel1G Keral.a: Hi.s~rical. Socie , pp.2o-21._

66 .• 1b1d,., p.64 .• . '

67 • The !J;ravancore National. and QuUon National Bank in .1937 ranked first 1n In<ii.a in terms of number ot branch offices and third 1n terms of total. volume of business. Inspite of this it was liquidated through a deliberate stratE)gy engineered by Sir C.P.R. Aiyer. see M.A. Oomm.en, f~,_gSJt•, p.3l. •. see also C.P. Mathen, lr ha,ye BQ~:ne lim~h, ~: aras: Ampthill, 1.951.,. Mathen, a syr.1,an. Christian. was the moving spir11; behind the bank and al.so an industrial entJ>~preneur.

68. Jann@m is the al.lodial property right claimed by the JaM#; (landlord) and recognized partly by the Brj, ti.sh gove~ment.

70·;.·

71··

115

The majority of kgnom tenants \vere supervisory cultivators or rent receivers belonging to the Nair caste. However, during Tipu Sultan's invasion several .Muslims acquired ka.nom rights, and began progressively to extend their control over land by advancing cash to the landlords.

K.N. Panik.kar, "Agrarian legislation and Social Classess a Case Study of Malabar". EconQmic. apd Politi cal WeeltlY, 18(21) May 27, 1978, p.881.

Prakash.Karat! "Agrarian Relations in Halabar: 1925 to 1948", Soq al ~cienti§t, 2(2), September 1973, p.32-33.

Vasi refers'to the quantity of grain set apart by the tenant for the janmi as a margin to compensate for loss by drying. This 1-1as usually three tenthS of the total rent. li.l.u.:1 \'las a large pick of paddy set aside to mark counting Hhile measuring out the landlords' share of produce~ Vecch4kanal, Se§laxashu etc. refer to the gifts which were to be given to the landlord on s~ cial occasions·and festivities. These included headloads of vegetab~es, fruits, butter, ghee, oil etc. See A.K. Gopalan, Manning Vendi (~~1.), Trivandrum: Chintha Publishers., 1975, p,14.

73. Quoted in Prakash Karat, op,c1t., p.31. 74 • K.N. Panikkar; .op...cit., p. 882 75• T.W. Shea, o~.c1t., p.136 76. ibid., P•.l47-1:;3

77. ibid., p.69 /

78. Prakash Karat, op.~it., p.33.

79. Shea., on.c!t., p.71. so. ibid.; p.64.

81. ibid.; pe73-74, a2. ibid.~ p.7s~

83. Let1andm1ski, op.cj,t., p.30 84. ibid., p.37.

as. 86. 87,

aa.

89.

go.

9~.

94.

95~

96.

~~6

S~ea~, op.cit., p.220 Pan1kkar., gp.cit., p.sss

-

A.K.: GopalaJ?J op.cit;., p.6-~0. See also M. Gangadhara Men9n_ .· ""Ma. ppua Outbreaks of l.9th Century Malabar" JournaJ ot Kerala Studies, J~ne 1975., p.14l.

K.N• Panikkar, "Peasant Revolts in Malabar in the 19th and ~Oth Centuries", in A.a. Desai (ed.) peasant Stru&eles in Ind2a, DelhiaOXford University Press, ~979, p.620.

\'#illiam Logan "~falabar Land Tenures", Report of the ,Ha,la)a:r: Special Qomrg1saion - 1881-82, Madrasa ~896, Vol.l., Paras 63 and 72.

A~K• Qopalan, gp$eit., p.~o.

P. ~dharishnan, "Peasant Struggles and Land Reforms in Malabar", Economig and foliticAJ Weekl~, 15(50) December 13, 1980. p.2097.

Shea, 21hait., p.221

P •. BB:dJ:ulkrishnan, op.cit., p.2098

Pgnam' ciuli;;ivation is period~c slash-and-burn cultivation of paddy on forest land similar to cherikal cultivation in Travancore.

For a first hand, participant's account see A.K. Gopalan, op 1 cit.~ ·'. p~25-29

ibid., p.44.