Kerala History - Detailed Information About the History of Kerala

There is limited information available about the ancient period of Kerala history.
This is because there is hardly any written record left from the time nor is there enough evidence to prove
them.
There are many myths and speculations about the creation of Kerala and its early periods.
According to Hindu mythology, Kerala was created by Parasuram, one of the avathars (incarnation) of
MahaVishnu.
Geologists believe that Kerala was formed by some seismic activity, gradually or suddenly.
Based on the available details, the history of Kerala can be conveniently divided into various periods.

History of Kerala - Ancient Period

Ancient Period refers to the time before the Christian era.
As mentioned earlier, history of Kerala can be traced back to 4000 B.C., when Proto Australoid and Negrito
race inhabited the land.
Microlithic artifacts dating back to 4000 B.C. have been recovered from near Calicut.
Megalithic monuments like various kinds of burial stones and urns and some man-made underground
chambers have also been found.
By around 3000 B.C., Kerala had trade relation with Sindhu Valley Civilization and its spices and
commodities like Sandalwood, Ivory, Teakwood etc. were exported to many countries of the west.
Kerala held a considerable position in the commercial map of the ancient world.
It is believed that the Peacocks, Monkeys, Ivory and spices which King Solomon received, were imported
from Kerala .
270 B.C. to 240 B.C. saw the spread of Buddhism in Kerala. The oldest record about Kerala is found in one
of the rock edict by emperor Asoka dating back to B.C. 257.

Sangham Period in Kerala History

This period can be dated from the beginning of the Christian era to the middle of the 7 th century.
'Sanghams' were assemblies or groups of poets which were in existence in various parts of the Pandiyan
Empire.
The aim of these Sanghams was to encourage poetic arts.
Three Sanghams are known to have existed during the period.
Heppalus, a Roman-Greek sailor reached Musiris (Kodungalloore) in A.D. 45 and this enabled direct trade
with Roman empire.
The distance of sea voyages were reduced by the discovery of new routes.
Many mariners like Heppalus, Panthenus, Huan Tsang, Cosmos Indicopleustes etc., landed at the coasts of
Kerala during this period.
By around 50 - 125 A.D., the Chera kings captured parts of northern Kerala.
During this period also, Kerala had strong trade with the West.
In A.D. 52, St. Thomas reached Kerala and Christianity began to flourish.

With the demolition of Jerusalem church by the Romans, the Jews fled from Israel and some of them
reached Kerala.
As per the book Keralolpathy, the period up to 216 A.D. is known as 'Parasurama period' and the period
216 A.D. to 428 A.D. is known as age of 'Perumals'.
The Brahmin families which migrated to Kerala were settled to 64 villages.
In 644 A.D., Malikben Dinar reached Kerala and he constructed Mosques and propagated Islam.
Cheran Chenguttuvan (125-180) was one of the famous rulers of this era

Post-Sangham Period in the History of Kerala

The period ranging from the middle of 7th century to the early part of the 9thcentury is known as the Post Sangham period.
This was the period when Buddhism began to decline.
The main rulers of this period were Cheraman Perumal and Kulasekara Alwar. Both these kings later
abdicated their thrones.
Kulasekara Alwar later became a Vaishnavite poet and Cheraman Perumal accepted Islam and went to
Mecca.
Adi Shankara (Sankaracharya, 788 - 820 A.D.) lived and propagated the Advaida philosophy during this
period.
Each king during the period was enthroned for a period of 12 years.
After his term, a new king was selected following a festival or cultural event known as ' Mamankam '.
These type of events are unique to Kerala

Kulasekara Periods - Kerala History

The next period in Kerala history is the period of rule of the Kulasekara Kings. Kulasekara empire lasted for
about 3 centuries beginning from 800 AD.
This period is also known as the Period of 'Second Chera' empire.
These kings were known after their family name as Kulasekaras. Kolla Varsha or the Quilon Calendar
(Malayalam Calendar system) was introduced during this period.
It came into existence on the 25th of July , 825 A.D. Quilon city was reconstructed by Maruvan Sabareso.
The Pandyas retreated from Kerala occupation.
Sthanu Ravi Varma, Bhaskara Ravi I, Bhaskara Ravi II were main rulers of this period. Between 1000 and
1019, Raja Raja Chola and Rajendra Chola attacked Kerala. Rajendra Chola seized vizhinjam.
In 1070 Kerala was liberated from Chola control.

Kerala History - Period of the Provincial rulers

Frequent wars with the Chola and Pandya kingdoms weakened the Chera empire and finally lead to their
breakdown.
With the breakdown of Chera empire the next phase of Kerala history began.
This was the period of the provincial rulers. Provincial rulers were those who took control of a small
province rather than a large empire.
These provinces were once part of the Chera empire.
The provincial rulers were confined to small areas but they frequently fought each other for domination.
The kings of Venad and Kochi and Zamorins of Kozhikode were the prominent rulers.

European Arrival in Kerala

Arrival of the Europeans marked the beginning of another era in the history of Kerala. In 1498, Vasco da
Gama reached Kappad, near Kozhikode.
This was followed by the arrival of a number of Europeans.
Though the main aim of their visit was trade and discovery of a shorter sea route to the Malabar coast, the
prevailing political instability paved way for their entry into the administration.
Making use of the rivalry between the provincial rulers, they started by providing military assistance to one
ruler against the other.
By and by, their influence increased to such an extend that they began running the administration with the
rulers acting as puppets in their hands.
Wars and skirmishes still continued between various native rulers and this provided the Europeans more
and more opportunities to interfere into the administration.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a stronghold in Kerala.
This was later followed by the Dutch and the British.
A number of battles were fought between the provincial rulers against each other and against the
Portuguese.
In 1524 Vasco da Gama was appointed the Portuguese Viceroy of Kerala. Kochi and Kozhikode were the
main provinces of the time.
Zamorins, the rulers of Kozhikode, fought a number of battles against the Portuguese.
Following the Portuguese, the Dutch reached Kerala.
They began by the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in the year 1592.
In 1604, the Dutch army arrived at the Malabar coast.
They entered the arena of Kerala politics by making use of the rivalry between Kochi and Kozhikode.
Their arrival marked the beginning of another phase of European domination.
The Portuguese slowly began to loose control over to the Dutch.
Dutch established their base at various parts of Kerala and made a number of treaties with local rulers.
These treaties bestowed them with more powers.
The Dutch supremacy lasted only for a short period before the British entry into Kerala. In 1725, the French
established their base at Mahe.
But unlike in the African continent, they were unable to make a move in on.
Even while the Europeans emerged as great powers, war continued between the provinces.

Marthanda Varma (1706 - 1761),the ruler of Travancore, was one of the strongest rulers of the time.
With the arrival of the British begins another chapter of Kerala history.

British Rule in Kerala

Like any other Europeans, British also had great interest in Kerala.
They too were attracted by the spices and other natural treasures of the land.
British supremacy in Kerala started by the mid seventeenth century and lasted for the next 200 years until
independence.
Though a number of wars and revolts were made against them, the British were able to suppress them
quickly.
This was mainly because of the lack of unity among the provinces.
Kochi and Travancore were the prominent kingdoms.
The rule of the British saw many changes in the social and cultural life of Kerala. Slavery was slowly
abolished. English missionaries played an important role in improving the living standard of the people.
During this period a number of educational institutions and hospitals were opened. Many railway lines ,
roads and bridges were constructed by the British.
In a way, Kerala is indebted to the British for its modernization.
This period also saw the emergence of a number of social reformation movements. Many reformers like
Chattambi Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali played a vital role in the upliftment of the
downtrodden and the emancipation of the women folks.

Freedom Struggle and Independence

Though there were a number uprisings against the foreign rule right from the beginning, its intensity and
frequency increased by the early 1900's.
The early revolts and battles against the rule like the Pazhassi and Mappilai revolts were suppressed with
iron fist by the British.
The World Wars weakened the colonial powers and this gave a boost to the nationalist movements in the
colonies.
In India, nationalist movements gained momentum under the strong leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
These movements had their effect on Kerala as well.
Kerala division of Indian National Congress was launched.
The Khilafat Movement, organized under the leadership of Indian National Congress had a huge influence
over the muslim community of the Malabar region.
Following the Khilafat Movement was the Malabar mutiny (1921).
The movement lasted for quite some time before it was suppressed.
The lower castes were denied permission to use the temple roads.
Against this, in 1924 started the Vaikom Satyagraha.
This was totally a social movement.
This movement was successfully ended by the intervention of Mahatma Gandhi in 1925.
In 1930, British levied tax on salt and they imposed restrictions on production of salt. This aroused nation
wide agitation.
In Kerala, under the leadership of K. Kelappan, this law was defied and salt was produced.

A number of big and small movements arouse until 1947, when finally the land was free from the clutches
of colonialism.
On July 1, 1949, the princely states of Travancore and Cochin were integrated to form Travancore - Cochin
(Thiru-Cochi) state.
But it was on November 1, 1956, that Kerala as a state came into existence.
This was by the consolidation of Malabar province, which was a part of the Madras Presidency and the
Travancore - Cochin state

Kerala in the Indian Independence Movement

Indian history goes back to many centuries before the Christian era. Not surprisingly, the course of this long
history was not even and uniform. For a long time, India was not one country but was made up of many
kingdoms; the country was invaded many times by foreigners, some of them settled down here, became
Indians and ruled as kings and emperors; some of them on the other hand, plundered and looted the
country and went back with the riches they were able to collect; there were periods of great achievement
and there were times of stagnation and misery (1).

British rule in India may be said to have started in 1757 when at the battle of Plassey, forces of the English
East India Company defeated Siraj Ud-Daula, the Nawab of Bengal. But a powerful national struggle
against imperialism developed in India during the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th
century. This struggle was the result of a clash of interests between those of the Indian people and those of
the British rulers. To understand this clash of interests it is necessary to study the basic character of British
rule in India and its impact on Indian society. The very nature of the foreign rule resulted in nationalistic
sentiments arising among the Indian people and produced the material, moral, intellectual and political
conditions for the rise and development of powerful national movement (2).

The Social, political, religious background that prevailed in this part of country were responsible for an
upsurge. Untouchability , poverty, slavery, illiteracy and other factors were some of the highlights of the
then society. These factors were present throughout all the territories of India with of course difference in
degree. The messages of social reformation by Vivekananda, Raja Rammohan Roy and others made the
youth of the day to think, react and organize themselves in to forces of change.

The nationalist movement spereheaded by Indian national congress under the eminent leadership of
Gandhiji, Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan and others, had in this time started making its impact on the
intellectuals at large and the masses gradually. The result was that, India witnessed a multi pronged
struggle affecting all spheres of life and activity. The rural upliftment [Gramodharana] programmes like
khadi, bee keeping, soap making etc. initiated by Gandhiji created a new way of energy and confidence
among the rural masses of India.

The role of Kerala in Indias struggle for freedom is not less significant than that of any other state of the
Indian union and viewed in the national perspective, it has its own distinctiveness too.
However, the contribution of the state in this field has not received the attention it deserved.
There are several episodes connected with the freedom struggle in Kerala which should have found their
place in historical narratives dealing with Indias freedom struggle, but they have not been honoured even
with casual footnotes in the accounts compiled by national historians.
It is generally assumed that the struggle for freedom had its beginning in north India in the second half of
the 19th century, the Great Revolt of 1857-58 being regarded by many historians as the first War of Indian
Independence.
But history records several instances of isolated attempts made in various parts of India since the turn of
the 19th century for the overthrow of foreign rule.
It is in this context that the part played by Kerala assumes special significance.
The European colonial powers acquired their earliest footholds on the Kerala coast.
Naturally therefore, the struggle against the forces of European expansionism in the country also started
from the Kerala coast (3).

The new generation of youth took to the study of English literature, European history and western political
thought with their emphasis on individual liberty and political freedom.
Naturally, they desired freedom and democracy for their own country.
The new generation in Kerala too was imbued with these noble ideas.
There was widespread political awakening in the country and Kerala was also affected by this wave (4).

The erst-while princely state of Cochin had played its role in the Indian independence movement.
It was during the regime of Ramavarma Maharaja [1914-1932] that an effort to form a legislative council for
Cochin was made in the year 1919.
The royal declaration in this respect as issued in 1923.
But the legislature was formed in 1925 only.

The formal inauguration of the council was done by His Highness in April 1925 at the Durbar hall of
Thripunithura palace.
Though the right to vote was limited to the tax payers, elected members had majority in the council.
Many congress men in their individual capacity got elected to the council.
They included E. Ekkandavarier, Dr. A.R.Menon, P.Kumaran Ezhuthachan, Ambat Sivarama Menon,
Panambilli Govinda Menon etc.

For the first time in the history of the state, a political party with the aim of obtaining responsible selfgovernment was formed.
The founder member of the party was T. K. Nair from Thiruvillwamala.
In the council, the party was known as Cochin Sate Congress.
Though the word Congress was included in the name of the party, it had actually no connection with the
Indian National Congress (5).

By that time may zealous youngsters entered the scene as active workers of Indian National Congress.
They included V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, C.Achutha Menon, E. Gopalakrishna Menon etc.

Responsible Government becoming the hot subject of thought, a district ad-hoc committee was formed for
enrolment of members to the congress.
A political conference was called to meet on 21 November 1937 a Thrissur. Dr. Pattambi Sitaramayya ,
presided over the conference. It was inaugurated buy Kamala Devi Chadhopadhyaya.

The conference demanded the immediate establishment of responsible government in the state.
Immediately after this conference in January 1938 the annual conference of the Indian National Congress
that met at Haripura under the presidentship of Subashchandra Bose, it was decided that the congress
should not interfere in the internal affair of the Princely states, and the congress committees in these
states should confine themselves to constructive programmes.
This resolution laid down that for responsible Government in these states, separate organizations should be
formed.
The motive behind this resolution was that congress should concentrate on programmes exclusively
against the British rule.

It was towards this period that declaration pertaining to the administration of the state was made by the
King Ramavarma maharaja on the eve of his 76th birthday celebration, on 4 January 1938.

His Highness declared that he was pleased with the performance of the members of the legislative council
and therefore decided to involve the council more effectively in the rule of the state.
Therefore, the administration of the departments of Public health, Panchayath, Co-operation, Agriculture,
Ayurveda and upliftment of depressed classes would be done by the Diwan with the help of the Minister
that His Highness would elect from among the councilors.

This declaration was considered as the magnacarta of the people of the Cochin state. But in essence this
reform was another edition of the diarchy form of Government earlier tried in British India and abandoned in
1919.
However, this arrangement to share the administration with people's representatives, though in limited
degree, was the first of its type among the 600 odd princely states of India.

On the basis of the administrative reforms announced by the king, arrangements were afoot for election to
the legislative council.
It was laid down that the candidate with majority support would become minister and hence in addition to
the Cochin state congress another political party also entered the scene.
This party was known as Cochin Congress.

The strength of the council was fixed as 58 of which 38 members were to be elected. And in the election
that followed, Cochin congress got 13 seats and the Cochin state congress got just 12. The rest of the seats
was won by independents. On 17th June 1938 His Highness Ramavarma Maharaja inaugurated the diarchy
form of Government in the state.
Ambat Sivarama Menon became the first elected minister. His portfolio was 'Rural upliftment'.

With the onset of the second world war [1939-45] the British Government started creating trouble for the
functioning of Indian Independence movement and popular organizations.
Civilian rights were curbed in Cochin also, several political workers were sent to jail, they included P.
Narayanan Nair, C. Achutha Menon, K. Damodharan and a host of others.

The diarchy form of Government in Cochin functioned with all its built- in drawbacks. In the meanwhile the
term of the legislature was extended on the pretext of the Second World War. Neither the Cochin congress
nor the Cochin state congress was having popular base and firm organizational structure. Therefore, floor-

crossing was the rule of the day. A no-confidence motion was tabled against Minister Dr. A.R. Menon. As the
motion got through, he resigned the post on 25th January 1942 (6). People by this time had got disillusioned
with the administrative reform. The nationalist forces in Cochin realized that total responsible government
was the only answer to the situation and their efforts were directed to this end.

In many of the rural areas of the princely state of Cochin, charka made its advent. Housewives engaged
themselves in Khadi making. The national movement against foreign cloths gained impetus and paved the
way for the spread of awareness of khadi and charka.
The Guruvayur and Vaikom satyagrahas demanding entry of the untouchables in to the temple, as also the
numerous demonstrations and public meetings conducted even in the far-flunged villages of princely state
of Cochin reverberated throughout the state.
Students, youngsters, writers etc. rallied against all types of social inequalities and injustice.
Workers, farmers etc. started organizing themselves into groups or splinter groups in many parts of the
state.
Young enthusiasts came into the frame to guide the movement in every sphere.
The eminent among them were K. Karunakaran, R.M Manakkalath, George Chadayammuri, to name a few.