History
Kerala is first mentioned (as Keralaputra) in a 3rd-century-BC rock inscription left by the Mauryan emperor Asoka. In the last centuries BC this region became famous among the Greeks and Romans for its spices (especially pepper). During the first five centuries AD, the region was a part of Tamilakam and thus was sometimes partially controlled by the eastern Pandya and Cola (Chola) dynasties, as well as by the Ceras (Cheras). In the 1st century AD Jewish immigrants arrived, and Syrian Orthodox Christians believe that St. Thomas the Apostle visited Kerala in the same century.
Much of Kerala's history from the 6th to 8th century AD is obscure, but Arab traders introduced Islam later in the period. Under the Kulasekhara dynasty (c. 800-1102) Malayalam emerged as a distinct language, and Hinduism became prominent.
The Colas often controlled Kerala during the 11th and 12th centuries. By the beginning of the 14th century, Ravi Varma Kulasekhara of Venad established a short-lived supremacy over southern India. After his death, Kerala became a conglomeration of warring chieftaincies, among whom the most important were Calicut in the north and Venad in the south.
The people
Kerala is the most densely populated state in India. While only about one-fifth of the population is urban, this low proportion is deceptive because of the close proximity of scattered rural houses, especially in the coastal plain. Thus, in parts of the state there are tropical-rural equivalents of megalopolises. The major urban and industrial complexes are Cannanore, Calicut (Kozhikode), Alwaye, Cochin-Ernakulam, Alleppey, and Quilon.
Kerala has a unique record in India of harmonious coexistence of diverse religions. The majority of the Malayalis are Hindus. There is no conflict between the Dravidian naga (serpent-god) worship and that of Kali (the mother goddess) on the one hand and the Hindu pantheon on the other, nor between the rival sects of Saivism (worship of the god Siva) and Vaisnavism (worship of the god Vishnu). The small population of Jainas live mainly in the far north. The Jewish community remains a small, exclusive sect; there is an ancient synagogue at Cochin. The Christians, who form more than a third of the population, belong broadly to the Orthodox Syrian, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches, though each has many sects. While Muslims reside throughout the state, the Mapillas of the Malabar Coast constitute Kerala's largest Islamic community.
The land
1. Relief
Kerala is a region of great natural beauty. Anai Mudi (8,842 feet [2,695 metres]), the highest peak of peninsular India, crowns the Western Ghats. Between the coastal plain and the rocky highlands is a sequence of plantation crops: rubber in the foothills and above that coffee and then tea (the latter crop being cultivated at some of the highest elevations in India). A linked chain of lagoons and backwaters along the coast, interspersed with vast coconut palm groves, form the so-called Venice of India. Among the rivers that flow to the Arabian Sea, the more important are the Bharatapuzha, Chalakudi, Periyar, and Pamba.
2. Climate
The climate is equable and varies little from season to season. The temperature normally ranges from 80º to 90º F (27º to 32º C) on the plains but drops to about 70º F (21º C) in the highlands. Kerala is directly exposed to the southwest monsoon but also receives rain from the reverse (northeast) monsoon. Rainfall averages about 118 inches (3,000 millimetres) annually statewide, with some slopes receiving more than 200 inches.
3. Plant and animal life
The state's riverine and montane rain forests, tropical deciduous forests, and upland temperate grasslands are inhabited by an extraordinary variety of wildlife, including the sambar deer, gaur (wild bison), Nilgiri tahr, elephant, leopard, tiger, bonnet monkey, the rare lion-tailed macaque, the Hanuman and Nilgiri langurs, spectacled and king cobras, peafowl, and hornbill. The Periyar Tiger Reserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary, and there are two national parks (Eravikulam and Silent Valley) and several other wildlife sanctuaries.
Administration and Social conditions
1. Government
The administration of Kerala is headed by a governor (appointed by the president of India), a Council of Ministers presided over by a chief minister, and a unicameral Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), 140 of whose 141 members are elected. The independent judiciary is hierarchical, with the High Court at the apex headed by a chief justice. Appeals may go to the Supreme Court of India. For provincial administration the state is divided into 14 districts; these in turn are subdivided for revenue purposes into talukas and villages. Kerala's modern political experience has been one of unstable government. The proliferation of political parties has made coalition governments inevitable.
2. Education and welfare
Kerala has one of the most advanced educational systems in India. The level of literacy is substantially higher than the national average, roughly four-fifths of the population. Elementary education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 11. There are primary, middle, and secondary schools, polytechnical and industrial training institutes, arts and science colleges, professional colleges, and five universities. The state maintains a relatively high standard of health service. There is, for example, a comprehensive health insurance plan for factory workers as well as free medical treatment in many hospitals, health centres, and dispensaries.
The economy
Geographic and geologic factors seriously circumscribe the Keralan economy. The amount of arable land is deficient for the needs of the crowded population. The state lacks major deposits of fossil fuels and minerals, except for ilmenite (the principal ore of titanium), rutile (titanium dioxide), and monazite (a mineral consisting of cerium and thorium phosphates), which are found in beach sands. Kerala has great hydroelectric potential, and the Idukki complex is the largest power-generating facility.
The educational system, a developed banking system, and excellent transportion facilities provide optimum conditions for further economic development.
Agriculture is the state's main economic activity. Commercial plantings on less than half of the total land under cultivation earn a sizable amount of foreign exchange but have also necessitated the importation of food for local consumption. Kerala's principal cash yielders are perennial areca nut, cardamom, cashew nut, coconut, coffee, ginger, pepper, rubber, and tea; the major food crops are annual rice, pulses (e.g., peas and beans), sorghum, and tapioca. Commercial poultry farming is well developed. The forests yield valuable timbers such as ebony, rosewood, and teak, as well as industrial raw materials such as bamboo (used in the paper and rayon industries), wood pulp, charcoal, gums, and resins. Foreigners regularly attend the tea and timber auctions held in Cochin. Kerala ranks first among Indian states in fish production.
Most of the population is unaffected by industrialization. Unemployment is acute, and a high level of education among the jobless accentuates the problem. Traditional low-wage cottage industries, such as the processing of coconut fibre and cashews or weaving, employ most workers. More than one-fourth of Kerala's workers provide services. Food processing is the largest industrial employer. Other products include fertilizers, chemicals, electrical equipment, titanium, aluminum, plywood, ceramics, and synthetic fabrics.
Kerala has well-developed road and railway systems. It is connected with the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka by national highways. A railway coming from the east through the Palghat Gap meets with a railway running from north to south through the state and on to Kanniyakumari, the southernmost town of India. There are three major ports--Calicut, Cochin-Ernakulam, and Alleppey--that handle both coastal and foreign traffic. Cochin-Ernakulam also has major shipyard and oil refining facilities and serves as the headquarters for Indian coast guard and navy commands. More than 1,100 miles of inland waterways form main arteries for carrying bulk freight to and from the ports. Trivandrum and Nedumbasheri have an international airport, and Calicut and Karippor have airports for domestic flights.
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Kerala, God's own country is believed to have been created when the Hindu God Parshurama, bidding a farewell to his arms, asked forgiveness for his sins and threw his axe from heaven which landed on Southern India to form this narrow strip of land, surrounded by the rolling hills of Western Ghats from top to bottom on its Eastern edge and the Arabian Sea on its Western edge.
Enclosed within is a criss cross of mossed backwaters, abundant wildlife, paddyfields, a rich land burstling with cashew, coconut and rubber plantations and a variety of spices like cardamom, pepper, turmeric and ginger, making Kerala the spice capital of India.
The era of foreign intervention began in 1498, when Vasco da Gama landed near Calicut. In the 16th century the Portuguese superseded the Arab traders and dominated the commerce of Malabar. Their attempt to establish sovereignty was thwarted by the zamorin (hereditary ruler) of Calicut. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese in the 17th century. Marthanda Varma ascended the Venad throne in 1729 and crushed Dutch expansionist designs at the Battle of Kolachel 12 years later. Marthanda Varma then adopted a European mode of martial discipline and expanded the new southern state of Travancore. His alliance in 1757 with the raja of the central state of Cochin, against the zamorin, enabled Cochin to survive. By 1806, however, Cochin and Travancore, as well as Malabar in the north, had become subject states under the British Madras Presidency. Two years after India's independence was achieved in 1947, Cochin and Travancore were united as Travancore-Cochin state. The present state of Kerala was constituted on a linguistic basis in 1956 when Malabar and the Kasargod taluka of South Kanara were added to Travancore-Cochin. The southern portion of the former Travancore-Cochin state was attached to Tamil Nadu.
Malayalam
MALAYALAM, is the official language of the state of Kerala. Malayalam has three important regional dialects and a number of smaller ones. There is also some difference in dialect along caste lines and a distinction, called diglossia, between the formal, literary language and the colloquial tongue. Both the literary and colloquial languages use many words borrowed from Sanskrit. Closely related to Tamil, Malayalam differs from it in such aspects as the absence of personal endings on verbs. Like the Dravidian languages generally, Malayalam has a series of retroflex consonants (e.g., t, d, n; sounds pronounced with the tongue tip curled back against the roof of the mouth), and it indicates such grammatical categories as tense, number, person, and case with suffixes.
Malayalam has a written tradition dating from the late 9th century, and the earliest literary work dates from the early 13th century. The language uses a script called Koleluttu , which is derived from the Tamil writing system. The Tamil Grantha script also is used.
