Kerala (pop. 33,406,061) is a small, densely populated state in India. It occupies a long strip of land along the southwest coast of India, covering an area of 15,005 square miles (38,863 square kilometers). Its capital is Trivandrum. Kerala is relatively poor in natural resources but rich in scenic beauty. It has a long literary and artistic tradition.
Kerala is famous for its poets and musicians, its traditional dance forms, and its distinctive architecture. Craftworkers in Kerala continue the ancient arts of woodcarving and wall-painting.
People and government
The people.
Although Kerala accounts for only 1 percent of the total area of India, it contains about 3 percent of the country’s population. The population density of the state is about 2,225 people per square mile (860 people per square kilometer), over twice the national average. About half of the people live in urban areas. Most of the others live in large, semiurban villages.
Between 1961 and 1971, the population grew by more than 25 percent. But in the 1970’s, the growth was only 19 percent, because of an efficient family planning campaign.
In Kerala, women are better educated than women in many other parts of India, and enjoy a highly respected position in society. In the past, it was common for a woman to be the head of a family.
Religion.
Hindus form the largest religious group in Kerala. They make up about half the population. Muslims account for about a quarter of the population. There is a large Christian minority. A few people are Buddhists, Jains, or Jews.
The people of Kerala are known for their religious tolerance. The Hindu majority has lived peacefully alongside the Muslims and other religious groups for hundreds of years. In 1936, Travancore opened its Hindu temples to all Hindu worshippers regardless of their caste (social status). The city of Cochin followed Travancore’s example in 1948. Temples remain closed to non-Hindus.
Languages.
Most of Kerala’s inhabitants speak Malayalam, a Dravidian language (see Dravidians). Some people speak Tamil or Kannada (Kanarese). Dravidian languages are also spoken in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka. Some of India’s least modernized peoples live in the hill regions of Kerala. Some of these groups may be related to the Veddas, the nomadic (wandering) woodland people of Sri Lanka. Others are probably the descendants of the region’s first human inhabitants.
The arts.
Kerala has a literary heritage dating from the A.D. 100’s. There are a great many works of literature in the Malayalam language, especially poetry. Kumaran Asan (1871-1924) is a celebrated Keralan poet. Most Kerala dramas are a mixture of poetry, music, and dance, featuring stories from the Indian folk epics. One of Kerala’s best known dance forms is Kathakali. It is performed by male dancers who train for about six years, learning its movements and gestures. For performances, the dancers’ faces are elaborately painted and they wear stylized costumes and tall headdresses.
Fine murals decorate temples, palaces, and churches throughout the state. A notable feature of Kerala’s simple but beautiful architecture is the Malabar gable, a triangular projection on the tops of tiled or thatched roofs.
Onam is a New Year festival and is one of the most important cultural events in Kerala. It takes place in August and September.
Education
is more advanced in Kerala than in many other parts of India. About 85 percent of the people can read and write. By law, boys and girls must attend school between the ages of 6 and 14. Education is free, and school attendance is almost 100 percent. The state has thousands of primary and secondary schools and many colleges and universities.
Government.
Kerala has 20 elected members in the Lok Sabha (lower house) and 9 nominated representatives in the Rajya Sabha (upper house) of the Indian national parliament. Kerala’s state government is led by a governor and a chief minister. The state legislative assembly has 140 elected members and one nominated member.
Economy
Many people in Kerala work for the state government or for state-owned companies. Others work in education, local administration, and the health service.
Agriculture.
Rice and tapioca are the most important crops, and together account for about half of the sown area. Other major crops include ginger, peanuts, millet, pepper, pulses (the seeds of various pod vegetables, such as beans, chickpeas, and pigeon peas), sesame, and sugar cane. Kerala has long been famous for growing pepper, and it supplies more peppers than any other state. It also produces most of the nation’s rubber. Commercial poultry farming is highly developed, and eggs are an important export. In the central region of Kerala, between the coast and the inland plateau, commercially important trees also produce cashew nuts, jackfruit, mangoes, and palm.
Kerala’s rubber plantations are on the lower slopes of the state’s highlands. The same area also has important plantations of coffee, pepper, tea, and cardamom, a plant related to ginger and used as a spice and in medicines.
Forests cover a quarter of the land area of Kerala. The chief forest products include bamboo, ebony, rosewood, and teak. The forests are also a source of charcoal, resin, and wood pulp.
Coconut groves cover most of the coastal lowlands of Kerala. Coconuts are an important part of the local way of life. The people of Kerala make ropes and matting from coir (prepared coconut fiber). They use coconut oil to make soap and cosmetics, use the meat (kernel) for food, and feed the copra (dried kernel) to livestock. In the past, people used the hollowed-out trunks of coconut palms to make canoes. People still use the leaves of coconut palms for thatching houses, making baskets, brooms, fans, and umbrellas, and as a fuel. Coconut milk is either consumed fresh or distilled to make an alcoholic beverage or vinegar. It is also evaporated to make sugar.
Fishing
is important along Kerala’s extensive coastline. The state exports a number of marine products, especially frozen shrimp. Local farmers use fish waste as a fertilizer.
Mining.
Kerala has a variety of mineral deposits. The sandy beaches contain ilmenite, the main ore of titanium, and rutile (titanium oxide) (see Titanium). There are extensive deposits of white clay and commercially valuable deposits of graphite, lignite (brown coal), limestone, and mica. Iron ore has been found at Kozhikode. Monazite, sillimanite, and zircon deposits are largely undeveloped.
Manufacturing.
Manufacturing is an important contributor to Kerala’s economy. Products produced in factories include aluminium, cement, ceramics, chemicals, electrical equipment, fertilizers, glass, handwoven textiles, matches, paper, pencils, plywood, synthetic fibers, telephone cables, transformers, and veneers. The processing of sugar, tea, and shark-liver oil are also important.
Traditional crafts include processing cashews and coconuts, and weaving. Coconuts have long been used to produce fibers, soaps, and cosmetics. Traditional manufacturing crafts still surviving in Kerala include making furniture, mats, and pottery; rattan work; and making brass and leather goods.
Tourism.
Kerala’s lively cultural activities and great scenic beauty attract many visitors. Most tourists come from other Indian states. Visitors are drawn by Kerala’s comfortable climate. They also come to see the animal life of Kerala. The crowded coastlands support such birds as gulls and cranes. The forests of the interior are inhabited by bison, cobras, elephants, panthers, and tigers.
Transportation and communication.
Kerala has an extensive network of roads. A national highway and a coastal road connect Kerala with neighboring states. A substantial rail network runs between the northern border and Trivandrum, linking main towns such as Ernakulam and Alleppey. A railroad through the Palghat Gap links Kerala to Chennai (formerly Madras) on India’s eastern coast.
Kerala has a major port at Cochin and many smaller ports. The ports are served by more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) of inland waterways. Both passengers and freight travel on these waterways. Passenger ferries are still a major part of Kerala’s transportation system, but carrying freight on the waterways has declined in importance.
The port at Cochin is a natural harbor and one of India’s major ports. It is run by India’s central government. There are international airports at Trivandrum and Cochin.
Kerala has a flourishing local press. Several daily newspapers are published in the state.
Land and climate
Location and description.
Kerala occupies a 354-mile-long (570-kilometer-long) strip of coast on the western side of the Indian peninsula. It lies along the Malabar coast, with the Arabian Sea to the west. It is bounded by the states of Karnataka in the north and Tamil Nadu in the east and south. Kerala varies in width from west to east. It is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) at its maximum and just 19 miles (30 kilometers) at its minimum.
Land features.
Kerala is cut off from the rest of India by the mountains of the Western Ghats. Its highest point is the summit of Anai Mudi, 8,842 feet (2,695 meters) above sea level. In the interior, these magnificent mountains contrast with green valleys. In the west, Kerala consists of coastal plains and a shoreline of sandy beaches and lagoons.
There is almost no natural forest left, although the game reserve at Periyar has restored a limited area to something like its original natural vegetation.
Kerala is so densely populated that there is little room for the region’s original wildlife. Elephants, both wild and domesticated, are common. Gaurs, also called Indian bison, are found in the game reserves, but other wild species such as tigers and leopards have been greatly reduced.
Climate.
Kerala has a pleasant climate, with hardly any temperature changes throughout the seasons. The average temperature ranges from 70 °F (21 °C) in the upland areas of the interior to 90 °F (32 °C) in the coastal regions. The annual rainfall produced by the monsoons is nearly 120 inches (300 centimeters). This rainfall helps to account for Kerala’s lush agricultural fertility. Most of the rain falls in the northern region of the state. In the drier southern region, farmers have to use irrigation to supplement the annual rainfall.
Rivers and lakes.
The chief rivers of Kerala are the Periyar, the Pamba, and the Bharat. Their rapid flow has allowed them to be used for hydroelectric schemes. But the generation of electrical power has not always been reliable.
Where the rivers flow into the sea, they produce sandbanks that protect the coast from the ravages of the Arabian Sea. The sandbanks provide safe anchorages for small vessels using Kerala’s minor sea ports. Artificial cuts (canals) link the coastal lagoons. The Vembanad Lake, an important body of water in the state, is an enlarged lagoon.
History
A rock inscription dating from the reign of Emperor Ashoka, who ruled India in the 200’s B.C., refers to the Chera people. It is probably the first historical mention of Kerala as a distinct region of India. The region was ruled by the Chera dynasty until the A.D. 400’s. Traders from as far away as Rome brought gold coins and took away pepper. During this period, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism were introduced to South India by monks and migrants.
Saint Thomas, one of the twelve Christian apostles, is traditionally said to have founded the Syro-Malabar Church at Muziris (Cranganore) before A.D. 100. Jewish migrants established a settlement in Cochin in the 900’s.
After the decline of the Chera dynasty, 200 years of confusion followed. During this time, Islam was introduced into Kerala by Arab merchants, whose descendants are locally known as Moplahs. In 825, the Kulasekhara dynasty began a new calendar and founded the city of Quilon. Over the next 200 years, Malayalam developed as a separate language which was close to, but distinct from, Tamil. Arts and learning flourished.
A hundred years of conflict with the Chola dynasty of what is now Tamil Nadu destroyed Kerala’s prosperity and split it into small, warring states. Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, a local ruler, established a short-lived empire, uniting Kerala. His sudden death in 1314 caused Kerala to fall apart once more into small, mutually hostile areas.
In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode (also known as Calicut), and on Dec. 25, 1500, the Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived and began the Portuguese dominance of trade on the Malabar coast. The Dutch pushed out the Portuguese in the 1600’s but were themselves decisively crushed in 1741 by King Martanda Varma of Travancore. Martanda Varma unified Travancore under his control. Between 1766 and 1790, the region was devastated by invasions from Mysore led by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.
After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, the British East India Company annexed Malabar. A series of treaties brought the states of Travancore and Cochin also under their control. British control of Kerala was punctuated by rebellions. Pazhassi Raja of Malabar led a five-year revolt against British rule which ended with his death in 1805. Another uprising, under Velu Thampi of Travancore, also ended with the death of its leader in 1809. The Moplahs rose in rebellion from 1849 to 1855, and again in 1921.
The positive aspects of British rule included the establishment of an education system and the extension of plantation agriculture, especially tea. They improved Cochin as a major port and set up a network of communications, including better links with the rest of India. These links became the basis of development after India gained its independence in 1947.
The move toward democracy in Kerala was first expressed through social reforms. The most influential reformer was Narayana Guru, whose slogan was “One caste, one religion, one God for mankind.” The Communists played an important part in the anticolonial movement in Kerala. Prominent among them were K. P. Kesava Menon, A. K. Pillai, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, K. Kesavan, T. M. Varghese, P. Krishna Pillai, and A. K. Gopalan. In 1947, the Communists organized armed insurrections against the state of Travancore in the villages of Vayalar and Punnapra.
In 1949, the two separate states of Travancore and Cochin were united. In 1956, the boundaries of the newly united states were revised to include neighboring Malayalam-speaking areas, and the whole territory was officially named Kerala.
The state’s history since independence has been dominated by efforts to raise living standards through economic development and a successful family planning policy. Important economic changes have included the development of local hydroelectric schemes, the modernization of the fishing fleet with Norwegian assistance, and the development of manufacturing industry through state sponsorship.
Kerala’s political history since 1956 has been troubled, with rival parties holding power for short periods and with interludes of direct rule from Delhi, India’s capital. The Communist Party, which broke the control of the Congress Party over the state in 1957, has shown itself to be restrained but effective in government. But Kerala’s large number of political parties has ensured that the state is more often than not governed by a coalition (group of parties).
In December 2004, a powerful undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean near the Indonesian island of Sumatra generated a series of large ocean waves called a tsunami. The tsunami’s towering waves killed more than 170 people and damaged much property along the coast of Kerala.
