Agriculture In Kerala

[Leanna Perr]

The Chera dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala. The Ay kingdom in the deep south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north formed the other kingdoms in the early years of the Common Era (CE). The region had been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE.[20] The region's prominence in trade was noted in the works of Pliny as well as the Periplus around 100 CE. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, and paved the way for European colonisation of India. At the time of Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, there were two major princely states in Kerala: Travancore and Cochin. They united to form the state of Thiru-Kochi in 1949. The Malabar region, in the northern part of Kerala, had been a part of the Madras province of British India, which later became a part of the Madras State post-independence. After the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the modern-day state of Kerala was formed by merging the Malabar district of Madras State (excluding Gudalur taluk of Nilgiris district, Lakshadweep Islands, Topslip, the Attappadi Forest east of Anakatti), the taluk of Kasaragod (now Kasaragod District) in South Canara, and the erstwhile state of Thiru-Kochi (excluding four southern taluks of Kanyakumari district, and Shenkottai taluks).[17]

Kerala has the lowest positive population growth rate in India, 3.44%; the highest Human Development Index (HDI), 0.784 in 2018 (0.712 in 2015); the highest literacy rate, 96.2% in the 2018 literacy survey conducted by the National Statistical Office, India;[10] the highest life expectancy, 77.3 years; and the highest sex ratio, 1,084 women per 1,000 men. Kerala is the least impoverished state in India according to NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals dashboard and Reserve Bank of India's 'Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy'.[21][22] Kerala is the second-most urbanised major state in the country with 47.7% urban population according to the 2011 Census of India.[23] The state topped in the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals according to the annual report of NITI Aayog published in 2019.[24] The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly Malayalam and sometimes English. Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity.

One folk etymology derives Kerala from the Malayalam word kera 'coconut tree' and alam 'land'; thus, 'land of coconuts',[32] which is a nickname for the state used by locals due to the abundance of coconut trees.[33]

The earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala as Cherapadha is the late Vedic text Aitareya Aranyaka. Kerala is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics.[34] The Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple.[35][36] The Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Kerala as Celobotra.[37]

According to the Sangam classic Purananuru, the Chera king Senkuttuvan conquered the lands between Kanyakumari and the Himalayas.[45] Lacking worthy enemies, he besieged the sea by throwing his spear into it.[45][46] According to the 17th-century Hindu mythology work Keralolpathi, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the axe-wielding warrior sage Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu (hence, Kerala is also called Parashurama Kshetram 'The Land of Parashurama' in Hindu mythology).[47] Parashurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached. According to the legendary account, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari.[48] The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation; so Parashurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, who spat holy poison and converted the soil into fertile lush green land. Out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land. P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar theorised, that Senguttuvan may have been inspired by the Parashurama legendary account, which was brought by early Aryan settlers.[49]

Another much earlier Puranic character associated with Kerala is Mahabali, an Asura and a prototypical just king, who ruled the earth from Kerala. He won the war against the Devas, driving them into exile. The Devas pleaded before Lord Vishnu, who took his fifth incarnation as Vamana and pushed Mahabali down to netherworld to placate the Devas. There is a belief that, once a year during the Onam festival, Mahabali returns to Kerala.[50] The Matsya Purana, among the oldest of the 18 Puranas,[51][52] uses the Malaya Mountains as the setting for the story of Matsya, the first incarnation of Vishnu, and Manu, the first man and the king of the region.[53][54]

The legend of Cheraman Perumals is the medieval tradition associated with the Cheraman Perumals (literally the Chera kings) of Kerala.[56] The validity of the legend as a source of history once generated much debate among South Indian historians.[57] The legend was used by Kerala chiefdoms for the legitimation of their rule (most of the major chiefly houses in medieval Kerala traced its origin back to the legendary allocation by the Perumal).[58][59] According to the legend, Rayar, the overlord of the Cheraman Perumal in a country east of the Ghats, invaded Kerala during the rule of the last Perumal. To drive back the invading forces the Perumal summoned the militia of his chieftains (like Udaya Varman Kolathiri, Manichchan, and Vikkiran of Eranad). The Cheraman Perumal was assured by the Eradis (chief of Eranad) that they would take a fort established by the Rayar.[60] The battle lasted for three days and the Rayar eventually evacuated his fort (and it was seized by the Perumal's troops).[60] Then the last Cheraman Perumal divided Kerala or Chera kingdom among his chieftains and disappeared mysteriously. The Kerala people never more heard any tidings of him.[56][58][59] The Eradis of Nediyiruppu, who later came to be known as the Zamorins of Kozhikode, who were left out in cold during allocation of the land, was granted the Cheraman Perumal's sword (with the permission to "die, and kill, and seize").[59][60]

According to the Cheraman Juma Mosque and some other narratives,[61][62] "Once a Cheraman Perumal probably named Ravi Varma[62] was walking with his queen in the palace, when he witnessed the splitting of the moon. Shocked by this, he asked his astronomers to note down the exact time of the splitting. Then, when some Arab merchants visited his palace, he asked them about this incident. Their answers led the King to Mecca, where he met the Islamic prophet Muhammad and converted to Islam.[63][64][65] It is assumed that the first recorded version of this legend is an Arabic manuscript of anonymous authorship known as Qissat Shakarwati Farmad.[66] The 16th century Arabic work Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen authored by Zainuddin Makhdoom II of Ponnani, as well as the medieval Malayalam work Keralolpathi, also mention about the departure of last Cheraman Perumal of Kerala into Mecca.[67][68]

However, S. N. Sadasivan contends in A Social History of India that Kalimanja, the king of the Maldives, was the one who converted to Islam. The story of Tajuddeen in the Cochin Gazetteer may have originated because Mali, as it was known to sailors at the time, was mistaken for Malabar (Kerala).[69]

A substantial portion of Kerala including the western coastal lowlands and the plains of the midland may have been under the sea in ancient times. Marine fossils have been found in an area near Changanassery, thus supporting the hypothesis.[70] Pre-historical archaeological findings include dolmens of the Neolithic era in the Marayur area of the Idukki district, which lie on the eastern highland made by Western Ghats. They are locally known as "muniyara", derived from muni (hermit or sage) and ara (dolmen).[71] Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves, in Wayanad date back to the Neolithic era around 6000 BCE.[72][73] Archaeological studies have identified Mesolithic, Neolithic and Megalithic sites in Kerala.[74] The studies point to the development of ancient Kerala society and its culture beginning from the Paleolithic Age, through the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Megalithic Ages.[75] Foreign cultural contacts have assisted this cultural formation;[76] historians suggest a possible relationship with Indus Valley civilisation during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age.[77]

The Land of Keralaputra was one of the four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being Chola, Pandya, and Satiyaputra.[81] Scholars hold that Keralaputra is an alternate name of the Cheras, the first dominant dynasty who ruled Kerala, and had its capital at Karur.[82][83] These territories once shared a common language and culture, within an area known as Tamilakam.[84] The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period between 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and Tamil Nadu.[85] Along with the Ay kingdom in the south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north, the Cheras formed the ruling kingdoms of Kerala in the early years of the Common Era (CE).[86] It is noted in Sangam literature that the Chera king Uthiyan Cheralathan ruled most of modern Kerala from his capital in Kuttanad,[87][88] and controlled the port of Muziris, but its southern tip was in the kingdom of Pandyas,[89] which had a trading port sometimes identified in ancient Western sources as Nelcynda (or Neacyndi) in Quilon.[90] Tyndis was a major centre of trade, next only to Muziris, between the Cheras and the Roman Empire.[91] The lesser known Ays and Mushikas kingdoms lay to the south and north of the Chera regions, respectively.[92][93] Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos.[94] The North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at Tyndis, was ruled by the kingdom of Ezhimala during Sangam period.[16] The port at Tyndis which was on the northern side of Muziris, as mentioned in Greco-Roman writings, was somewhere around Kozhikode.[16] Its exact location is a matter of dispute.[16] The suggested locations are Ponnani, Tanur, Beypore-Chaliyam-Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu, and Koyilandy.[16]

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