| Voice of Kannur : Mukhyadara
High involvement of politics and corruption are the major crisis
of our district. There are many clashes among the political parties.
Infact there have been around 200 deaths due to politics with in
the span of twenty years.
The shadow of corruption is even visible in the Tsunami projects.
Government had allowed 16 government departments to implement Tsunami
projects, and the end result for most of them is very appalling.
Some projects have not even started; some are left half-way, while
some have finished according to documents.
Kannur District
Area, Population & Sex Ratio
Geographical Area : 2966.0 Km2
Population in Kannur (Census 2011)
Total Population
Total : 25,25,637
Male : 11,84,012
Female : 13,41,625
Under 6 population
Total : 2,65,276
Male : 1,35,189
Female : 1,30,087
Disabled population
Total disabled population : 57931
In seeing : 21034
In speech : 4951
In hearing : 6443
In movement : 15795
Mental : 9708
Rank ( VoiceOfBharat.org Analysis
)
Backwardness : 439
Sex Ratio Rank : 573
( Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : C
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 113 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 8 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Brief About Kannur District
Brief about Kannur District HISTORY
There is no evidence of the Paleolithic man having lived in this
region .Nevertheless , rock-cut caves and Megalithic burial sites
of the Neolithic age have come to light in certain parts of the
district. The Thaliparamba-Kannur-Thalassery area abounds in rock
-cut caves, dolments,burial,stone circle,sand,menhirs,all of Megalithic
burial order. It can be assumed that the first batch of Aryan immigrants
into the State entered the district through the Tuluva region.
Mooshaka Kings and Kolathiris
Early in the ninth century A.D., the
Cheras re-established their political supremacy in Kerala under
Kulasekhara Varman. This second line of Chera emperors ruled till
1102 A.D with their capital at Mahodayapuram. The bulk of the area,
comprising of the present Kannur district, seems to have been included
in this empire. A separate line of rulers known as the Mooshaka
Kings held sway over Chirakkal and Kasaragod areas (Kolathunad)
with their capital near Mount Eli. It is not clear whether this
line of rulers were attached to Mahodayapuram or whether they ruled
as an independent line of kings in their own right. By the
14th century A.D., the old Mooshaka kingdom had come to be known
as Kolathunad and the rulers known as Kolathiris and had come into
prominence in north Kerala.
The Kolathiris were a power to reckon
with at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese towards the end
of the 15th century. They were political and commercial rivals of
the Zamorins of Kozhikode.
During the medieval age, several Arab
scholars visited the west coast. Baliapatam, Srikantapuram, Dharmadom,
Bekal and Mount Eli (Ezhimala) are some of the places which figure
prominently in their travelogues.
Vasco Da Gama
Though Vasco Da Gama, the famous Portuguese navigator, did not
visit Kannur on his way to Kozhikode in May 1498, he established
contacts with the Kolathiri ruler. His ships which had left Kozhikode
on
August 29, 1498 were contacted by the boats sent by the Kolathiri
and Gama was invited to visit the palace. The aim of the Kolathiri
was to gain wealth and power with the help of the Portuguese, the
same way the Zamorin had acquired with the help of the Arabs. In
winning the alliance of the Kolathiri, Vasco Da Gama, in turn, had
successfully exploited the jealousies of the native princes and
won for the Portuguese a virtual monopoly of the pepper trade.
Portuguese ascendency
An important political development which took place at this juncture
was the alliance between the Kolathiri and the Zamorin who were
till then sworn enemies. The Zamorin was able to convince the Kolathiri
of the real motives of the Portuguese in India and the perils inherent
in his policy of befriending them.
The Portuguese followed a policy of religious persecution and forcible
conversion. They therefore clashed with most of the native princes
and chieftains.
In 1558, the Kolathiri came openly into the field against the Portuguese
by providing active support to the Kunhjali Marrikkar of Kozhikode.
The Kolathiri and the Zamorin fought a common war against the Portuguese
and they besieged the fort of St. Angelo at Kannur,in 1564. But
the Portuguese continued to maintain a precarious foothold at Kannur
till 1663 when the fort was captured by the Dutch in February that
year.
Arrival of the English East India
Company
The English
East India Company got its first foothold in the district towards
the closing years of the 17th century, when it acquired a site at
Thalassery for the erection of a fort and a factory.
The disintegration of the Kolathiri's dominion started in the latter
half of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century following
dissensions in the royal family by the extensive surrender of territory
to consorts of the ruling members.
In spite of the many difficulties it had to face in the initial
stages, the trade of the English East India Company prospered during
the latter part of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, by
their liberal trade policies. Further, unlike the Portuguese, they
refused to interfere in the religious and caste affairs of the local
population.
Mysorean conquest
In 1725, the French captured Mayyazhi and renamed it as Mahe
in honour of the French captain Francois Mahe De Labourdonnais.
The most important episode in the political history of north
Kerala in the second half of the 18th century is the conquest of
Mysore by Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. Haidar Ali conquered Malabar
in 1773.
In January 1788, Tippu Sultan descended on Kerala with a large
army and founded a new capital at Feroke for his Malabar province.
The treaties of Srirangapatanam, signed on 22nd February and 18th
March, 1792, formally ceded Malabar to the British.
The British entered into agreements with the Rajas of Chirakkal,
Kottayam and Kadathanand and all of them acknowledged the full sovereignty
of the Company over their respective territories.
The British Government divided the province of Malabar into two
administrative divisions - the Northern and Southern, presided over
by a Superintendent each at Thalassery and Cherpulasseri, under
the general control of the Supervisor and Chief Magistrate
of the province of Malabar who had his headquarters at Kozhikode.
Pazhassi
Revolt
While
the British were busy with the political settlement of the district,
a serious revolt was headed by Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of the
Padinjare Kovilakom of the Kottayam family. The potent cause of
the revolt was the unpopular revenue policy followed by the East
India Company in Malabar. He stopped all collections of revenue
in Kottayam. The Raja further threatened to cut down all the pepper
vines if the Company's officers persisted in revenue collection.
In April
1796, a determined effort was made by the British to capture the
Raja in his own palace at Pazhassi. This was in vain.
On December
18, the British Commissioner issued a proclamation forbidding the
people to assemble or to assist the Pazhassi Raja and warning them
that if they did so, they would be considered as irreconcilable
enemies of the Company and that their property would be confiscated.
On December
30, a futile attempt was made to reconcile the differences between
the Raja and the Company.
On eighth
January 1797, Pazhassi Raja's men launched daring attack on the
havildar's guard stationed at Pazhassi and the whole party except
one man was killed. In the battle fought on three successive days,
ninth, 10th and 11th March 1797, the detachment made by the Company
forces was overpowered by the swords, spears, bows and arrows of
Pazhassi Raja's men. As the situation was full of perils, a reconciliation
with the Pazhassi Raja became a matter of political expediency.
While
South Canara and other parts of South India were being brought under
British imperial control, following the fall Srirangapatanum. (1799),
Pazhassi Raja raised the standard of revolt a second time and shook
for a while the very foundations of British power.
Colonel Stevenson's efforts early
in 1801 cut off the Pazhassi Raja from his adherents in South Malabar
and by May the British troops had made much headway and with every
port both above and below the ghats in British hands and the whole
country disarmed, the Pazhassi Raja became a wanderer in the jungles
accompanied by his wife and immediate attendants.
On 24th May, 1804, Colonel Macleod
issued a proclamation warning the people that they would be treated
as rebels if they failed to furnish information about rebel movements
and if they helped the Pazhassi troops with arms, ammunition or
provisions. Finally the proclamation of June 16 offered rewards
for the apprehension of Pazhassi Raja, two other members of
his family and his principal lieutenants and declared their estates
and properties confiscated from that date.
On first
November, Baber took direct charge of the operations and on 30th
November, 1805 he surrounded and shot the Raja dead in an operation
on the banks of a nullah. The Raja's body was cremated with "customary
honours". With the death of Pazhassi Raja, the resistance movement
in north Kerala came to an end.
Freedom
Movement
Kannur
district has played an important role in all the political movements
of recent times. The Indian National Congress, which was founded
in 1885, captured the attention of the people of this district from
its very inception. A district committee came into existence in
Malabar in 1908. A branch of the All India Home Rule League, Founded
by Dr. Annie Beasant, functioned in Thalassery during this period
and among its active workers was V.K. Krishna Menon.
The decision
of the Nagpur Congress to give up constitutional methods of agitation
and resort to Non-Violent Non Co-operation as a means of achieving
Swaraj,led to widespread boycott of foreign goods, courts of law
and educational institutions in Kannur.
Mahatma
Gandhi and Maulana Shaukat Ali toured the district to carry the
message of the Non-Co-operation and Khilaphat Movements. The Khilaphat
movement coincided with the famous Malabar Rebellion of 1921 which
was put down by the British with an iron hand.
Payyannur
Conference
Kannur
district came into the lime light of Kerala politics in May 1928,
when the fourth All Kerala Political Conference was held at Payyannur
under the auspices of the Kerala Provincial Congress. This conference
was presided over by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The Payyannur conference
passed a resolution requesting the Indian National Congress to adopt
'Complete Independence' instead of "Swaraj" as its goal at the annual
session which was scheduled to take place at Calcutta during that
year.
Salt Sathyagraha
Payyannur was the main venue of the Salt Sathyagraha in Malabar.
On 13th April , a batch of Congress volunteers under the leadership
of K. Kelappan started on foot from Kozhikode to the beaches of
Payyannur and broke the salt laws there on April 21. The Satyagraha
camp at Payyannur was raided and the campers were beaten up. There
were widespread demonstrations in Kannur, Thalassery and other parts
of the district and a number of Congress workers were arrested.
The district was always in the forefront in Civil Disobedience Movements
and all along Congress workers broke salt laws and picked foreign
good dealers and liquor shops.
The period following the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement
witnessed the emergence of a radical wing in the Kerala Provincial
Congress. Some of the radical elements in the Kerala Provincial
congress organised a Kerala unit of the Congress Socialist Party
in 1934 and functioned as a separate group within the Provincial
Congress. The leadership of this group was in the hands of persons
like P. Krishna Pillai., A.K. Gopalan and E.M.S. Namboothiripad.
An extremist group of Nationalist Muslims also emerged within the
Congress during this period under the leadership of Muhammad Abdur
Rahiman. The Congress Socialists and the Nationalist Muslims made
common cause against the Ghandhian group known as the Right Wing
which was led by such leaders as K. Kelappan, C.K. Govindan Nair
and K.A. Damodara Menon.
A notable
development in the politics of Malabar during the thirties was the
rise of the Muslim League as a distinct political party. It was
the Muslim leaders of Kannur and Thalassery who played the lead
role in forming this organisation.
The leftist elements in the Kerala Provincial Congress were also
active in the politics of Malabar in the late thirties. They took
active part in organising the workers, peasants, students and teachers
of Kannur district under their banner. In the election held to the
Kerala Provincial Congress Committee in January 1939, in the highest
suffered a severe setback. Muhammed Abdur Rahiman was elected as
the president of the K.P.C.C. and E.M.S. Namboothiripad as its general
secretary. Towards the end of the same year, a branch of the Indian
Communist Party was formally founded in Malabar. The Congress Socialist
Party workers joined the Communist Party block.
Morazha Incident
The K.P.C.C. gave a call to the people of Malabar to observe 15th
September , 1940 as Anti-Imperialist Day. The action was disapproved
by the Congress High Command, but there were meetings and demonstrations
all over Malabar on this day. Kannur District was the centre of
this agitation. There were violent clashes between the people and
the police at several places and lathi charge and tiring were resorted
to by the police to meet the situation. Two young men were killed
in a clash between a mob and a police party at Morazha. In connection
with the latter incident, K.P.R. Gopalan, a prominent communist,
was arrested on a charge of murder and later sentenced to death.
But, owing to the intervention of several top ranking political
leaders including Mahatma Ghandhi, the death penalty was not carried
out.
The 'Quit India' Movement of August 1942 also had its echoes in
Kannur district. A socialist group among the Congress workers under
Dr. K.B. Menon, provided leadership to the movement.
In 1945, at the end of the War, the Congress leaders were released
from prison. The Muslim League had by this time become a decisive
force in Malabar politics. It supported the demand of the All India
Muslim League for the partition of India.
Famine
and Peasant Struggles
The War period, especially from 1943 to 1945, had its ravages on
the district. Famine and cholera epidemic took thousands of lives
from the lower strata of society. On the initiative of the people
under the leadership of the Kisan Sabha, commendable services were
rendered to tide over the crisis.
The "Grow More Food Campaign" organised at Mangattuparamba by the
Kisan Sabha was a new chapter in the history of mass movement. More
than fifty acres of government land was brought under cultivation.
But the government suppressed the movement by force and destroyed
the farm.
Though the War ended in 1945, famine continued to haunt the people.
Karivellore, the northern most village of the present Kannur district,
made a historic stride in the struggle against poverty and famine.
The transporting of paddy from Karivellore to Chirakkal Kovilakom
was blocked and distributed to the people of the village. The movement
was led by peasant leaders like A.V. Kunhambu and K.Krishnan Master.
One Kannan and Kunhambu became martyrs in the struggle when police
opened fire.
During the month of December 1946, the people of Kavumbayi, an
eastern village of the district, raised their demand for punam
cultivation. A strong police contingent was sent to the spot. The
peasants resisted the armed forces which led to the killing of five
peasants in the firing.
The rise
of the organised working class in the industrial sector was another
important phenomenon of the period that changed the course of the
anti-imperialist movement. The struggle of Aron Mill workers in
the year 1946 is noteworthy in this regard.
Even after
independence, the struggles of the peasantry formed an important
part in the history of the State. They fought against landlords
and their exploitation. Places like Thillankeri, Manyankunnu, Korom
and Paddikkunnu are memorable in the annals of the peasant struggles
in the post independence era.
The All India Conference of Kisan Sabha, held at Kannur in 1953,
resolved to initiate struggles for new tenancy legislation. The
movement for Aikya Kerala (united Kerala) also got momentum during
this period and all sections of the society rallied under the movement.
Physiography
Kannur district lies between latitudes 11040' to 12048'
North and longitudes 74052' to 76007' East.
The district is bound by the Western Ghats in the East (Coorg district
of Karnataka State), Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, in the South,
Lakshadweep sea in the West and Kasaragod, the northern most district
of Kerala, in the North.
The district can be divided into three geographical regions - highlands,
midlands and lowlands.
The highland region comprises mainly of mountains. This is the
area of major plantations like coffee, rubber, tea, cardamom and
other spices. Timber trees like teak, veetty, etc. are grown in
plenty in this region.
The midland region, lying between the mountains and the low lands,
is made up of undulating hills and valleys. This is an area of intense
agricultural activity.
The lowland is comparatively narrow and comprises of rivers, deltas
and seashore. This is a region of coconut and paddy cultivation.
Climate
The district has humid climate with an oppressive hot season from
March to the end of May. This is followed by the South-West monsoon
which continues till the end of September. October and November
form the post-monsoon or retreating monsoon season. The North East
monsoon which follows, extends upto the end of February, although
the rain generally ceases after December.
During the months of April and May, the mean daily maximum temperature
is about 350 celsius. Temperature is low in December
and January - about 200 celsius. On certain days the
night temperature may go down to 160 celsius.
The annual average rainfall is 3438 mm and more than 80 per cent
of it occurs during the period of South West monsoon. The rainfall
during July is very heavy and the district receives 68 per cent
of the annual rainfall during this season.
Flora
Kannur district is very rich in vegetation. Natural vegetation,
except in some coastal regions, consists of different types of forests.
But, in spite of generally favorable climatic conditions, vegetation
is not uniform. In restricted regions, with their own micro climate
or special edaphic features, plant formations assume different characters.
Thus, plant communities, ranging from psammophytes and mangroves
to evergreen forests are seen in this district.
The coastal region is a comparatively narrow zone, characterised
by secondary soil which is rather loose and sandy. The sterile sandy
tract supports only a poor vegetation of the psammophyte type. Plants
are few and mostly prostrate. Erect species are small and short.
Owing to very poor water holding capacity of soil, these plants
are provided with special xerophytic adaptations. Another conspicuous
feature of this area is the mangrove vegetation, found at the estuaries
of rivers and back waters, and often extending to the interior along
their banks. Human interference has much changed the vegetation
of the coastal region.
Major part of the district comes under midland region with numerous
hills and dales and it presents an undulating surface gradually
ascending and merging into the slopes of Western Ghats. Soil is
secondary and lateritic with underlying rock of laterite or disintegrated
gneiss. Typical flora of this area is a most deciduous forest consisting
of a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees. Undergrowth consists
of a variety of annual and perennials.
The mountains are a continuation of the midland region, gradually
ascending to the main ridge of the Western Ghats. Soil in the western
slopes in a ferrugenous red, sandy loam. Vegetation over the whole
area is of the forest type. Irregular distribution of teak, localised
areas of bamboo dominance, change of good quality forest open grass
lands, etc. are characteristic.
Geology
The geological formations in the district are of Archean and recent
age. Archean formations comprise of greisses and charrockiates.
Recent formations are alluvium and laterite. Archeans occupy the
midland and highland regions of the district having rock types of
basic charrockiates and horn-blende-biotite greiss. The remaining
portions in the coastal area are covered by laterite, alluvium,
lime,-shells, lignified woods, etc. Archean formations like foliated
horn-blende-biotite greiss (gray or white in colour) is one of the
main rock types in the northern portion of the district. Recent
formations like laterite is developed on a limited scale along the
coastal areas.
Natural Resources
Minerals
China clay is found in abundance in Thaliparamba and Kannur taluks
of Kannur district. These resources are not fully utilised
in the district.
The district is endowed with rich deposits of clay of which various
types are mined at many places for potteries, tiles and ceramic
industries. The most important areas where clay has been found are
Pattuvam, Korom, Perumba and Karivellore. Good quality kaolin occurs
below the laterite capping around Pilathara and Thaliparamba.
There are a number of tile manufacturing centres along the coastal
areas. Because of the abundant availability of clay, there is great
scope for development of clay based industries in the district.
Laterite is quarried for bricks throughout the district on a small
scale to meet the local demand. Extensive quarrying is done in Kambil,
Kalyassery and Cheruthazham area.
Thin horizons of lignite are noted in the cliff sections at Kannur
coast, Pazhayangadi and Meenkunnu.
Beach sands containing ilmenites, monazite, Zircon, and thorianite
occur along the coast, especially to the south of Valapattanam river
mouth and near Azhikode. Other minerals discovered recently are
sillimanite near Chandirukunnu, graphite near Payyavur, Manakadavu
and Minor bands of iron ore near Cherukunnu Railway Station.
Many occurrences of bauxite deposits have been brought to light
in the district at Madayi, Korom, Payyavur and Pattuam near Thaliparamba.
They may find use in the manufacture of refractories and cement
as they are not of high grade.
Limeshells used for the manufacture of white cement and for industrial
purposes are found in the backwaters of Eranholi river, Dharmadampuzha,
and Anjarakandi river around Thalassery and Dharmadam as well as
Valapattanam river in the east of Azhikkal ferry.
Water
Kannur district is endowed with a fine river system. Except for
a few minor ones, most of the rivers are perennial and provide good
scope for irrigation and controlling floods through minor irrigation
works.
With a length of 110 kms., the Valapattanam river, which originates
from the Western Ghats, is the longest river in the district. The
main tributaries of the river are Valiapuzha and Aralampuzha.
Kuppam river originates from reserve forests and has area of 539
sq.kms. The length of river is 82 kms. The other rivers in the district
are Mahe (54 kms.), Anjarakandi (48 kms.), Thalassery (28
kms.), Ramapuram (19 kms.) and Perumba (51 kms.)
Most of the rivers are navigable. The Valapattanam river has the
longest navigable length followed by Anjarakandy.
Because of the peculiar topography, the bulk of rain water, which
is the only source of ground water recharge, escapes as run off.
Only 10 per cent of the total rainfall can be considered as contributing
to recharge.
It was observed that the water found in the wells
was of good quality and could be used for domestic, industrial and
irrigation purposes.
Preliminary studies indicate that ground water resources
of the coastal sandy tract was fairly good for development, whereas,
in the laterite covered areas it was very limited.
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