DEWAN OF ZAMORIN STABBED BY A PRINCE

He Was Saved by a British Doctor

I just finished reading the book, From Cauvery to Neela: A History of the Tamil Agraharams of Palakkad, by K N Lakshminarayanan. It is an excellent reference work on the Tamil brahmins of Palakkad, especially Kalpathi. It has nothing on two Tamil brahmin luminaries of Palakkad, L K Ananthakrishna Iyer and A S Panchapakesa Iyer. It does mention Swaminatha Pattar, the Dewan or Prime Minister of the Zamorin of Calicut, omitting the attempt on his life by the idiots of Padinjare Kovilakam of Calicut.

The book records:

"The agraharam residents are proud of their ancestors, who have left a trail of glory. Uddanda Sastrigal, Ramayyan Dalava, Swaminatha Pattar and other immigrants were honoured by the rulers of Kerala for their valour...Natives of the agraharam played an important part in the field of politics and statecraft. In the 1800s Subba Iyer and his army were sent to help the ruler of Travancore fight the British.General Nurani Venkatanarayana Iyer guarded the Mysore border. Swaminatha Pattar became Dewan to the Zamorin of Calicut in 1793. His descendants, bearing the title of 'Kariakar', live today in Chathapuram Agraharam."

The book mentions Shamnoth, Minister of the Zamorin, not knowing the person is none other than Swaminatha Pattar. The author quotes K Haridasan, who wrote, Palakkadan Charithram: "According to Shamnoth, Minister of the Zamorin,the roads pertaining to Palakkad constructed under Tipu's rule ran from Palakkad to Dindigul via Thathamangalam, Pollachi and Palani; from Feroke to Coimbatore via Angadipuram, Mannarkad and Palakkad".

In British records and Logan's Malabar Manual, Swaminatha Iyer or Swminatha Pattar is mentioned as Shamnath, not Shamnoth.

Logan has briefly described in the Malabar Manual, the attempt by  Ravivarma, a nephew in Zamorin's western Palace, suspecting Swaminatha Patter to be a double agent. Ofcourse, Swaminatha Iyer facilitated ceding the Zamorin territory to the British. But it was after the British had established themselves in Malabar after the treaty of Srirangapatna, by which Tipu was dethroned. The Zamorin had escaped to Travancore.

The Srirangapatna treaty, ending the rule of Tipu was signed on 22 February 1792. Following this, a number of treaties were signed by the British with Indian kings. On 18 August 1792, by a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut, he was given the right to collect revenue and administer justice for one year. On 21 June 1793, an agreement was signed at the Palakkad Fort between Palakkad Raja Itti Kombi Achan and the Malabar Commissioners of the East India Company, William Gamul Farmer and Major Alexander Walker to restore the land to the Raja to rule. W G Farmer from Bombay presidency had been sworn in as Malabar Supervisor on 18 March 1792. Prior to that, Alexander Dow, W G farmer, William Page and Charles Boddam were sent as commissioners to Malabar, to study and give a report. Dow was the Military Commander at Tellicherry.

Ravi Varma (1745–1793) was a Samanta Nair warrior prince of the Royal House of Zamorins from Calicut who fought a two-decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and later against the British East India Company in 1793. Born in 1745, Ravi Varma belonged to the Padinjare Kovilakam (Mankavu Palace), of the Zamorins Royal Family (Nediyirippu Swarupam), which had been ruling the Kingdom of Calicut for 600 years. The incumbent Raja of this family was popularly referred to as Zamorin or Samoothiri.Unlike his more famous contemporary and close personal friend Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, the prince-regent of Kottayam, very little is known about the personal lives of Ravi Varma and the other princes of the Padinjare Kovilakam.

Hyder Ali's invasion of Malabar in 1766 was met with stiff opposition by the local Nairs, who led by the Zamorin of Calicut, rose up in rebellion against the oppressive policies implemented by his regime. During Hyder's third invasion in 1767, as the Mysorean army was approaching the city gates, the Zamorin sent all his relatives to safe haven in Ponnani and immolated himself to avoid the humiliation of surrender and forced conversion to Islam. His nephew and successor, Krishna Varma continued the war until 1774, when he fled to Travancore. The abrupt end of the 600-year reign of the Zamorins created a leadership vacuum in the kingdom of Calicut, which resulted in the Eralppad (second-in-line successor to the throne)  Krishna Varma's assumption of the throne. Together with his nephew Ravi Varma and a small band of Nair warriors, Krishna Varma swore revenge against Hyder and Tipu. The ensuing insurgency struggle against the Mysorean army lasted until 1791.

Krishna Varma appointed Ravi Varma as the Commander of the armed forces of Calicut and for two decades tried in vain to thwart all efforts by Hyder and Tipu to subjugate his kingdom. Ravi Varma was, perhaps, the only Malabar prince to rise up in 1788 against the forced conversions and deportation of Nairs to Srirangapatna conducted by Tipu.

Krishnan Varma continued his fight against the invading Mysorean forces from South Malabar. He marched to Ponnani and then Tanur, and forced Hyder's troops to retreat. By the time he had fled to Travancore in 1774, Krishna Varma had managed to force Hyder Ali to cede many parts of Malabar to local rulers, who were supported by the East India Company.

The Mysorean invasion of Malabar had forced most of the royal Nair households to flee to Travancore, where they were helped to rehabilitate themselves by Dharma Raja. With most of royals in exile, the young princes of Padinjare Kovilakam took charge. Their immediate goal was to oust Mysorean garrisons from Calicut. Krishna Varma was the eldest man of this western branch – but it was his adventurous nephew Ravi Varma who took a role in military affairs. This uncle and nephew together with their junior male relatives prepared for war. Hyder's policy of torture and financial extortion of residents of Zamorin country also caused widespread resentment among masses and this drove people into arms of rebels. Mysorean exploitation thus gave birth to an 18-year cycle of reprisals and revolts.

During the monsoon of 1766, the whole of Zamorin domain rose in revolt but were disastrously defeated at Puthiyangadi near Ponnani after which they chose to fight only guerrilla warfare. To crush the rebellion, Hyder unleashed a reign of terror in which he murdered as many as 10,000 people in Zamorin country. But that proved to be of no use as rebels led by Ravi Varma once more rose up in 1767 and Hyder's army of some 15,000 men were trapped inside their stockaded camps across Zamorin country. 

A prince seventh in line of succession, the rebellion in the Southern Malabar was led by Ravi Varma. He also helped 30,000 Brahmins flee to Travancore.

In 1768, Hyder pulled out his troops from Zamorin country as well as from all of Malabar since they were on verge of defeat. Also Hyder was threatened with imminent attack by Marathas and Nizam and so he withdrew from Malabar. Hyder restored possessions to Rajas on condition that they pay him tribute. 

The new Zamorin who was in exile came back and took power in 1768 and princes of Padinjare Kovilakam were eclipsed till 1774. The Zamorin learnt little from past disasters—instead of building up his military force to meet Mysorean threat or paying tribute to Hyder to purchase peace and safety, he did neither. Instead he plunged his country into another war with Cochin – this was also last war between Cochin and Calicut (K V Krishna Ayyar).

In 1774, once more Hyder's troops invaded Malabar and Zamorin Raja fled to Travancore and thus princes of Padinjare Kovilakam once more rose to prominence. Krishna Varma became overall head and Ravi Varma, the commandant of rebel force. Ravi Varma's rebels made shrewd use of forest and mountainous landscape that covered most of Zamorin country. 

Ravi Varma moved his military HQ away from vulnerable Calicut and Ponnani to Kalladikode in Nedunganad province (Modern Ottapalam taluk). They also took war into enemy territories in Coimbatore district, one of the richest parts of Hyder's domain, which they looted and devastated in retaliation to Mysorean reprisals.

In November 1788, the Mysore forces under Tipu attacked Calicut and captured the Karanavappad of Manjeri. Their assaults were met with resistance by the Nairs of Calicut and southern Malabar led by Ravi Varma and other princes of the Padinjare Kovilakam. Tipu sent 6,000 troops under his French commander, M. Lally to raise the siege, but failed to defeat Ravi Varma. By 1779, Hyder had enough of war with Ravi Varma and invited him for talks to his camp in Calicut. But some unusual troop movements around the guest-house where he was staying roused his suspicions that Hyder was planning to arrest him and so he left immediately to Kalladikode.

During the 1780s, Ravi Varma led a successful rebellion against the Mysore forces. Though Tipu conferred on him a jaghir (vast area of tax-free land) mainly to appease him, the Zamorin prince, after promptly taking charge of the jaghir, continued his revolt against the Mysore power, more vigorously and with wider support. He soon moved to Calicut, his traditional area of influence and authority, for better co-ordination. Tipu sent a large Mysore army under the command of M. Lally and Mir Asrali Khan to defeat the Zamorin prince at Calicut. It is believed that Ravi Varma assisted several members of the priestly community (almost 30,000 Nambudiris) to flee the country and take refuge in Travancore.

In 1782, Ravi Varma's men recaptured all of Zamorin country and even helped British to capture forts of Calicut and Palakkad. But in 1784, Tippu got Malabar back by the Treaty of Mangalore and once more Ravi Varma had to deal with Mysorean troops.

There was widespread disturbance after hefty land tax was introduced in Malabar by Arshad Beg Khan, Tipu's Governor. Athan Kurikkal of Manjeri rose in protest with riots. Arshad Beg sought the help of Ravivarma to deal with the rioters.Varma joined hands with the Coorg Muslims and chopped off the hands and legs of the Mappila rioters. Beg rewarded him with a pension and the position of a jagirdar.

Tipu bribed Ravi Varma in hope that he will give up war and submit to Mysore authority. But Ravi Varma's dream was  restoration of  former prestige. So he kept up irregular warfare to harass Mysore army of occupation. But even so, prospects of peace became brighter by 1788 when Krishna Varma even visited Tipu in Calicut for peace talks. Krishna Varma sent an agent for peace talks. (Ayyar)

Tipu's promise was restoration of Zamorin country to the Zamorin on one condition – Zamorin must help him in conquest of Travancore. Tipu even sent a large sum to Krishna Varma to bribe him. But even so Varma refused to agree. Some account says that his refusal was because of Tipu's forcible conversions.( Ayyar )

Tipu angry at his failure in negotiations unleashed a wave of savage religious persecution and Ravi Varma and rebels rose up and seized whole of Southern Malabar, marched and captured Calicut in 1788. Even though a Mysore army under French general Lally recaptured Calicut the same year, Ravi Varma and his rebels still dominated most of Zamorin country.

Mankav Kovilakam/Harimohan

According to Logan, In 1789, Tipu came with a vast army and Ravi Varma and men were forced to flee to forests. Towns and villages were seized by Tipu's troops but they reached nowhere in jungle warfare with Ravi Varma and his partisans. In 1790, Tipu invaded Travancore only to be checked by Dharma Raja's troops and this provoked British to attack Mysore in retaliation.Travancore was under British protection as per Mangalore Treaty. Soon rebels of Malabar also joined hands with British. 

In 1790, a British force of 2,000 men under Colonel James Hartley landed in South Malabar to deal with Mysore army of 9,000 Sepoys and 4,000 Mappilas. Ravi Varma rushed to aid with 5,000 of his best Nairs and that helped to turn tide in favour of British. Hartley in his letter to Governor-General Charles Cornwallis, stated that this victory was of decisive importance to British success in Third Anglo-Mysore War. Hartley received command of a detachment sent to the coast of Cochin to aid the company's ally, the Raja of Travancore. In May, Hartley received orders to invest Palakkad, an important fortress dominating the pass which leads through the western Ghauts into Mysore. On arriving within forty miles of the place, Hartley heard that it had already surrendered.

He, however, continued his march, and occupied himself partly in collecting supplies for the main army at Tiruchirapally, and partly in watching any movement of Tipu's troops to the south-west. On 10 December, he inflicted a crushing defeat on vastly superior forces under Hussein Ali, Tipu's general, at Calicut. The remnant of the beaten army was pursued to Feroke, where it surrendered, and that fortress was occupied by the British. On the outbreak of War with France in 1793, Hartley held command of the expedition which captured the French settlement of Mahé in Malabar ( In May 1796, he was made a Major-general, and appointed to the staff in India. He returned to Bombay in 1797. In addition to his military rank he was now made a supervisor and magistrate for the Province of Malabar.He died after a very short illness on 4 October 1799, at Kannur).

Ravi Varma and his uncle Krishna Varma were angered when the faint hearted Zamorin  in exile agreed to terms that made Calicut a dependency of the British. They were even more angered by the fact that it was Swaminatha Pattar, the prime minister of the exiled Zamorin who persuaded latter to surrender to the British. From their stronghold in Nedumganad, Ravi Varma and his men contacted Pazhassi Raja and his partisans. He even sheltered a large number of Pazhassi fugitives and even began to collect tax from the Zamorin country without British permission. He warned Swaminatha Pattar not to betray his country to British any more and even threatened death if the latter did not mend his ways. The British soon accused Ravi Varma of conspiracy to undermine the British rule and warned that severe punishment would be given to Ravi Varma and nephews if they harmed Swaminatha Pattar or if they tried to rule the country without British permission. The British government asked Ravi Varma to pay 100,000 rupees immediately.

In 1793, Krishna Varma died at Karimpuzha in Nedunganad. Ravi Varma decided to continue the war with the British and so he contacted Pazhassi Raja and Mappila rebels of Southern Malabar along with the discontented princes of Palakkad and even with his old enemy Tipu  for joint action- his aim was to oust the British from Malabar. The British offered rewards for information about the whereabouts of Pazhassi Raja (3000 pagodas), Vira Varma Raja (1000 pagodas), and Ravi Varma Raja (1000 pagodas).

The Mappilas under Manjeri Athan Kurikkal captured Arshad Beg Khan,Tipu's Commander.Tipu offered the Zamorins their power back if Khan is released, and if he is helped to capture Travancore. They refused. Swaminatha Pattar was sent to Mysore to Negotiate, in January, 1789. In the next year he handed over appeals of Veluthampi Dalawa, the rebel Dewan of Travancore, to the British.

The Zamorin, who had returned from Travancore, tried to channel all trade through himself, taking a cue from Travancore. At Thalassery, Swaminatha Pattar had an argument with Chakkara Moosa ( Choucara Moosa in British records) and Moosa threatened him. Pattar promptly lodged a complaint with the British. Moosa, in addition to timber, had agreed to supply 20 candys of cardomom to the Company, but had failed.

Patttar took part in the discussions on the final treaty with the Zamorin Manavikrama Raja and the British Malabar Supervisor W G Farmer on 18 August 1792. Pattar had convinced the Zamorin to sign the treaty. Pattar became the Agent of the british to collect pepper and the Zamorin removed him from his service for not sharing the pepper revenue. By the next year, Pattar became an administrator of the Company. Pattar also secured the plush revenue from export and customs of Calicut Port. He was paid one percent from the Zamorin's revenue collections. Zamorin thus lost all the revenue income. This infuriated the idiots of the Padinjare Kovilakam. Pattar had promised restoration of the Palakkad land to the Kovilakam and trade ties with the British. But as legal attorney to the Zamorin, he took away even the remaining revenue of the Zamorin. Pattar became very nervous when Ravivarma and others began collaborathing with Pazhassi Raja. Pattar sought protecton of the British and the Malabar Supervisor James Stevens in turn, warned Ravivarma.

A year later, Ravivarma invited  Swaminatha Pattar, to Padinjare Kovilakam in Mankavu. The palace has a Bhagavathy Temple in the middle. The Trisala temple was built by a Zamorin popularly known as Karyasthan Thampuran. This temple is dedicated to the goddess Bala Durga. The Devi is worshipped as a small girl playing with a ball in one hand. It is believed that Trisala Bhagavathi is the younger sister of Sree Valayanad Devi, the family deity of the Zamorin’s Swaroopam.

Trisala Bhagavathy Temple

During the Hyder and Tipu invasions, the members of the Padinjare Kovilakam escaped to  Travancore where the then Maharaja , Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( Dharma Raja) welcomed them and gave Kunnathur Kovilakam in Kollam for their domicile. When the situation in Calicut became normal and peaceful, the Zamorin rehabilitated his family members to a place in Calicut close to the Valayanad Devi temple. At that time, this area was in the custody of Mangalassery Nair family,and they  had given this plot to the Zamorin for building the kovilakam. At that time this place was a wilderness. There was an ancient temple of Bala Durga which was demolished at the time of the Muslim invasion of Malabar. The lore is that, at the time of clearing the trees for building the kovilakam, the hatchet of one of the labourers touched a stone and blood oozed from it. Seeing this strange phenomenon, the matter was reported to the Zamorin. At the deva prasna it was revealed that the sila was the idol of Bala Durga. Accordingly, a temple was built on the spot and the worship began. The sankalpa of the deity is that of the devi of Kanyakumari.

Ravivarma and his nephew Ravi Varma Unni Raja II (Ravi Varma Unni Nambi) lured Pattar to the temple and confronted him there. An irate Ravivarma and his nephew stabbed the Dewan. He was saved by treatment of a British surgeon named Wye, according to Logan. John William Wye was the Acting Collecotor of Valluvanad, and was Assistant Surgeon of the Bombay Medical Establishment of the Company.The Rani, agonized by this terrible act that amounted to brahmahathya, consulted the astrologers, conducted a puja and a Brahmarakshas idol was installed.

After this, Ravi Varma fled towards Wynad to join the Pazhassi Raja. He was joined by the  notorious Mappila bandit chief Unni Mootha Mooppan, few Coimbatore Gounders and Palakkad Kunhi Achan. Mooppan was a relative of Athan Kurikkal. Ravivarma was followed on the way by Captain Burchall and his men to Anamalai.They escaped to Travancore. The Company offered Rs 5000 for their capture. Ravivarma joined Pazhassi Raja in the second revolt. In 1793 he was caught and sent to Cherpulassery where he died in captivity. Official version for the death Ravivarma was, complications that arose from an old bullet injury. Very unlikely. Ravi Varma's nephew Ravi Varma junior along with his four brothers also died in suspicious circumstances during their imprisonment.There is no evidence either to prove that Ravi Varma the elder and his five nephews were executed in captivity, though it is a strong possibility. He was cremated at his stronghold of Kalladikode. Rebel leaders of Malabar – Pazhassi Raja included – mourned the death of Ravi Varma.

The rest of Padinjare Kovilakam princes evaded British capture and kept a large part of Southern Malabar in a state of chronic disturbance. It was only in 1797 that they agreed to surrender to the British. This four-year-long rebellion by Calicut princes is not a well recorded event in Malabar history. 

James Hartley

During the war with Mysore troops, Ravi Varma commanded the largest rebel force in Malabar and it  proved to be vital for British victory in Third Anglo-Mysore War. In spite of all these factors, Ravi Varma belongs to that class of leaders who are almost lost to history.

It was Swaminatha Pattar's idea to form a native batallion of Nairs called Kolkars to fight the local war lords, that the British implemented. It was commanded by Captain Joseph Watson. Pazhassi Raja was finally confronted by Watson and the Kolkars including Kanara Menon.

Logan's Malabar Manual, in the same context, has referred to some anti social Mappila bandits. In March 1799, the Puthiyangadi Thangal,descendant of an arab family got continuance of an exemption from the payment of revenue in his property, originally granted to him by the second Raja of Calicut in 1791.This was to restrain Mappilas by him, from resorting to 'lawless habits'. The ring leaders of these anti social Mappilas were, Unni Mootha Mooppan, Athan Kurikkal and Chemban Pokkar. A formidable combination was formed by them instigated by a spirit of revenge for the punishment inflicted on some of their connections, especially on Adam Khan, the brother in law of Kurikkal, who was executed for murder. The combination became alarming after an abortive attempt made by the Assistant Collector T H Baber to seize Chemban Pokkar, who had escaped from the Palakkad Fort. Baber's party was repulsed. This encouraged Pokkar to make a daring attempt on the life of G Waddel, the Southern Superintendent, while he was proceeding from Angadippuram to Orampuram. In this, Pokkar was secretly abetted by Kurikkal, who had in 1790,  joined the Company's service as the head of police in Eranad.

To put the record straight, Travancore Dewan Ramayyan Dalawa was not from Palakkad. Ramayyan (Death January 1756 ) was born in Yerwadi, a village in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, to which his family originally belonged. When he was six years of age, his poor father gave up his native village and came to Thiruvattar and settled at a hamlet known as Aruvikara in the Kalkulam Taluk in the modern-day Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. When he was twenty years old, he lost his parents, who he survived along with their other three sons and one daughter.

Ramayyan

After the death of his parents, Ramayyan frequently visited Thiruvananthapuram, attracted to it by the never ending festivities and celebrations, which always drew great crowds of Tamil Brahmins from all over Travancore and neighbouring regions of modern-day Tamil Nadu. On one occasion he decided to stay back and seek some employment, in which, owing to his superior intelligence and ability, he was successful. He was employed as an assistant to the Athiyara Potti  of Vanchiyoor, a member of the Ettara Yogam or the Council of Eight and a Half who controlled the Padmanabhaswamy temple and a man of great power and influence.

One evening, when the Maharaja Marthanda Varma was dining at Atthyara, he noticed Ramayyan, who impressed him by dealing with a minor yet significant incident with great sense and intelligence. The pleased Marthanda Varma asked  Athiyara Potti to let him take the young boy into his service. Ramayyan became a servant of the Maharaja. Ramayyan from being appointed at a minor post in the Palace management, soon rose in the Maharaja's favour and was appointed Palace Rayasom or Under Secretary. When the then Dalawa / Dewan of Travancore, Arumukham Pillai died in 1736, Ramayyan replaced him.

The entire territorial extent of Travancore , between the river Periyar and Cape Comorin was attained with the efforts of Ramayyan. It was due to the combined efforts and conquests of Marthanda Varma with Ramayyan, that the kingdoms of Kayamkulam, Madathinkoor (Mavelikkara), Elayadathu Swaroopam, Kollam, Ambalapuzha etc. were annexed to Travancore and the Dutch were defeated in the Battle of Colachel. Several favourable treaties were signed with the British under his Dalawaship while the Kingdom of Cochin and the Zamorin accepted the suzerainty of Travancore.

Ramayyan  resided in Mavelikkara, where he had a palace built by Marthanda Varma. After the death of his wife, Ramayyan married a Nair lady from the Edassery family, Mavelikara. After his death, Ramayyan's descendants left to Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu and settled there. His Nair wife was given gifts and presents and special allowances from the Travancore government in recognition of his services to the state while his own descendants were bestowed with the honorific title of Dalawa. Ramayyan died in 1756. 

Marthanda Varma  followed his faithful servant in 1758. The last Dewan of Travancore, P G N Unnithan hailed from the Edassery Pattaveettil Family of Mavelikkara which had a history of high military service to the Travancore Royal Family. His father Ittamar Koil Thampuran was from the Haripad Palace and a nephew of Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran.

Ramayyan Dalawa's two sons and one daughter moved back to Tamil Nadu after his death. His family finally settled in the erstwhile Pudukkottai, a princely State in Tamil Nadu. The then king of Pudukkottai, who had a good rapport with the Travancore state, offered Dalawa's descendants the entire village of Sithanavasal.

Uddaṇḍa Śāstrī, author of Kokila Sandesam, definitely found patronage at the Zamorin's Court. He was a 15th-century Tamil brahmin from a village whose learning and scholarship was so great that even the parrots were reciting the Vedas as the koil flies past- he made his way west, seeking patronage, and eventually ended up in Kerala where he is said to have married a lady from Chendamangalam, which leads some to assume the poem's heroine, of the Marakkara household in Chendamangalam, was in fact his wife.

The poet is supposed to have acquired the title Uddaṇḍa, which means 'pre-eminent', literally 'one who has a stick upraised'), from the Zamorin court of Calicut where he found patronage; his original name was Irugupanātha; it was this verse, the very first words the poet spoke to the Zamorin, which is said to have earned him his name:

उद्दण्डः परदण्डभैरव भवद्यात्रासु जैत्रश्रियो
हेतुः केतुरतीत्य सूर्यसरणिं गच्छन् निवार्यस्त्वया ।
नो चेत् तत्पटसम्पुटोदरलसच्छार्दूलमुद्राद्रवत्
सारङ्गं शाशिबिम्बमेष्यति तुलां त्वत्प्रेयसीनां मुखैः ॥

Tamil brahmins should also be proud of the fact that Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji, the fanatic gangster behind the Hindu pogrom of 1921 in Malabar was caught alongwith 21 rebels by S I Ramanatha Iyer, on 7 January,1922, at Chokkad, Nilambur. 

Finally, my mother belonged to Mankavu-a Tamil brahmin family, which was in the service of Padinjare Kovilakam, but not in anyway related to Swaminatha Iyer.

_______________________________

Reference:

1.Ayyar, K. V. Krishna (1938)/ The Zamorins of Calicut
2.Buchanan, Francis (1807) / A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar
3.Dale, Stephen Frederic (1980) / Islamic society on the South Asian frontier: the Mappilas of Malabar, 1498–1922
4.India, Director of Census Operations, Kerala (1981)/ Census of India, 1981: Special Report, Controller of Publications
5.Logan, William (1887) / Malabar manual, Volume 1
6.Menon, A. Sreedhara (1962) / Kerala District Gazetteers
7.Narayanan, M.G.S. (2006) / Calicut: The City of Truth Revisited/University of Calicut

8.K N Lakshminarayanan / From cauvery to Neela

© Ramachandran 

CONVICTED,PALAKKAD RAJA DIES IN JAIL

Alexander Walker Compiled a Book on Malabar Plants

The kingdom of Palakkad,I have felt,doesn't offer much in intrigues,except Kombi Achan inviting Hyder Ali to attack the Zamorin.But now I find there was a murder committed by the king,Itti Kombi Achan,for which he was imprisoned by the British and he died in jail.

The Sreerangapattanam treaty,ending the rule of Tipu was signed on 22 February 1792.Following this,a number of treaties were signed by the British with Indian kings.On 18 August 1792,by a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut,he was given the right to collect revenue and administer justice for one year.On 21 June 1793,an agreement was signed at the Palakkad Fort between Palakkad Raja Itti Kombi Achan and the Malabar Commissioners of the East India Company,William Gamul Farmer and Major Alexander Walker to restore the land to the Raja to rule.W G Farmer from Bombay presidency had been sworn in as Malabar Supervisor on 18 March 1792.Prior to that,Alexander Dow, W G farmer,William Page and Charles Boddam were sent as commissioners to Malabar,to study and give a report.Dow was the Military Commander at Tellicherry.In British records,the Raja's name is Coomby Acheen.However,the rule of the Raja didn't last long.

The British government was not happy with the arrangement,and the powers of the Raja were gradually usurped by the Britishers.His power to preside over criminal cases in the Cherplassery and Calicut courts was taken over by them.In October 1796,the British brought an end to the Raja's authority to collect taxes.The Raja was prohibited from collecting any other cash by Supervisor  James Stevens.The tax collectors appointed by the Raja were asked to pay the collected amounts directly to the British government.

Two criminal charges were filed in July 1798 against the Raja.According to Logan's Malabar Manual ( Vol 1,Chapter 3),in April the Raja killed Ullattil Kandan Nair;he gouged out Parameswaran Kutty's eyes.Parameswaran was a brahmin.The Raja left his home in Kalpathi on 7 July 1798 and absconded.The Britishers got information same day.A proclamation offering Rs 5000 was issued for his capture.Raja surrendered on 6 September 1798,before Commandant of Palghat Fort, Major James Romney.He was jailed in Tellicherry Fort,where he died on 2 March,1799.Probably,he was executed.The same fort had been used as a prison to confine Hyder Ali's army.

The East India Company brought the entire area and administration of Palakkad under their control on 10 Ocober 1799.According to the recommendation contained in the report submitted by Thomas Warden,the Palakkad raja family was granted a pension.This ended the rule of the Tarur Swaroopam or the Palakkad dynasty.Under the terms of the take over,the Raja was allowed to keep all his royal possessions,landed properties,and status of Raja.The British introduced a yearly Malikhan to the senior Raja and the four Sthanis,the royals next to him in seniority.The trustees of the raj's family retained their hold on the administration of the Kalpathy temple.

Palakkad Fort

The period from 1732 to 1757 was a time of turbulence for the Raja,who faced intermittent attacks from the Zamorin of Calicut.The conflict between the two culminated in the invasion of Hyder Ali.The Zamorin attacked Palakkad in 1732,1745 and 1757 and in 1757 defeated the Raja,and captured the then capital Chokkanathapuram.The Raja sought the help of Hyder Ali to contain the Zamorin.Hyder Ali sent his brother in law,Makhdum Ali in 1757 and the Zamorin retreated.Hyder Ali,after establishing his rule in Mysore in 1761,came to Palakkad,with the intention of fighting the Zamorin,who in the meantime had withdrawn from Palakkad.Palakkad became a kingdom under the domain of Hyder Ali.

Hyder Ali began constructing the Fort,and was completed by his son Tipu Sultan.Kallekulangara Raghava Pisharody, a friend of Ittikombi Achan, was asked to identify land to build a fort.Pisharody was an architect as well as an astrolger,who wrote Ravanodbhavam Kathakali play.Distinct from the mud forts of the time,a decision was taken to build a fort out of solid rock.The foundation stone was laid by Makhdum Ali.While the main gate faced North,the armoury was on the western side.Hyder found it an ideal place for improving the communication links between Coimbatore and Malabar,for launching his Malabar jihad.The work was over by 1766.It was designed by a French engineer.

Hyder soon took Ittikombi Achan prisoner at Srirangapattanam,as he tried to move away from him.Hyder handed over the task of collecting taxes to Ittipangi Achan,his favourite.The fort was a major scene of action in 1782,during the second Anglo-Mysore war,when forces of Sardar Khan and Major abbington faced each other.It was from this fort that Tipu and his French commnder M Lally began their march against the British.

On 15 November 1784,the Fort was captured by the British under Colonel William Fullarton,after a 11 day siege,with the help of the Zamorin,but was recaptured by Tipu.The war between Tipu and the British ended in 1784.Malabar was ruled by the muslims during 1784-1791.Tipu constructed the road from Palakkad to Dindigul via Thathamangalam,Pollachi and palani;from Feroke to Coimbatore via Palakkad,and from Kottakal to Coimbatore,via Angadipuram,Mannarkad and Palakkad.

Fullarton was the soldier who had led the British force against Kattabomman.

On 21 September 1791,Malabar Brigade Major Lt Colonel Alexander Stuart captured the Fort and Palakkad came under British rule.The Palakkad Raja gave the British secret help.This was extended with the clear understanding that after the capture of the Fort,the land would be returned to the Raja to rule.In the same year,Raja Itti Pangi Achan died and Itti Kombi Achan took over.The British set up a prison inside the Fort.It housed local chieftains who refused to yield.The Fort could house 10,000 soldiers at a time.

The Fort was used by the Mysore army to mint coins.The plan was to replace the existing Veerarayan Panam with another coin called Hydari.Later,a new coin Suktan Panam was minted at the Fort.

Kochi King Ramavarma Sakthan Thampuran met Tipu at the Fort,in 1788.Tipu revealed his plan to attack Travancore.When Tipu asked for Kochi's help,sakthan evaded the question.From the Fort,Tipu wrote to the Travancore King karthika Thirunal Ramavarma ( Dharmaraja ) demanding suzerainty.

Machat Ilayath prepared the horoscope of Tipu at the Fort.Tipu had brought a parrot tied with a golden chain and asked Ilayath to predict its death first.When Ilayath prophecied that the parrot would live for sme more time,Tipu took a swipe at the parrot with his sword.The sword missed its mark and instead hit the chain,freeing the bird.Ilayath wrote Tipu's horoscope and warned Tipu against remaining in the fort for long.

Slave trade was carried out in the fort-The price for one slave was 200-250 panam,during Hyder Ali.Two or three child slaves could be bought for 100 panam.

Ravivarma of the Zamorin family,who was the Commander of the Calicut force was captured by the British in 1793 and died in captivity at Cherpulassery.His nephew, also named Ravi Varma, was also arrested by the British and died in prison the same year.Ravi Varma has the distinction of being the first Malabar prince to rise up in 1788 against the forced conversions and deportation of Nairs to Seringapatam conducted by Tipu. He was a key figure in the anti-Mysore uprising in southern Malabar. After 1792, he broke his longstanding alliance with the British, and waged war against them.

We saw that Major Alexander signed an agreement with Itti Kombi achan.Alexander was a multi faceted personality.Brigadier-general Alexander Walker (1764-1831) made a collection of Persian, Sanskrit and Arabic manuscripts, presumably while Governor of Baroda.While he was Major in Malabar,he alongwith his clerk,Callinguel Cunhy Coroo,compiled four volumes,which were discovered by Lisa Rosner in 2018,at Edinburgh.

Walker was born in 1764 in Collessie, Scotland, the eldest of five children. His father William, a Church of Scotland minister, died when the boy was seven. Although he was able to study at the grammar school and university at St Andrews, he later recalled that 'poverty was vouchsafed... as a Counter balance to Family Pride [and its] younger Branches had to seek their fortunes in distant lands'.

His transition to adulthood would occur in India.A cadet in the East India Company from 1780, Walker sailed to Bombay in 1781.

While in his mid-teens, in 1780, Alexander Walker (born 12 May 1764) was appointed as a cadet in the service of the East India Company. In 1782 he became an ensign and in the same year took part in campaigns against the forts of Hyder Ali on the Malabar Coast. Walker was also present at Mangalore during the siege by Tipu and its subsequent surrender in January 1784. In 1788, after a period in enemy hands, and after taking part in an expedition to the north-west coast of America undertaken by the Bombay government, he was made a lieutenant and was sent with the expedition to relieve the Rajah of Travancore in 1790. In 1791, he was an adjutant.

On the conclusion of this stage of the war against Tipu, a commission was nominated to regulate the affairs of Malabar, and Walker was appointed as an assistant. On the arrival in Malabar of General James Stuart (d. 1793), commander-in-chief of the army in Bombay, he became his military secretary. In 1797, Walker was made captain, and the same year he became quartermaster-general of the Bombay army with the rank of Major. In 1799, he took part in the last war against Tipu and was present at the fighting at Seedaseer and at the siege of Srirangapatnam during which Tipu was killed.

British Forces crossing a river,c.1790/William Daniell 

In 1800, Walker was sent to the Mahratta states with the intention of pacifying and reforming the region and the Mahratta confederacy. Discontent in Baroda culminated in the insurrection of Mulhar Rao in 1801, though this was put down by 1802. In June 1803, Walker was appointed political Resident at Baroda and he succeeded in establishing an orderly administration there. His career continued in India, and he attained the rank of lieutenant-general in 1808. In 1810 he returned to Britain, to his estate of Bowland in Edinburgh and Selkirk, and he retired from service in 1812. In 1810, he obtained leave to quit India in pursuit of a more settled life at his newly purchased Bowland estate near Galashiels and Edinburgh. He married Barbara Montgomery on 12 July 1811.

Ten years later in 1822 he was called back from his retirement to the government of St. Helena which was under the administration of the East India Company. There he had the rank of brigadier-general. While in St. Helena, he improved the island's agriculture and horticulture. Brigadier-General Alexander Walker died in Edinburgh on 5 March 1831.The National Library of Scotland holds a vast archive of Walker's correspondence and papers, running to almost 600 large volumes, many of which he had prepared for publication. Among these is a hefty journal titled Voyage to America, 1785, which was finally published nearly 200 years after the event.

Alexander Walker

Bowland House, with its many Indian curiosities, 'notably of representatives of the Hindoo pantheon',was an ideal setting for Walker to work on his various Indian histories, and his accounts of Indian customs and beliefs. He also revisited his concerns about Britain's role in India, adding to the thoughts he had penned in 1811 during his passage home. Noting then that the East India Company, with its 200,000 men, was £30 million in debt, he reflected that British power in India was 'maintained at the expense of the parent state... guaranteed not only by the blood but the treasure of England'. In a private correspondence from 1817 to 1819 he built a compelling case for 'an unusual and unpopular expedient. A proposal to contract the bounds of our territories, and to relinquish the fruits of conquest...' Although opening the argument with fiscal concerns, Walker's proposal for radical reform broadened as he acknowledged a deep-rooted hostility and degrading dependence among the subjugated Indian populace: 'We have left wounds in every quarter, and produced everywhere discontent: the confidence which was once reposed in our moderation and justice is gone. We have made use of treaties, contracted solely for protection, as the means of making violent demands... Every individual almost above the common artizan and labourer suffers by our system of government.'

Alexander had a close working relationship with Kallingal Kunji Koru ( Indian spelling) in the EIC revenue office in Calicut.They together compiled four manuscript volumes on plants of Malabar. Two of these consist of illustrations and are held by the Centre for Research Collections at the University of Edinburgh. The other two consist of descriptions of each illustration, and are held, together with the rest of the Walker of Bowland archive, in Special Collections at the National Library of Scotland. Both sets are clearly attributed to Walker and contain his bookplate. They are numbered, and the descriptions in the NLS volumes match the illustrations with the corresponding number in the CRC volumes. Internal evidence suggests that the illustrations and descriptions were compiled while Walker was stationed in Malabar from 1799-1801, and that he wrote the introduction and back matter some years later, perhaps during his retirement in the 1820s. It's not clear why these volumes, so obviously connected to each other, ended up in separate collections.

Walker makes it clear that the volumes were based on native informants, and that makes them very interesting to modern historians.As Walker made clear, he made no claims to being a scholar. Indeed, he wrote, "As a science I knew little or nothing of Botany." But he knew how to develop cordial relations with local elites -- as he put it, "men of rank, of property, of education" -- because that was, in fact, an important part of his position with the Malabar Commission, charged with governing the region after the Mysore Wars. For that reason, when he "wished to obtain some knowledge of the natural productions of this beautiful Country," he requested "the assistance of some intelligent natives" in obtaining "drawings and descriptions of many plants. One native made the drawings, and the account of the plants was translated from the writing of another. Specimens of plants that I was not acquainted with were brought from a distance for my observation and instruction. The drawings were made in my presence."

This was not undertaken as part of his formal responsibilities as administrator. Instead, he framed it as a pleasant way for him to interact with local allies. As Walker explained in the front matter to the volumes, "In the remote regions of India I was frequently in situations where the Natives were my only Society. I found their conversation amusing and interesting. I was instructed in their manners and habits. In the process of communication they threw off that reserve which they commonly shew in their intercourse with Europeans...It was no difficult matter to acquire their confidence. It was only necessary to convince them that I had their good at heart. They were good humoured and easy to please. It was this disposition under these circumstances doubtless, that made them do many things that were agreeable to me, and which they perceived I was desirous of."

Walker here presents himself as a compiler of vernacular knowledge, in a style we can find elsewhere in his archive. But the image conjured from the back matter is quite different. The text states that the compiler took descriptions of "different trees, herbs, and vinegars" from native Malabar translations of Sanskrit texts. It also includes the comment, "The height and thickness of trees are...guessed; but a little experience in looking at objects with a view to their measurement enables a person to form a judgement tolerably accurate of this circumstance. The trees are measured from the ground to the highest leafy branch; the thickness is taken by a line through the center of the trunk at its greatest diameter."

In the description of the "Konna" tree -- Kanikonna, or Golden Shower Tree, the state flower of Kerala -- it certainly seems to be Walker who explains to us that it is "a tree of middling size...with yellow flowers and seed in pods. The flowers are used in celebrating the feast of Vishu. It is necessary that the flower should be the first object presented to the sight of a Malabar on the morning of the day dedicated to that God." But then the second voice chimes in to provide more detail: "The flower is put in a basin, where a little rice is deposited, with it a bit of gold, usually a gold fanam [coin] and a coconut, the whole covered over with a clean cloth. On the morning of the feast of Vishu each person of a family as they rise lifts the cloth that conceals the flower with circumspection and takes a reverential view of the flower. The observance of this ceremony ensures comfort and prosperity for the remainder of the year. The neglect of it will surely be attended with disgrace and distress."

Barbara,Alexander's wife

After making a thorough search through his archives, Lisa Rosner found that,the other voice in Alexander's writings belong to Kallingal Kunji Koru.The clearest evidence comes from the similarities between Walker's plant materials and another four-volume set in the Walker of Bowland archives, on Malabar castes. Like the plant volumes, this consists of two volumes of illustrations and two volumes of descriptions, with corresponding numbers linking the two sets. Unlike the plant volumes, Walker tells us exactly where he got his information. "I am indebted," he wrote,

...for the account of the distinction and establishment of Castes in Malabar to Callinguel Cunhy Coroo who was a Tien and consequently of the fourth class. Cunhy Coroo was my Menon or Clerk; and was a man full of information and intelligence. He had a superior and a manly understanding. His notions were liberal and in general of great practical soundness. I had many reasons to think well of his probity and principles, as well as of his understanding. He was a friend for whom I entertained a sincere esteem, and who from his attachment and integrity deserved my confidence. Cunhy Coroo tho' of a low Caste was conversant with the Sanskrit writings and literature of his Country, and had an extensive knowledge of the resources, the Institutions, and peculiar usages of Malabar.

Tien means,he was from the Thiyya caste. The archives contain a series of letters from Cunhy Coroo to Walker that make it clear the esteem went both ways. "My Honored Sir," Cunhy Coroo wrote to Walker,

It is a long time since I had the happiness of receiving a line from you but this I hope is merely on account of your being occupied in the more serious affairs of the Company...

I beg leave also to say that I on my part have been very neglectful since the receipt of your letter to me dates in May last...but this was entirely owing to my not having any thing particular to communicate, [and not from] want of respect or attachment to you...

By the Blessing of God and Secondly by your favour, I still remain in the same situation in the Principal Collectors Office. This together with a small extent of merchandize I carry on now does provide me and my family sufficiently for the present. I beg leave also to inform you that I have lately built a Pattamar boat valued about 15000 Rupees, and with which I traffic to Bombay.

As I have the greatest desire to see you...and then only would be happy I will thank you to let me know of your arrival at Bombay...or I shall be prepared to see you on the coast...

From other letters we know that Cunhy Coroo oversaw translations of traditional Malabar manuscripts for Walker, packed and shipped plants for him, sent him gifts on his own account, and kept Walker informed on East India Company affairs in the district. We also can learn that Cunhy Coroo was well-regarded by other EIC administrators, who frequently consulted with him, as Walker had, on Malabar customs, laws, and traditions. It is very probable that he was the "intelligent native officer of the revenue" mentioned by Francis Buchanan in his published survey of Malabar, who took Buchanan into the field to explain local agricultural practices (Buchanan 2:477).

The archives indicate that the relationship between the two men was rooted in mutual self-interest as well as esteem.Alexander was at that point only an acting, not a commissioned major, and his appointment rested on the continuation of the Malabar Commission. But the East India Company was riven by factions, and the Malabar Commission's supporters were not in the ascendant. It was very much to his advantage to have allies among the Native employees of the company, whose expertise was essential for smooth collection of both revenue and local intelligence.

Cunhy Coroo, for his part, had every reason to appreciate Walker's support. Under the less sympathetic administrator who succeeded Walker, several Brahmins were appointed to the revenue office, and they "take every opportunity of showing themselves as fac totum," Cunhy Coroo wrote. If he, or any of the other employees who had served under Walker "chanced to have the least occasion," to speak to the administrator, "it is envied by them." They might have been frozen out of the revenue office permanently, had not another shift in the political climate replaced the unsympathetic administrator with one who had a better appreciation of Native expertise. The archives suggest that Cunhy Coroo's correspondence, and Walker's support, were significant factors at the local level in that political shift.

Plants of Malabar/Illustration from Alexander archives

Their correspondence began with a formal request from Walker, while still part of the Malabar Commission:

To Cunhy Coroo:

No proper account has yet been obtained of the nature of the landed tenures in Malabar. The accompanying papers contain four several accounts differing from each other. I wish to reconcile them so that the names may agree together and the errors of each particularly pointed out -- I want besides an exact account and history of all the kinds of landed tenure in Malabar. This is requisite to be finished as soon as possible...

Cunhy Coroo's response was enormously detailed and touched on many aspects of legal and agricultural practice.We learn that when it is time for the cultivator to pay the landholder what he owes, the calculation was based in part on the stages of growth of the chief agricultural products, like the jack tree and the coconut. In fact, in the sections on the coconut and jack trees there are detailed charts on how much landholder and cultivator are owed, based on the size and growth of the plants.

That, then, is the explanation of the anomalous drawings of jack trees and coconuts,depicting stages of growth.

I am reminded of Hortus Malabaricus,a comprehensive treatise that deals with the properties of the flora of the Western Ghats region principally covering the areas now in the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa.Written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published in Amsterdam during 1678–1693.The book was conceived by Hendrik van Rheede, who was the Governor of Dutch Malabar at the time.The Hortus Malabaricus comprises 12 volumes of about 500 pages each, with 794 copper plate engravings. The first of the 12 volumes of the book was published in 1678, and the last in 1693. It is believed to be the earliest comprehensive printed work on the flora of Asia and the tropics.

Mentioned in these volumes are plants of the Malabar region which in his time referred to the stretch along the Western Ghats from Goa to Kanyakumari. The book gives a detailed account of the flora of Kerala, along with sketches and detailed descriptions. Over 742 different plants and their indigenous science are considered in the book. The book also employs a system of classification based on the traditions adopted by the practitioners of that region. Apart from Latin, the plant names have been recorded in other languages including Malayalam, Konkani, Arabic, English.

Hendrik van Rheede is said to have taken a keen personal interest in the compilation of the Hortus Malabaricus. The work was edited by a team of nearly a hundred including:
The physician Itti Achuden and the Brahmins Ranga Bhat, Vinayaka bhat and Appu Bhat.
Amateur botanists, such as Arnold Seyn, Theodore Jansson of Almeloveen, Paul Hermann, Johannes Munnicks, Joannes Commelinus, Abraham a Poot.
Technicians, illustrators and engravers, together with the collaboration of Dutch East India Company officials, and clergymen including D. John Caesarius and the Discalced Carmelite Mathaeus of St. Joseph’s Monastery at Varapuzha.

Van Rheede was also assisted by the King of Cochin and the ruling Zamorin of Calicut. 

Prominent among the Indian contributors was the  physician Itti Achuden, a Thiyya Vaidyan of the Mouton Coast of Malabar whose contribution was examined by three Brahmins named Ranga Bhat, Vinayaka Pandit and Appu Bhat.The ethnomedical original information in the work was provided by Itti Achuden and the three Brahmins, working on it for two continuous years morning and evening. Their certificate to this effect is given in the first volume of the book. A grand memorial to them is erected in Kochi.
_________________________________________________

Reference:

1.K N Laksminarayanan/From Cauvery to Neela:A History of Tamil Agraharams of Palakkad
2.Dr Lisa Rosner/Making Sense of Malabar:The Major,The Menon and the Meaning of Plants

3.Walker, Alexander/Centre for Research Collections, University of Edinburgh. Drawings of Trees and Plants on the Malabar Coast, 2 volumes

4.Regikumar, J., ed. Graeme's Report of the Revenue Administration of Malabar 1822. Reprint edition. Kerala State Archives: Government of Kerala, 2010

5.Buddle, Anne. The Tiger and the Thistle: Tipu Sultan and the Scots in India 1760-1800. Edinburgh : Trustees of National Gallery of Scotland, 1999.

6.Buchanan, Francis. A Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar

© Ramachandran 

THE CHRONICLES OF CHAOS

Foreword

The Chronicles of Chaos

Ramachandran

Islam ,meaning "submission [to God]", is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad  fundamentally teaching that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is the last and final messenger of God.It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24.1% of the world's population, known as Muslims.They make up a majority of the population in 49 countries. Islam teaches that God has guided mankind through prophets, revealed scriptures, and natural signs.The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, believed to be the verbatim word of God, as well as the teachings and normative examples,called the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith of Muhammad (c. 570 – 632 AD ).

Muslims consider the Quran in Arabic to be the unaltered and final revelation of God.Like other Abrahamic religions, Islam also teaches a final judgment with the righteous rewarded in paradise and the unrighteous punished in hell.Religious concepts and practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are obligatory acts of worship, as well as following Islamic law (sharia), which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, from banking and welfare to women and the environment.The cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are the three holiest sites in Islam.

Islam originated in the early 7th century  Arabian Peninsula, in Mecca, and by the 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate extended from Iberia in the west to the Indus River in the east. The Islamic Golden Age refers to the period traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century, during the Abbasid Caliphate, when much of the historically Muslim world was expamding.The expansion involved various caliphates and states such as the Ottoman Empire, trade, and conversion to Islam by missionary activities (dawah).

Most Muslims are of one of two denominations: Sunni (75–90%) or Shia (10–20%). Sunni and Shia differences arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions.About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country; 31% live in South Asia,the largest population of Muslims in the world; 20% in the Middle East–North Africa, where it is the dominant religion; and 15% in sub-Saharan Africa.Sizable Muslim communities can also be found in the Americas, China, Europe, and North Asia. 

Since it is a monotheistic religion,it has created only dictators from its very inception.Several characteristics of miltancy in the world,kidnapping,taking hostges,asking for ransom and jihad,were contributed by Islam.Out of the four Caliphs after Muhammad,three were murdered,proving it is not a peace loving religion.The founder himself ruled by subjugating the masses with terror and religion;adherence to the faith was mandatory.Death or Islam was the slogan.Iconoclasm,established in the final battle for Mecca was followed the world over,and was witnessed by Malabar in 1921,by islamists breaking the idols in temples,garlanding the idols with the entrails of cattle and even destroying the temples.Malabar had witnessed it much before,during the conquests of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.The Zamorin had to commit self immolation,setting fire to his palace.

India had witnessed it during the Islamic conquest of the Sindh in the 8th century,attacks of Muhammad Ghori,Mahmudd Ghazni and finally during the Mughal empire.Bakhtiyar Khalji destroyed the Nalanda University;Qutb Din Aibak constructed the vicory pillar of Qutb Minar,destroying 27 temples.Raja Dahir,Jayapala,the Hindu Karkota empire of Laltaditya,Suhaldev and Prithviraj resisted the Islamic conquest.

For Islam,conquest of India and Hindus was,jihad.

Jihad means 'to strive or struggle [in the way of God]'. In its broadest sense, it is "exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation." Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the Devil, and aspects of one's own self ,such as sinful desires, different categories of jihad are defined. Jihad also refers to one's striving to attain religious and moral perfection.When used without any qualifier, jihad is understood in its military form. Some Muslim authorities, especially among the Shi'a and Sufis, distinguish between the "greater jihad," which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the "lesser jihad", defined as warfare.

Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military exertion against non-Muslim combatants. Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against illegal works, terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, apostates, and leaders or states who oppress Muslims. Jihad only becomes an individual duty for those vested with authority. 

Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early criticism came from Jewish and Christian authors, many of whom viewed Islam as a Christian heresy or a form of idolatry, often explaining it in apocalyptic terms.Later, there appeared criticism from the Muslim world itself, as well as from Jewish writers and from ecclesiastical Christians.Issues relating to the authenticity and morality of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, are also discussed by critics.

World Muslim Population

Islamic salvation optimism and its carnality were criticized by Christian writers. Islam's sensual descriptions of paradise led many Christians to conclude that Islam was not a spiritual religion. Although sensual pleasure was also present in early Christianity, as seen in the writings of Irenaeus, the doctrines of the former Manichaean Augustine of Hippo led to the broad repudiation of bodily pleasure in both life and the afterlife. Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari defended the Quranic description of paradise by asserting that the Bible also implies such ideas, such as drinking wine in Gospel of Matthew.

Defamatory images of Muhammad, derived from early 7th century depictions of Byzantine Church,appear in the 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Here, Muhammad appears in the eighth circle of hell, along with Ali. Dante does not blame Islam as a whole but accuses Muhammad of schism, by establishing another religion after Christianity.

Since the events of 11 September 2001, Islam has faced criticism over its scriptures and teachings being claimed to be a significant source of terrorism and terrorist ideology.India had known it for several centuries,as a politico-religious phenomenon,rooted in militancy.

Other criticisms focus on the question of human rights in modern Muslim-majority countries, and the treatment of women in Islamic law and practice.In the wake of the recent multiculturalism trend, Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate has been criticized. Both in his public and personal life, others objected the morality of Muhammad, therefore also the sunnah as a role model.

Muhammad being the last prophet,leaves little room for updation in the religion he has found.Its priest hood interprets the Quranic verses according to their whims and fancies,most of the time,in an archaic manner.The resultant reality is often chaos and anarchy.It is a religion marred by homicides and fratricides.This book chronicles the militancy Islam has given birth to and groomed over centuries of strife and conquests.

© Ramachandran 

ഗാന്ധി,കോഴിക്കോട് പ്രസംഗം,1920

ഖിലാഫത്തിനൊപ്പം നിൽക്കുക 

ഗാന്ധിയും ഷൗക്കത്ത് അലിയും തിരുച്ചിയിൽ നിന്ന് തീവണ്ടിയിൽ 1920 ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 18 ഉച്ചയ്ക്ക് രണ്ടരയ്ക്കാണ് കോഴിക്കോട്ട് എത്തിയത്.ഖാൻ ബഹദൂർ മുത്തുക്കോയ തങ്ങൾ മാലയിട്ട് സ്വീകരിച്ചു.ക്രോസിൻ മൊത്ത വിൽപ്പനക്കാരൻ ശ്യാംജി സുന്ദർ ദാസിൻറെ ( കല്ലാജി ബാജു ) ഗുജറാത്തി സ്ട്രീറ്റിലെ വീട്ടിൽ താമസിച്ചു.വി ആർ കൃഷ്ണയ്യരുടെ പിതാവ് വി വി രാമയ്യരായിരുന്നു വെള്ളയിൽ ബീച്ചിൽ വൈകിട്ട് ആറരയ്ക്ക് നടന്ന സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ താലൂക്ക് ബോർഡിന് വേണ്ടി സ്വാഗതം പറഞ്ഞത്.ഹൈക്കോടതി വക്കീൽ കെ പി രാമൻ മേനോൻ ആധ്യക്ഷ്യം വഹിച്ചു.കെ മാധവൻ നായർ ഗാന്ധിയുടെ പ്രസംഗം പരിഭാഷപ്പെടുത്തി.കെ പി രാമൻ മേനോൻ മലബാർ ജനതയ്ക്ക് വേണ്ടി 2500 രൂപയുടെ ചെക്ക് ഖിലാഫത്ത് നിധിയിലേക്ക് വേണ്ടി ഷൗക്കത്ത് അലിക്ക് നൽകി.കൂടുതൽ പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ച അലിക്ക് ഇത് തൃപ്തി നൽകിയില്ലെന്ന് The Source Material for a History of the Freedom Movement in India വാല്യം മൂന്ന്,ഭാഗം ഒന്ന് പേജ് 318 -19 ൽ കാണുന്നു.

ഗാന്ധിയുടെയും അലിയുടെയും ഈ സന്ദർശനത്തിന് ശേഷമാണ് ഖിലാഫത്ത് പ്രസ്ഥാനം മലബാറിൽ ശക്തിപ്പെട്ട് മാപ്പിള ലഹളയിൽ കലാശിച്ചത്.നിസ്സഹകരണ പ്രസ്ഥാനത്തിന് വലിയ പിന്തുണയുണ്ടായിരുന്നില്ല;പി മൊയ്തീൻ കുട്ടിയെപ്പോലെ മത ഭ്രാന്തന്മാരായ മാപ്പിള യുവാക്കളും കെ മാധവൻ നായർ,ഗോപാല മേനോൻ,പി അച്യുതൻ തുടങ്ങിയ കേസില്ലാ വക്കീൽമാരായിരുന്നു ഇതിൻറെ കൂടെയുണ്ടായിരുന്നത് എന്ന് ആ പുസ്തകത്തിൽ പറയുന്നു.ഗാന്ധിയും അലിയും 19 ന് മംഗലാപുരത്തേക്കുള്ള യാത്രക്കിടെ ട്രെയിൻ മിക്കവാറും സ്റ്റേഷനുകളിൽ നിർത്തി.തലശ്ശേരിയിലും കണ്ണൂരിലും ഉത്സാഹം കണ്ടു.വടകരയും തളിപ്പറമ്പ് അത് കണ്ടില്ല.കണ്ണൂരിൽ 500 രൂപ കിട്ടിയപ്പോൾ അത് പോരെന്നായി അലി.20 ന് മടക്കയാത്രയിൽ ഗാന്ധിയെ കാണാൻ സ്റ്റേഷനുകളിൽ ആളുണ്ടായില്ല.

1920 ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 18 ന് കോഴിക്കോട് വെള്ളയിൽ ബീച്ചിൽ ഗാന്ധി നടത്തിയ പ്രസംഗം:

നിസ്സഹരണത്തിൻറെ സത്ത അറിഞ്ഞാൽ നാം വിജയിക്കും.ഇന്ത്യക്കാരുടെ സഹകരണം കൊണ്ടാണ്,ആയുധ ബലം പ്രയോഗിച്ചല്ല ബ്രിട്ടൻ ഇന്ത്യയെ ഭരിക്കുന്നതെന്ന് ബർമയിലെ ലഫ് ഗവർണർ ഞങ്ങളോട് പറയുകയുണ്ടായി.അറിഞ്ഞോ അറിയാതെയോ സർക്കാർ ജനത്തോട് ചെയ്യുന്ന തെറ്റുകൾക്കുള്ള പരിഹാരം അദ്ദേഹം നിർദേശിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.നാം ആ സർക്കാരിനോട് സഹകരിക്കുവോളം ആ തെറ്റിൽ നമ്മളും പങ്കാളികൾ ആയിരിക്കും.തങ്ങളുടെ ഇച്ഛയ്ക്ക് വിരുദ്ധമായി സർക്കാർ അടിച്ചേൽപ്പിച്ച ദുരിതങ്ങൾ ഒരു പ്രജയും സഹിക്കില്ല.ഇന്ത്യ സർക്കാരും സാമ്രാജ്യത്വ സർക്കാരും ഇന്ത്യയോട് ഇരട്ട തെറ്റ് ചെയ്തതായി ഞാൻ ഈ സമ്മേളനത്തെ അറിയിക്കുന്നു.സ്വന്തം അവകാശങ്ങൾ,ഉത്തരവാദിത്തങ്ങൾ,കടമകൾ എന്നിവയെപ്പറ്റി ബോധമുള്ള ആത്മാഭിമാനമുള്ള ഒരു ജനതയാണ് നാം എങ്കിൽ,ഈ രണ്ടു സർക്കാരുകളും അടിച്ചേൽപ്പിച്ച അപമാനങ്ങൾ നാം സഹിക്കേണ്ടതില്ല.70 ലക്ഷം മുസ്ലിംകൾ ഹൃദയത്തോട് ചേർത്ത മത വികാരങ്ങളെ അവർ വ്രണപ്പെടുത്തി.

ഖിലാഫത്ത് പ്രശ്‍നം ഞാൻ സവിശേഷമായി പഠിച്ചു.മുസ്ലിം വികാരം എനിക്കറിയാം.ഖിലാഫത്ത് പ്രശ്നത്തിൽ ബ്രിട്ടൻ മുസ്ലിം വികാരത്തെ ഹനിച്ചു എന്ന് ഞാൻ പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കുന്നു.ഇതിന് മുൻപ് അങ്ങനെ ഉണ്ടായിട്ടില്ല.അവരോട് ഞാൻ നിസ്സഹകരണ സുവിശേഷം പ്രസംഗിച്ചു,അവർ സ്വീകരിച്ചു.അതല്ലെങ്കിൽ ഇവിടെ രക്തച്ചൊരിച്ചിൽ ഉണ്ടാകുമായിരുന്നു.രക്തച്ചൊരിച്ചിൽ അവരുടെ പ്രശ്‍നം പരിഹരിക്കില്ല.ഹൃദയത്തിൽ മുറിവേറ്റ ഒരാൾ ക്ഷുഭിതനാകുമ്പോൾ എന്ത് ചെയ്യും എന്ന് പറയാനാവില്ല.ഇതാണ് ഖിലാഫത്തിനെപ്പറ്റി പറയാനുള്ളത്.

ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളെ വടക്ക് പഞ്ചാബിലേക്ക് കൊണ്ട് പോകുന്നു.പഞ്ചാബിൽ ഇരു സർക്കാരുകളും എന്താണ് ചെയ്തത് ? അമൃത് സറിലെ ജനത്തിന് കുറച്ചു കാലത്തേക്ക് സമനില തെറ്റി എന്ന് ഞാൻ സമ്മതിക്കുന്നു.ക്രൂരമായ ഭരണം കാരണമാണ് അവർക്ക് ഭ്രാന്തെടുത്തത്.ഒരു ഭ്രാന്തും നിരപരാധികളുടെ രക്തം ചിന്തുന്നതിന് ന്യായമല്ല.അതിന് വലിയ വില കൊടുക്കേണ്ടി വന്നു.പഞ്ചാബിന് നൽകിയ ശിക്ഷ സംസ്കാരമുള്ള ഒരു സർക്കാരിനും ചേർന്നതല്ല.നിരപരാധികളെ വ്യാജ വിചാരണ ചെയ്ത് ജീവപര്യന്തം തടവിലിട്ടു.പിന്നീട് നൽകിയ മോചനത്തിന് വിലയില്ലാതായി.ഒന്നുമറിയാത്ത നിരായുധരെ ഒരു മുന്നറിയിപ്പുമില്ലാതെ കൂട്ടക്കൊല ചെയ്തു.ഒരാളോടും ഒരു കുറ്റവും ചെയ്യാത്ത ജാലിയൻ വാലാബാഗിലെ സ്ത്രീകളെ മാനഭംഗപ്പെടുത്തി.മാനഭംഗം എന്നത് കൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ എന്താണ് ഉദ്ദ്യേശിച്ചതെന്ന് നിങ്ങൾ അറിയണം.അവരുടെ മുഖപടം ഒരു വടി കൊണ്ട് ഒരു ഓഫിസർ എടുത്തു മാറ്റി.ഒരു തെറ്റും ചെയ്യാത്ത ആണുങ്ങളോട് നിലത്തിഴയാൻ കൽപിച്ചു.ഇതിന് ആരും ഇതുവരെ പകരം ചോദിച്ചില്ല.തീ വയ്‌പും നിരപരാധികളുടെ കൊലയും ശിക്ഷാർഹമാണെങ്കിൽ,ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് സർക്കാർ അവരുടെ ഓഫിസർമാരെയാണ് ശിക്ഷിക്കേണ്ടത്.മനഃപൂർവം ചെയ്ത ഈ തെറ്റുകളെ ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് പ്രഭു സഭ പിന്തുണയ്ക്കുന്ന ഹീനമായ കാഴ്ചയും ഉണ്ടായി.ഇന്ത്യയോട് ചെയ്ത ഈ ഇരട്ട തെറ്റാണ് പരിഹരിക്കേണ്ടത്.അത് അവരുടെ കടമയാണ്.നാം പ്രാർത്ഥിച്ചു,പരാതിപ്പെട്ടു,പ്രമേയങ്ങൾ പാസാക്കി.

മുഹമ്മദ് അലി,സുഹൃത്തുക്കളുടെ സഹായത്തോടെ യൂറോപ്പിൽ നീതിക്കായി കാക്കുകയാണ്.പൗരുഷത്തോടെ അദ്ദേഹം ഇസ്ലാമിന് വേണ്ടി,ഇന്ത്യൻ മുസ്ലിമിന് വേണ്ടി വാദിച്ചു.അവ ബധിര കര്ണങ്ങളിൽ പതിച്ചു.ഫ്രാൻസും ഇറ്റലിയും ഇസ്ലാമിനോട് അനുതാപം കാട്ടിയെന്നും ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് മന്ത്രിമാർ എതിരാണെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം അറിയിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് മന്ത്രിമാരും ഇന്ത്യൻ ഭരണകർത്താക്കളും വിഷയത്തെ എങ്ങനെ സമീപിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് ഇത് വ്യക്തമാക്കുന്നു.ജനവികാരത്തെ മയപ്പെടുത്താൻ ഇച്ഛയോ ആഗ്രഹമോ ഇല്ല.ഈ ഇരട്ടത്തെറ്റ്‌ പരിഹരിക്കാൻ നമുക്കൊരു വഴി വേണം.

പടിഞ്ഞാറൻ ലോകത്തിൻറെ വഴി ഹിംസയാണ്.ഒരു തെറ്റ് നടന്നെന്ന് ന്യായമായോ അല്ലാതെയോ തോന്നിയാൽ അവർ കലാപം നടത്തും.ചോരയൊഴുക്കും.വൈസ്രോയിക്കയച്ച കത്തിൽ ഞാൻ എഴുതിയ പോലെ,ഇന്ത്യൻ ജനതയിൽ പാതിയും ഹിംസയിൽ വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നില്ല.ബാക്കി പാതി ദുര്ബലരാണ്.എന്നാൽ ഇന്ത്യയാകെ ദുഖത്തിലാണ്.അതിന് പരിഹാരമായാണ് ഞാൻ നിസ്സഹകരണം മുന്നോട്ട് വയ്ക്കുന്നത്.അത് നിർദോഷവും ഭരണഘടനാപരവും അതേ സമയം ഫലപ്രദവുമാണ്.വേണ്ട പോലെ ചെയ്താൽ വിജയം നേടിത്തരുന്ന മരുന്ന്.അത് ആത്മ ത്യാഗത്തിൻറെ പുരാതന മരുന്നാണ്.

വലിയ തെറ്റ് കാണുന്ന ഇന്ത്യൻ മുസ്ലിംകൾ ആത്മത്യാഗത്തിന് തയ്യാറുണ്ടോ ?സർക്കാരിനെ ജനാഭിലാഷത്തിന് കീഴ്‌പ്പെടുത്താൻ ഏക പരിഹാരം നിസ്സഹകരണമാണ്.ഖിലാഫത്ത് പ്രശ്നത്തിൽ നീതിക്കായി ഇന്ത്യൻ മുസ്ലിംകൾ സർക്കാരിനോട് നിസ്സഹരണം പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കാൻ തയ്യാറുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ,ആ മുസ്ലിം സഹോദരരുമായി സഹകരിക്കേണ്ടത് ഓരോ ഹിന്ദുവിൻറെയും കടമയാണ്.ബ്രിട്ടീഷുകാരുമായുള്ള ബന്ധത്തെക്കാൾ ഹിന്ദുക്കളും മുസ്ലിംകളും തമ്മിലുള്ള നിതാന്ത സൗഹൃദം,കാലാതീത പ്രാധാന്യമുള്ളതാണ്.അതിനാൽ ഹിന്ദുക്കൾ മുസ്ലിംകളുമായി ഐക്യത്തിൽ കഴിയാൻ ഇതാണ് നല്ല അവസരം;ഇതു പോലൊന്ന് കിട്ടാൻ നൂറ്റാണ്ട് കാക്കണം.ഈ മഹത്തായ രാജ്യത്തിന് ഖിലാഫത്ത്,പഞ്ചാബ് പ്രശ്നങ്ങളിൽ നിശ്ചയദാർഢ്യമുണ്ടെന്ന് ഇരു സർക്കാരുകൾക്കും മനസ്സിലായാൽ സർക്കാർ നീതി ചെയ്തേക്കാം.

ഇന്ത്യൻ മുസ്ലിം നിസ്സഹകരണത്തിൻറെ ആദ്യഘട്ടത്തിൽ ആത്മാർത്ഥമായി പങ്കെടുക്കണം.സർക്കാരിനോട് നിങ്ങൾ സഹരിച്ചില്ലെങ്കിൽ,അവരിൽ നിന്ന് ഒരു സഹായവും കിട്ടില്ല.ആദരസൂചകമായ സ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ എല്ലാം അപമാനമാണ്.അതിനാൽ ആ സ്ഥാനങ്ങളും അത്തരം പദവികളും വേണ്ടെന്ന് വയ്ക്കണം.സർക്കാരിന് എതിരെ ജന നേതാക്കളുടെ ശക്തമായ നിരാസമായിരിക്കും അത്.വക്കീൽമാർ കോടതികളും വിദ്യാർത്ഥികൾ സർക്കാർ,സർക്കാർ എയ്‌ഡഡ്‌ സ്‌കൂളുകളും ബഹിഷ്കരിക്കണം.സ്‌കൂൾ ബഹിഷ്കരണം ഇന്ത്യയിലെ മധ്യ വർഗ്ഗത്തിൻറെ വിയോജിപ്പ് രേഖപ്പെടുത്തൽ ആയിരിക്കും.

അത് പോലെ പരിഷ്കരിച്ച നിയമസഭകൾ ബഹിഷ്കരിക്കാനും ഞാൻ നിർദേശിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.വോട്ടർമാർ അവരുടെ പ്രതിനിധികളെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുന്നില്ലെന്ന് വന്നാൽ അത് ഉറച്ച പ്രഖ്യാപനം ആയിരിക്കും.പട്ടാള,പോലീസ് തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പുകളും ബഹിഷ്കരിക്കണം.പോലീസായും പട്ടാളക്കാരനായും നാം മെസൊപൊട്ടേമിയയിൽ പോയി ബ്രിട്ടനെ സഹായിക്കേണ്ട.നിസ്സഹകരണത്തിൻറെ ആദ്യ ഘട്ടത്തിലെ അവസാന ഇനം സ്വദേശിയാണ്.അത് സർക്കാരിൽ സമ്മർദം ചെലുത്താനല്ല.ഓരോ പുരുഷൻറെയും സ്ത്രീയുടെയും കുട്ടിയുടെയും ആത്മത്യാഗം കാട്ടാനാണ് അത്.ഇന്ത്യയിൽ നാലിൽ ഒന്നിൻറെയും ആത്മാഭിമാനത്തിന് ക്ഷതം ഏറ്റിരിക്കെ ഇന്ത്യയ്ക്കാകെ നീതി നിഷേധിച്ചിരിക്കെ ജപ്പാനിൽ നിന്നുള്ള സിൽക്കും മാഞ്ചസ്റ്ററിൽ നിന്നുള്ള കാലിക്കോയും ഫ്രാൻസിൽ നിന്നുള്ള കൈത്തറിയും നാം വേണ്ടെന്ന് വയ്ക്കണം.നമ്മുടെ പാവം നെയ്ത്തുകാർ അവരുടെ കുടിലുകളിൽ നെയ്ത വസ്ത്രം മതി.നൂറ്റാണ്ട് മുൻപ്,നമ്മുടെ അഭിരുചി വിദേശ ഉൽപന്നങ്ങളിൽ അല്ലാതിരുന്നപ്പോൾ ഇന്ത്യൻ പുരുഷന്മാരും സ്ത്രീകളും നെയ്ത വസ്ത്രങ്ങൾ നമുക്ക് മതിയായിരുന്നു.അഭിരുചികളിൽ വിപ്ലവം നടത്തി പുരാതന കാലത്തേക്ക് മടങ്ങിയാൽ ലോകം മുഴുവൻ ത്യാഗത്തിൻറെ മതത്തെ അംഗീകരിക്കും.ഇതാണ് നിസ്സഹകരണത്തിൻറെ ആദ്യഘട്ടം.അത് എളുപ്പമാണ്.

മറ്റ് മൂന്ന് ഘട്ടങ്ങളെപ്പറ്റി ഇപ്പോൾ പറയുന്നില്ല.ആദ്യഘട്ടത്തിൽ മനസ്സുറയ്ക്കട്ടെ.ആദ്യഘട്ടത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കാൻ രണ്ടു കാര്യങ്ങൾ വേണം-അഹിംസയും ആത്മത്യാഗവും.നിസ്സഹകരണത്തിൻറെ മൂല്യം മനസ്സിലാക്കാൻ ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് ധൈര്യവും വിവേകവും നൽകാൻ ഞാൻ ദൈവത്തോട് പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുന്നു.അടുത്ത ഏതാനും ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ കോഴിക്കോട്ട് നിസ്സഹകരണ പ്രവർത്തങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടാകുമെന്ന് ആശിക്കുന്നു.

( വെസ്റ്റ് കോസ്റ്റ് സ്‌പെക്ടേറ്റർ,20 ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 1920 ) 

ഗാന്ധി കേരളത്തിൽ നാല് തവണ കൂടി വന്നു:1925 മാർച്ച് 9 -19,1927 ഒക്ടോബർ 9 -15,25,1934 ജനുവരി 10 -22,1937 ജനുവരി 12 -21.

© Ramachandran 

GANDHI'S SPEECH AT CALCUT,1920

He Was Accompanied by Shaukat Ali

Gandhi and Shaukat Ali arrived at Calicut from Trichy on 18th August 1920 and at 6-30 pm; addressed a gathering of about 20,000 people on the Vellayil beach, Calicut.They were garlanded by Khan Bahadur Muthukoya Thangal,and their host was the Gujarati wholesale dealer of Crocin,Shyamji Sundardas ( Kallaji Baju).V R Krishna Iyer's father,V V Rama Iyer presided over the public meeting.High Court advocate K P raman Menon welcomed the gathering and handed over a purse of Rs 2500 to Shukat Ali for the Khilafat fund.Shaukat Ali was disppointed,since he expected more,says The Source Material for a History of the Indian Freedom Movement in India,Vol 3,Part I,pages 318-19.Ali was also not satisfied with Rs 500 he got at Kannur railway station on the return journey from Mangalore on the 20th.K Madhavan Nair translated Gandhi's speech at Calicut.

Mahatma Gandhi's Speech:

The Spirit of Non Co-Operation

I do expect that we shall succeed if we understand the spirit of non-co-operation. The Lieutenant Governor of Burma himself has told us that Britain retains the hold on India not by force of arms but by the co-operation of the people of India. He has given us the remedy for any wrong Government may do to the people, knowingly or unknowingly, and so long as we co-operate with that Government we become the sharers of the wrong. But a wise subject never· tolerates the hardship that a Government impose against their declared will. I venture to submit to this great meeting that the Government of India and the Imperial Government have done a double wrong to India and if we are a self respecting nation conscious of its rights, conscious of its responsibilities and conscious of its duties, it is not proper that we should stand the humiliations that both these Governments have imposed upon us. The Imperial Government have knowingly flouted religious !oentiments dearly cherished by the 70 millions of Mussalmans.

The Khilafat Question

I claim to have studied the Khilafat question in a special manner. I claim to have understood the Musalman feelings and I am here to declare that in the Khilafat question,the British Government have wounded the sentiments of Mussalmans,as they have not done before. The Gospel of non co-operation is preached to them and if they had not accepted it, there would have been bloodshed in India by this time. I am free to confess the spilling of blood would not help their cause. But a man, who is in a state of rage, whose heart is lacerated does not count on the results of his actions. So much for Khilafat wrong. 

I propose to take you for a moment to the Punjab, the northern end of India and what have both Governments done for the Punjab? I am free to confess again that the crowds in Amristar went mad for a time. They were goaded to madness by a wicked administration but no madness on the part of the people can justify the spilling of innocent blood and what have they paid for it? I venture to submit that no civilised Government l would have made the people to pay the penalty that had been inflicted on the Punjab. Innocent men were passed through mock trials and imprisoned for life. Amnesty granted to them was of no consequence. Innocent and unarmed men who knew nothing of what was to happen were butchered in cold blood without the slightest notice. The modesty of women in Jallian Wala who had not done the slightest wrong to any man was seriously outraged. I want you to understand what I mean by outrage. Their veils were insolently removed by an officer with his stick. Men who had not done any wrong were made to crawl on the ground with their bellies and all these wrongs remain unavenged up to this time. If it was the duty of the Government of India to punish men for incendiarism and murder of innocent persons it was doubly their duty to punish their officers who were guilty of serious wrong. But in the face of these official wrongs committed with the greatest deliberation,we have the humiliating spectacle of the House of Lords supporting these wrongs. It is this double wrong, done to India, that we want to get redressed and it is our bounden duty to get it redressed. We have prayed, we have petitioned and we have passed resolutions. 

Mr. Mohammed Ali, supported by his friends, is now waiting for justice in Europe. He has pleaded the cause of Islam, the cause of the Mussalmans of India, in a most manful manner. But his pleadings have fallen upon deaf ears. We have his word for it that whilst France and Italy have shown great sympathy for the cause of Islam it is the British Ministers who have not shown sympathy. It shows which way the British Ministers and present holders of Office in India wished to deal with the people. There is no good will, there is no desire to placate public opinion. The people of India must have a remedy for redressing this double wrong.

The method of the West is violence. Whenever people of the West have felt wrong justly or unjustly, they rebel and spill blood. As I have said in my letter to the Viceroy, half of India does not believe in the remedy of violence. The other half is too weak to offer it. But the whole of India is deeply grieved and it is for that reason that I venture to suggest to the people the remedy of non co-operation. I consider it to be perfectly harmless, absolutely constitutional and yet perfectly efficacious. It is a remedy, if properly adopted will end in victory. Victory is a certainty in it. And it is the age-old remedy of self-sacrifice. Are the Mussalmans of India who feel the great wrong done to them prepared for self-sacrifice? If we desire to compel the Government to the will of the people, as we must, the only remedy open to us is non-co-operation. If the Mussalmans of India offer non-co operation to Government in order to secure justice on the Khilafat, it is the duty of every Hindu to co-operate with their Mos!em brethren. I consider the eternal friendship between Hindus and Mussalmans as infinitely more important than the British connection. I therefore venture to suggest that if they like to live with unity with Mussalmans, it is now that they have got the best opportunity and that such an opportunity would not come for a century. I venture to suggest that if the Government of India and the Imperial Government come to know that there is a great determination behind this great nation in order to secure redress for the Khilafat and Punjab wrongs, the Government would then do justice to us.

The Mussalmans of India will have to commence the first stage of non-co-operation in real earnest.If you may not help Government, you may not receive favours from the Government. I consider that the titles of Honour are titles of disgrace. We must therefore surrender all titles and resign all honorary offices. It will constitute an emphatic disapproval of the leaders of the people against the actions of the Government. Lawyers must suspend practice, boys should not receive instructions from schools aided by Government or controlled by Government. The emptying of schools would constitute the disapproval of the middle classes of the people of India. 

Similarly have I ventured to suggest a complete boycott of the Reformed Councils. That will be an emphatic declaration on the part of the representatives of people and the electorate that they do not like to elect their representatives.We must equally decline to offer ourselves as recruits for the Police and the Military. It is impossible for us to go to Mesopotamia and offer Police or Military assistance. The last item in the first stage of non-cooperation is Swadeshism. Swadeshi is intended, not so much as to bring pressure on Government but to show the extent of self-sacrifice on the part of every man, woman and child. When one fourth of India has its self respect at stake, when the whole of India has its justice at stake, we must forego silk from Japan, Calico from Manchester and French lace from France. We must resolve to be satisfied with cloth woven by the humble weavers of India in their cottage homes. A hundred years ago when our tastes were not in foreign products we were satisfied with cloth produced by men and women of India. If I could revolutionise the taste of India and make it return to its ancient state, the whole world would reeognise the cult of renunciation: that is the first stage in non-co·operation. I hope it is as easy for you as it is easy for me to see that India is capable of undertaking the first stage of non·co-operation.

I therefore do not intend to take you through the other three stages of non-eo-operation. I would like you to rivet your attention properly into the first stage. You will have noticed that two things are nececssary in order to go to the first stage-an absolutely perfect spirit of non-violence is indispensable for successes and only a little measure of self-sacrifice. I pray to God that He will give the people of India sufficient courage and wisdom to recognise the virtue of non-co-operation. And I hope that in a few days we shall see some result from your activities in Calicut in connection with non-co-operation.

Mr. Shaukat Ali's address was confined to a special appeal to the Mussalmans with regard to the Khilafat question.

Mr. K. P. Raman Menon on behalf of the people of Calicut presented a purse of Rs. 2,500 to Mahatma Gandhi towards the Khilafat funds which gift was accepted with thanks.

(West Coast Reformer/ 20 August 1920).

Gandhi addressed a public meeting on 15 September 1921 evening on the Triplicane Beach, Madras. The Triplicane Speech:

The Moplah Rebellion

It was open to the Government. as powerful as they were, to invite the Ali Brothers and the speaker to enter the disturbed area in Malabar and to bring about calm and peace there. Mr. Gandhi was sure that if this had been done much of the innocent blood would have been spared and also the desolation of many a Hindu household. But he must be forgiven if he again charged the Government with a desire to incite the population to violence. There was no room in this system of Government for brave and strong men, and the only place the Government had for them was the prisons. He regretted the happenings in Malabar. The Moplahs who were undisciplined had gone mad. They had thus committed a sin against the Khilafat and their own eountry.

 The whole of India today was under an obligation to remain non-violent even under the gravest provocation. There was no reaso to doubt that these Moplahs were not touched by the spirit of Non-co-operation. Non-co-operators were deliberately prevented from going to the affected parts. Assuming that all the strain came through Government Circles and that forced conversions were true,the Hindus should not put a strain on the Hindu-Moslem Unity and break it. The speaker was however not prepared to make such an assumption. He was convinced that a man who was forcibly converted needed no "Prayaschitham." Mr. Yakub Hassan had already told them that those who were converted were inadmissible into the fold of Islam and had not forfeited their rights to remain in the Hindu fold. The Government were placing every obstacle in the way of the Congress and Khilafat workers to bring relief to desolate homes and were taking no pains to carry relief themselves. Whether the Government gave them permission or not it was their clear duty to collect funds for the relief of sufferers and see that these got what they required.

They did not yet know fully what measures the Government were going to take to repress the strength and rising of the people in this land. He had nb reasons to disbelieve the testimony given to him yesterday that many young men were insulted because they wore Khaddar caps and dress. The keepers of the peace in India had torn Khaddar vests from young men and burned them. The authorities in Malabar had invented new measures of humiliation if they had not gone one better than those in the Punjab.

(Madras Mail, 16 September,1921.)

Gandhi made five trips to Kerala – in 1920 to garner support for the Khilafat movement, in 1925 March 9-19 for the Vaikom Satyagraha, in 1927 October 9-15,25 for protesting against untouchability, then in 1934 January 10-22 for raising funds for the downtrodden when a little girl Kaumudi donated all her ornaments to him and in 1937 january 12-21 for celebrating the temple entry proclamation.

Gandhi found Kerala’s intellectuals and ordinary folk receptive and yearning for a free and fair society. A large number of people in the state were greatly influenced by his political and moral philosophy. A Christian youth named Titus Thevarthundiyil accompanied Gandhi during the historic Dandi March in 1930. It is a cinematic coincidence that when Titus followed the footsteps of Gandhi in Dandi, another freedom fighter from Kerala, K Kelappan Nair, popularly called Kelappan, led the Kerala Dandi march from Calicut to Payyannur in Malabar following the decision of KPCC to break the salt laws.





Gandhi made five trips to Kerala – in 1920 to garner support for the Khilafat movement, in 1925 for the Vaikom Satyagraha, in 1927 for protesting against untouchability, then in 1934 for raising funds for the downtrodden when a little girl Kaumudi donated all her ornaments to him and in 1937 for celebrating the temple entry proclamation.


Gandhi found Kerala’s intellectuals and ordinary folk receptive and yearning for a free and fair society. A large number of people in the state were greatly influenced by his political and moral philosophy. A Christian youth named Titus Thevarthundiyil accompanied Gandhi during the historic Dandi March in 1930. It is a cinematic coincidence that when Titus followed the footsteps of Gandhi in Dandi, another freedom fighter from Kerala, K Kelappanled the Kerala Dandi march from Calicut to Payyannur in Malabar following the decision of KPCC to break the salt laws.






People decorated the roads with Tricolour flags and festoons and offered food and refreshment to the satyagrahis. Caparisoned elephants greeted them as a mark of respect.

On the day of its arrival in Payyannur on April 21, ladies led by Gracy Aaron showered the satyagrahis with flowers and rice. Kelappan, in a two-hour speech, enthused the people with the ideals of non-violence and Satyagraha. After his address, there was burning of foreign clothes at the place. Kelappan, in all solemnity, scraped out some salt and thereby became the first salt satyagrahi in Kerala.

The Badagara session of KPCC in May 1931 resolved to launch anti- untouchability campaign as one of the programmes of the Congress. They chose Guruvayoor as the centre of the agitation and demanded the temple therein be opened for all castes. In this case too, the Satyagraha was started under the leadership of Kelappan.
On the day of its arrival in Payyannur on April 21, ladies led by Gracy Aaron showered the satyagrahis with flowers and rice. Kelappan, in a two-hour speech, enthused the people with the ideals of non-violence and Satyagraha. After his address, there was burning of foreign clothes at the place. Kelappan, in all solemnity, scraped out some salt and thereby became the first salt satyagrahi in Kerala.TheBadagara session of KPCC in May 1931 resolved to launch anti- untouchability campaign as one of the programmes of the Congress. They chose Guruvayoor as the centre of the agitation and demanded the temple therein be opened for all castes. In this case too, the Satyagraha was started under the leadership of Kelappan.