THE MURDER OF KUNJU THAMPI BROTHERS

The Brutality of Marthanda Varma: The Beginning

Malabar G Sankaran Nair tried to expose the brutal Marthanda Varma, Travancore King(1729-1758) in the Mithavadi annual number of 1928, by retelling the story of the murder of two brothers in 1730, the sons of his uncle, Ramavarma, the predecessor of him on the throne. It was an episode, the loyal historians of the royal family always tried to evade.

Sankaran Nair ventures into the story, thanking the famous Chithira Thirunal Library in Thiruvananthapuram, for providing him the required information, and he pegs the story on a woman from Ayodhya.

The Kunju Thampi brothers, Pappu Thampi and Raman Thampi were born to King Ramavarma II (who died 0n August 30, 1729), to a woman from Ayodhya, Abhirami, who had fled her country during a famine, with her brother Krishnan, and a maid. The king, who was staying at Eraniel Palace, saw her at the Suchindram Car festival in December and was struck by her beauty. Violating tradition, he publicly married her in Nagercoil. Her name was changed to Krishnathamma, and her brother became Krishnan Thampi.

Her two sons were known as Kunju Thampis-they and their sister Kochummini Thanka stayed in Eraniel with their mother, and the Kunju Thampis matured with all facilities, with proper education. Ramavarma died of smallpox, and on his deathbed, he called his nephew Marthandavarma and instructed him to look after Krishnathamma and her family well. Her family continued at Eraniel, while Marthandavarma shifted to Padmanabhapuram.

Marthanda Varma

Once Marthandavarma went to Eraniel and was charmed by the beauty of his niece, Kochummini Thanka. He went back, called the Thampi brothers to his Nagercoil palace, and shared with them his wish to marry her. They agreed on the condition that the son in the relationship should be his successor. Marthandavarma became furious, sent out the brothers and began harassing them, and their family. He forcibly took away everything from their home, stopped the privileges provided to them, and asked them to leave the state.

They left Eraniel, took refuge in the home of a Kurukkal in Suchindram, went to Madurai, and complained to Alagappa Mudaliar, Dewan and Commander of Madurai Naicker. The bribed Mudaliar marched towards Travancore with his men. In the ensuing battle, the young Thampi, who drew his sword to kill Marthandavarma, was pacified by his brother and Mudaliar. A treaty was worked out by Mudaliar between the king and the Thampis who were asked to swear before the idol at the Neelakantaswamy temple, Padmanabhapuram. After the Thampis swore to be loyal to him, Marthandavarma too swore but played a trick by placing a house fly between his palms. He swore: "As long as THIS LIFE lasts, I will be on good terms with the Thampis." 

He killed the fly immediately, making the pledge invalid.

Eraniel Palace, dilapidated, now

After Mudaliar left for Madurai, Marthandavarma restored the privileges to the Thampis, and they once again started living at Eraniel. The king who was waiting for the right opportunity, one day called the brothers to Nagercoil palace. The younger brother, Raman got down near Kaniyakulam and went to Thazhakudi to see his properties there. When Pappu reached the palace alone, Marthandavarma, after receiving him, took the sword from him, praised its design, and began speaking about Mudaliar. Continuing the conversation, the king suddenly pretended to be furious, the soldiers came from everywhere as planned, and in the ensuing battle, the king chopped off Pappu Thampi's head with his sword. Hearing the news, Raman Thampi arrived, and the sword that he flung at him, accidentally hit on the ceiling, and Marthandavarma killed him at once. Krishnan Thampi, their uncle, after reaching the palace, stabbed himself in his belly and died; the mother and sister of the Thampis, died pulling out their tongue and bleeding. The scar on the ceiling was visible, till the palace was razed to the ground, years ago.

Fact and fiction

Historically, most of this is fiction, but the murder happened, for other reasons. In history, the brothers are, Thampi Raman Raman and Thampi Raman Adichan, commonly referred to as Kunju Thampis.

Marthandavarma was not the natural successor, when the reigning king, his uncle Ramavarma died in 1729. He was just 23, and only the third among successors-the other two,  Ramavarma's brother, king of Eraniel and the Madathinkoor king at Karunagappally, were very much alive. Both of them mysteriously died within 8 months, after Marthandavarma ascended the throne. It was the beginning of the killing spree.

Padmanabhapuram Palace

Born in 1706, Marthandvarma became the king of Neyyatinkara, when he was just 15. The elder Thampi Raman Raman was a samprathi or accountant, in the palace of Ramavarma, an expert in preparing documents. He had prepared the letter which Ramavarma sent to the Nanchinad Chieftain, Periyaveetu Mudaliyar, requesting him to fight back the army of Anantoji Naicker of Madurai, who entered Travancore without the knowledge of the king. Again, it was Thampi Raman, who prepared the draft of the agreement to be signed between the Travancore king and the English Chief at Anchuthengu (Anjengo), Dr Alexander Orme to build a Fort At Kulachal and to establish a mint, on April 25, 1723. In place of the king, it was the Neyyatinkara prince Marthandavarma, who signed the agreement with Alexander Orme, proving Marthandavarma was in charge very early. He had also signed in 1726 an agreement with the Madurai Naicker to send the mercenary Muslim force. But when he appointed a foreigner, Arumukham Pillai of Veerappanellur, Tirunelveli as the Dewan, his minister, the powerful Ilambayil Pandala and the chieftains, Ettuveettil Pillais, left the state. It is assumed that Marthandvarma got rid of the two successors of Ramavarma, with the help of Arumukham Pillai.  Kunju Thampi brothers were against the camaraderie between Marthandavarma and the Dewan.

Suchindram Temple

The story that the mother of the Thampi brothers was from Ayodhya is pure fiction-in history, their uncle is Kochukumara Pillai, belonging to the Vellala Pillai caste, from which the Travancore kings and princes used to take their women before Nair women became the concubines. Being patriarchal, the Thampis had the right of inheritance to wealth, but no right to succession. Since the elder brother is Kanakku Thampi Raman Raman in records, it is evident that he was an official and not a Kshatriya by caste. The prefix, Kanakku, is for a Pillai. Travancore State Manual of T K Velu Pillai asserts that the Thampi brothers fell out with Marthandavarma, for 'various reasons'. What would be the reasons?

Padmanabhapuram Palace/1943

There has been a protest when Arumukham Pillai was made the Dewan. It is possible that Thampi Raman Raman had a part to play in Marthandavarma calling the mercenary Muslim force from Madurai. After becoming king, Marthandavarma refused to pay Madurai Naicker the tribute agreed upon, and the force in turn made Arumukham Pillai a hostage at Kalakkadu Fort when Marthandavarma asked them to get the amount from the Dewan. Marthandavarma rescued the Dewan from there, making the Madurai Naicker furious, sending his commander Dewan Alagappa Mudaliar to Travancore in 1730, to get the amount by force. Thus, it was not to help the Thampi brothers he came, though the brothers were on his side.

The brothers were killed within a year after Marthandavarma took over, a period of great political turmoil. There is every chance Thampi Raman Raman lost his job and he complained to Mudaliar.

Another reason is the wealth-since Thampi's mother belonged to the Vellala Pillai caste that followed the patri lineal form of inheritance, her sons had rights in their fathers' property and the family was gifted property when Ramavarma was the king of Eraniel in 1706. Marthandavarma may have denied them the right of ownership, and Mudaliar would have interfered as Dewan of Madurai, which had suzerainty over Travancore.

The mystery of Ummini Thanka has been unravelled by Historian Marks De Lannoy, who hails from the family of Eustachius De Lannoy, in his book, The Kulasekhara Perumals of Travancore. He has unearthed a letter written by Marthanda Varma to Paliath Achan, Chief Minister of Cochin, on March 23, 1742, in which he says, the son of his elder brother, a Thampi, too rebelled against him (with the other two Thampis). 

It means that Ummini Thanka (maybe whom Marthanda Varma loved)was married to Marthanda Varma's elder brother, and she had a son. Her hate of Marthandavarma was justified because, her husband, natural heir to the throne, was killed by Marthanda Varma to usurp the throne. Ummini Thanka and her son, Raman Thampi, were kept under house arrest by Marthanda Varma, after the attack on Eraniel Fort, on January 20,1730, by the Thampi brothers and the Pillais. They escaped and joined the brothers. The Fort was the property of the father of the Thampis, Rama Varma. Marthanda Varma defeated them, and the Thampi brothers complained to Mudaliar.

The first armed force in Kerala was formed by Marthandavarma at this point, under the leadership of the freed Arumukham Pillai, with Tamil Maravas. When it was defeated by Mudaliar, Marthandavarma held peace talks with Mudaliar's Commanders, Kanimia and Chokalingam Pillai. He swore to give money due to the Thampis, arrears to Madurai, and relinquish administration till he returns with money from Kollam. Mudaliar, who sent a protective force with him, waited a few weeks in vain for his return, then went back to Madurai, giving the responsibility of administration to the Thampi brothers.

Mudaliar and Thampi Raman Raman started extorting money from the rich. Though they demanded 10,000 panam from the Dutch Factory at Thengapattanam, the Commander refused to yield. Thampi Raman Raman, in 1730, tried to seize the wealth of the Padmanabha Swamy temple, to pay Mudaliar. Since the treasure was under the senior person in the family, the Attingal queen was in charge, and her minister, Vanchimuttam Pillai had entrusted the treasury to the city chieftains. They resisted Thampi Raman Raman, who went back frustrated, to Kalkulam. The Thampis continued to administer Travancore, on Mudaliyar's behalf. Marthandavarma returned from Kollam with local chieftains and soldiers of the defeated army, and laid siege to the Kalkulam Fort, making Thampis flee for life.

When Mudaliyar came for help, Marthandavarma bribed him, and a treaty was worked out, with the Dharmapuram chieftain, as mediator. After Mudaliar went back, with definite clauses to pay Madurai Naicker and the Thampis in agreement, Marthandavarma refused to comply, and he invited the Thamps to meet him at the Nagercoil palace, after asking his henchmen to quarrel with him, at the arrival of the brothers. 

On October 28, 1730, Thampi Raman Raman arrived and ignorant of the enemy's plan, confronted the henchmen, and they killed him. The younger Adichan Thampi, who came in, shocked by screams, was killed with a dagger by Marthandavarma. The news was spread that the brothers died in an encounter. A total of 82 people, who were loyal to the brothers were hanged at the Mekkamandapam, and the women in the families were sold to fishermen.

Marthandavarma was only 24, with ample time to swim in an ocean of blood, which he did.

_____________________

Reference:

1. Marthandavarma Muthal Munro Vare/K Sivasankaran Nair

2. Raja Kesavadas/V R Parameswaran Pillai

3. Sree Vanchi Rajya Charithram/M Rajaraja Varma

4.Travancore Dynastic Records

5. Mathilakam scrolls

6. A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Other Papers of Importance

7. Thiruvithamkur Charithram/Pachu Moothath

8. Travancore State Manual/T K Velu Pillai
9. Kulasekhara Perumals of Travancore/Marks De Lannoy

See my Post,A BRAIN CHAOS:THE DEATH OF SWATI THIRUNAL

THE MYSTERY OF CHERAMAN PERUMAL AND MAHABALI

The Muslim Perumal And the Hindu Mahabali

There is a reference to a Sankara Varman or Chengal Perumal (621-640), meeting Muhammad Nabi (C.570-632), around AD 627. Nabi was 57 then. In the Muslim chronicles, there is another reference to a Zamorin of Kozhikode getting converted to Islam, as Abdu Rahman Zamiri (for Samoodiri), in CE 638. It was when the third Khalifa, son-in-law of Nabi, Uthman ibn Affan sent a delegation under Mughira Shu'ba, a companion of the prophet, to Kozhikode. On his return journey from Mecca, Zamiri died at Zafar, then in Yemen, now Dhofar, in Southern Oman. His qabr is still there. Afterwards, it was customary for the Zamorin, to dress up as a Muslim, during the Ariyittuvazhcha, or anointing ceremony, and take an oath saying he was a representative of the Perumal who went to Mecca.

The earliest available manuscript on Islam in Kerala, Tariq Zuhar Al Islam fil Malibar, by Muhammad Malik, mentions, the pilgrim leader, Zahiruddin Taqiuddin meeting the Perumal at Kodungallur, while on a journey to Srilanka, to see the Foot of Adam, or Adam's Peak. He met the Perumal again on his return. Perumal went with them to Arabia and the Perumal met Nabi in Jeddah, on Shawwal 27, Thursday, six years before Hijra, which is AD 617. He was converted to Islam as Thajudin and returned to Malabar after a few years. On the journey, he passed away in Sahar Mukalla, Yemen, on Muharram 1, Monday. It was the first year of Hijra, that is, CE 622.

Al Mukalla is the main seaport and capital city of Hadhramount in Yemen, a southern port of Arabia, on the Gulf of Eden, close to the Arabian Sea, 480 Kilometres east of Eden. It was founded in 1035, as a fishing settlement. Till the middle of the 11th century, it was part of Oman.

The old city is seen from Mukalla Port

Umar Muhammad Suhravardi says the Perumal was converted under the influence of the King of Mahal dweep, Maldives, Kilimanjaro. The Mahal King was known to Malik Dinar of Basra, and the King read out the accounts of Nabi's amazing deed of splitting the moon, to the Perumal and his minister, Krishnan Munjad. They decided to visit the Qabr of Nabi. But, when Munjad spurned Perumal's wife's lustful advances, she cooked up a molestation story against Munjad and the Perumal plotted to kill him. Realizing the sin, Perumal decided to join Islam and go to Mecca. Maybe it was a ploy by Sreedevi to discourage the Perumal from embracing Islam, under the influence of Munjad.

Munjad, who escaped, went to Male and got converted as Husain Khwaja and the Perumal went along with his nephew Kohinoor, to Mecca, in AD 701, during the Caliphate of Walid. The Perumal was joined in Kozhikode by Munjad's relatives, Mustha Mudukad, Neelinishada, Sharipad and their servants Marjan and Aswad, residing at Chaliyam. They were received in Basra by Malik Dinar and Jaffer Sulayman presided over the conversion. From there they went to Arabia, stayed for 12 years and the Perumal died in Sahar Mukalla, on his return journey to Malabar.

Still, there is a ritual of offering, Vattala payasam, to Krishna at the Chirakkal Kadalayi temple to expiate Perumal's sin. He had four wives in four different royal families, and Sreedevi belonged to the Kolathiri swaroopam. He listened to her word, committed a sin, hence had to go to Mecca-the offering is to expiate that sin.

Shaikh Zainudin in  Tuhfatul Mujahideen gives the period of Perumal's conversion being 200 years after Hijra began, so, in the year 822. Keralotpathi insists it was Palli Bana Perumal, not  Cheraman Perumal, who went to Mecca. Bana Perumal got converted first to Buddhism and then to Christianity and Islam. Cheraman was the fifth Perumal after him. The book alleges that it was the Muslims who concocted the myth that Cheraman got converted. We can see politics interfering here. The book has CE 332 as the year in which Perumal met Nabi. But Nabi began his religious work only after CE600, thus bulldozing the very foundations of the book. There are other versions which say Perumal went to Mecca in 825. 

The Caliphate showing Khorasan, CE 750

Maybe two Perumals got converted and went to Mecca. Sankara Varma during Nabi and the last Perumal Ramavarma Kulasekhara after Nabi.

Maybe both died in Arabia and Ramavarma was instrumental in Malik Dinar's visit to Kerala.MGS Narayanan opines that Perumal's conversion would have been in 1122. There is every chance since Yemen history says Mukalla was founded only in 1035. Maybe, it was a second Perumal conversion, as we will see later.

Madayi Mosque

There are several people with the name, Malik Dinar. The name denotes an Iranian, not an Arab, according to A Shusterry. If that he journeyed from Kodungallur to Khorasan in Iran, and died en route is true, it might be the disciple of the famous Sufi of Basra, Hassan, who died in 744. Then the reference in Rihlat al Muluk that Malik Dinar started off to Kodungallur in 701, becomes logical and we are given to believe Kalady, where Adi Sankara was born, was administered by an Islamic Perumal. It was absolute anarchy in Kerala then.

In the legend, Perumal, before leaving for Mecca, instructs the Zamorin to look after the Muslims and the Qasi, well. If there was a Qasi, there was a mosque, before the Perumal.

It is said that Malik Dinar had Perumal's letters with him, and when shown, the King gave him a Buddha vihara, where the Cheraman mosque was erected. The Vihara was constructed by Palli Bana Perumal. There is a version that says the Arathalli temple was gifted and converted into a mosque in 629. The Madayi mosque in Kannur, the third mosque in Kerala, was constructed with the help of the King of Kolathunad. The history of the Arakkal Muslim Kingdom of Kannur says the mosque was built by Kohinoor, the nephew of Cheraman Perumal. There is also a version which gives its credit to the Nair minister of Kolathiri, who got converted to Islam. Ibn Battuta, the 14th-century traveller, records meeting a King, whose grandfather did convert to Islam and built the Valapattanam mosque.

Malik Dinar Mosque,Thalangara

In the Arakkal history, the nephew of Cheraman is not Kohinoor, but Saifuddin Muhammad Ali, who was known as Mahabali earlier, son of Cheraman's sister Sreedevi, living at Dharmadam, North of Thalassery. He was converted by Perumal and Malik Dinar, on their way from Kodungallur to Basra, via Dharmadam. They travelled to Mecca from the erstwhile Poynadu, comprising, Edakkad, Ancharakkandi and Mavilayi, governed by Randuthara Achans.Perumal got down at Sahar Mukalla,went to see Nabi at Jeddah.He called Saifuddin Muhammad Ali at the time of his death and advised him not to visit Kodungallur or Travancore. Mahal king, Munjad and Malik Dinar met Perumal at Mukalla and got letters from him. On return, Malik Dinar embarked at Dharmadam, and sent Perumal's letters through the trader, Gulam Syed Muhammad, to the King of Kodungallur. He built the Madayi mosque.

Before the conversion of the Perumal, there was Islam in Kannur, the Arakkal branch had stemmed from a princess of the Kolathiri family who had married the Nair minister, an Arayan Kulangara Nair, who got converted. Their successors were called Mammali kidavu s, meaning children of Muhammad Ali, or Mahabali, meaning, Perumal's sister had married an Arayan Kulangara Nair. Then, it was not Malik Dinar, but Kohinoor, or Saifuddin Muhammad Ali, who built the Madayi mosque. 

Inside Cheraman Masjid,Kodungallur

The legend that Kerala Muslims adore, is the one in which the Perumal is Thajudin. He went from Kodungallur, Koyilandi Kollam, and Dharmadam to Sahar Mukalla Bandr (port), went to Jeddah and met Nabi who converted and named him, Thajudin. Malik Dinar married Perumal's daughter, Rajiyat. The Perumal died of fever and was interred in Sahar Mukalla Mosque. His fourth son, Thaqiudin went to Madurai and built 22 mosques, including the one at Kodungallur.

Thajudhin(Tajudhin) is mentioned in the report of Rahmatullahi Ahaihi in his Musthadarak a Hadeeth, narrated by Abu Saeed Al Khudry. He describes Thajudin Al Hindi meeting Nabi and presenting a container of a pickle with ginger in it." Nabi fed his companions ginger and I also was fed a piece from it", records Rahmatullah. It becomes an eyewitness account thus. Thajudin, in this account, heard of Nabi's miracles from traders and met him through them, and witnessed the splitting of the moon, by Nabi. This incident was in Hijra 5. So, it was in AD 627, and if we take this as history, the converted Perumal was Sankara Varman, who ruled from,621-640.So,it was not the last Perumal,Ramavarma Kulasekhara.

Thajudin passed away in the Oman port city of Salalah, en route to his return to India. The qabr of Thajudin is there in Hazrat Syedina Tajuddin Dargah, in Al Baleed, Salalah. He went to Jeddah from Mukalla, and on his return, fell sick at Salalah, and died in the port of Zafar, now Dhofar, on the Eastern border of Yemen, in Southern Oman.In local parlance, he is Chakrawati Farmas. By a strange coincidence, here, Sankara Varma the Perumal, who became Thajuddin, gets identified as Abdurahman Zamiri, the Zamorin, whom I mentioned at the beginning. The qabr is in the same city. Salalah is a greenish area like Kerala, with coconut trees, Plantain, Papaya and pepper. It is claimed by the local people that, it is the result of the dua made by Thajudin to Allah, to make the land his own home place. The distance between Mukalla and Dhofar is 680 Kilometers,10 hours.

Qabr of Thajudin in Salalah

The confusion about the Perumal who became a Muslim got confounded when the term, Cheraman Perumal was taken as an individual. It was a common term for the ruler, meaning, Chera's Perumal for Kerala. The Perumal, when first brought to rule, were not in Kodungallur. They were stationed at Thalyur, North of Thaliparambu, in Kannur. The Perumal sent by the Chola king stayed at Chozhakkara palace and the one sent by the Pandya king at Pandivampana, according to Keralotpathi. Palli Bana Perumal, who became Muslim, stayed at Banapuram. His father was from the Kodungallur Perunkovilakam. That he got converted makes sense, because the mosque, Palli, is attached to his name, which, definitely was a later addition. Palli is also a Buddhist word, hinting at a mix-up.

Cheraman Masjid/C.AD 625

What was the motive behind the conversion?
He had a quarrel with the Brahmin priests, his tongue was pulled out, he was dethroned and went to Mecca. Another version is that he murdered Bhutharaya Perumal, with the help of the Nambudiris after his defeat at the hands of the latter, forcing him to abdicate the throne. This made Nambudiris decorate him as a glamorous Kshatriya King. Keralotpathi brings in Parasurama, saying, the Perumal sought a solution to enjoy the wealth of Parasurama illegally. 

The Brahmin diviners told him, he has the solution only in Islam, and he will get an excuse when he kills Commander Nair, for an illicit relationship with his wife. He gifted 28 provinces to 29 kings before sailing to Mecca. When at last Mangat Unnikumara Menon came to see the Perumal at Thrikkariyur, he had only the land where the cock crows (Kozhikode?) and a bushy land (chullikkad). The place where the Perumal lived in this story, is Thrikkariyur, where Thunjath Ezhuthachan was born, much later. He knew better.

I have also read, the Perumal went to Mecca from Eraniel in Travancore. During the close of the temple festival there, an elephant is driven to the pond and asked to search for the Perumal. Here the story is, after Varaguna Pandyan defeated the Perumal in a battle at Vizhinjam in Travancore, the frustrated Perumal went to Mecca. In this chronicle, Kohinoor is not his nephew, but the Travancore Queen's son.

Mannar Koil

Fine. The last Perumal, Ramavarma, towards the end, lived not in Kodungallur, but Kollam.M G S Narayanan has proved that the Chera Perumals ruled during 800-1124. In the fierce war with the Cholas, Kulothunga Chola destroyed Perumal's capital Mahodayapuram, near Kudungallur and he shifted the capital to Kollam, around 1100. He had pressure from the Nambudiri brahmins. In the political turmoil, the Perumal abdicated in favour of his son, Kotha Varma(1102-1125). Perumal rule by that time had ended, Kollam had been captured by Kulothunga Chola in 1096, and Venad had become independent. It is believed that Perumal's sister had married a prince of the Perumbadapu royal family in Ponnani. The inscription, dated 1102 in the Rameswarathu temple in Kollam, records that the Perumal lived in the Panamkovil Palace. 

So, it is certain that it was not a Perumal who got converted in 627 or 638, even if the conversion account is true. If we take into account the evidence provided by MGS, it was not the Perumal, it was his son, King Kotha Varma, who may have embraced Islam. Hence, we find a nephew, not the Perumal's son, in the chronicles. For the benefit of chroniclers, Maldives is closer to Kollam than Kodungallur. The Perumal, being a friend of Sundara Murthy Nayanar, leading a monastic life after the abdication, makes sense. He is not Thajuddin, anyway. 

Koil idol

It takes us to the Mannar Rajagoplaswamy Kulasekhara Perumal Temple,40 kilometres west of Tirunelveli, near Ambasamudram, on the banks of the Tamiraibharani and Karuna rivers. The history of the temple with several inscriptions records that the Perumal stayed 30 years there, and died worshipping the Rama idol there. 

From the myriad myths, the one inference one can arrive at is that one Perumal/Perumal's son, did embrace Islam, and the legend is a concoction of Buddhism and Islam. In the olden days, Hindus seldom differentiated between the two,calling Muslims, Boudhas. I have always felt the story of Vamana dethroning Mahabali is based on the Cheraman myth, and there is a Mahabali, Saifuddin Muhammad Ali, in the story. Vamana destabilizing Mahabali is symbolic of, Nambudiri Brahmins dethroning the Perumal, after his attempt on the life of Munjad. Even in the Muslim chronicles, there is a reference to a rebellion by the Nair chieftains against the Perumal.

Embracing Islam was an escape route for him. Only the excommunicated sought conversion. In my childhood in Tripunithura, during Onam, a Muslim used to arrive, from Nettur, singing, paeans to the Perumal. Later I read the song in one short story, Vilapangal, by N S Madhavan. Thus, Onam always brings to my mind, a Muslim.

Reference:

1.Caste invades Kerala:A Social History of India/S N Sadasivan
2.Tuhfatul Mujahideen/Zaindudin
3. Keralotpathi
4. Outline of Islamic Culture/A Shusterry
5. Kerala Muslim Charitram/P A Said Muhammad
6. A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar/Francis Buchanan
7. The Southern Gates of Arabia/Freya Stark
8. Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community/Dr Hussein Randathani
9.Muhammad Rasulullah/M Hamidullah 
10.Perumals of Kerala/MGS Narayanan 
11.Tadkirat-al Kiran Tarik -i,Khulufa-i-Arab/Sayyid Shah Kabir Tanaferi 
12.Islam in Kerala/Syed Mohideen Shah
13.Muslimingalum Kerala Samskaravum/P K Muhammad Kunji

See my Post,ARAKKAL ALI RAJA'S ATTACK OF MALDIVES

EXPOSING THE PARASURAMA MYTH

KERALA WAS THERE MUCH BEFORE PARASURAMA

In the oldest Purana, Matsya Purana, the incarnation of Parasurama happened in the Malaya Mountain. He killed the race of Kshatriyas and filled seven lakes with their blood, and then did penance at Gokarn. Varuna appeared and blessed him. Parasurama went to Kanyakumari and flung his axe into the sea. The sea receded in the area between Kanyakumari and Gokarna. The area thus formed was 160 Kada.

Parasurama makes his appearance in the Aithareya Aranyaka of Rigveda, the Sahyadri episode in Skanda Purana, Kerala Mahatmyam, Keralotpathi, Kerala Avakasa Kramam and Kerala Vamsakavyam. Chattambi Swamikal has tried to expose Parasurama in his work, Pracheena Malayalam, quoting the Sahyadri episode.

Guru,Chattambi,Neelakanta Theerthapadar

From Malaya Mountain, he saw fishermen below, on the sea shore, climbed down, took out the string from the Angle (choonda) made it the sacred thread, and thus made them Brahmins. So, the Malayali Brahmins, Nambudiris were originally fishermen, according to Chattambi Swamikal. The Kerala he founded spread from south of the Vaitharani river to Subrahmanyam, in the North, From Sahya Mountain to the sea, in the form a Soorpa (Sanskrit for Malayalam Muram, a flat, shallow sieve used to winnow grain). Though he recovered a land, Brahmins from North India, refused to come and inhabit it. So he made fishermen, Brahmins.

The problem with this episode is, Kerala existed before Parasurama, because, the incarnation of Vamana was just before him, in which we have the story of Mahabali reigning over Kerala. In Dasavathara, Vamana is 5th and Parasurama is 6th. So, to fill the loophole, it is said that Vamana recovered Kerala from Mahabali, then gave it to sage Kasyapa, Kasyapa, in turn, to Gowders, Dravidas, scholars and priests.

In Thretha Yuga, the kings like Karthavirya Arjuna, protected and nurtured the earth. Afterwards, conceding to the prayers of Brahmins like Kasyapa, Mahavishnu incarnated as the son of Jamadagni. The son, Prasurama, killed Kshatriyas 21 times, gifted the entire land to priests like Kasyapa and Vasishta while he performed Aswamedha, climbed over Mount Sahyadri and meditated, viewing the vast expanse of the sea before him. When Narada arrived, Parasurama the fool lamented that he has no space to sit, because he has gifted the lands to the priests. Narada advised him to split the Ocean. Parasurama sent the arrow from the Mountain, creating Ramakshetra, or Kerala. The place where the arrow, or, Bana, fell, came to be known as Banavalli.

An Asoka pillar edict

The entire myth of Parasurama collapses here, because, instead of his brand axe, he sent the arrow. In this story, he sent the arrow from Sahyadri, not from Kanyakumari. Most importantly, Kerala was there, before Parasurama, because of Vamana.

The recovered area was called seven Konkanas: Kerala, Thulanga, Saurashtra, Konkan, Kamhad, Karnataka and Barbara. Kerala Mahatmyam says he flung the axe with his left hand from Kanyakumari, whereas, Keralotpathi differs by insisting, he threw the axe from Gokarn, and Nagas ruled over the area when Brahmins fled. It says Parasurama made Durga the protective deity, made and deposited the Rasi gold coins, under the earth. When fortunate people dig the earth, Rasi appears as a treasure.

Historically, the word Kerala first appears in the rock pillar edicts of Emperor Asoka(BC 274-237), by referring to a king, Kerala Putra. Kerala was one of the four kingdoms in South India, the other three being, Chola, Pandya, and Sathya Putra. The whole area was called Thamizhakam. Pandyas say Parasurama was a Pandya king, and the era of him was known as Parasurama Sathakam. Chera history mentions that Parasurama anointed Bhanu Vikrama, the Chera king on the throne. The Chera legend also says it was Velkezhu Kuttuvan, the king who recovered the land from the sea by throwing his spear. There are other versions too: it was the Pandyan who ruled Vadingalamba who threw the spear. No, it was Ugra Pandyan who ruled Madurai, who got the spear from Siva and threw it into the Ocean.

Kerala Putra in the Asoka edict is considered a Chera King. The Chera empire consisted of modern Kerala, Coimbatore and Salem with Muziris or Karur as the capital.

The Kerala Brahmins took out the spear from the Tamil legend, fixed an axe, and brought Parasurama the Brahmin into the picture. Thunchath Ezhuthachan is said to have written Keralotpathi, based on the Sanskrit Kerala Mahatmyam, which is quite unlikely, because the text is so raw, and has no sublimity associated with Ezhuthachan. It does seem to be written by a Nair because the text accepts Nambudiri dominance. The new converts to Brahminism, had their Kuduma (tuft of hair)on the front, whereas in North India, it is on the back. The politics is, Malayali Brahmins will never be accepted by the North Indian Brahmins, and they will remain in Kerala to do the rituals. The capital of the 64 Brahmin families, was Vellappanad. Sudras were brought from different parts. The Malayali Brahmins violated the laws given to them by eating meat and instigating wars. They split into Val Nambi and Pattini Nambi, the former wielding the sword and the latter only the umbrella and conch. Since they took to battles, the Tamils came to Chengannur and entered into a conflict over the cremation of a dead body, the body was thrown into the river. From then downwards, Chengannur Nairs, avoided using lime (Chunnambu), while chewing betel leaves.

The Brahmins became corrupt and were removed from administration and Perumals were brought from Keyapuram. They stayed in the capital of Thalyur, North of Thaliparambu in modern Kannur. A period comes when the Brahmins quarrel with the Perumals and take over the reins again, with Thrikkariyur (birthplace of Ezhuthachan 1495-1575)) as capital. From then on, Brahmins were allowed to wed Kshatriya women...It is a long story in Keralotpathi. The book is also considered the handiwork of the Brahmins in the 18th century, which is disputed by M R Raghava Warrier and Rajan Gurukkal in their history of Kerala, because, a copy of the text was found in 1527, in Nellikanthuruthy kazhakam, North of Payyannur. But that doesn't absolve the Brahmins from fixing Parasurama as the founder.

Caldwell

The fact is, Kerala has nothing to do with Parasurama, and the name Kerala has nothing to do with coconut, Keram. The state, historically was Cheralam, the Chera country. Cheralam means the declivity of a mountain. Plini who lived in the first century AD mentions, Muziris is in Chelobotras. The alphabet,' k'in Dravida becomes, 'ch', when followed by a vowel, in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu, according to Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), the linguist. Thus Kerala becomes Cherala. Conversely, 'ch' becomes,'k'too-Cheera, and spinach, becoming, Keera is a fine example. Chera Puthran became Kerala Puthran with the root of the name in Cheru or mud, from an area where paddy is sown. Kerala, is thus, Cherala, the wetland. Coconut is out, and Paddy is in.

Reference:
1. The Eight Anthologies/John Ralston Marr
2.Kerala Charithram/Raghava Warrier, Rajan Gurukkal
3. Kerala: Word Lore/Dr V Sankaran Nair
4. Keralotpathi

© Ramachandran

See my Post,PARASURAMA,DALITS AND THE ART OF AXING

 

PARASURAMA,DALITS AND THE ART OF AXING

It Was a Fight Between Two Political Ideologies

The myth of Parasurama as the founder of Kerala is very well known.But rarely have Keralites traveled to the contradictions of the myth,proving that Malayalis have not taken him that seriously.

He is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka, in the popular myth.When Renuka was eight years old, her father's Guru,Agasthya, advised him to marry her off,when she attains the desirable age, to Jamadagni, son of sage Ruchika and Sathyavathi,meaning,the sages of yore did marry.
Jamadagni and Renuka were staying in the Ramsrang hills near Savadatti,in Belgaum,Karnataka.She used to help him in daily rituals,after bathing in the Malaprabha river. She fetched water from there using a pot made of fine grains of sand,or unbaked clay,tying a snake as rope,or rather,held together by her devotion to her husband.The literal meaning of the name Renuka,is,fine grains of sand.She had five childrean:Vasu,Viswavasu,Brihudhanyu,Brithyakanya, and Ramabhadra.Ramabhadra was Parasurama,getting the nick name from the axe,he wielded.

Parasurama idol,Udupi

One day,while Renuka was collecting water,she saw gandharvas(manes) making love in the waters,felt butterflies in her stomach,and was enamored by one gandharva.She lost her purity,dissolving the pot,in the river water,in the process.When Jamadagni asked his sons,one by one,to kill their mother,only Parasurama obeyed,hacking her with his axe,and his request to restore life to his mother and brothers granted.The boon to both Renuka and Parsurama was exotic:they won't experience the memory of death.
Jamadagni was later killed by the Haihaya King Karthavirya Arjuna,wanting the divine cow,Kamadhenu,which Jamadagni owned,for himself.The king was axed by Parasurama,and he enacted a genocide of the King's race for the next 21 generations.Renuka immolated herself in the pyre of her husband.That custom of Sati was abolished centuries later,by the efforts of a Bengali,Rajaram Mohan Roy.
Renuka,who survived death,is known by different names,in different places as Mathangi,Renuka,Yellamma or Maariyamma.She is  Maariyamma,or Yellamma in South India and she becomes the Dalit,Yellamma,as pointed out by Wendy Doniger,in her book,The Hindus:An Alternative History.When Renuka was about to be hacked,she embraced a dalit woman,Yellamma,who stood between death and Renuka,and both  became victims to Parasurama.When Jamadagni restored their lives,the head of Renuka went to Yellamma and that of Yellamma to Renuka,transposing Brahmins and dalits,at will.Brahmin head for Maariyamma(Renuka) and dalit head for Yellamma.Goat and Chicken were sacrificed for Yellaamma,only Buffaloes for Maariyamma.Dalits were raised to these 'high pedestals',by the Bhakthi movement.

Thomas Mann

The story of the transposed heads reoccurs in India now and then.The heads of a sage and a prostitute get transposed in the Sanskrit play,Bhagavadajjukam by Somadatta,which we staged as youngsters in a University drama festival.It is a story of the conflict between mind and body,which happened to Renuka-a sage is termed His Holiness,whereas Renuka becomes,Her Horniness!The Nobel winning German novelist,Thomas Mann adapted the Indian myth to write his novella,The Transposed Heads,in which he tells the story of two male friends,the intellectual Shridaman and the earthy Nanda beheading themselves,their heads then transposed,and Shridaman's wife,the confused Sita,falling in love with both.It was Mann's strong reaction to the assumption that there is a dichotomy between spirit and life,and mind and the body.He found the need to reshuffle the present scale of values and meanings by constantly juxtaposing with older ones.
In the Dasavathara myth of evolution of human beings from the water species,Parasurama appears 6th,Srirama 7th and Srikrishna the 8th.Mysteriously,mocking at people who create legends,Parasurama meets both Srirama and Krishna in the later Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabaratha.

Renuka Temple and Parshuram Lake,Sirmour,Himachal Pradesh

The first chapter of Ramayana,Balakanda(Sargas 74-76),which I studied in school,describes the meeting of two incarnations,Parasurama and Srirama,after the wedding of Sita and Rama.Though they were two incarnations,maybe unaware of it,they fall into a conflict in the first meeting itself.When Rama and his brother Lakshmana were returning from Mithila with Guru,Sage Vasishta,they were blocked and Parasurama challenged Srirama to destroy his thapo bala,the power he amassed through penance, by stringing another bow.Parasurama challenged:Rama,I heard that you broke the bow of Siva in the palace of King Janaka,during Sita's marriage.I am going to test your prowess.I will give a Vaishnava bow to you.Show me that you can string it.
Srirama strung the bow and sent the arrow,piercing the prowess of Parasurama and sending him to Mahendragiri for another round of penance.
This story in the North Indian Valmiki Ramayana,gets another version,in South Indian Kamba Ramayana,written by the widow's son,thereby an out caste,the Tamilian,Kambar.Kambar says,Parasurama took it as an affront,stringing his Guru,Siva's bow,by Srirama.He forcibly made an encounter and asked Rama to string the Vaishnava bow.When Rama asked for the target,Parasurama said,he can destroy the whole world sending the arrow,but for the time being,he should aim at his Thapobala.When Rama did,Parasurama surrendered those instruments of destruction to Rama,thereby fulfilling the mission of his incarnation.So,the mission was only partially success before the advent of Rama.

Dasavatara/Albert Museum,London

In both the stories,Saivism is pitted against Vaishnavism,giving,the latter a victory over the other.The issue here is,all incarnations are said to be that of Vishnu.Then why one incarnation,Parasurama,pleading for Siva?A case of an over sight by the interpolations by the politicians of those times.The political ideologies then,were,Saivism and Vaishnavism.
The meeting of Rama and Parasurama, is related to the Pandavas by King Lomapada, during their Vanavasa,in Mahabaratha.Here,the story is entirely different.
When Rama became famous as an upright King,Parasurama went and met him.He gave Rama the bow with which he decapitated the Kshatriyas,and demanded that he string it.When Rama took aim,Parasurama asked him to take the bow close to his ear and aim.Then,Rama burst out,and Parasurama saw the whole universe manifested in front of him.Rama sent the arrow,the universe was filled with darkness,there was lightning followed by thunder and then a deluge.Stars fell down extinguished. Realizing Rama  an incarnation,Parasurama bowed before him,and went back to Mahendragiri.Knowing his miserable plight of losing all power,Manu advised him to have a dip in the Vadhoosara river,in the particular spot,Deeptoda,where his ancestor ,Bhrigu once had a dip.A dip in the divine river guaranteed regaining lost lust re.
Parasurama met the other incarnation Krishna twice.
The first time was when,Krishna and his brother Balarama  climbed the Mount Gomanta.Parasurama who was there,asked Krishna to slain the Karvaira King,Srigala Vasudeva,inhabiting the valley under the Mount.Parasurama met Krishna a second time ,while he was en route to the  Kaurava durbar,as a messenger of the Pandavas.Krishna climbed down from his chariot,seeing the earlier incarnation,in conversation with fellow sages.Parasurama advised Krishna to show the Kauravas the real picture.Later we see Parasurama,in the durbar,at the time of the entry of Dharmaputra.We see Parasurama in the durbar,again,when Krishna communicates his mission to Dhritarashtra.When Kauravas sought solace in silence,Parasurama stands up and retells the story of King Dambotsava,who learned a lesson because of inflated ego and arrogance.He was always in search of enemies,and sages advised him to meet Naranarayanas.Dambotsava went and challenged them in their asrama at,Badarika.Though they spurned the challenge,Dambotsava rained them with arrows,and they,in turn,covered the entire sky with arrows.Dambotsava shed his ego and apologised to the sages.

The Malayalam word,Damb,denoting arrogance has its etymology in Dambotsava.Dambotsava literally means,celebration of arrogance.
In Mahabharatha,there is a conflict between Parasurama and Bhishma;Parasurama can be seen in Yama's durbar too.
There are 22 Parasurama temples in India,and he is considered the builder of seven temples in the Gokarn belt from where he flung his axe to the sea to reclaim the lost state of Kerala.The seven temples are,Udupi,Kukke Subramanya,Kumbasi,Koteswara,Sankaranarayana,Kollur and Gokarn.It is unfortunate that he has only one temple in the state he is said to have founded-Thiruvallam in Thiruvananthapuram.About Kerala and Parasurama,later.
Two bows have been mentioned here:Siva's bow was Pinaka/Thrayambaka,which he wielded on his hand, un stringed because,his rival,Vishnu could break it at the incantation of a mantra.Siva gave the bow to Vasishta,and he gifted it to King Janaka.Vishnu's bow was Sarnga.Both the bows were designed by Viswakarma,a proletarian,who would have been the first to string the bow,much before Rama.But he had not participated in the Swayamvara,because only Kshatriyas were invited. 
The war between Saivism and Vaishnavism is also visible in Parasurama's establishment of 64 villages.Among those villages,no one is there in Southern Kerala,Venad.Since the fore fathers of Nambudiris were saivites,their women were banned from going beyond Kannetti,hence no Parasurama village in the South.The Potti Brahmins,Vishnavites from Tulunad,were free,though Nambudiri's never considered them to be Brahmins.
In the final analysis,Parasurama should be considered the sage who laid foundation for the ART OF AXING.Scholars think the epic,Ramayana is older than Mahabaratha because Rama appears in Mahabaratha,in the Ramopakhyana,in Aranya parva,told to Yudhishtira.The dating becomes very tricky because the older Parasurama appears every where.If  the politics of the epics is read judiciously,it becomes easy.We see a destructive Parasurama in Ramayana,whereas he is sane,giving ethical advise,in Mahabaratha.Saivism  being older than Vaishnavism,Ramayana has to be older than Mahabaratha.Destruction precedes creation.

Reference:Encyclopedic Dictionary of Puranas,Vol 1/Swami Parameswarananda.

See my Post,THE EGG AND THE TEXT:THE TRAVAILS OF WENDY DORNIGER



 

ARAKKAL ALI RAJA'S ATTACK OF MALDIVES

Ali Raja of Arakkal had Blinded the Sultan

There is a reference to the Raja of Arakkal, Kannur, in Kerala, Kunhi Amsa II, in the book, Kingdom of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan (Sultanat-e-Khudadad in Urdu) by Mahmood Khan Mahmood, translated by Anwar Haroon. I quote:

Ali Raja became the ruler of the coastal areas and he further developed his naval forces and attacked the islands close to Malabar, from where the people who were non-Muslims used to attack and oppress the Maplas. He captured their Raja and gouged both his eyes. After the capture of their Raja, all the people of the island surrendered to the Navy Commander Ali Raja and he returned to Mangalore along with the Raja of the islands. When Hyder Ali came to know that Ali Raja had gouged out the eyes of the Raja of the islands, he apologized to him and allotted him the land which could get him enough income for his living and punished Ali Raja by taking away his Commander ship (page 49).

This is called platitude. The Raja of the islands, captured by Ali Raja, was not a non-Muslim. It was the Sultan Hasan 'Izz ud Din(1759-1766) of the Maldives, whom Ali Raja blinded after capturing.

The incident was in 1763, after Hyder Ali captured Bednur, in Shimoga, in Karnataka, from the Ikkeri King.

Arakkal Flag, earlier

When Hyder Ali overthrew Krishnaraja Wodeyar in Mysore in 1757, Kunhi Amsa declared, "God is powerful and his fruit shall ripen", and entered Hyder's service as Naval Chief. After the capture of Bednur, he invited Hyder Ali to Attack the Chirakkal King or Kolathiri.

Kunhi Amsa established a large and well-armed fleet of 10 dhows and 3o larger sketches, in the Indian Ocean, in an attempt to conquer islands that had withstood the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Ali Raja, Muhammad Ali II sent Mappila forces to help Aurangazeb, in the Child's War of 1686-1690. The Mappila force was sent in 1689, to be part of the strong Mughal fleet from Janji, commanded by Siddi Yaqub or Yaquat Khan, Mughal Admiral, from Murud Janjira, the Fort at Murud, Raigad, Maharashtra. (1) It was the only undefeated Fort on the Western Coast during all invasions. His fleet was manned by the Mappilas and Abyssinians.

English Surrender, 1690

The Child's War was fought between the English East India Company and the Mughal Empire. In 1682, the Company sent William Hedges to Shaista Khan, Mughal Governor of Bengal, to obtain firman to grant England regular trading privileges throughout the Empire. The Company's Governor in London, the economist, Josiah Child then interfered with Hedge's mission, causing Aurangzeb to break off negotiations. Child declared war with the Mughals and sent Vice Admiral Nicholson in 1685 with 10 ships carrying 12 to 70 guns each and 600 men, to be reinforced by 400 men from Madras. His instruction was to seize Chittagong. What happened to those ships is another story. 

In 1690, the English surrendered and pleaded pardon with Aurangzeb. The English had to prostrate before him and pay a huge indemnity. So, Arakkal had a tradition. Legend takes it to the time Cheraman Perumal-Perumal and Malik Bin Dinar reached Dharmadam, near Thalassery, where his sister Sreedevi was living and converted her son, Mahabali, who became Muhammad Ali. Ali, belonging to the Arayan kulangara Nair Family of Kolathiri chieftains, married a princess from the Kolathiri family, and the Arakkal branch began. In this legend, Perumal left for Mecca from the ancient Poynadu comprising, Edakkad, Ancharakkandi and Mavilayi, governed by Randuthara Achans. Arakkal followed the Matriarchal system of inheritance, in which, succession was only to the offspring of the females, a system followed by Nairs, for, the male members were dying early, fighting wars in the army. 

Muliagee Palace in Male built in 1906

The Arakkal Kingdom had little more than the Kannur town and the Lakshadweep Islands (Agatti, Kavaratti, Androth, Kalpeni and Minicoy), originally leased from the Chirakkal king. Two brothers from the Arakkal family, Mammali and Kunjikoyamu were in the Travancore Navy, during 1707-1720 (see my post, Three Malabar Pirates in Travancore).

Male Sultan's Palace,1885

The Sultanate of Maldives was established in 1153, overthrowing the Buddhist King, Dhovem, and the first Sultan was, Koimala. The embarking fleet of Kunhi Amsa from Lakshadweep and Kannur carried on board, in 1763, Sepoys and on its pennon, the colours of Hyder Ali. They captured the Maldives and enacted cruelties upon fellow Muslims there. The Sultan 'izz Ud din's eyes were gouged out. Kunhi Amsa returned to Bednur to pay homage to Hyder and present the Sultan before him. Hyder Ali was outraged to see the Sultan blind. Hyder ordered the insane Admiral Kunhi Amsa out of the Command of his fleet and begged forgiveness from the Sultan. The deeply afflicted Hyder arranged to escort the Sultan to the Maldives and sought solace by withdrawing from his palaces and living in simplicity.

Child

The Sultan, son of Huraa Mohammed Famukdeyri and Amina Dio, daughter of Mohammed Kateeb of Muli,  succeeded Amina of Maldives and established the Huraa dynasty.

Kunhi Amsa had also captured 'izz Ud din's predecessor, Sultan Muhammad ImaduddinIII(1750-1757)and held him captive in Kavaratty where he died in captivity. He was the second son of Sultan Muhammed Imaduddin II and Amina Dio of Fenfushi. His father, who was the Prime Minister to Sultan Ibrahim Mudzhiruddin, overthrew the Sultan, establishing the Dhuyamgili dynasty. Imaduddin III was captured by Kunhi Amsa in 1752, transported to Kavaratty and occupied Male until he died in captivity in 1757. The occupation was ended by Muleegey Dom Hussain Maniku, a direct descendant of the penultimate Christian King, Joao. After the death of Imaduddin III, Maldives was ruled by Regents-first by his sister, Sanifa Rerdi Kabafalanu and then by his daughter, Amina of Maldives. The de facto Regent was Maniku, and Amina succeeded after her father's death.

The estranged Kunhi Amsa was taken back as Admiral by Hyder Ali in 1766 when he attacked Malabar, and his brother, Sheikh Ali, was appointed, the Chief of Port Authority. Kunhi Amsa, his brother and their men seized the Chirakkal palace whereupon the king and family fled to Travancore, and relatives of the king took refuge in the Tiruvangad Temple, near Thalassery, and the Zamorin committed suicide at Kozhikode.

Shaista Khan

Kunhi Amsa and Junumabe II who succeeded him were staunch allies of Hyder and Tipu Sultan but didn't get any special treatment after the Srirangapattana treaty of 1792. She signed the agreement in 1796, with the British, but continued possession of Kannur and Lakshadweep, with no claim to sovereignty. Up to 1864, Arakkal Raja was entitled to a seven-gun salute. With the outbreak of the war between France with the British, Lakshadweep remained unnoticed, but the British occupation became permanent there in 1875. On December 15,1908, all claims of Arakkal ended, agreeing to an annual pension of Rs 23,000, the claim to Minicoy as private property was also rejected.

________________________

1. In 1686, the East India Company, which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a firman that would grant them regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire, initiated the Anglo-Mughal War. This war ended in disaster for the English after Aurangzeb in 1689 dispatched a large fleet from Janjira that blockaded Bombay. The ships, commanded by Sidi Yaqub, were manned by Indians and Mappilas.

-Faruki, Zahiruddin (1972) [First published 1935]. Aurangzeb & His Times. Bombay: Idarah-i Adabiyāt-i Delli. p. 442.

Reference:

1. Malabar Manual/Logan
2. Kerala Muslim History/P A Syed Mohammed 
3. A Survey of Kerala History/A Sreedhara Menon
4. A History of Bengal/Charles Stewart

See my Post, THREE MALABAR PIRATES IN TRAVANCORE