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