Malabar District, or Malabar, also known as British Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in India. It was the most populous and the third-largest district in the erstwhile Madras State. It was sub-divided into two divisions South Malabar and North Malabar, the historic town of Kozhikode of South Malabar region was the administrative headquarters of this district.
The district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad northern and central parts of present Kerala state, the Lakshadweep Islands, and a major portion of the Nilgiris district in modern-day Tamil Nadu. The detached settlements of Tangasseri and Anchuthengu, which were British colonies within the kingdom of Travancore in southern Kerala, also formed part of Malabar District until 1927.
Malayalam was the administrative as well as the most spoken lingua franca of Malabar district. Jeseri, a distinct dialect of Malayalam, was spoken in the Laccadive Islands. Malabar District merged with the erstwhile state of Travancore-Cochin (1950–1956) to form Kerala according to the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. On the same day, the present Kasaragod district of South Canara District was also attached to Malabar, and the Laccadive and Minicoy Islands of Malabar were reorganised to form a new Union Territory. Malabar was trifurcated to form the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, and Palakkad on 1 January 1957.
The city of Kozhikode was the capital of Malabar. Malabar was divided into North Malabar and South Malabar in 1793 for administrative convenience, with their regional headquarters at Thalassery and Cherpulassery (Later changed to Ottapalam) respectively. During the British rule, Malabar's chief importance lay in its production of Malabar pepper, coconut, and tiles. In the old administrative records of the Madras Presidency, it is recorded that the most remarkable plantation owned by Government in the erstwhile Madras Presidency was the Teak plantation at Nilambur planted in 1844. The District of Malabar and the ports at Beypore and Fort Kochi had some sort of importance in the erstwhile Madras Presidency as it was one of the two districts of the Presidency that lies on the Western Malabar Coast, thus accessing the marine route through Arabian Sea. The first railway line of Kerala from Tirur to Beypore in 1861 was laid for it. The work Malabar Manual (1887) authored by William Logan in two volumes explains the characteristics of Malabar.
The district lay between the Arabian Sea on the west, South Canara District on the north, the Western Ghats (the princely states of Coorg and Mysore, and Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts) to the east, and the princely state of Cochin to the south. The district covered an area of 15,027 square kilometres (5,802 sq mi), and extended 233 km (145 mi) along the coast and 40–120 kilometers (25–75 miles) inland.
All the major pre-independence political parties of Kerala such as the INC and CPI started their functioning in Kerala at Malabar District as a part of the freedom struggle. KPCC was formed in 1921 at Ottapalam, on the bank of river Bharathappuzha. In July 1937, a clandestine meeting of the CSP, which was the political party formed by socialists of Congress, was held at Calicut. The CPI in Kerala was formed on 31 December 1939 with the Pinarayi Conference, held near Thalassery. It was the erstwhile leaders of Congress Socialist Party, such as P. Krishna Pillai, K. Damodaran, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, who formed the CPI branch in Kerala. The Indian Union Muslim League was also formed in the 1930s, on a meeting held at Thalassery.
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Etymology
Until the arrival of British, the term Malabar was used in foreign trade circles as a general name for Kerala. Earlier, the term Malabar had also been used to denote Tulu Nadu and Kanyakumari which lie contiguous to Kerala in the southwestern coast of India, in addition to the modern state of Kerala. The people of Malabar were known as Malabars. Still the term Malabar is often used to denote the entire southwestern coast of India. From the time of Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th century CE) itself, the Arab sailors used to call Kerala as Male. The first element of the name, however, is attested already in the Topography written by Cosmas Indicopleustes. This mentions a pepper emporium called Male, which clearly gave its name to Malabar ('the country of Male'). The name Male is thought to come from the Dravidian word Mala ('hill'). Al-Biruni (AD 973 – 1048) must have been the first writer to call this state Malabar. Authors such as Ibn Khordadbeh and Al-Baladhuri mention Malabar ports in their works. The Arab writers had called this place Malibar, Manibar, Mulibar, and Munibar. Malabar is reminiscent of the word Malanad which means the land of hills. According to William Logan, the word Malabar comes from a combination of the Dravidian word Mala (hill) and the Persian/Arabic word Barr (country/continent).
History
South Malabar
The ancient maritime port of Tyndis, which was then a centre of trade with Ancient Rome, is roughly identified with Ponnani, Tanur, and Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu. Tyndis was a major center of trade, next only to Muziris, between the Cheras and the Roman Empire. The River Bharathappuzha (River Ponnani) had importance since Sangam period (1st–4th century CE), due to the presence of Palakkad Gap which connected the Malabar coast with Coromandel coast through inland.
Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos (Chera dynasty). The North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at Tyndis, was ruled by the kingdom of Ezhimala during Sangam period. According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a region known as Limyrike began at Naura and Tyndis. However the Ptolemy mentions only Tyndis as the Limyrike's starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000 sesterces. Pliny the Elder mentioned that Limyrike was prone by pirates. The Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the Limyrike was a source of peppers.
Three inscriptions, that date back to 932 CE and found from Triprangode (near Tirunavaya), Kottakkal, and Chaliyar, mention the name of Goda Ravi of Chera dynasty. The Triprangode inscription states the agreement of Thavanur. Several inscriptions written in Old Malayalam dating back to the 10th century CE and found in Sukapuram near Edappal, which was one of the 64 old Nambudiri villages of Kerala. Descriptions about the rulers of Eranad and Valluvanad regions can be seen in the Jewish copper plates of Bhaskara Ravi Varman (around 1000 CE) and Viraraghava copper plates of Veera Raghava Chakravarthy (around 1225 CE). Eranad was ruled by a Samanthan Nair clan known as Eradis, similar to the Vellodis of neighbouring Valluvanad and Nedungadis of Nedunganad. The rulers of Valluvanad were known by the title Eralppad/Eradi. It was the ruler of Eranad who later became the Zamorin of Calicut by annexing the port town of Calicut from Polanad, which was vassal to Kolathunadu. The ruler of Kingdom of Cochin also traces back to Ponnani in South Malabar. South Malabar was also the seat of the kingdoms of Parappanad, Vettathunadu, Valluvanadu, Nedungadis, and Palakkad. Parappanad royal family is a cousin dynasty of the Travancore royal family. The Azhvanchery Thamprakkal were the feudal lords of Athavanad. Tirunavaya, the seat of Mamankam festival, lies on the bank of the river Bharathappuzha.
North Malabar
North Malabar was the seat of powerful kingdom based at Ezhimala in the Sangam period (1st–5th century CE). The ancient port of Naura, which is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as a port somewhere north of Muziris is identified with Kannur. The kingdom of Ezhimala had jurisdiction over two Nadus - The coastal Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern Karkanadu. According to the works of Sangam literature, Poozhinadu consisted much of the coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode. Karkanadu consisted of Wayanad-Gudalur hilly region with parts of Kodagu (Coorg). It is said that Nannan, the most renowned ruler of Ezhimala dynasty, took refuge at Wayanad hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost to Cheras, just before his execution in a battle, according to the Sangam works.
Ezhimala kingdom was succeeded by Mushika dynasty in the early medieval period, most possibly due to the migration of Tuluva Brahmins from Tulu Nadu. The Indian anthropologist Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunt community of Tulu Nadu was called Kola Bari and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan. The Kolathunadu (Kannur) Kingdom at the peak of its power, reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
An Old Malayalam inscription (Ramanthali inscriptions), dated to 1075 CE, mentioning king Kunda Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of Mangalore, can be found at Ezhimala (the former headquarters of Mushika dynasty) near Cannanore, Kerala. The Arabic inscription on a copper slab within the Madayi Mosque in Kannur records its foundation year as 1124 CE. In his book on travels (Il Milione), Marco Polo recounts his visit to the area in the mid 1290s. Other visitors included Faxian, the Buddhist pilgrim and Ibn Batuta, writer and historian of Tangiers.
Until the 16th century CE, the Kasargod town was known by the name Kanhirakode (may be by the meaning, 'The land of Kanhira Trees') in Malayalam. The Kumbla dynasty, who swayed over the land of southern Tulu Nadu wedged between Chandragiri River and Netravati River (including present-day Taluks of Manjeshwar and Kasaragod) from Maipady Palace at Kumbla, had also been vassals to the Kolathunadu, before the Carnatic conquests of Vijayanagara Empire. The Kumbla dynasty had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins. They also claimed their origin from Cheraman Perumals of Kerala. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton states that the customs of Kumbla dynasty were similar to those of the contemporary Malayali kings, though Kumbla was considered as the southernmost region of Tulu Nadu. Just like other contemporary kings of Kerala in the medieval period, The powerful Kolathu Raja also came under the influence of Zamorin later. The Kolathunadu in the late medieval period emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor, Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions. The Nileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part of Kolathiri dominion, were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as the Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.
Portuguese influences
The maritime spice trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean stayed with the Arabs during the High and Late Middle Ages. However, the dominance of Middle East traders was challenged in the European Age of Discovery. After Vasco Da Gama's arrival in Kappad Kozhikode in 1498, the Portuguese began to dominate eastern shipping, and the spice-trade in particular. The Zamorin of Kozhikode permitted the new visitors to trade with his subjects such that Portuguese trade in Kozhikode prospered with the establishment of a factory and a fort. However, Portuguese attacks on Arab properties in his jurisdiction provoked the Zamorin and led to conflicts between them.
The ruler of the Kingdom of Tanur, who was a vassal to the Zamorin of Calicut, sided with the Portuguese, against his overlord at Kozhikode. As a result, the Kingdom of Tanur (Vettathunadu) became one of the earliest Portuguese Colonies in India. The ruler of Tanur also sided with Cochin. Many of the members of the royal family of Cochin in 16th and 17th members were selected from Vettom. However, the Tanur forces under the king fought for the Zamorin of Calicut in the Battle of Cochin (1504). However, the allegiance of the Mappila merchants in Tanur region still stayed under the Zamorin of Calicut.
The Portuguese took advantage of the rivalry between the Zamorin and the King of Kochi allied with Kochi. When Francisco de Almeida was appointed as Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, his headquarters was established at Fort Kochi (Fort Emmanuel) rather than in Kozhikode. During his reign, the Portuguese managed to dominate relations with Kochi and established a few fortresses on the Malabar Coast. Fort St Angelo or St. Angelo Fort was built at Kannur in 1505 and Fort St Thomas was built at Kollam(Quilon) in 1518 by the Portuguese. However, the Portuguese suffered setbacks from attacks by Zamorin forces in Malabar region; especially from naval attacks under the leadership of Kozhikode admirals known as Kunjali Marakkars, which compelled them to seek a treaty. The Kunjali Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defense of the Indian coast. An insurrection at the Port of Quilon between the Arabs and the Portuguese led to the end of the Portuguese era in Quilon. In 1571, the Portuguese were defeated by the Zamorin forces in the battle at Chaliyam Fort. The Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch East India Company, who during the conflicts between the Kozhikode and the Kochi, gained control of the trade.
Under Mysore Sultans
In 1757, to check the invasion of the Zamorin of Calicut, the Palakkad Raja sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1766, Haider Ali of Mysore defeated the Samoothiri of Kozhikode – an East India Company ally at the time – and absorbed Kozhikode to his state. After the Third Mysore War (1790–1792), Malabar was placed under the control of the company. Eventually, the status of the Samoothiri was reduced to that of a pensioner of the company (1806). When Wayanad was under Hyder Ali's rule, the ghat road from Vythiri to Thamarassery was constructed. Then the British rulers developed this route to Carter road. His son and successor, Tipu Sultan, launched campaigns against the expanding British East India Company, resulting in two of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars.
Colonial period
Tipu ultimately ceded the Malabar district and South Kanara to the company in the 1790s; both were initially annexed to the Bombay Presidency of British India. After the Anglo-Mysore wars, the parts of Malabar Coast, those became British colonies, were organized into a district of British India. Later the region was transferred into the Madras Presidency in 1800. The administrative headquarters were at Calicut (Kozhikode). Local affairs were managed by the District Board at Calicut along with Taluk Boards located at Malappuram, Thalassery, Palakkad and Mananthavady. Initially the British had to suffer local resistance against their rule under the leadership of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, who had popular support in Thalassery-Wayanad region. During the 19th century, British established their army stations at Kannur, Malappuram, and Calicut. Malappuram which was one of the European military stations in Madras presidency since 1852, also became the special police force headquarters of Malabar District, with the establishment of the Malabar Special Police in 1885. The oldest railway lines of Kerala lie in Malabar District which was laid in the late 19th century for the transportation of good and services; the line laid from Tirur to Beypore in 1861 being the first among them.
According to William Logan, the Taluks of Malabar could be subdivided on the basis of the feudal lords who ruled them before as given below:
The Amsoms included in Chirakkal Taluk was classified into two divisions of Kolathunadu and Randathara (also called Poyanadu). There were 44 Amsoms in the Taluk.
Kolathunadu was the land where Kolattiri Rajas (Chirakkal family) were historically considered as the main authority. It was ruled by Kolattiri Raja,Arakkal Kingdom, and Kingdom of Mysore in various periods. It consisted of the following 36 Amsoms:
Randathara was also called Poyanadu due to the belief that it was the place from where the Cheraman Perumal took his final departure on the journey to Mecca. It was originally a part of Kolathunadu, but was treated as a different Nadu. It consisted of the following 7 Amsoms:
The Amsoms included in Kottayam Taluk was classified into four divisions- The English Settlement at Tellicherry and Dharmapattanam Islands, Iruvazhinadu, Kurangott Nayar Nadu, and Kottayam. There were 28 Amsoms in the Taluk.
Post-Independence
After the Indian independence, Madras Presidency was reorganized into Madras state, which was divided along linguistic lines on 1 November 1956, when Malabar District was merged with erstwhile Kasaragod Taluk immediately to the north and the state of Travancore-Cochin to the south to form the state of Kerala. Malabar District was divided into the three districts of Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Kannur on 1 January 1957. The Chavakkad region of the Ponnani Taluk was transferred to the Thrissur district. Malappuram District was created from parts of Kozhikode and Palakkad in 1969, and Wayanad District was created in 1980 from parts of Kozhikode and Kannur.
Geography
Malabar district, also known as the Malayalam district, bears its name from the hilly nature of many areas in the district. It was one of the two districts of Madras presidency, on the western coast (Malabar coast) of India, the other being the South Canara. The mainland area of Malabar District (excluding Lakshadweep Islands and Fort Kochi region), was surrounded by South Canara (Mangalore) to north, the princely states of Coorg and Mysore to northeast, the British districts of Nilgiris (Ooty) and Coimbatore to southeast, and the princely state of Cochin to south. North Malabar and South Malabar was divided by the river Korapuzha. Wayanad, Valluvanad, and Palakkad Taluks hadn't seacoast, whereas the remaining Taluks in the district had coastal areas. With the exception of the Lakshadweep islands, the district was wedged between the Lakshadweep Sea and the Western Ghats. Wayanad, which forms a continuation of Mysore Plateau, was the only Plateau in Malabar as well as Kerala. The district was widely scattered and consists of the following parts:-
Malabar Proper extending north to south along the coast, a distance of around 240 kilometers, and lying between N. Lat 10° 15′ and 12° 18′ N and E.Long. 75° 14′ and 76° 56′.
A group of nineteen isolated bits of territory lying scattered, fifteen of them in the native state of Cochin and the remaining four in those of Travancore, but all of them near the coastline. These isolated bits of territory form the taluk of British Cochin.
Two other detached bits of land, the Tangasseri and the Anchuthengu, within the Travancore.
Four inhabited and ten uninhabited islands of Lakshadweep. The four inhabited islands are: Agatti, Kavaratti, Androth, and Kalpeni.
The solitary island of Minicoy.
The Western Ghats form a continuous mountain range on the eastern border of the district. Only break in the Ghats was formed by the Palakkad Gap. The western part of the district was sandy coast. The Ghats in the district maintained an average elevation of 1500 m, which might occasionally go up to 2500 m. In Kozhikode Taluk, they turned sharply eastwards and after passing the Nilambur valley in Ernad Taluk, they continued further south along the eastern portions of Ernad and Walluvanad Taluks and the northern portion of Palghat Taluk. Palakkad Gap broke the Ghats in Palghat Taluk. The highest peaks in Malabar District was located in Nilambur region on the vicinity of Nilgiri Mountains. The 2,554 m high Mukurthi peak, which is situated in the border of modern-day Nilambur Taluk and Ooty Taluk, and is also the fifth-highest peak in South India as well as the third-highest in Kerala after Anamudi (2,696 m) and Meesapulimala (2,651 m), was the highest point of elevation in Malabar district. It is also the highest peak in Kerala outside the Idukki district. The 2,383 high Anginda peak, which is located closer to Malappuram-Palakkad-Nilgiris district border is the second-highest peak. Vavul Mala, a 2,339 m high peak situated on the trijunction of Nilambur Taluk of Malappuram, Wayanad, and Thamarassery Taluk of Kozhikode districts, was the third-highest point of elevation in the district. Apart from the main continuous range of Western Ghats, there were many small undulating hills in the lowland of the district. Tropical evergreen forests were present in the mountain ranges in the district. The eastern regions in the modern-day districts of Wayanad, Malappuram (Chaliyar valley at Nilambur), and Palakkad (Attappadi Valley), which together form parts of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, are known for natural Gold fields, along with the adjoining districts of Karnataka.
Administrative divisions
Malabar district had 5 revenue divisions namely, Thalassery (Tellicherry), Kozhikode (Calicut), Malappuram, Palakkad (Palghat), and Fort Cochin and 10 Taluks within them. The plateau of Wayanad was a separate Revenue Division until 1924. Later it was merged with Thalassery.
Thalassery Revenue Division
Headquartered at Thalassery
Chirakkal (Area:1,750 square kilometres (677 sq mi); HQ:Chirakkal), now Kannur
Kottayam (Area:1,270 square kilometres (489 sq mi); HQ:Kottayam), now Thalassery
Wayanad (Area:2,130 square kilometres (821 sq mi); HQ:Mananthavady)
Kozhikode Revenue Division
Headquartered at Kozhikode
Kurumbranad (Area:1,310 square kilometres (505 sq mi); HQ: Vatakara.
Kozhikode & Laccadive Islands (Area:980 square kilometres (379 sq mi); HQ: Kozhikode.
Malappuram Revenue Division
HQ: Malappuram
Ernad (Area:2,540 square kilometres (979 sq mi); HQ:Manjeri)
Valluvanad (Area:2,280 square kilometres (882 sq mi); HQ:Perinthalmanna
Palakkad Revenue Division
Headquartered at Palakkad
Ponnani (Area:1,100 square kilometres (426 sq mi); HQ:Ponnani
Palakkad (Area:1,670 square kilometres (643 sq mi); HQQ:Palakkad
Fort Cochin Revenue Division
Headquartered at Fort Cochin
Cochin (Area:5.2 square kilometres (2 sq mi); HQ:Cochin)
Demography
Native castes in the erstwhile Malabar District include Nambudiri Brahmin, Nair, Thiyya, Mappila, and Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
Among various Hindu castes, Thiyyas were the most populous in the erstwhile Malabar District according to 1881 Census of India. Thiyyas formed nearly 35% of the total Hindus of Malabar in 1881 but were considered to be outside the caste system but yet they were considered shudra by some. They were present in large numbers in almost all Taluks of Malabar except Palghat, Cochin, and Laccadive Islands. Thiyyas were similar to Billavas of Tulu Nadu. In Palghat Taluk, there were Ezhavas instead of Thiyyas.
Nairs were the second-largest caste accounting for nearly 20% of the Hindu population in 1881. Their presence was scattered all over Malabar except Laccadive and Minicoy Islands. According to William Logan, the main subdivisions among the Nair of erstwhile Malabar District were Menon, Nayanar (in North Malabar), Menoky, Moopil Nair, Pada Nair, Kuruppu, Kaimal, Panikkar, Kiryathil Nair, Moothar, Oore, Kidavu, Kartha, Eradi (in Eranad and Kozhikode), Vellodi (in Valluvanad), Nedungadi (in Nedunganad), Mannadiyar (in Palakkad), and Manavalan. Nairs were similar to the Bunts of Tulu Nadu.
Ambalavasi population was higher in South Malabar, compared to that in North Malabar.
Nambudiri Brahmins, who had the highest position in caste system, were mainly concentrated around the river Bharathappuzha, mainly in the Taluks of Valluvanad and Ponnani, in South Malabar. According to 1881 Census, more than 50% of all Nambudiris in Malabar were settled in Valluvanad and Ponnani taluks. Nearly 90% of the Nambudiris of Malabar were from South Malabar, while North Malabar contributed only around 10%. Kozhikode and Eranad came next to Valluvanad and Ponnani in Namboodiri population. Azhvanchery Thamprakkal, who were the head of all Namboodiri of Kerala belong to Athavanad in erstwhile Ponnani taluk. There were some Iyer Brahmins in Palghat Taluk and Tuluva Brahmins in North Malabar.
Cherumar/Cheramar population was comparatively higher in the erstwhile Taluk of Cheranad (merged with Eranad and Ponnani in the 1860s) and its surroundings. Nearly 70% of all Cherumars of Malabar District in 1857 census were from the Taluks of Eranad, Valluvanad, Ponnani, and Palakkad. William Logan notes in his Malabar Manual that a larger number of Cherumar caste converted into Islam in the Taluks of Eranad, Ponnani, and Valluvanad during 1871–1881, comparing the census reports of 1871 and 1881.
Towns and Types
Although there were several settlements across Malabar district during the Madras Presidency or Pre-Independence era, only a handful were officially considered as 'Towns'. Those were Cannanore, Tellicherry, Badagara, Calicut, Malappuram, Tanur, Ponnani, Palghat and Fort Kochi. The municipalities of Kozhikode, Palakkad, Fort Kochi, Kannur, and Thalassery, were formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850) of the British Indian Empire, making all of them the first modern municipalities in Kerala. Even the Thiruvananthapuram municipality was formed in 1920 (54 years later).
Abbreviations
The settlements with a population of more than 50,000 were considered as cities and those had between 10,000 and 50,000 were considered as towns. The following table gives the cities and towns of Malabar district classified by their population as of the 1951 Census:
Local bodies
At the time of 1951 Census of India, Malabar District was divided into 5 Municipalities and 100 Panchayat Boards. Among them 2 municipalities (Kozhikode and Palakkad) were treated as cities. The municipalities were Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kannur, Thalassery, and Fort Cochin. The other towns mentioned above, i.e., Shoranur, Ottapalam, Manjeri, Ponnani, Tanur, Trikkandiyur (Tirur), Feroke, Pandalayini (Quilandy), and Badagara, were treated as Panchayat towns. The Taluk-wise details of 5 Municipalities and 100 Panchayat Boards under Malabar District Board at that time are given below:
Politics
Representatives from Malabar to Madras State
In C. Rajagopalachari Ministry: 1) Kongattil Raman Menon (1937–39), 2) C. J. Varkey, Chunkath (1939)
In Prakasam Ministry: 1) R. Raghavamenon (1946–47)
In Ramaswami Reddyar Ministry: 1) Kozhippurathu Madhavamenon (1947–49)
In P. S. Kumaraswami Ministry: 1) Kozhippurathu Madhavamenon (1949–52)
In C. Rajagopalachari Ministry: 1) K. P. Kuttikrishnan Nair (1952–54) Kalladi Unnikammu Sahib
1951–52 Indian general election
In the first election to the Lok Sabha conducted under the provisions of the Indian Constitution after Independence, Malabar district had five constituencies, Kannur, Thalassery, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Ponnani.
1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election
25 State Legislative Assembly constituencies were allotted from the Malabar District to the First Assembly of Madras State. 4 of them were dual-member constituencies. The total number of seats in the district was 29 (including dual member constituencies).
Malabar Cuisine
The Malabar cuisine depicts it culture and heritage. It is famous for Malabar biriyani. The city of Calicut is also famous for Haluva called as Sweet Meat by Europeans due to the texture of the sweet. Kozhikode has a main road in the town named Mittai Theruvu (Sweet Meat Street, or S.M. Street for short). It derived this name from the numerous Halwa stores which used to dot the street.
Another speciality is banana chips, which are made crisp and wafer-thin. Other popular dishes include seafood preparations (prawns, mussels, mackerel) . Vegetarian fare includes the sadya.
Malabar cuisine is a blend of traditional Kerala, Persian, Yemenese and Arab food culture. This confluence of culinary cultures is best seen in the preparation of most dishes. Kallummakkaya (mussels) curry, irachi puttu (irachi meaning meat), parottas (soft flatbread), Pathiri (a type of rice pancake) and ghee rice are some of the other specialties. The characteristic use of spices is the hallmark of Malabar cuisine—black pepper, cardamom and clove are used profusely.
The Malabar version of biryani, popularly known as kuzhi mandi in Malayalam is another popular item, which has an influence from Yemen. Various varieties of biriyanis like Thalassery biriyani, Kannur biriyani, Calicut biriyani and Ponnani biriyani are prepared in Malabar.
The snacks include unnakkaya (deep-fried, boiled ripe banana paste covering a mixture of cashew, raisins and sugar), pazham nirachathu (ripe banana filled with coconut grating, molasses or sugar), muttamala made of eggs, chatti pathiri, a dessert made of flour, like a baked, layered chapati with rich filling, arikkadukka, and more.
Notable people from Malabar
List of people from North Malabar
List of people from South Malabar