Syrian Christians and Muslims faced no restrictions in walking on most public roads. However, the emergence of a new Christian sect in Travancore grew into a significant social issue.
Around the 1850s, the Diwan made a decision regarding this matter. According to this ruling, this newfound freedom was entirely denied to members of this new Christian sect.
An Ezhava who had converted to Christianity caused an issue by walking near a temple close to the Mission House. The decree that followed was thus: even if an Ezhava converted to Christianity, he remained an Ezhava. He was not permitted to walk on public roads. Instead, he had to traverse the paths through nearby fields, alongside foxes.
Due to their daily interactions with Pulayas, Pariahs, and others, it can be said that the missionaries of the London Missionary Society also developed a slight social aversion. However, because their skin was white and the English administration in the nearby Madras Presidency closely monitored affairs in Travancore, it can be said that these missionaries faced no significant harm.
In 1870, when an Englishman travelled through a Brahmin village, the locals physically assaulted him. The issue was indeed untouchability. Yet, today, this could be considered worthy of a grand freedom struggle pension. The assailants were merely fined a small amount, and the police dismissed the case.
It seems the English administration in Madras was unaware of today’s freedom struggle pensions. When they learned of this assault, they issued a stern reprimand to the Travancore government. Today, this might be a matter to stir the blood of Indian patriots, for how dare the English scold our king?
To them, one could only say, “Sod off, go find some other work to do!”
The Madras government’s stance was that denying public roads to many people was wrong. They made a proclamation as follows:
The public high streets of all towns are the property, not of any particular caste, but of the whole community; and every man, be his caste or religion what it may, has a right to the full use of them, provided that he does not obstruct or molest others in the use of them; and must be supported in the exercise of that right.
Meanwhile, some officials, beating drums, made a proclamation on the public roads. In the main streets of Trivandrum, no Pulayas (even if Christian) were allowed entry!
This matter came to the attention of the Acting British Resident appointed in Trivandrum at the time. He immediately contacted the royal family. Soon after, a proclamation appeared in the Travancore Government Gazette. The announcement, made with drumbeats in the streets, was declared to have been issued without the royal family’s permission. The gazette also stated that the responsible Tahsildar was punished, and the Provertikar was dismissed from government service.
However, in the next issue of the Travancore Government Gazette, it was announced that the dismissal of the Provertikar was revoked, and His Majesty personally ordered that a fine equivalent to one month’s salary would suffice as punishment.
The Travancore government showed reluctance to print and issue a clear order allowing all people to walk on public roads. As a result, no one knew exactly what the law was.
The missionaries of the London Missionary Society clearly instructed lower-caste converts to Christianity not to attempt to claim any social rights. They were told not to argue, even if asked to step aside, leave, or refrain from entering certain places. The likelihood of being slapped or otherwise assaulted was very high. Moreover, if the police arrested and beat them, the missionaries could do nothing.
If a Pulaya touched a Syrian Christian, the latter would go and wash their body.
When a Nair appeared on the road, a Chovan had to walk on the opposite side, pressed against the edge. If a Brahmin approached, they had to leave the road entirely and step into the fields.
Although missionaries arranged various facilities for the lower castes, using these was extremely difficult for them. Taking a sick lower-caste person to the hospital in Kottayam was nearly impossible. Consequently, a separate hospital was built for the lower castes. However, there was no convenient path for them to reach it. A mere quarter-mile distance via the road required them to walk a great distance through winding field paths.
Among the lower castes, affection for their own children had grown. However, when a child fell ill, they were often unwilling to take them to the hospital, as severe beatings on the way were almost certain. Higher-caste individuals would brutally assault them, striking their faces, ears, and elsewhere, and even trample them on the ground. The condition of the accompanying child was of no concern to the assailants. Such was the fear with which higher castes viewed the proximity of lower castes.
Another issue was the covering of breasts. In the presence of higher castes, the cloth covering the breasts had to be removed and tied around the waist, a clear marker of subservience. However, in southern Travancore, lower-caste converts to Christianity began to refuse to bare their breasts. In a classroom, when the teacher entered, all students stood up—except one.
The reason was simple: in England, students did not show such subservience to teachers. What happened? The teacher labelled the student a great rogue. To curb this roguishness, they had certain methods, which they applied. The same happened to such Christian “rogues.”
Different castes were permitted to wear distinct ornaments. The highest could wear gold, those below them silver, and Pulayas were allowed brass. Hunters, Kuravans, and others could wear necklaces and chest ornaments made of glass beads.
Even so, the lower castes needed official permission to wear any ornaments.
This was the state of affairs in Travancore.
The nearby British-Malabar region was an entirely different world.
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The following statement is found in Native Life in Travancore:
It will now be seen that the free access of the lower classes of the population to Courts of Justice, Government officials, and fairs and markets, however essential to the public peace, security, and prosperity, is still more difficult of attainment.
REV. SAMUEL MATEER wrote this, it must be said, without any awareness of the social conditions created by the feudal languages of this subcontinent.
Feudal languages naturally create a group called the lower castes in any setting. Enabling them to compete with those above them does not foster social peace but rather engenders unrest and insecurity in the system.
When observing feudal language societies, the linguistic codes position different groups in opposing perspectives. From these differing viewpoints, facts and emotional experiences may be perceived quite differently.
The higher castes and their children, who address others merely by name or with terms like avan (lowest he), aval (lowest she), nee (lowest you), eda, or edi, are themselves part of another suppressed social stratum. Such a group cannot be created in pristine-English, as pristine-English does not place individuals or occupational roles at great distances through word codes.
Raising the lower castes to address the higher castes and their children merely by name, or with terms like avan (lowest he), aval (lowest she), nee (lowest you), eda, or edi, is not true social reform. Rather, it is akin to unleashing suppressed, carnivorous wild beasts to seize humans.
From the above, one can grasp a small part of the bestial nature of the social atmosphere created by feudal languages. There are other aspects as well.
I have witnessed instances where younger individuals address much older people in feudal languages merely by name or as nee (lowest you). These relatively older individuals have appeared personally humiliated and socially suppressed.
This phenomenon is entirely absent in pristine-English. I will not delve into the specifics of pristine-English here.
Men and women of various lower-caste levels have faced such personal degradation for ages. However, the social reforms introduced by the London Missionary Society, rather than uplifting them, enable those previously suppressed to suppress the children of the higher castes.
This is a significant issue. From this perspective, elevating individuals from Pariahs and Pulayas to Ezhavas in feudal languages creates great mental distress among those living peacefully above, amounting to sheer roguery.
Words like cherukkan (boy), pennu (lowest girl) in Malayalam, and chekan, pennu, oruthan, oruthi in Malabar, among others, remain derogatory when used for higher castes. Beyond these, various caste names themselves serve as derogatory terms. Compared to the term Boy used for African Americans in the USA, which seems a trivial discrimination in the realm of fairyland, these feudal language terms create significant distortions in numerous word codes. The term Boy in English does not affect codes like he, his, him, she, her, hers, they, their, or them.
In feudal languages, however, each such word creates profound distortions in numerous word codes, manifesting clear physical and mental effects on the individuals defined by them.
There is another matter as well, a personal observation. I have often interacted with those defined as lower in word codes without displaying any sense of superiority or inferiority. Even when others referred to them as nee (lowest you) or avan (lowest he), I avoided such terms and provided them opportunities to sit and converse. While this mental elevation is offered, it does not truly raise them socially. Instead, it creates a mental experience of dragging me downwards in the surrounding environment.
This is a significant matter. Even the reason for not placing a chair in front of the inspector’s desk in a police station lies within this. That, too, is a complex code arrangement, which I hope to address later.
The above is written to highlight the other side of the actions of the London Missionary Society. Their efforts should not have aimed to eradicate castes but to eliminate feudal languages. However, they lacked such insight. Moreover, the Irish, Scottish, and others among them carried social codes akin to those in South Asia. Many are unaware of this simply because the Irish and Scottish have long aligned with England.
South Asians living in England would have similarly transformed over time had modern travel and communication facilities not existed.
Feudal languages create a group called the lower castes in various contexts. While one might casually say English does the same, there is no connection between the two.
In this subcontinent, kitchen maids are typically kept in a state of personal humiliation and suppression through word codes. They are often defined by mere names, nee (lowest you), edi, or aval (lowest she) in many Indian states.
If an external movement uplifts these individuals, training them to sit at the dining table with the household, address the housewife and householder by name, use nee (lowest you), or refer to them as avan (lowest he) or aval (lowest she), the resulting domestic unease is understandable. The English would not comprehend such matters.
Similar issues exist in the Indian military. Indian soldiers may live humiliated before their officers, who, often younger, define them with mere names, nee (lowest you), or avan (lowest he). However, the substantial financial benefits and elevated status compared to the public place these soldiers akin to Nairs under Brahmins. There is a slight error in this analogy, which I will address later.
The general populace remains as inferior castes.
I am keen to discuss the social conditions created by feudal languages in the Indian military. In 2013, I wrote about this in The Shrouded Satanism in Feudal Languages, where these issues were thoroughly discussed. A senior Indian military officer once commented on the book’s accuracy:
Lt Gen H S Panag(R) The author seems to be an expert in social behaviour! In any hierarchical organisation, social equality is never perfect.
As for state police, the situation is even more complex, which I will attempt to address later.
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The English viewed the affairs of Travancore as steeped in superstition in every respect. However, they had no knowledge of how powerfully the linguistic codes of feudal languages influenced these social matters.
Most official buildings in the kingdom were located in the vicinity of temples. These official buildings and their activities were deeply intertwined with Hindu (Brahmin) rituals, idols, deities, and the like. Consequently, lower-caste groups feared even approaching the premises of these official buildings. They were denied entry in many places. Moreover, all officials were from higher castes (Hindus and their followers), making it intolerable for them to have the lower castes come near.
While blaming higher castes for their casteism, it must not be forgotten that even today, officials in this country find the ordinary lower-caste citizen utterly repulsive. This repulsion is not merely caste-based; rather, when a person of single-digit status approaches one of crore-digit status, the latter experiences not only disgust and aversion but also a depletion of vital energy. This is the reality.
I recall a private remark made some years ago by a judge to a relative of his.
In the morning, the police would bring in the ‘rogues’ they had apprehended. The judge’s complaint was that merely seeing the faces of these rogues brought bad fortune. This man was not from a higher caste, yet he believed that encountering the common inferior caste in the morning was inauspicious. Even though the caste system has nominally vanished, things remain much the same. This judge, an official who should not prejudge those brought by the police, is duty-bound to listen to their statements as a government employee. Yet, he seems to have forgotten this entirely.
Returning to Travancore, witnesses could not come to court, so the court would occasionally go to them—but not too close.
The witness would stand far away. The court clerk would read out the question, which a policeman standing some distance away would shout. The witness, hearing the question from afar, would respond loudly. The policeman would then shout the response, which the court would hear.
When the English movement provided facilities, advice, and senior officials to establish courts of justice in Travancore, this was the form the courts took.
Consider this statement from an English newspaper in British-India at the time, describing court proceedings in Travancore and Cochin:
It is very amusing to watch a case of this description going on, for the Gumashta (clerk) of the cutcherry has to cry out at the top of his voice every question, and the witnesses or defendants, as the case may be, have in turn to respond to them, by as loud yells, so that all the proceedings are not only audible to those in court, but to those out of and far from it, presenting a scene more like a serious quarrel than a court of law.
Lower-caste petitioners had to wait for days in the sun and rain, far from the court verandah. They were not allowed to cover their heads, as that would be seen as defiance by the lower castes. After standing like this for days, the court might one day agree to hear their petition.
When the English side’s calls to regulate such roguish court proceedings went unheeded, one day the British Resident in Travancore directly issued an order prohibiting these practices. To those studying India’s heroic freedom struggle today, this act by the British Resident would spark great resentment. Who is this British Resident to issue orders in our land, eh?
The reality seems to be that Travancore’s official class paid scant regard to this order. It must be said that these roguish officials were worthy of freedom struggle pensions.
The situation in Travancore was altogether complex. The royal family likely desired to improve the land and eradicate caste issues. However, for the Brahmins, temple-dwellers, and Nairs who upheld the royal family, this was unthinkable.
At the same time, the royal family cooperated with movements like the London Missionary Society. However, such movements were not permitted to operate in British-India. Yet, these movements approached the British-Indian government for their needs, a connection that likely protected them from harm in Travancore.
I write this based on reading an account by Rev. J. H. Hawksworth, a Christian evangelist, who recorded an incident in 1855:
To prevent Pulayas from attending a Christian school, landlords burned down the school building twice. A slave who came to study there was severely beaten and fell unconscious. According to the social customs of that kingdom, this was not considered a grave act of violence, as beating a slave was not seen as a crime by anyone. When the English hear the word ‘slave’ today, they might imagine slaves in Europe or the USA as depicted in Hollywood films—individuals with great personal dignity.
In reality, beating a Pariah or Pulaya slave was locally understood as akin to beating a stray dog. The English movement could not conceive of a person or animal in such a degraded slot, as their language’s words like You, He, and She have no such degraded slot.
The landlord of the beaten slave intervened, urging him to file a complaint with the police. But the slave was deeply doubtful. How could he file a complaint at the police station? He had to shout his complaint from a distance. Where was a suitable place for that?
Another slave, well-acquainted with the area where the police station stood, was permitted to accompany him. To avoid being seen by other landlords, the two travelled through fields and forests. However, at one point, a member of a landlord family caught them. One slave escaped, but the other received a severe beating and other assaults.
A few days later, they set out again with the same plan and were again caught by assailants and beaten. However, after some time, they reached near the police station and lodged a complaint by shouting from a distance.
Justice matters reached only this far. They did not progress further. The beating was all that remained.
Rev. George Matthan, another evangelist, recounted a different incident in 1856: a slave celebrating the Sabbath day was brutally beaten by a landlord. Rev. George Matthan considered filing a complaint with the police, but the courts were riddled with corruption. Moreover, officials were strongly opposed to uplifting the slave population, so no complaint was filed.
The English administration in Madras exerted great pressure to make several government buildings accessible to the lower castes. Nevertheless, the reality is that there were social dynamics the English could not comprehend.
If the eyes, facial expressions, furrowed brows, body language displayed through cheeks, gestures, and the like of the lower castes do not radiate subservience in feudal language codes, what then would they radiate?
If the inferior does not display subservience, what emerges is defiance. The English word for dhikkaram (defiance) is impertinence. However, this word cannot capture the explosive outburst triggered when an inferior says, “Nee poda” (lowest you, get lost) to a person of social dignity with a refined demeanour, whether through words, eye language, or body language.
Moreover, when lower castes look at women of higher castes with clear vulgarity or crude intent, indicated through words, a drooling mouth, or a glint in the eye, the shocking upheaval in linguistic codes causes a social degradation in the individual, their family, and kin, about which the English had no means of understanding.
This is another facet of social reform in feudal language societies.
In the Indian military, training is designed to prevent such behaviours among sepoy soldiers, as their absence could lead to mental derangement among officers. Such training did not exist in the old English military, it must be understood. I cannot speak to the present situation, as that place is now being overtaken by feudal language speakers.
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The Madras Presidency government persistently pressured the Travancore royal family to implement significant social reforms. However, looking back, it must be understood that the English administration in British-India lacked knowledge of the complex social environment in South Asia.
A large population was controlled through slavery and caste-based oppression. The English side had no thoughts on where or how to rein in the forward movement of those released from such suppression.
It is those who speak feudal languages who need to be set free. Matters are not as they appear in English. When avan (lowest he) becomes addeham (highest he), the new addeham eagerly seeks to suppress the old addeham, turning them into a new avan. The English side had little understanding of this possibility then, and none today.
Rev. Samuel Mateer compares Travancore with British-India. He mentions that a museum was built in Trivandrum at great expense, constructed to earn the praise of European individuals. He also notes that the Murajapam festival, held every six years by Brahmin elites at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, incurred significant financial costs.
Mateer firmly states that just a fraction of this lavish expenditure would suffice to build all district courts in Travancore in a manner accessible to everyone, aligned with the emerging social context.
Alternatively, he says, hundreds of schools could be built across the kingdom with the money squandered. However, the social progress Mateer envisions would not necessarily result from building such schools—a separate issue.
Speaking of wasteful expenditure, only a small percentage of the crores of rupees India spends on military purposes today would suffice to build splendid facilities for the common man on public roads across the country. Yet, it seems no one thinks this way. The common man in India is, in itself, a highly complex entity.
Merely building facilities is not enough; there must also be thought about where to direct the populace. The population is surging towards vast numbers. Simply providing more facilities could soon turn population growth into a major social disaster. The proliferation of people lacking quality is indeed a significant problem. The question of what constitutes quality arises here, but I won’t delve into that.
What Rev. Samuel Mateer failed to understand is that in British-India, all groups had all kinds of freedoms, and anyone could aspire to government jobs. What would be the issue if Travancore did the same?
The Travancore royal family faced another problem. They struggled to find trustworthy individuals with cultural values and free from corruption to appoint as officials, even if they searched with a fine-tooth comb.
Consequently, many senior officials appointed were local British-Indian officers from South Asia, borrowed with the English administration’s permission. This led to another issue: in British-India, individuals from lower castes could hold high positions in the administrative system, but appointing such individuals in Travancore would cause a massive social uproar. For example, in British-Malabar, senior officials might include Marumakkathayam or Makkathayam Tiyyas. If such individuals were appointed to high posts in Travancore, it would spark a social explosion.
However, before a system of public examinations based on English language proficiency was established in British-Malabar, the English Company administration faced significant issues with local chieftains. These chieftains and other landlords were the early officials. When the Principal Collector asked for land records or revenue details, these individuals would deliberately send falsified accounts. Often, these records were baseless, much like students today copying notes from one another in schools or colleges. Chieftains amassed great wealth through such official manipulations.
The problem of not being able to trust anyone in one’s own country for official roles remains a widespread issue in India today. However, it is likely true that the English administration’s system of selecting officials through public examinations in English did not face this issue significantly. The backdrop to this was that local officials in British-India during English rule sought to emulate their superior English officers.
Today, most Indian officials try to emulate their superior officers and politicians.
These two different forms of emulation instil distinct cultural values in individuals, shaping two different types of people.
Mateer himself hints at one or two problems that arise when lower-caste individuals are placed in high government positions. In Travancore, government responsibilities related to religion, spirituality, temple administration, and general governance were intertwined. Thus, individuals of lower caste status could not be appointed to such roles.
The Travancore State Manual contains this statement:
He was the junior of the two Dewan Peishcars, but the Senior one Raman Menoven (Menon) was in the north of Travancore and being a Soodra could not have conducted the great religious festival then celebrating at Trivandrum.
Yet, Nairs were granted access to all other positions.
When Colonel Munro was appointed Dewan of Travancore for a time, he appointed some individuals from affluent Syrian Christian families to high-quality government jobs. However, when recording temple expenditure accounts or measuring grains and other items, they had to stand outside the temple at a specified distance to perform these tasks.
A greater problem loomed for those socially elevated. If lower-caste individuals entered high official positions, the higher castes would have to stand before such degraded individuals, bowing or otherwise. This was unthinkable, as the language was feudal. Even today, ordinary people cannot address officials as ningal (middle-level you) in this language.
This problem has been made possible by today’s Indian official class. No matter how low-status an individual is appointed to an official role, the common man must bow before them. When those who think and act in feudal languages become officials, this is the issue—not caste. Much more needs to be said on this, but that can come later.
The British-Indian administration took great care to prevent low-status individuals from forcing the public to bow in such ways. Their solution was to bar low-status individuals from entering high official ranks. The sieve they used to select high-quality individuals for top positions was proficiency in splendid English.
Looking at it this way, things today are the opposite. The current government policy is to appoint the least qualified to top official roles. The public must bow before these utterly low-quality individuals.
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Rev. Samuel Mateer constantly mentions in Native Life in Travancore that things are done this way and that way in British-India, advocating that such practices should be implemented in Travancore. However, it seems he lacked clear understanding of many matters.
Mateer claims that in British-India, no value was given to caste-based thinking, and government jobs and education were universally opened to all, causing no issues for higher castes.
In reality, this may not have been entirely true. Moreover, the idea of providing extensive education to all in British-India became a significant financial burden for England. By 1869, over the previous decade, this cost had risen from £341,111 to £912,200, a sum England had to bear directly.
The primary benefit of this education went to higher castes. Many insisted their children receive education in English. Meanwhile, in villages and small towns, local leaders opposed starting schools but collected government funds for their expenses.
In 1869, Lord Mayo, the British-Indian Governor-General, declared that free education would not be exclusive to higher castes and that all castes would have access. This policy became a major issue, fostering deep resentment among many higher castes towards English rule.
In Travancore, if Ezhava children were admitted to schools, there was a threat that children from Nair and higher castes would leave those schools. However, Mateer’s claim that opening public education to lower castes in British-India caused no such issues was not entirely accurate.
In places like Tellicherry, many higher castes withdrew from education altogether, one might say. In Tellicherry, some Marumakkathayam Tiyya families greatly benefited from this new education system, while it adversely affected many ordinary Nair families. Financially capable higher castes sent their children to Samoothiri-run schools in Calicut, South Malabar. Some less affluent families kept their children out of formal education entirely.
Some of these children later joined government service as sepoys. Some of their officers were Marumakkathayam Tiyya individuals. For Nair youths who became sepoys, the nightmares they saw in childhood seemed to materialize as physical reality when they grew up.
In Travancore, the London Missionary Society was privately determined to educate lower-caste and higher-caste children in the same schools. Though they opened schools exclusively for children of lower castes, including those who converted to Christianity, they were not satisfied with such segregated education.
In truth, while English nations managed to integrate diverse groups socially and otherwise, in African nations like South Africa and Rhodesia, English descendants themselves opposed such integration. Many subtle yet powerful social links related to this need discussion, but I won’t delve into that now.
In this subcontinent, social systems are determined by feudal language codes. Elevating the lower castes merely shifts individuals between social tiers without significantly altering the links that shape social relationships. Moreover, when lower castes rise, they feel no gratitude or loyalty towards the royal family that granted them opportunities for the first time in history. Instead, their minds foster increasing resentment, hostility, and competitiveness.
A prime example is what happened on Travancore’s streets as lower castes were progressively freed. With each new freedom, they intensified riots on the streets. Ultimately, in 1946, lower castes in Punnapra and Vayalar, near Alleppey, created a massive uprising. They killed a police inspector who came to negotiate. Travancore’s armed police responded with fierce vengeance, shooting and killing many.
It was linguistic codes that instilled bestiality in their minds. Without changing these codes, society cannot achieve peace.
When Nehru threatened to send the army to seize Travancore, it’s worth noting that none of the groups the royal family had uplifted from the social gutter declared support for them. Instead, they acted treasonously towards their own king and kingdom. Those from the northern parts of the peninsula subjugated the kingdom!
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For their operation, the Travancore government allocates one-tenth of the education budget as a grant.
It does not seem that the higher sections of population were particularly pleased with the lower sections advancing in knowledge and formal education.
One thing the London Missionary Society failed to clearly understand is that the education they promote is in Malayalam. It appears they have also endeavoured to develop and refine this language. There is a sense that they imported a vast vocabulary from Sanskrit.
Education through Malayalam is not akin to teaching English. Providing advancement to the lower sections through Malayalam equips them to suppress the higher sections using the same linguistic codes, granting them social mobility, opportunities, and status. Moreover, the newly empowered lower sections may use their newfound abilities to oppress those among themselves who have not achieved similar social advancement. This does not foster peace or refinement in society. This insight seems to have eluded the English Missionary Society.
However, the local higher sections likely viewed the Missionary Society’s activities as, “What nonsense are these pompous fools carrying out?”
The Society had other such shortcomings. One was their lack of awareness of the clear distinction between Continental Europeans and the English. The English and England’s historical class enemies were, in fact, Continental Europeans.
This same issue exists between the English and the Celtic-speaking peoples within Britain—Irish, Scots, and Welsh. Yet, due to the common light skin colour, when the English travel to Asia, Africa, or elsewhere, they are often identified with the same superior status as Europeans. This is a grave misidentification and a trap. I feel more can be said on this later.
In Native Life in Travancore, there is a sentence:
The Travancoreans are not a nation, but a congeries of artificially and widely-separated, for the most part mutually opposing, sections of population.
This reality persists in India today. However, the lower sections do not clearly recognise this. Even if they did, they may not be able to do much about it. Today’s higher sections—government employees and their organisations—use local feudal linguistic codes to keep the ordinary Indian citizen in a lower position. The unspoken aim of compulsory formal education is to mentally confine them through language, preventing their escape from this position. The feudal language spoken by the lower sections makes it difficult for them to unite or cooperate voluntarily. They are prone to intense rivalry and backstabbing among themselves. Capturing this social and emotional dynamic created by feudal language in English is indeed challenging.
In Travancore, through the direct efforts of English Christian missionaries and pressure from the English administration in Madras, the lower sections began to gain freedom from various forms of exploitation. For instance, some communities were liberated from the obligation to supply firewood to Brahmin dining halls attached to major temples, either for free or at a nominal price. It must be noted that such temples were immensely wealthy.
However, to keep the lower sections perpetually shaken and unsettled, words like enthadi, nee, avan, and aval were used to facilitate attacks that hindered the development of their personality and dignity, compelling them to publicly display subservience. The lower sections, both men and women, were left with stunted personalities! The children of those with stunted personalities inherit diminished personalities! This also aids in maintaining societal regimentation. If this structure breaks, the lower sections may behave defiantly.
There is much to write about the legal reforms occurring in Travancore, but there is no plan for that now. However, many official powers were restrained due to strong external influence from the English Company. One such regulation, as recorded in the Travancore State Manual, states: and on no account shall a female be detained for a night.
Yet, as far as the lower sections were concerned, the police system in Travancore was generally a terrifying institution, as noted in various sources. In Christian activities involving the lower sections, the police often intervened without provocation. Chasing away those who came to hear religious discussions or receive medicine seems to have been a form of amusement for the police and a means of enhancing their sense of authority.
A policeman arrested a local individual of high character and standing, a Mission Catechist, for allegedly cutting bamboo from the forest without government permission and detained him in a lockup for some time. When Rev. Samuel Mateer records this incident, he omits a key detail: the police likely addressed this highly respected individual as nee and referred to him as avan. Once such words are used, the likelihood of physical assault—slaps to the face, choking, or kicks to the stomach—increases significantly, and this should be documented. Even if no physical assault occurs, the verbal blow of such words strikes a person of high standing as if all these had happened, leaving their body numb.
Nevertheless, the London Missionary Society actively promoted this harmful language. They did not adopt the British-Indian government’s stance of promoting English. The underlying motive may have been the mental insecurities sprouting in the minds of newly emerging local Christian leaders. The steep hills, valleys, and pits of the social landscape could be levelled into a pristine plateau by English. This may not have been appealing to the newly risen Christian leaders. There is much to say on this too, if the opportunity arises.
Moreover, Christian hymns in the local language have such charm and beauty! Hearing just a snippet makes one pause in awe. The mind scatters with pearls, the body trembles with goosebumps, and poetic thoughts of divinity awaken. A subtle sweetness fills communal prayers, untouched by the social atmosphere.
The traditional language of Travancore was Tamil. Moreover, the language of many lower sections was something else entirely, not Malayalam. When choosing to teach a new language, English would have been the most desirable option by far.
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There is much to say about the social, administrative, and other aspects of Travancore, but I do not intend to delve into them now. However, I feel it is worth mentioning a few social conditions.
From around 1800 onwards, it seems the rulers of Travancore generally desired to address the social issues within the kingdom. Yet, they were unable to effect significant change in societal attitudes, as they could not alter the aversion and repulsion created by linguistic codes.
In British-India, there was no legal restriction on any community using a palanquin as a mode of transport. In Travancore, however, this vehicle had long been reserved for the higher sections of the population. In earlier times, this was not an issue. But as various communities across the kingdom began to prosper economically and maintain commercial ties with neighbouring British-India, tensions arose.
A wealthy Shanar merchant from Tirunelveli in the Madras Presidency used a palanquin for travel while in Travancore. Lower-level government officials apprehended him and imposed a heavy fine, likely using derogatory terms like enthadi and nee.
The Madras government may have intervened, as the Diwan stepped in and refunded the fine. Soon after, a government proclamation declared that anyone could use a palanquin. However, oil pressers and communities below them were still not permitted to do so. The oil pressers resolved to challenge this restriction. In 1874, they used a palanquin in a wedding procession through a main street in Trivandrum. The lower sections were growing defiant, likely influenced by the proximity of British-India.
The Shudras (Nairs), witnessing this defiance, portrayed it as a major issue and lodged a complaint with the magistrate. The magistrate fined the offenders for breaching caste boundaries. However, when the case reached a higher court, the ruling changed: using a vehicle peacefully on a public road was deemed lawful. This verdict was unthinkable for the Shudras.
Society’s discipline was being upended. If lower ranks in the military were allowed to behave so defiantly, officers would become irrelevant. This is how matters were unfolding.
The royal family faced no significant threat, as their security and sustenance came from the English administration in British-India. Without this, some powerful entity from Ambalapuzha, Attingal, or Changanassery might have attacked and seized the kingdom.
The royal family did not overly rely on the support of Travancore’s higher sections, whose loyalty and affection were notoriously fickle and unpredictable.
In Kottar, Nagercoil, oil pressers replicated this defiance with palanquins and were fined. The higher court overturned the fine. Subsequently, potters in Kottar displayed similar audacity on the streets. A Brahmin judge in the lower court imposed a fine, citing the proximity of Vellala homes to the street.
Vegetable vendors then followed suit with similar defiance. When confronted by the Vellalas on the street, they paid a fine of 200 rupees and offered other tributes, acknowledging their subservience.
While Rev. Samuel Mateer recounts these events, he shows no awareness of how such behaviour by these communities altered linguistic codes. He expresses no understanding of the menacing and fear-inducing forces lurking in the background.
In 1875, Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal permitted the removal of caste names from government records for lower sections who converted to Christianity. This was a significant step for them. No matter how refined or dignified an individual might be, if their lower-caste designation remained indelible in their name, linguistic codes would degrade them in public discourse, trampling their dignity.
For lower-caste individuals who gained social freedoms without converting to Christianity, this issue persisted and continues to haunt them today. Their only recourse has been reservation in government jobs, secured as a right. However, this has only lowered the standard of government employment and its environment. The English administration in Tellicherry had shown, at least for a time, that this was not the path to mental elevation. Today, this lesson is forgotten, and people rush through the shortcut of reservation to achieve social advancement and suppress others.
In the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, the precedent of removing former caste names for lower-caste converts to Christianity served as an example for the royal decree. One might think a lower-caste Christian could now walk public roads without significant issues.
However, concealing such a designation could socially complicate matters. For instance, if a soldier in the military removed the title of sepoy and appeared indistinguishable from an officer, many officers might be uncertain whether to address them as thoo, tum, or aap. This could also foster a sense of defiance among some soldiers, perceived as insolence.
A similar issue is emerging in the Kerala Police, it seems worth noting. In India, ordinary police are defined in Hindi as sepoy, a term possibly linked to the English word sepoy. In local feudal languages, hierarchical codes place the sepoy policeman at the lowest rung within the police department.
However, the hierarchical codes in the police differ from those in the military. Multiple complex hierarchical codes extend upwards, downwards, and in various directions within the police. Documenting this complexity precisely would require a separate opportunity, which this is not.
Many Travancore government officials resisted removing caste names from the records of converted lower-caste individuals. In the 1881 Census, many such individuals were still recorded under their old caste names.
In Nagercoil, Christians refusing to disclose their former caste names in court caused a significant issue. The court threatened to charge them with contempt, and they relented under pressure.
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In present-day India, a significant portion of the population lives in abject subservience and social bondage. A large section of people in Kerala today remain unaware of this reality.
Many who observe these conditions in India either do not reflect on them or, if they do, fail to see anything wrong with them. This is because the prevailing mindset is that this is simply how things are and always have been.
However, in areas under English rule and in places like Travancore, English institutions made significant efforts to bring about change. Even so, many British visitors to British-India during that era witnessed the general plight of the subcontinent’s common people. Some even mistakenly believed the English administration was the cause of this misery. Their question was:
South Asia is a region with resources tenfold greater than Britain’s. Yet, the vast majority of its people live in extreme poverty, many lacking any sense of individuality. Why is this so?
These British questioners had no knowledge of the linguistic codes of this subcontinent. Moreover, they were unaware that the people had already progressed significantly from their traditional conditions.
Travancore, too, faced significant social issues, and no local had any interest in addressing them. The common mindset was: What does it matter to me if the land and its people prosper? If others rise, my status diminishes.
This remains the general attitude of Indians today.
It was the English institutions that noticed the rampant social exploitation in Travancore.
Forced labour was a long-standing reality across all South Asian kingdoms. No one saw anything wrong with it until the English administration began to curb this practice.
In Travancore, forced labour persisted. English missionaries submitted numerous petitions to the government against it, and many forms of exploitation began to cease. However, some continued. For government needs, officials would seize boats, returning them only after several days. When government requirements arose, workers were detained and released only after the task was completed. Rev. Samuel Mateer notes that when the Madras Presidency Governor visited Travancore, Travancore officials detained several workers to carry the luggage of the governor and his family.
When royal family members travelled, tahsildars and other government officials would abandon their regular duties to arrange the necessary facilities. During such times, boatmen and other labourers would attempt to flee their homes. Streets and canals were cleared of vehicles and other obstacles to ensure smooth passage, causing significant inconvenience to the public, businesses, and travellers.
To escape forced labour, the leaders of manual workers often bribed government sepoys, a practice that became customary.
The Catholic vicar in Poonthura lodged complaints with the Diwan about these issues, stating that lower-level government officials treated the poor with utter disregard. Officials from the government granary in Valiyathura and police from Nemom would seize boats and boatmen, often releasing some after accepting bribes.
Boatmen were deeply reluctant to work for the government, as officials treated them with complete disrespect. Moreover, they often received no food, facilities, or wages.
Additionally, government sepoys habitually took fish from impoverished Christian fishermen, claiming it was for the British Resident’s household. When fish was unavailable, they extorted money instead.
In northern Travancore, Christian missionaries complained about Ezhavas being forcibly taken to guard jails, salt depots, and other facilities. Poor individuals were also dragged to distant hilltops to cut trees or saw timber.
Christian missionaries objected to the free provisions given to Brahmins at government expense, arguing there was no justification for such privileges.
It is worth noting that today in India, government officials behave towards the economically and socially disadvantaged in the same manner described above. Yet, there is rarely significant public protest, as feudal languages foster the belief that keeping the lower sections suppressed is ideal. If anyone raises this issue, they are countered with questions like: Didn’t the British plunder all the wealth of this land? What’s left here?—deflecting the issue with another question.
What was said about Brahmins then applies equally to those at the helm of government departments today.
Despite the Diwan and royal family implementing significant administrative reforms in Travancore, lower-level officials worked in unison to ensure the benefits did not reach the people. They collaborated, employing cunning tactics to prevent any improvement in the condition of the lower sections. Their reasoning was clear: if the people rose, their subservience would vanish, and with it, the deference shown to officials in a servile form would disappear, upending linguistic codes.
Rev. Samuel Mateer notes that every official used their authority in the spirit of “make hay while the sun shines,” exploiting opportunities for personal gain.
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The English perspective from British-India viewed the provision of dining halls and other privileges to Brahmins in Travancore as fostering laziness among them. However, the reality is not confined to this simplistic view. Today in Britain, South Asians dominate certain occupations, and the English often prefer to avoid these roles.
South Asians there interpret this as English laziness or reluctance to work. Yet, the truth may be more troubling. When speakers of languages that do not confer dignity to certain occupations dominate a profession, not only does the profession’s status decline, but the mental well-being of other workers associated with it also suffers. This is a clearer insight.
Rev. Samuel Mateer opines that unless the special privileges given to Brahmins and others are removed, mutual bitterness and jealousies among rival classes will surely increase. In reality, as long as local feudal languages are preserved, social reforms in the region will not reduce these sentiments but rather intensify them.
Native Life in Travancore explicitly states, and the Travancore State Manual implicitly confirms, that Travancore’s official class—except for the highest-ranking officials borrowed from British-India—was almost entirely steeped in corruption.
Individuals close to senior officials or the royal family were often given various government jobs. These positions frequently lacked a fixed salary, or only a nominal one was assigned. However, those receiving such jobs had no complaints. What they sought was the status of an official position; they would handle the rest.
When I first visited Travancore in the 1970s, I heard a well-known story.
A young man from a Nair family was recommended for a government job. The king summoned him and publicly asked, “What work do you know?” The youth replied that he had no specific skills. There was no real fault in this response, as even today, most seeking government jobs follow the same pattern: they learn the job after securing it. However, to mock him, the king said, “If you know no work, what job can I give you? Perhaps you should count the waves on the seashore.”
The youth, with great enthusiasm and subservience, replied, “That job will do for your servant.” The king, in jest, ordered that he be given this role.
The next day, at the bustling port where sailing ships and boats came and went, this man arrived with followers, erecting a grand official shed and signboard. Inside sat “His Excellency,” a high-ranking official. His new subordinate officials summoned ship and boat captains, informing them: “An official wave-counting is underway. If you move your vessels now, the waves will break, and the count will go wrong. Therefore, you cannot sail during this time.”
The captains and boatmen were distressed but sought a solution. They were told that “His Excellency” could grant exemptions to some for a fee.
This illustrates how many officials in Travancore operated—corruption layered upon corruption. As quoted: “An ill-disposed Provertikaran is the very personification of oppression, injustice, bribery, and illegality.”
Lower officials treated the poor with utter disrespect. As quoted: “Courtesy to the poor is almost unknown among the lower officials.” When Pulayas submitted petitions or official documents, sepoys accepted them with evident disgust, ordering the papers to be placed on the ground rather than taking them directly.
However, the presence of British-Indian senior officials often offered a chance for change. Rev. Samuel Mateer records an instance where a senior official ordered a sepoy to accept such papers directly.
It’s worth noting that in British-India, citizens did not need to approach a sepoy. They could submit documents directly to an officer, who was required to return them personally—a practice upheld by English administration. This is akin to some household guests being received by menial servants, others by kitchen staff, or by the head of the household. Such discriminatory treatment persists in government institutions today.
In banks, the handling of documents for opening accounts varies based on the person’s status—handled by a sepoy, clerk, officer, or manager. In British-India, such a hierarchical system that degraded the public was deemed unacceptable.
In Travancore’s markets, where lower sections were permitted entry, government sepoys often blocked them with great arrogance. As quoted: “Some Tahsildars we have known abuse all of the poorer classes who apply to them, and keep them at a distance. These men hate to see a decent dress on any man of humble origin, or the chest covered with a cloth; and such are openly reviled, their letters declined on various pretexts, and their business left undone.”
Economically disadvantaged individuals were treated with contempt by some tahsildars. Those wearing decent clothing or covering their chests were openly harassed, and their official documents were often withheld.
Back then, entering a government office in fine attire or with the chest covered was akin to entering a government office today with a mundu neatly tucked up.
At churches where lower-caste Christians prayed, sepoys would enter, with or without summons, and forcibly seize individuals. Sometimes, they stationed themselves at the church door to apprehend attendees. Those detained were interrogated loudly and harshly in public, with any verbal missteps scrutinised to intimidate and humiliate them.
Officials often failed to respond to petitions and other matters. People grew exhausted chasing official documents, some travelling great distances for days, suffering greatly. Their work and responsibilities fell into disarray, and they had no one to complain to, as the language itself was hierarchical. Unlike in English, one could not simply approach or speak to anyone.
Common sense dictates that official documents should include a reference, name, or number, but this was often absent.
Some officials collected 10 fanams for the government but issued receipts for only 1 fanam—a routine practice.
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Centuries ago in England, various social injustices were clearly and formally documented. Historical records detail efforts by many to address these wrongs. Pirates and other rogues also appear in these records. Today, students in rogue nations worldwide study these in history books or English MA courses, concluding, “What a terrible country England was! Their own history proves it!” This is how things are studied in India too.
Meanwhile, Indian education portrays the subcontinent’s backwardness as grand achievements.
I have been writing about Travancore, where conditions likely mirrored those in parts of the subcontinent untouched by English rule.
Native Life in Travancore records that government sepoys and local officials treated lower-caste prisoners with extreme harshness. Funds allocated for prisoners’ food were misappropriated, leaving them starving. The presence of British-Indian officials brought minor improvements. In Trivandrum’s prisons, proper food and medicine were provided, but conditions in remote areas remained harsh.
Prisoners were bound with long, heavy iron chains and shackles. Wooden stocks with holes were used to trap their legs. Tools for physical torment were kept ready. Respected individuals, if detained, were deliberately placed among lower-status prisoners to degrade them socially. Fellow inmates, using feudal language, could mentally harass them, ensuring their dignity was crushed. This is akin to an Indian military officer imprisoned in Pakistan being placed among Indian sepoy prisoners, creating a similar psychological ordeal.
When women were detained, they were sometimes placed in male prisons.
Rev. Samuel Mateer personally witnessed a poor man chained to wooden stocks in his own courtyard. His cattle starved without care, and his home and belongings were used or stolen by outsiders.
In southern Travancore, a Pulaya escaped from a cage where he was confined. Soon recaptured, he explained in court that the sepoys tasked with feeding him had given him no food for four days, pocketing the funds. He fled out of unbearable hunger.
Such incidents provoked no outrage among respectable households. Their attitude was: “He’s just a Pulaya. He must have done something wrong. Let him suffer.”
No clear or accurate receipts were issued for taxes paid by the poor. A lower-caste individual who bought land from a Shudra (Nair) visited a government clerk (Pillai) daily for three years to obtain a transfer certificate, to no avail. Countless such incidents occurred.
Kuravans and Vedars cultivated fallow hill land for a year, paying a malavaram tax. However, officials inflated the land’s size, imposing exorbitant taxes, then offered to reduce it for a bribe of one rupee.
When crops were ready, village officials and their men took whatever they wanted. They also hurled degrading Tamil and Malayalam terms like eda, edi, nee, enthada, and enthadi at the poor, words that pierced their hearts. For language enthusiasts, these caused goosebumps and sweet emotions—an enchanting illusion. The poor had no clear knowledge of what the government was entitled to collect, and questioning officials risked escalating physical and mental torment, scattering teeth like pearls and flashing the seven colours of the rainbow in their minds. Such is the beauty of these words!
A senior official told Rev. Samuel Mateer that only a fraction of the taxes collected reached the government. These practices mirror those in many modern Indian government departments. In this light, British-Malabar lagged far behind, as Travancore’s corruption was already a daily norm. It took decades for Malabar to catch up to Travancore’s “modern” official ingenuity.
In Travancore, it was common knowledge that officials gave nothing without a bribe. Excluding senior British-Indian officials, Rev. Samuel Mateer notes there was a time when no official was free of bribe-taking. These officials had insatiable greed and extraordinary cunning, even threatening to frame people for murder if bribes were not paid.
Freedom from criminal charges required money and goods like cloth. Paying ensured escape from police cases.
Officials invited many to ceremonies at their homes, where guests brought lavish gifts and money.
Some judges took bribes from both parties in a case, refunding the losing side.
Rural paravu officials boldly demanded money, cloth, and goods from long-distance travellers. During camp duties, sepoys took chickens, goats, eggs, and fruits from poor households, sometimes demanding more.
For taxes like house tax, people visited officials’ homes in the evenings with gifts. Pillais (clerks and writers) amassed wealth through bribes.
Complaining against such corruption, bribery, and injustice was a perilous act.
Rev. Samuel Mateer notes that some knew of even worse practices but faced obstacles in speaking out.
Travancore’s official machinery bore the same face as today’s Indian bureaucracy. Once caught by officials, you were at their mercy—they could demand or do anything.
British-Malabar, under English rule, was different.
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“One of the most needed missionary agents in India,” says the Indian Evangelical Review, “is a travelling missionary musician, one who can sing well, and is thoroughly acquainted with the science of music.”
Christian missionaries from England recognized the enchanting quality of songs in local languages. Though unaware of the underlying mystery of how feudal language songs evoke sweet emotions in the mind, exhilaration in the spirit, and a pulsating rhythm in the body, I would like to highlight a truth.
The hierarchical nature of words in feudal languages allows them to oscillate between the realms of Brahminical superiority and lower-caste inferiority, creating an exhilarating effect. When words carry a Brahminical aura, their use or hearing can evoke intense mental ecstasy and a fiery thrill in the body.
As a young man, I experienced this Brahminical aura while standing near CPS in official settings, in the capacity of a son. However, this sensation is fleeting. When stepping out of such orchestrated settings into the ordinary world, this illusory grandeur fades.
When lower-caste individuals sang Christian songs in Malayalam or Tamil, whether in groups or alone, a vague yet profound transcendental bliss, tinged with Brahminical essence, likely permeated their minds. Feudal language songs played a significant role not only in Christian conversion efforts but also in various community mobilization initiatives across the subcontinent.
I have always cherished old Malayalam film songs. They evoke a sensation akin to the intoxication of alcohol. Their mesmerizing music stirs the mind with enchantment. Readers may be familiar with these songs:
Few in this land could hear these songs without their minds swaying to the rhythm or their lips humming the tune spontaneously.
When Prem Nazir appeared in song sequences, the experience could rival watching explicit videos, sometimes leading to hours of watching old film songs until dawn. These songs indeed carry an intoxicating quality akin to alcohol.
I’ve seen people clutching a bottle of fine Scotch whisky, exclaiming repeatedly, “What a fantastic thing this is!” Similarly, I’ve often praised these songs and their lyrical beauty.
This digression stems from a thought.
The mental, linguistic, and lyrical ambiance of the songs listed above is not truly available in Malayalam’s real-world interactions. The mood, rhythm, and sweetness they convey are absent in everyday conversations, even on formal platforms. If such interactions occur, they are fleeting and momentary.
Would a wife ever say to her husband in the tone of Ramanan’s “Njānum varatteyo ninre koode?” (“May I come along with you?”).
Another thought arises. During my college days in Trivandrum, I heard crude parodies of old Malayalam film songs, such as a vulgar version of “Periyāre periyāre, parvatha nirayude panineere…” titled “Mariyāme mariyāme…”. These parodies retain the same rhythm, melody, and lyrical beauty as the originals but are obscene. This raises the question: what relevance does the semantic beauty of song lyrics have?
Many today claim Malayalam’s beauty surpasses that of English. The songs listed above can be written and composed with minimal cost, yet their creation involved significant expense. Can such feudal language songs, created with or without heavy investment, be compared to English as a medium of communication? English lacks the Brahminical or lower-caste connotations of words, a limitation worth noting.
Locals who enjoy Brahminical Malayalam songs do not necessarily exhibit Brahminical or Kshatriya-like qualities in personality, demeanor, or physique.
English, without requiring financial cost, lyrical sweetness, or melodic embellishment, can impart social individuality and dignity to those crushed by feudal language codes. It can also lend a celestial charm to public spaces and local markets without any extravagance or waste.
It appears the London Missionary Society deliberately planned to leverage local music extensively.
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Christian missionary activities in Travancore operated within a deeply caste-ridden environment. No one was willing to forgo any opportunity to claim descent from high-caste ancestors or Brahmin connections. Even suggesting that one’s biological father was merely nominal and that the true father was a nearby Namboodiri was considered a significant achievement, often sparking envy among others.
However, for Nairs, such paternal lineage claims offered no social or inheritance advantages. Yet, these claims helped them maintain superiority over Ezhavas and other lower groups.
Rev. Samuel Mateer notes that some even implicated the Travancore royal family in such discussions. The royals, often called Varmas and thus claiming Kshatriya status, engaged in various practices to reinforce this claim. The most effective was pleasing Brahmins, alongside building temples or lavishly serving existing ones and their deities. In Malabar and Travancore, royal families adopted the title Varma for this purpose.
Mateer suggests that Chola, Pandya, and other southern kings also secured Kshatriya status by pleasing Brahmins, using titles like Deva or Varma to cement their position.
Travancore’s King Marthanda Varma dedicated his kingdom to Lord Padmanabhaswamy, making an attack on Travancore equivalent to an attack on the deity. This provided significant protection. However, Tipu Sultan disregarded this and attacked Travancore, only to be defeated by the English East India Company, which protected its allied state, saving Travancore.
When Nehru planned to annex Travancore, the king seemed to lack faith in Lord Padmanabhaswamy’s protection. Though he resisted briefly, he surrendered when the threat of attack became certain. The lower sections, gradually gaining social freedoms, showed little loyalty to the kingdom, indirectly aligning with the Hindi-speaking northern regions of the subcontinent.
The royal families of Calicut, Cochin, and Travancore exhibited distinct caste-based hierarchies among themselves.
There was a narrative that Travancore’s royals were Nairs who had elevated themselves to Kshatriya status. Though Nairs were labeled Shudras, they were not akin to the Shudras of the northern Indian Chaturvarnya system.
Mateer writes:
“Sudras, and especially the Nayars of the Western Coast, though not regarded as ‘twice born,’ are yet not socially a low caste, but constitute the mass of the respectable population — the landowners and employers of labour, the agricultural and military classes. Some are nobles and even kings.”
Though Nairs were classified as Shudras, most carried Namboodiri blood. While there’s no evidence of inherent superiority in Namboodiri lineage, in the realm of linguistic codes operating as transcendental software, such claims added significant positive value to one’s social standing. A connection to someone of “ten crore” status outweighs one with a mere “single-digit” status. More on this later.
In every kingdom, subjects viewed their king as a great monarch and divine descendant. However, Brahmins often did not share this view but refrained from commenting, as their alliance with the king was crucial to subjugating the masses.
Some propagated stories linking the Travancore royals to the mythical King Yayati, claiming a lineage spanning thousands of years. The royal family, however, seemed uninterested in such discussions.
Travancore’s Panar tailors claimed Shudra status, but Nairs did not acknowledge this.
In the Madras Presidency, Pariyans and Pallars fiercely debated which group was superior.
A similar rivalry existed between Travancore’s Ezhavas and Shanars, with social precedence varying between the kingdom’s north and south.
In 1871, Christian Shanars in Tirunelveli circulated a printed notice claiming royal descent, citing bizarre ancient evidence. During that year’s British-India census, thousands of Shanars in Tirunelveli declared themselves Kshatriyas. This led to records showing thousands of Christian Kshatriyas, later deemed absurd and invalidated. However, some English writers, unaware of the correction, began claiming thousands of Kshatriyas had converted to Christianity.
Among Pariyans, a tale persisted that they descended from a royal family. Some Pulayas, claiming they abstained from beef, asserted superiority over Pariyans, maintaining a 12-foot distance from them.
In British-India, such issues proliferated as various castes loosened social shackles, compelling many to prove their superiority. Some could trace their lineage back 50 generations, often claiming descent from a rishi, cow, snake, or other entity.
Many lower castes used sacred threads to assert their claims.
When such mutually disdainful groups converted to Christianity, these tensions persisted, creating significant conflicts among new Christians.
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While it is true that the London Missionary Society paved the way for various social reforms in Travancore, it appears they believed this was due to the virtues of Christianity. However, this is not entirely accurate. Many of the reforms they sought to implement in Travancore were already being practiced in British-India under English rule, without any grand banners of social transformation. The English achieved this simply by prioritizing the ideology of human dignity embedded in the English language. This was not perceived as a grand spiritual or religious endeavor by anyone there.
The involvement of non-English continental Europeans and Celtic-speaking individuals in Christian missionary activities led to misconceptions about Europeans in Travancore. In reality, most continental European communities held ideologies starkly opposed to that of the English language. Moreover, the French were particularly committed to undermining English initiatives worldwide.
In this subcontinent, most battles claimed to have been fought for Indian independence were either led, executed, or heavily supported militarily by the French. In this sense, the French played a larger role in India’s so-called independence struggles than Tipu Sultan.
The London Missionary Society’s activities in Travancore seem to have inadvertently conferred social prestige on Germans and other white Europeans. This was merely a misunderstanding among the local populace, and the Society made no apparent effort to correct it.
When communities with deep mutual animosities and disdain converted to Christianity, their prejudices carried over into their new faith.
Syrian Christians continued to view others with disdain, treating them as their former enslaved communities. As noted: “Yet Ilavars [Ezhavas] and Chogans [Chevvans] were, and still are in most parts, similarly driven out of the way by Brahmans. Missionaries have pleaded the cause of all classes alike, and to a large extent succeeded in procuring the emancipation of Shanars and Ilavars from such bonds, but as soon as one caste has somewhat risen from their degradation they inflict similar indignities upon their inferiors…”
Summary: Ezhavas and Chevvans were often shunned by Brahmins. Through missionary efforts, Shanars and Ezhavas gained freedom from such oppression. However, as soon as one caste rose from its degradation, it began oppressing those below it.
When some Chevvans converted to Christianity, their uncles took their daughters to their homes. In 1877, Pulaya Christians near Arpukkara, Kottayam, expressed a desire to attend prayers at a local church. This caused significant distress among the Chevvan Christians who regularly worshipped there. They wrote to the Bishop in Madras, stating that mingling with Pulayas on Sundays would jeopardize their employment and privileges in Nair households.
The Bishop responded, emphasizing Christian spiritual principles, the moral duty to show brotherhood to the long-despised Pulayas, and the incompatibility of uncivilized cultural norms with Christianity. He also urged Pulayas to attend church in clean, proper attire. However, the real issue was not physical uncleanliness but the indelible stigma imposed by linguistic codes. The Chevvans found the Bishop’s response unacceptable and shifted their prayers elsewhere.
Though many lower castes converted to Christianity, they struggled to abandon long-standing caste and family rituals. For instance, many Chevvans continued performing pithruhomam (ancestor worship) with even greater zeal after conversion.
Such issues persisted in the newly established Christian community.
In places like Chertala, Vaikom, and Paravur, there was a group called Valans. Culturally, they were seen as akin to Chevvans and Ezhavas but were considered lower by them. Also called Mukkuva Arayars, they had no connection to hill Arayars. Only their leader was addressed as Arayan. Government officials unhesitatingly conscripted them for forced labor.
Valans owned no land or fields, living in small huts on landlords’ estates. Their food was minimal, their clothing scarce and filthy. Children suffered from worm infestations and other ailments, with no knowledge of treatment. Though government hospitals existed, Valans lacked the courage to visit them. However, children attending missionary schools showed improvement.
Valans spoke to higher castes in the same self-effacing, subservient manner seen today when Kerala’s public interacts with police or officials, humbling themselves and showing excessive deference.
They did not fish in the sea but cast nets at night in backwaters and marshes. Their leader, the Arayan, resided in Chempu and was granted a sword by the king, a symbol of great prestige. When the king traveled by water, the Arayan and his people escorted the royal boat in chundan vallams, receiving food in return. During these journeys, they sang vanchipattu (boat songs) based on Ramayana stories and excelled in competitive boat races.
Among them were a subgroup called Marakkars, but Valans neither ate at Marakkar homes nor intermarried with them.
This caste issue may seem monumental, but consider the Jews. They, too, were a caste-like community, living across the world yet avoiding integration with others. In Europe, Jews were among the most despised, yet they were either highly cunning or socially astute, always finding ways to avoid subjugation in any social context.
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People in those times often joined Christianity and Islam not due to spiritual thoughts or new realisations about God. Rather, most of the time, they did so to make their harsh living conditions in their local communities a bit more bearable.
It seems that the missionaries who came from England did not understand the issues embedded in the local language—such as the enforced deference it expressed, the subservience it demanded, the belittlement it brought in return, and so forth.
Although there is no information about such matters in English, there is a saying: Give respect and take respect. Give respect, and in return, receive respect. This English saying holds no meaning whatsoever in feudal languages. The reason is that respect must be given to those who belittle in return. When respect is given, most often, the implication radiated socially is that the person who gave respect is a lowly individual.
When many groups of people joined Christianity, they would strive to retain whatever symbols of social prestige they previously held. Moreover, some even felt that once they entered the new religion, there was no issue in using the caste symbols of the Namboodiris.
There existed a high-caste symbol called kudum or kudumi. This involved shaving the front part of the head and tying the remaining hair into a bundle. This might have been something certain Brahmins did in connection with some of their rituals. It is also seen that some people convinced the missionaries that until a Brahmin boy dons the kudumi, he is merely a Shudra boy.
Many lower-caste individuals, eager to emulate Brahmin customs, might have been doing such things. When many such people joined various Christian movements, it was felt that the local caste system had crept into Christianity as well.
When people of various castes became members of the Christianity established by the London Missionary Society and others, many of them retained the kudumi to demonstrate that they were different from others. In reality, this was done by relatively lower individuals to prevent others from using belittling terms against them in the hierarchical word codes of feudal languages. However, although many controversies about the kudumi took place within the new Christian religion, no one seems to have pointed out this very important detail.
Everywhere, it was discussed as being a part of primitive Hindu culture and something that could not be incorporated into Christianity.
However, the reality is that many of the primitive practices in Hinduism, linguistically speaking, continued to grow within the Christianity that was newly established in the same local feudal language. The only difference was that the language codes created a different social design within the new religion. The reason is that in the virtual arenas of reality beyond the illusory veil constructed by language codes, the position of priests in the new religion stood apart from the position of Brahmins. That was all.
Moreover, there was an invisible presence of England in the new Christian religion at that time. However, once the missionaries from England left, the new religion would operate entirely in accordance with local language codes. All the emotional upheavals it provoked would also grow and spread among the new Christians. To some extent, the priests could channel and limit these in the direction they desired.
But after some time, these priests too would fall into the grip of the same language codes. This would influence their thought processes and emotional states. If they had no significant connection with unadulterated English, they would not even have any real connection with the ideals the London Missionary Society tried to establish here.
It is also seen that the missionaries of the London Missionary Society had no awareness of the kind of pain their social reforms were causing to another section of the people. See the quotation given below:
They have now cattle of their own, and lease lands from the Sudras for cultivation. Some Sudras even work on the lands of those who were once their slaves. One is now bullock driver for his former slave.
Such social transformation cannot truly be compared with the freedom gained by Black slaves in the USA—a fact that the English missionaries would not have realised. The reason is that allowing those who were earlier addressed merely by name or with terms like nee, eda, edi, enthada in conversation as a form of address, or referred to as avan or aval, to grow, and then bringing their former masters down in life to a miserable state, enabling the use of such words against them in return, is not an act confined merely to social reform.
The reason is that such developments in the feudal language world are matters that fall within the contents of monstrous nightmares. In this region, the London Missionary Society became those who brought monstrous nightmares to another group of people under a spiritual guise.
Without such realisations, if social reform is carried out, people in the various slots of society will merely swap places with one another, but the society will not become like old England. Although the English missionaries may not have explicitly stated it in words, their underlying intent must have been to bring primitive societies to the serenity of an old English society. However, the path to that was not actually Christianity. Rather, it was the unadulterated English language itself.
Merely addressing someone is enough—individuals, their children, families, and relatives slide into various ups and downs in social slots through the languages used. Using such languages, one can never foster English social serenity anywhere in any way.
A Christian preacher from Tamil Nadu was discussing religious matters at a Syrian Christian home. Lodging was provided for this preacher’s servant in a shed meant for the workers of that house. Although this servant was a Christian, he was a man with a kudumi. When this man entered the kitchen of the house, the women of the household who were there screamed upon seeing the kudumi and ran out of the kitchen.
The missionaries understood this incident as the women running away in fear because a primitive man entered the kitchen. However, the reality is that there is another explanation in the language codes. The symbol on the head proclaimed that the man who entered must be shown subservience and respect.
Clearly, if a person suited for menial work enters wearing an IPS uniform, even a high-profile DYSP would have to stand up publicly and salute. If, along with this, some belittling address is received publicly, the situation might become painful. However, if prior information is received, the DYSP might, if possible, avoid the situation by staying away from the place. Although other excuses might be given for this avoidance, the real reason is indeed that the hierarchies turned upside down.
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In the book The Native Races of South Africa by George W. Stow, F.G.S., F.R.G.S., it is mentioned that the missionaries of the London Missionary Society used various elements to make conversion and worship practices attractive in those regions: crosses, embroidered cloth, burning candles, processions, processional banners and processional hymns, matins, vespers, and midnight services.
It can be said that they used many similar elements in Travancore as well:
Charcoal crosses, fabrics filled with intricate embroidery, the dim glow of candlelight subtly illuminating a mysterious hidden stage, decorations of palm leaves and olive leaves, flags and flag symbols, processions with the singing of hymns and psalms, morning hymns and morning worship, evening prayers and midnight worship, churches built on hill slopes, highlands, and other elevated places, the prayers, divine praises, and hymns to God conducted there, the Sabbath day (Sunday), group prayers and group singing in homes during evenings and nights, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Gospels, and the Book of Revelation, priests and the cassocks they wear, other priestly garments, the bishop, the bishop’s vestments, and other adornments, church choirs, the songs they sing, and the musical instruments they use, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ and the Apostles, the cross and the crucified form of Christ, Mary Magdalene, the punishment and salvation of sinners,
the rosary beads used for prayer, the multicoloured stained glass fixed on church windows, paintings in various colours drawn by skilled artists based on Christian stories, baptism, confession, and holy water, Holy Communion, the Eucharist, and the Last Rites, the infant Jesus, Christmas, and the manger, the Last Supper, the chalice, and wine, the story of feeding five thousand with five loaves, and divine miracle stories like the one where Lazarus was brought back from death; and so many other things.
It seems that not only the lower classes but also the higher classes were attracted. There was another element of attraction beyond those mentioned above. That was the missionaries themselves—Europeans with fair skin, Celtic speakers, Englishmen, and others. However, in reality, this was not what should have given the Christian movement extraordinary potential. Rather, it was the English language and English Christianity. The reality is that no one paid serious attention to this extremely important factor.
Christianity was not a new phenomenon in Travancore. Syrian Christians and Roman Catholic Christians had been here centuries earlier. They were of the upper classes. Their religion might not have been perceived as a European religion. However, it also did not seem to be considered a European religion or a religion of England. Rather, there was a sense that it was a religion born in the Middle Eastern regions of Asia. Furthermore, it is said that around the same time—or even before—Christianity entered Europe, St. Thomas brought this religion to South Asia.
However, it seems that many perceived the new Christianity as either an English religion or, if not, a European religion. Moreover, it appears that many also misunderstood general English manners as Christian manners.
But what the London Missionary Society was striving for was to bring everyone—from the very bottom of society, like the garbage heap, up to the middle levels—into a social equality based on the language codes found in English. However, this group forgot the most essential component for this: English itself.
A thought that suddenly came to mind feels worth mentioning. There is a sense that English Christian churches are mostly built on the same level as the streets, within roadside buildings. However, there is also a sense that the churches established in the Christian religion under feudal languages would be on hill slopes, mountain tops, and the like. Some related matters need to be mentioned in connection with this, but not now. For now, I will say this much: for those who think in language codes that demand respect, such structures require an elevation. By observing whether Christian churches are on level ground or on hilltops, one might be able to interpret the language codes of the people of that land.
There is a sense that the old Mappila (Malabari Muslim) mosques in Malabar were built right on the roadside, at the same level. If that is the case, there might be the shadow of strong language codes and an attitude of the religion itself imposing social equality behind it. This is a complex topic, and I won’t delve into it now.
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In the previous writing, I listed the vibrant aspects of the new system of worship introduced by the Christian missionaries of the London Missionary Society in Travancore. Consequently, it has become necessary to list the traditional practices that existed in Travancore on the other side. Some of these are noted here. Listing them comprehensively is challenging, as knowledge is limited.
What is called Hindu culture existed in Travancore as well. In reality, it was the religion of the Brahmins. While temple-dwellers could enter Brahmin temples and perform various tasks there, whether they were truly inheritors of this religious heritage is doubtful. The royal families using the title Varma are not Shudras but Kshatriyas, and they might have had a slight connection with the Hindu religion.
Below them, the Shudras (Nairs), Ezhavas, Shanars, Chaliyars, Panans, blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, potters, fishermen, hill tribes, hunters, Pariahs, Pulayas, Kurumbas, and others were not truly Hindus. This is because, except for the Shudras, most of these groups were denied entry to Brahmin temples. Moreover, it seems difficult to find any traditional connection between these groups, including the Shudras, and the Vedas, which are widely regarded today as the origin of Hindu traditions.
It is generally said that there are many Hindu or Brahmin traditions. Some of them are noted here.
Shrutis - The Vedas and related texts, including Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. What these exactly are is not entirely clear. I lack the linguistic knowledge to read them directly.
The Vedas likely originated thousands of years ago in some region northwest of present-day India. They include the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda. Vedic verses are called Suktas, it seems. I do not intend to elaborate on them here, as my knowledge is limited. The deities mentioned in the Vedas include Indra, Varuna (my first daughter), Mitra, Surya, and others. It is unclear how much connection these deities had with the various lower communities in Travancore.
In later Vedic culture, it appears that Indra’s prominence diminished, while Varuna (my first daughter) rose to the forefront.
Smritis - These are texts written by various individuals long ago, possibly in the northern parts of the subcontinent or beyond. They are said to outline social and moral codes. The most well-known today is the Manusmriti, primarily due to the verse:
“The father protects in childhood, the husband in youth, the son in old age; a woman does not deserve independence.”
Knowledge of the Manusmriti spread among the educated in British India, especially those fluent in English. This was because Sir William Jones, an English East India Company official and Supreme Court judge in Calcutta, translated it into English. It seems the English East India Company considered this Smriti when drafting laws for Hindus in British India. However, it is unclear whether Brahmins lived strictly according to such Smritis. Before British rule, very few people likely read these texts. Moreover, it is questionable how applicable such Smritis were to the lower communities who came under Brahmin influence in this subcontinent.
The notion that women lack independence is a complex matter. Saying so is as foolish as claiming Muslim women lack freedom. In this subcontinent, linguistic codes often determine freedom and its limitations. The lack of freedom for women, as dictated by language, also applies to men in this subcontinent.
It is unknown whether such Smritis held any relevance in Travancore. The interactions between higher and lower castes were likely governed by emotional responses triggered by linguistic codes rather than the moral codes of Smritis. Moreover, these moral codes may have been designed to suppress the lower communities. They likely aligned with the warnings embedded in feudal linguistic codes.
Puranas - There are 18 major Puranas, such as the Agni Purana and Garuda Purana, and 18 minor Puranas. These do not seem to have significantly influenced the people of this subcontinent or been widely known. They were likely noted in Brahmin households and temples. Many of these texts were discovered during the English East India Company’s rule. It is unlikely that the lower communities in Travancore had any connection with them.
Epic poems - The Mahabharata, Ramayana, and similar works. Their stories exist in various forms across different regions. The oldest known version of the Ramayana was found in Nepal. It is hard to say how many of Travancore’s lower communities were aware of these stories. Even if they were, the lack of access to literary or intellectual resources likely limited their engagement.
However, as subordinates of the Brahmins, the lower communities may have gained some knowledge of the activities in Brahmin households and temples over centuries. Still, it is unlikely that Travancore’s lower communities were descendants of the characters in these epics.
The deities in these epics seem to be the Hindu trinity—Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Over time, the prominence of Vedic deities diminished, possibly due to the rise of new temples. Today, most Hindu worship appears to centre on Vishnu and Shiva. The information is insufficient to state this definitively. It seems that the Vedic spiritual movement and what is now called Hinduism may be distinct movements. Alternatively, it could be the result of blending everything available, driven by the ambitions of great individuals seeking social glory.
Japa - This involves repeatedly chanting a mantra or deity’s name. In Travancore, this was likely a practice of the higher castes. However, similar practices exist in various spiritual traditions worldwide, raising some doubts.
Mantras - Mantras are heavily used in Brahmin spirituality. I have suggested in my book Software Codes of Mantra, Tantra, Witchcraft, Black Magic, Evil Eye, Evil Tongue &c. that mantras have a significant connection to what we now call software. Those interested can read this book.
I do not believe mantras lack meaning. However, even if mantras have magical power, it is unlikely that Brahmins, past or present, knew how these systems work or how they were created.
Still, it is almost certain that thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, humans or other beings with advanced technological capabilities existed on Earth. Only trivial remnants of their creations, such as the mantras found in Sanskrit today, remain. Similar phenomena exist in various forms worldwide. The absence of a common language for these practices raises many questions.
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It can be assumed that many Hindu or Brahmin customs existed in Travancore. Most of these are linked to Sanskrit. A sudden thought came to mind: the verse from the Manusmriti mentioned earlier,
“The father protects in childhood,
the husband in youth,
the son in old age;
a woman does not deserve independence.”
Words like father, protect, childhood, husband, youth, son, old age, woman, independence, and deserve are Sanskrit but are now considered Malayalam words. In 1907, Tobias Zacharias, a lawyer from Tellicherry who published an English-Malayalam Dictionary, noted in his book the eagerness of Travancore’s people (Malayalis) to adopt Sanskrit words into Malayalam. I will leave this topic here.
When I visited Alleppey in 1970, I recall hearing and seeing many novel things related to spirituality. I also remember occasionally visiting the Mullakkal temple in Alleppey during the evenings. My household seemed almost entirely atheistic. Still, it does not appear that CPS, in his traditional Tellicherry heritage, had any knowledge of such practices. One notable practice was Lakshaarchana, which seems to involve chanting divine names a hundred thousand times in the temple. It might be a form of japa. This was done loudly through microphones, audible to those outside day and night.
Lakshaarchana, Sahasranamam, Gayatri mantra, Shayana pradakshinam, Sopana sangeetham, Seemantham, tree worship, rudraksha, dashapushpam, dashavatara, devadasis, kudumi, yaga, cow urine, cow, pilgrimage, linga worship, yoni worship, naga worship, Nagaraja, kedavilakku, poison stone, vishari, serpent grove, Nagaraja, Pampimekkattu Namboodiri, and various restrictions on women during menstruation are believed to be part of Brahmin traditions. However, naga worship existed in some Nair families. It is unclear whether poison stone and vishari were part of other communities’ heritage, though it is possible.
Since many lower castes often tried to establish ties with Brahmins across various regions, some Brahmin customs may have been adopted by other communities. It cannot be said that all the practices mentioned above were exclusive to Brahmins. Some may have spread across communities.
More could be written about each of these practices, but that is not possible now. However, I will mention one or two intriguing points.
Today, these are often listed as part of Kerala’s Hindu traditions. However, even if Travancore’s lower communities had any traditional connection to these, Brahmins likely did not allow them to claim such heritage. Thus, what is called Hindu tradition today seems to be essentially the Brahmin religion. It appears that everyone has abandoned their own heritage and embraced the Brahmin religion.
Another point concerns serpents. Long ago, I heard that in higher-caste households, bathing areas made of palm leaves were built outside the house. It was said that serpents would coil around the palm-leaf walls to watch women bathe. Such stories are rarely heard today, as these bathing structures have largely disappeared from Kerala.
Curiously, in Native Life in Travancore by Rev. Samuel Mateer, I came across these lines:
“In Malabar, it is believed that snakes wed mortal girls and fall in love with women. When they do so, they are said to constantly pursue them, never leaving them except briefly for sustenance.”
Here, Mateer likely refers to Malabar as the southeastern region of South Asia, not necessarily the locally defined Malabar region.
Some animals, particularly snakes, are noted to express affection, lust, sexual desire, or interest in human nudity, especially towards women. I will leave this topic here.
There is much to say about devadasis, but that can wait. However, one point comes to mind: during formal receptions of great individuals, devadasi girls, dedicated to temple life, were brought to perform dances in Brahmin temples. This was not unique to Travancore but occurred in many regions with Brahmin temples.
Such performances at events welcoming English East India Company officials caused discomfort. The English stance was that the devadasi system should be banned.
Note this quote from Omens and Superstitions of Southern India by Edgar Thurston, CLE:
“It was unanimously decided, in 1905, by the Executive Committee of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ reception committee, that there should be no performance by nautch girls at the entertainment to their Royal Highnesses at Madras.”
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In Travancore, Brahmin traditions included several other customs and practices, such as tantra, yantra, astrology, new moon and full moon, fasting, panchangam, omens, kani kanan, betel leaves with lime and tobacco, ancestral offerings, shraddha, and pinda.
It is said that Tantra is linked to the Atharvaveda. However, it is unclear how much connection Travancore’s Brahmins had with the Vedas, which originated four to eight thousand years ago. Through daily rituals in temples and homes, it may be true that pre-written codes, classes, procedures, scripts, and configuration data embedded in transcendental software systems could be carried forward through thousands of years via the illusion of time. This suggests a hidden secret behind Brahmin rituals.
It is not possible to say definitively what would happen if non-Brahmins entered Brahmin temples and began performing these rituals, disrupting this continuity.
It is unknown how many Brahmins in Travancore were skilled in tantra. However, it is said that other groups, like Kanikkar, had knowledge of practices resembling tantra, possibly for deceitful purposes. Yet, I have personally verified that the brain’s powerful software possesses many transcendental abilities. I will not delve into that topic now.
Though Kanikkar lived in forests, they seemed to carry a sense of nobility. They would not eat with Ezhavas, Shanars, or other lower communities but would dine with Shudras (Nairs). They were not available for hired labour. If their forests were encroached upon, they would move deeper into the wilderness.
Yantra is a complex diagram with transcendental abilities, typically inscribed on metal plates. It seems mantras are encoded within them.
It is necessary to mention Mantra Sara, Yantra Sara, Prayoga Sara, and Tantra Sara. These refer to the essence of mantras, the hidden secrets of yantras with cryptic diagrams, the methods of achieving outcomes through their use, and the content of tantra activated through mantras or mudras.
In the past, those trained in science might have dismissed such claims as nonsense. However, the emergence of software, capable of rendering physical science ineffective, has slightly challenged the notion that yantras, mantras, and similar practices are mere superstitions.
Yet, such practices are not exclusive to the Brahmin religion. At the same time, they seemed to be at a mental distance, inaccessible to lower communities. Additionally, I know firsthand that Mappila (Malabar Muslims) and Thangals use mantras and metal plates.
Astrology was a profession of the Panikkar community, and their work seems linked to Brahmin beliefs. The astrological texts they use appear to be in Sanskrit, suggesting this too was not part of Travancore’s lower communities’ heritage.
It is worth noting that Jainism and Buddhism emerged in the northern parts of the subcontinent. It is unclear if they were connected to Sanskrit. The languages in those regions at the time, such as Prakrit, Magadhi, Ardhamagadhi, and Pali, seem unrelated to Travancore. The reason for mentioning this is that some sects of these religions reportedly used tantra in spiritual practices.
It is unknown whether astrological elements like stars, tithis, yogas, karanas, pakshas, Rahu Kala, Gulika Kala, or Yamaghandam significantly influenced the lives of lower communities. However, it seems they observed and tried to emulate these Brahmin practices.
For example, the tithis are: Prathama, Dwitiya, Tritiya, Chaturthi, Panchami, Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, Dashami, Ekadashi, Dwadashi, Trayodashi, Chaturdashi, followed by Purnima (full moon) and its opposite, Amavasi (new moon).
These tithis, aligned with various stars and months, were observed through fasts and rituals in Brahmin households and those closely associated with them. It is unclear if lower communities had any connection to these practices. However, today, everyone who has adopted the Brahmin religion seems to regard these as part of their own heritage across many regions.
Some broader points must be mentioned here.
It appears that: Budhan = Mercury, Shukran = Venus, Bhumi = Earth, Chovva = Mars, Vyazham = Jupiter, Shani = Saturn, Indran = Uranus, Varunan (my first daughter) = Neptune (I am unsure if this is accurate). The English names of planets have equivalent names in Malayalam. Moreover, there seems to be a connection between the names of zodiac signs in Western astrology and Malayalam month names. For example, Tulam (month) corresponds to Libra in English astrology, with Libra’s symbol being a balance, showing clear similarities.
The panchangam resembles the Western almanac. I lack deep knowledge of either.
It is true that there is a significant connection between Western and Sanskrit astrology. However, this does not imply a connection between Brahmins and Westerners.
It is unknown whether Brahmins, Panikkars, or others had any knowledge of the mysterious software systems behind yantras, tantras, mantras, or astrological divinations using cowrie shells.
However, it should be noted that most people using Google Assistant, GPS, Siri, or Alexa today have no knowledge of the software systems powering them.
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Auspicious and inauspicious omens may not necessarily be mere superstitions. I am fully convinced that a transcendental software phenomenon sustains and operates both life and physical reality. If so, various factors could positively or negatively influence the software codes, numerical values, and other elements that construct each human cell. Those with positive effects can be understood as auspicious omens, while their opposites can be seen as inauspicious omens, to a small extent.
However, life’s software may not be designed in terms of cells. The concept of a cell belongs to biology. In the realm of transcendental software, such physical science concepts may have limited relevance.
If things that cause mental distress or disgust can be deemed inauspicious in a physical sense, the software realm may be far more complex. This is because everything seen, heard, or thought has a software form. Thus, software codes may interact in ways imperceptible physically, potentially exerting positive or negative effects on the mind and physical reality.
The complexity deepens. It is understood that linguistic codes have a strong connection with the software codes of life and reality. Thus, feudal linguistic codes likely significantly influence auspicious and inauspicious omen phenomena. Consequently, those entangled in the feudal linguistic hierarchy may take such omens seriously.
Some believe that sensations like twitching or throbbing in a body part may serve as omens or signs providing prior knowledge.
Omens do not seem to be exclusive to Brahmin heritage. Even Pulayas had such beliefs. Kani kanan (observing omens) is also tied to these phenomena. However, many auspicious and inauspicious omens seem linked to the positive and negative values created by feudal linguistic codes. In English, such concepts are less prevalent, especially concerning individuals. However, this may not have been the case in continental Europe.
In English, terms like auspicious, inauspicious, and jinx exist. I intend to discuss jinx later.
As South Asia’s social structure evolved, these phenomena likely underwent changes at a physical level. For instance, the mental experience caused by a lower-caste person’s presence in the past differs from that of the same caste member who is now an IAS officer. A higher-caste person doing menial work might evoke the mental experience once associated with lower castes. However, addressing such matters with shallow words may not be appropriate.
Edgar Thurston’s Omens and Superstitions of Southern India discusses these omens extensively. One notable point is that when a Brahmin eats, being seen by a very low-caste person—considered inferior in every way—causes the rays from their eyes to spread negativity to everything they touch. If a Brahmin consumes food tainted this way, it adversely affects them. At the 1906 British Association meeting in York, Mr. E. S. Hartland referenced a similar concept in Melanesian regions, called mana, which relates to a transmissible personality.
Through English linguistic codes, such cultural ideas may seem foolish. However, viewed through the internal codes of distinct languages, other insights may emerge. For example, the eyes and their rays in feudal languages possess powers unimaginable in English. This was mentioned earlier, I believe, though I am not certain.
The eyes of three different people addressing the same person as nee (lowest you), ningal (middle you), or thangal (highest you) will carry different expressions. This varies further depending on whether the observer is a lower, equal, or higher-valued person. Similarly, whether the observed person is from a lower community, an equal, or a higher individual alters the eye’s language and rays.
The eye’s rays, emitted transcendentally, may not be physical. Instead, they could be software codes transferred from one person to another. These codes may include the value of addressing someone as nee, ningal, or thangal, as well as the observed person’s social status determined by linguistic codes. These interact with the recipient’s life software codes, causing changes.
This may be a small piece of the feudal linguistic explanation for phenomena termed evil eye in English or drishti dosham, kannu kolluka, and karinkannu in Malayalam. Such phenomena are rare in unadulterated English, as it lacks multiple forms of address or reference words capable of significantly altering a person’s internal codes. Still, it must be noted that even English has a transcendental software platform.
The transmissible personality phenomenon described above may not be credible to those viewing physical matters through modern scientific explanations. However, in England, when groups speaking feudal languages settle in an area, English families often leave en masse. Though they may not openly admit it, they likely fear the eyes of these feudal language speakers.
In Travancore, many lower-community individuals who converted to Christianity remained subject to mental states controlled by linguistic codes. This is because, despite the new religion, the linguistic codes remained old.
Even without changing religion, a person who moves to England, speaks English, and lives there undergoes greater changes in body, body language, mind, and mental state than someone who converts to a new religion in Travancore.
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Chewing betel leaves with lime and tobacco and spitting them out might have been a sign of affluence. However, one wonders if lower castes didn’t also chew and spit in this way. Moreover, it seems various communities used these in spiritual rituals. Thus, betel leaves, lime, and tobacco may be part of Travancore’s common traditions.
I lack detailed knowledge about ancestral offerings, shraddha, pinda, or bali. However, another thought comes to mind: most families in this subcontinent do not maintain knowledge or records of their ancestors or forefathers. Even those boasting of grand family legacies and names seem to lack such awareness.
When comparing the Christian movements initiated by the London Missionary Society in Travancore with local religion and culture, a few additional points come to mind: thali, tulabharam, hiranya garbham, bhadradeepam, pooja placement/removal, human sacrifice, Shankaracharya, chenda, Onam, Deepavali, Sankranti/Vinayaka Chaturthi, Gokulashtami, shankhunadam, omkaram, rudraksha mala, karanavar, and more.
The first, thali, is tied to marriage and seems to have been used by many communities. The last, karanavar, refers to the head of a joint family. It appears this role existed in many matrilineal communities. However, most Ezhavas, a major lower community in Travancore, followed patrilineal systems. It is unclear what relevance or importance the karanavar held for them.
Tulabharam is performed for absolution of sins. In Travancore, it seems the king performed it. The king sits on one side of a balance scale, holding a sword and shield. The other side is filled with gold coins inscribed with the deity’s name, equalling the king’s weight. These coins are distributed to Brahmins based on their social status and rights.
This may sound absurd at first, but it adorned the king’s rule, legitimacy, credibility, authority, sanctity, nobility, and rationality in the depths of people’s hearts through feudal linguistic codes, leaving an indelible mark. Though Rev. Samuel Mateer saw it as sheer folly, in the local language’s depths, it was not foolish. However, this was not part of the lower communities’ traditions.
In British India, some wealthy individuals reportedly performed similar acts. Mateer describes a case where a Brahmin collector used this method to elevate his son, born to a Muslim woman, into the Brahmin community, using gold equal to the child’s weight.
Shankaracharya was a Brahmin born in Kaladi, so it is unlikely the lower communities had any connection with him. One wonders if his regional language was Tamil. Furthermore, it is unclear if any lower-community members knew of Shankaracharya’s Advaita philosophy or doctrine. It is written that Advaita is one of the three sub-schools of Vedanta. For lower communities, including Shudras (Nairs) who never heard the Vedas, there is no need to specify their lack of connection with Shankaracharya.
What is the point of sowing the seed of Tat Tvam Asi (thatvamasi)? That can be discussed later.
Chenda may be used in Brahmin temples. It is unclear if it was used in Vedic rituals or sacrifices. However, globally, shamanistic spiritual rituals and ceremonies seem to use percussion instruments like chenda to create sound. In Travancore, lower communities likely used it in their deity worship.
It is unclear whose annual festival Onam was. In Travancore, it seems to have been a set of days when landowning families summoned their enslaved lower communities to reinforce and impose their subservience and bondage. Onam in Travancore may have been a Tamil linguistic tradition. However, it does not seem to have spread to the Pandya regions beyond the Western Ghats.
Yet, in Malabar, reachable by a short sea journey, Onam existed. It is unclear whether Onam spread from Malabar to Travancore or vice versa, as I found no records in English writings. The communities under Brahmins in Malabar and Travancore seem to have been distinct, suggesting significant differences between their traditional Onam celebrations. A fading record of this may be the Onappottan in Malabar, arriving with a palm-leaf umbrella. Malayan communities came adorned with yellow, red, and green decorations and palm-leaf garlands. Palm-leaf umbrellas were typically forbidden for lower communities, but their use in such events seems to have been permitted.
Shankhunadam is associated with Brahmin rituals, and it seems lower communities were not allowed to use it. Both shankhunadam and omkaram are part of the Hindu religion, which the lower communities were not part of.
Rudraksha likely belongs to higher communities’ traditions. It was believed that pronouncing the word rudraksha brought the merit of donating ten cows to Brahmins. There are various types of rudraksha. Two rudraksha beads fused together are called Gaurishankara rudraksha, considered highly valuable.
It is said that rubbing a pure rudraksha bead in water turns the water yellowish, as noted in the Rudrakshopanishad, according to Edgar Thurston.
There are other matters, such as gemstones and the nine gems (navaratna). You may have heard of gomedaka beads and Govardhan in a famous Malayalam film song.
Many such elements exist in local culture. The London Missionary Society’s efforts to entice and captivate both lower and higher communities with Christianity should not have succeeded in Travancore. However, Travancore’s social reality was different. All the local traditions mentioned above were steeped in one or two rigid feudal linguistic social structures. Thus, everyone bore the emotions, conflicts, hatred, suppression, and glorification of these linguistic codes in their bodies and minds.
In a film song:
“In the lap of Govardhan, scattering gomedaka beads,
I, who came running hearing your flute’s call through countless births,
I, your Gopika maiden.”
Such songs may be delightful to hear and hum, but the mind, body, and social dignity of the local person enjoying them are shaped by linguistic codes, not the songs themselves.
“The sky where Soma liquor rains,
A canopy of dark clouds and peacock feathers,
The strings of Rudra’s veena tremble,
The song of Vidyadhara, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
Gaurishankara peak…”
(From the song Chanchalita by Vayalar.)
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The kingdom of Travancore, shaped by the rigid codes of hierarchy embedded in the local language, was not part of British India. However, the Travancore royal family demonstrated great loyalty, obligation, and obedience to the English East India Company, which governed British India. Several historical events contributed to this state of affairs.
Among the most significant was Marthanda Varma, who established modern Travancore and openly declared full support for the English East India Company, ensuring it was widely known that the kingdom was under their protection. Consequently, while Travancore subdued surrounding kingdoms, other major powers in the peninsula could not touch it.
However, after Marthanda Varma, King Rama Varma faced a grave threat from Sultan Tipu. Tipu Sultan advanced as far as the banks of Alwaye. Fearing his advance, many Hindu families and Nairs from Malabar, along with the Zamorin of Calicut, and rulers or chieftains from Chirakkal (near Tellicherry), Kottayam, Kurubranad, Vettanad, Beyppur, Thanniyur, Palghat, Kaulapara, Korangott, Chaughat, Idathara, and Mannur, fled to Travancore with their families.
The renowned Kadathanadan Kalarippayattu, with its eighteen techniques from Othiram to Gadaya, including verbal sparring, sword, urumi, shield, dagger, kathara, mace, staff, and whip, executed with steps to the left and right, vital point strikes, pressure point techniques, elephant-like agility, and spins to the left and right, along with body combat, child combat, tumbling, locking and unlocking techniques, Unni Archa, Thumbol Archa, Othenan, Aromal Unni, Kannappan Unni, and other warriors who entered the battlefield like peacocks, as well as Chekors, Kurikkals, and others still celebrated in Malabar’s Nair traditions, together with higher-caste Hindus (Brahmins) and their loyal followers, fled with their women and families by sea in boats and sailing ships to save their lives. This is indeed a fact.
Tipu’s chief military officer was Lally, a French military officer. His army included Italians and Frenchmen. However, what the Hindus and Nairs of Malabar feared more than Tipu’s army were the lower-caste converts to Islam who roamed ahead of his forces in various directions.
French naval ships from Mahé also moved to support Tipu’s offensive.
Travancore’s Nair army stood in fear. Several references related to this can be found in the Malabar Manual.
Quote: The Travancore commander had arranged that the Raja’s force should reassemble upon the Vypeen Island, but the extreme consternation caused by the loss of their vaunted lines had upset this arrangement, and the whole of the force had dispersed for refuge into the jungles or had retreated to the south. End of Quote
King Rama Varma was in great distress. Tipu, encamped on the banks of the Alwaye River, was preparing to march on Trivandrum. He had publicly vowed to tie his horse to the flagpole of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, where the king performed daily Sahasranama prayers.
The English East India Company informed Sultan Tipu that an attack on Travancore was equivalent to an attack on them.
At a moment when Travancore’s hopes were fading, the English Company’s army advanced from Tellicherry. Initially, their navy subdued the French ships.
The English Company’s army came to Travancore’s rescue. However, due to the cowardice of the Travancore forces, the Company’s army had to bear the brunt of the battle. See the following quote from the Malabar Manual.
Quote: “We are in that confusion that I scarce know what to recommend respecting the detachment” (Colonel Hartley’s force). The consternation of the Raja's people was so great that they could not be trusted to procure supplies. The whole of the inhabitants, including the boat people, had gone off with their boats which had been collected for conveyance of Colonel Hartley’s detachment, so that the principal means of transport were also wanting. End of Quote
However, news of the English Company’s army advancing and soon reaching Alikkotta brought great relief to the people.
Quote: Colonel Hartley nevertheless determined to push on and take post at Alikkotta. The news of his force being on its way had greatly quieted the inhabitants, and “the consternation which had seized all ranks of the people” had considerably abated... End of Quote
Thus, the English East India Company rescued and restored the Travancore kingdom, which was on the verge of collapse. Thereafter, Travancore remained under the Company’s protection. Additionally, the belief spread that the kingdom was also under the protection of Padmanabhaswamy.
The loyalty and obligation to the English East India Company became a great asset for the London Missionary Society.
Although the Company did not permit missionary activities in British India, certain Company officials informally secured permission and protection from the Travancore royal family for the London Missionary Society to operate in Travancore.
Thus, the London Missionary Society began its work in Travancore and encountered many peculiar things. The Christian community had existed there since ancient times, but they were selfish slave owners. At the same time, a large percentage of the population lived like cattle, with no freedom. Yet, there was no need to chain, shackle, or threaten them. Instead, they held great respect for their oppressors. Moreover, these cattle-like people were divided into various social strata and harboured disgust and hatred for one another, making it impossible for them to unite and rise.
However, the English missionaries never even dreamt that it was the linguistic codes that defined these people as cattle and kept them in chains.
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In Travancore, the royal family and the people, in many ways, appreciated the presence of the English. However, this was often confused with the activities of the London Missionary Society.
The presence of these English movements brought peculiar experiences to society. On one hand, the king took an interest in replicating or expanding the various educational initiatives started by the English movements.
Today, University College (1866 AD) and the nearby Public Library (1829 AD) in the heart of Trivandrum city, among many other things, were established due to the influence of these English movements. University College was affiliated with Madras University, which was then a world-renowned institution. Madras University was a formidable force in spreading English cultural values across South Asia. The presence of English teachers and social reformers, along with the novel idea of social dignity naturally associated with the English language, began to take root in many minds. Surprisingly, however, no one seemed to connect this to the intrinsic codes of the English language.
The direct influence of the English, or the subtle impact of English governance from the Madras Presidency, fostered an overall admiration for Europeans and Christianity in Travancore. This was likely because various continental Europeans, Irish, Scots, and others came to Travancore, engaging in commercial or religious activities. It appears they all primarily used the English language among themselves. The clear reason for this was that communicating in English allowed them to transcend various social hierarchies and other barriers.
However, many of these continental Europeans, Irish, and others might have been fundamentally opposed to English culture. This fact seems to have eluded many educated people in Travancore, though some may have recognised it.
Although Christianity preached grand ideas of social equality and loving one’s neighbour, this was not a universal reality. For instance, the Syrian Christians in Travancore, who had existed for generations, do not seem to have shown any inclination to uplift the enslaved people, who were treated like cattle in society.
At the same time, it can be said that the enslaved lower classes had little clear information about the English. This was because the English, the British Resident, and others primarily interacted with the royal family and high-ranking officials. Although the British Resident and the Madras Presidency government exerted significant pressure on the royal family to emancipate the lower classes, this information was not widely known among them. Instead, they were fed misinformation by their landlords and community leaders.
Moreover, officials often blamed their exploitative actions on the English.
Here, I quote a few sentences provided earlier:
Government officials would seize boats for state needs and return them only after several days. Whenever government requirements arose, workers were detained and released only after the need was fulfilled. When the Madras Presidency Governor visited Travancore once, Rev. Samuel Mateer notes that Travancore officials detained several workers to carry the luggage of the Governor and his family.
Such actions by officials made the Madras Presidency Governor appear complicit in exploitation.
When the English government in British India conducted a census, efforts were made to implement it in all allied independent states. During the census in Travancore on 18ᵗʰ May 1875, the lower classes were thrown into a panic. They widely believed it was a scheme to impose a new exploitative policy or heavy tax. For people who struggled to even raise their children, living like mere animals, this added a new layer of anxiety. Past experiences had taught them that the government would not undertake such a project without ulterior motives.
Some Muslim traders spread the rumour that government officials would seize all poultry and livestock, advising people to sell them quickly for whatever profit they could get.
The Nair community informed the lower classes that Christian missionaries, along with their local Christian aides, were planning to capture them, load them onto ships, and sell them in foreign lands for various purposes.
Men, women, and children from the lower classes, living like worms in small huts without any support, trembled in fear. When they saw officials numbering and recording their homes, they believed the rumours were true.
Another story circulated that the Maharaja was preparing to take the lower classes to an area suffering from a shortage of bonded labour due to famine. Convinced they could be taken away at any moment, fathers, mothers, and children in every bonded hut lived in dread and trembling, knowing that if separated, they might never reunite.
It is recorded that women, realising their children and grandchildren might be taken, ran about wailing. Children, too, were paralysed with fear.
Some lower-class individuals stopped working in the fields they cultivated. They sold their livestock and goats for whatever price they could get.
Rumours spread that missionaries had built a large building by the coast, where the lower classes would be taken and loaded onto ships like cargo.
To counter these false narratives, the Travancore government issued several notices and proclamations. However, the cunning slave-owning officials, who held most government positions, rendered these efforts futile. The Pulayas and Pariahs could not read, so they could not access the government notices. Moreover, they were unable to visit the government offices where these notices were read aloud, and those who heard the truth did not convey it to them.
Missionaries distributed printed leaflets in Tamil and Malayalam. Additionally, local Christian workers accompanied census enumerators in many places, helping to alleviate the fears of the lower classes.
Even today, such false narratives about English colonial rule are spread, written, and taught by slave-owning officials and formally educated teachers who amass great wealth and bribes.
Vayalar Ramavarma is a beloved film lyricist to me. However, he used his flow of Sanskrit vocabulary and erudition to serve grand commercial interests. Moreover, his real name was G. Ramavarma Thirumulpad, son of Vellarappalli Keralavarma and Ambalika Thampuratti. These names represent the old slave-owning class.
There is also a recorded incident where Naxalites attempted to burn down his Raghava Parambu Kovilakam.
Consider the lyrics from the film Punnapra Vayalar (1968): ][/bbvideo]
Comrades, forward to Punnapra Vayalar
The flag of foreign rule
throw into the Arabian Sea!
Their guns, and their gallows,
throw into the Arabian Sea!
What is written is pure falsehood. The "foreigners" referred to are the English rulers of British India.
Just as offerings of rice, jaggery, fruits, sugar, sugarcane, raisins, sesame, ghee, and more are mixed and presented to the deity in Brahmin temples before being distributed to devotees, the information about Malabar and Travancore before 1956 is similarly served to people today—sweet but muddled, with nothing clear. The revolutionary lords of today prefer it that way.
The history of South Asia before 1947 is like a multicoloured image manipulated in Adobe Photoshop’s Liquify tool—stretched, twisted, and blended into a chaotic mix of hues. One can read whatever they want into it with effort.
In the video clip provided, Prem Nazir, Sheela, and others act as revolutionary lower-caste characters singing in Punnapra Vayalar. Though laced with pure lies, the sweetness of Sanskrit-laden words, heard through Prem Nazir’s charming face, brings great delight. However, those who approached the London Missionary Society for social liberation in Travancore’s dense forests, great hills, and bonded labour fields were not such charming figures. Instead, they were people suppressed like worms in the dirt for centuries.
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In Travancore, some among the higher classes began acquiring English education. For this new generation, the map of British India started to take shape in their minds. However, it seems they did not fully grasp that British India was a separate entity with its own governance and officials. This was likely because the wealthy could easily travel to British India and access its facilities. Moreover, a railway line (Quilon–Shencotta Line, 1904) was established from Aryankavu to Madras via Shencotta, and it appears the Travancore royal family was keen on its construction.
With this railway, they gained a secure route to Madras, connecting Travancore’s elite to the impressive railway system of British India. Notably, no railway was built from Travancore to Malabar.
It seems Travancore was also linked to the remarkable postal system in British India, accessible to the general public. Additionally, British-Indian officials, familiar with English administrative practices, were often appointed to high-ranking positions in Travancore, further strengthening ties with British India.
For the first time in known history, the idea of a unified India and the rather foolish notion that all its people were part of a single nation emerged. In reality, the diverse communities of South Asia are far more varied than those in continental Europe. The people of the Pandya regions near Malabar and those in Travancore shared little similarity with Malabar’s inhabitants. Within each region, too, there were distinct groups. In British India, mutual disdain and aversion among communities began to diminish as English social ideologies spread, but things were different in Travancore.
The emerging generation in Travancore was largely unaware of their own kingdom’s history. Moreover, they showed little concern for those treated like cattle beneath them. This mindset persists in India today. Even in esteemed academic forums where grand discussions on social equality are held daily, there is no awareness that their enthusiasm for feudal language codes and lucrative government jobs—rife with exploitation—reflects their own deep investment in social inequality.
Even King Ramavarma of Travancore needed a battalion of English East India Company sepoys to safely travel to Rameswaram for pilgrimage in 1784. Such was the lack of connection and the perilous distinctiveness of these fragmented regions, which a small group of Englishmen managed to unite.
These Englishmen were neither saints, intellectual giants, nor martial experts. Instead, their strength lay in a refined communication framework that was smooth, free of barriers, and did not inherently provoke dislike, hatred, or enmity in others’ minds. This prevented the natural emergence of rivalries, competitiveness, or jealousy among themselves.
Today, we have concrete, cement, mixers, steel, and skeleton-frame construction systems. But there was a time when huts and houses were built with lime, stone, mud bricks, and palm leaves. From such conditions, India has progressed to its current state.
When English officials of the East India Company worked to develop this subcontinent’s fragmented regions, consider what they had at their disposal. The wealth and resources were held by the peninsula’s rich elite. To build a vast nation from societies languishing for thousands of years, the Company’s officials had no grand machinery or modern tools—just the equivalent of grinding lime and mortar on a stone to construct buildings. From such rudimentary circumstances, the English East India Company endeavoured to develop this subcontinent.
In forging a nation, new traditions, legacies, ancient wealth, the concept of Vedic India, Sanskrit verses, Nalanda, Taxila, the Ganges basin culture, Rasleela, the Himalayas, Kailasa, Kashmir, Haridwar, unparalleled mathematics, numerals, scripts, mantras, and the Taj Mahal’s royal architects were all woven together. Scattered events from thousands of years across regions thousands of kilometres apart were blended with glue and paint, presented today as India’s adorned heritage. It’s enough to dazzle and overwhelm onlookers.
Is it this populace, taught and raised to avoid addressing even a police constable in a rural station as “you,” that discovered and nurtured all this? Are these people, corrupted by feudal languages, the ones who invented the Vedas, mantras, mathematics, spiritual sciences, and more? Isn’t it an act of degradation, this claim by a people whose identity is paralysed?
One point to highlight: not only in South Asia but across the world, grand architectural traditions exist. India’s architectural prowess and the Sanskrit compositions from thousands of years ago cannot be viewed as a singular heritage. The reason is this: South Asia’s architectural expertise lies with its traditional artisans, whom Brahmins considered lower-caste. Yet, Brahmin tradition is equated with Vedic India’s heritage, despite Brahmins lacking such skills. Today, history books conflate these unrelated elements, proclaiming them as India’s unified traditional expertise.
A young man from Travancore’s new generation told Rev. Mateer:
“It is because our Government are so generous to you that people are permitted to become Christians and to proclaim their religion in our streets.”
This underscores the claim of great tolerance in Vedic India’s tradition. Turning setbacks into lessons is something many in this land naturally understand.
In reality, the London Missionary Society was permitted to operate in Travancore not due to local tolerance but because India’s (British India’s ) English administration repeatedly protected Travancore from threats. If India withdrew its protection, Travancore would face internal power struggles and civil war within months, leading to its collapse.
Jews and Syrian Christians secured high social positions from minor Travancore rulers, likely not due to tolerance but through threats, blackmail, or inducements.
Evidence of such covert actions persists today, as seen in the billions of dollars the US provides Israel annually without clear justification. No US president has been able to stop this.
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The governance systems in the states of this subcontinent were, in general, starkly different from the practices introduced by English rule.
Small kingdoms, each headed by an elite royal family, were legitimised socially and spiritually by the Brahmin class. Beneath these royal families were large landowning families in every region. Under them were various communities, fragmented into smaller groups. While there were no explicitly written hierarchies, the relationships of superiority and subservience were firmly embedded in language codes, as if chiselled in stone, with an elite class and enslaved people.
Those higher up could exploit those below them to varying degrees. In Travancore, the Nairs were generally the enforcement arm of the landowners and royal family, comparable to modern Indian police constables. They were the henchmen of local landowners in every village, tasked with collecting taxes, levies, fines, and other dues—whether decreed or not—on behalf of the royal family.
The lower classes depended on the Nairs’ protection for their homes, personal safety, and the security of their women. Falling out with a Nair family could reduce this protection, exposing the offender, their women, and children to vulnerability. Other communities would notice, and even those from the same or lower castes might exploit the offender’s family. Thus, no one dared cross the Nairs, as attacks could come from above or below.
This mirrors the modern threat that disrespecting police can lead to similar repercussions.
The taxes, levies, and fines collected by Nairs were shared with the landowning families above them. However, only a tiny fraction reached the royal family. While the royals might resent this, they were powerless, as their authority depended on these landowners and Nairs.
Similarly, today’s government officials collect bribes, but the government itself sees none of this.
The Travancore kingdom was bound by an agreement to pay four lakh rupees annually to the English Company for military protection, including maintaining a sepoy battalion to guard against internal and external threats. However, Travancore lacked an efficient tax collection system, leading to frequent defaults on these payments.
The English Company struggled financially to maintain its sepoy battalion and officers. The British Resident often pressured the royal family, receiving official demands from Madras. Meanwhile, the royals spent lavishly on local festivities, Brahmin offerings, and rituals like Tulabharam, often neglecting payments to the Company.
This financial strain led to numerous issues. Veluthampi, through misguided actions, became Dewan but failed to improve the kingdom’s finances. To do so, the royal family would have needed to extract wealth from the landowners and Nairs.
This text avoids delving into the Nair rebellion in Travancore. Modern Indian history, often written to mislead, portrays these events as part of the Indian freedom struggle. Yet, Veluthampi’s life was saved at least twice from enemies by the oversight of Madras’s English administration.
The Travancore royal family found their ties with Madras’s English rule both sweet and bitter. Severing this bond would collapse Travancore, as local factions would overthrow or destroy the royals. However, maintaining the sepoy battalion was unaffordable. Many landowners argued the battalion in Quilon was unnecessary.
In 1811, when Gouri Lakshmi Bai became Rani, choosing a Dewan became a critical issue. Any appointee would likely siphon off the royal family’s wealth and appoint cronies to official posts.
Understanding this, the Rani requested Col Munro, a British-Indian officer and Travancore’s British Resident, to become Dewan. The kingdom and royal family faced daily crises threatening collapse.
When Col Munro became Dewan, he overhauled the administrative system. Taxes began flowing directly to the royal treasury, adversely affecting landowners and Nair families. However, they could do little, as Munro was backed by the sepoy battalion.
With improved finances, Travancore cleared its debts to the English Company. The royal family’s reliance on landowners and Nairs diminished. Travancore adopted British-Indian systems, establishing a police force, courts, written laws, and government departments, staffed by borrowed British-Indian officials. Yet, the kingdom’s social fabric remained deeply feudal.
Col Munro served as Dewan for three years. When the administration seemed stable, he carefully selected a local judge, known for high moral character and experience as a regional authority, to succeed him.
However, Munro later noted this choice was a mistake. Despite being impressed by the judge’s abilities, Munro discovered flaws. During a court session, when a scholar openly disagreed with the judge, the judge stood up and kicked him.
Munro, after conversing with the judge, realised he was knowledgeable and capable but heavily influenced by others’ opinions, expressions, and pressures. Munro recorded:
This part of his character impressed me with a strong apprehension of his being misled in the event of his appointment to the office of Dewan, by the artful and unprincipled men who are around in Travancore.
A key point here is that feudal language systems amplify the influence of relationships. The words, glances, and expressions of those one respects—or who respect you—wield significant sway over one’s actions and views.
After Munro’s retirement, the administrative improvements began to fade. The police, courts, and governance became thoroughly corrupt. The elite viewed the lower classes with fear, while the lower classes were ready to oppress those beneath them.
In general, Travancore’s society was likely filled with harsh behaviour, tones, and words incomprehensible to the English. As the lower classes began to break free, behaviours likely grew even coarser.
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It appears that the London Missionary Society primarily operated in the southern parts of Travancore, while the Church Missionary Society (CMS), another organisation seemingly based in England, worked in the northern regions.
I have limited knowledge about these two organisations, so this account relies on external observations.
Both groups focused on uplifting the lower classes. Their presence was not essential for the higher classes. For the lower classes, however, these missionary organisations were the only path to liberation from enslavement. Yet, the missionaries also aimed to convert them to Christianity, so their efforts differed from the social transformations seen in British India.
When these organisations were led by missionaries from England, Britain, or elsewhere, their work likely maintained a degree of integrity. However, as English missionaries gradually diminished and local missionaries and priests filled their roles, these movements likely took on the characteristics of local feudal language systems. Though this may seem trivial, it is, in fact, the most critical issue. When English was replaced by Tamil, Malayalam, or other local languages, the movements began to reflect the local social environment.
Rev. Mateer himself notes:
“We have arrived at the stage when new and perplexing problems spring up, which require for their solution great wisdom, experience, and grace.”
These new and perplexing problems stem from attempting to translate English egalitarian ideals into local feudal languages. Words to convey English social concepts simply do not exist in these inherently hierarchical languages. For example, translating “she” or “woman” into terms like aval or pennu creates a disconnect, as these words lack the depth of English egalitarian connotations. Even borrowing the Sanskrit term sthree into Malayalam does not significantly bridge this gap.
In Native Life in Travancore, Rev. Samuel Mateer notes that there were approximately 41,000 Christians across 253 parishes, with 10,696 students, including 2,375 girls, studying in mission schools.
It’s unclear whether this qualifies as social transformation, as society still operated within a feudal linguistic framework. Individuals within each movement focused on advancing to leadership roles, showing subservience, attention, and loyalty to their own group’s hierarchy but not extending this to others.
In other words, a society already rife with malice, envy, backstabbing, degradation, and oppression saw the rise of a new movement. Moreover, the noble sentiments fostered by the English language and England were lost as these new Christian movements adopted local languages.
Rev. Mateer comments on what happens when local priests and missionaries take leadership:
“The evils of the Indian character in heathenism will crop up in cases of wicked and hypocritical men endeavouring to make a gain of godliness.”
It is clear that Rev. Mateer recognised a decline in quality when locals assumed leadership, but he likely did not fully grasp the cause. The harsh feudal undertones of local languages drive individuals to seek leadership positions, regardless of their commitment to the movement’s ideals, ideology, or spirituality—a concept foreign to English sensibilities.
People interact in three distinct ways: showing extreme deference to those above, maintaining equality with peers, or degrading those below by claiming superiority. The most common and preferred approach is the latter—using terms like nee, avan, or aval to define and control others, suppressing them. It seems Rev. Mateer was unaware of this malevolent streak in society.
Rev. Mateer notes that by the third generation, some Christians in Nagercoil began publishing their own English and Tamil newspapers.
When a deputation from the Missionary Society arrived from England, they encountered astonishing scenes in Travancore. In places like Quilon, Trivandrum, Parashala, Neyoor, and Nagercoil, local Christians greeted them with profound gratitude, loyalty, and affection toward the British churches that sent them the Bible for their upliftment and growth.
In Nagercoil, the streets were adorned with triumphal arches, white umbrellas, flowers, glowing lamps, and placards inscribed with Bible verses and mottos. Christians freed from slavery danced and sang with vibrant music in the streets. Crowds eagerly gathered to see the visitors. In Nagercoil’s large church, missionaries from England addressed nearly 2,000 enthusiastic people. Local Christians presented a cheque for 100 rupees, requesting that it be used to purchase an official seat for the Chairman of the London Board of Directors, with a plea not to forget Travancore’s Christians.
Girls’ boarding and day schools, lace workers, the Mission Press, Dr. Thomson’s hospital in Neyoor, and small dispensaries in other towns were among the initiatives run by the missionary movement. These likely felt monumental to the enslaved people of southern Travancore. Yet, they seemed unaware that the invisible force behind all this was England and the English language.
While social transformation was indeed occurring in Travancore, a larger problem was emerging.
Those long deemed inferior along the streets were rising as a powerful new religious group. Naturally, this sparked resentment and envy among the lower classes who did not join them. As these non-Christians later became identified as Hindus, this hostility likely intensified, as local languages inherently carry hierarchical distinctions. Moreover, those who joined the new religion advanced significantly in mindset and personality.
The issue was this: no Christians—Syrian, Roman Catholic, or Protestant—were permitted to join government service in Travancore. Their only option was to seek employment in British India.
Quote: “The Syrian, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians ... being admitted to no department ... are driven for employment to British India.” End of quote.
This led to Govindan (CPS' father), and others in Tellicherry and Malabar witnessing a massive influx of outsiders. This transformed Malabar itself. The traditional cultures of both Malabar and Travancore became muddled, leading to a decline in standards in both regions.
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Although this writing has primarily focused on the London Missionary Society, during their time in Travancore, several other
Christian movements operated with missionary objectives. The most notable among them is the Church Missionary Society (CMS).
Another significant group was the Basel Mission, which operated in the southern regions of South Asia. Though initiated by Germans, they seem to have collaborated with English missionary movements in South Asia.
Another movement appears to be the Kerala Brethren. It’s unclear when the term "Kerala" was added to their name, as the state of Kerala did not exist when this group began. It seems their original name was likely Indian Brethren. The term "Indian" poses a similar issue, as it may not fully reflect the context. This group appears to be a local branch of the international Open Brethren movement.
The Syrian Christians, a traditional community in Travancore, formed another Christian group. A faction that split from them is reportedly the Knanaya Christians. There are also references to the Malankara Christians as a distinct group.
The Jacobites are another group worth mentioning. There are references to disputes between the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. How these groups are interconnected or distinct is unclear to me.
The Coonan Cross Oath is a historical event tied to one of these groups.
Another group to highlight is the Manigrammakkar, a Christian sect that emerged and grew in Travancore. They seem to have some connection with the aforementioned groups.
Then came the Portuguese, who established a settlement in Tangasseri, slightly north of the Vadi coastline of present-day Quilon. Through them, a Christian community was created in Travancore.
For some time, the Dutch operated in Cochin, and it can be inferred that they, too, fostered a Christian community there.
These groups are likely Roman Catholics. The Verapoly Catholic Mission, based in Cochin, seems connected to them. There are also references to a Roman Catholic Church in Calicut, likely tied to the Portuguese. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Calicut appears to be associated with this.
There are mentions of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, also known as the Irish Brothers. They reportedly established schools in British India and nearby states like Travancore. It seems they founded St. Aloysius' School in Quilon.
Pentecostalism reportedly established a branch in Travancore in 1909, with the Church of God being part of this movement.
Records indicate that St. Mary’s Church in Calicut, built in 1863, was established by the Anglican community, likely for English residents and the Anglo-Indian population associated with them.
It’s worth noting that, among the mentioned movements, the Basel Mission appears to have worked specifically for the people of Malabar. However, it doesn’t seem their primary goal was to uplift lower castes. Instead, their focus was on teaching arithmetic, knowledge, and various vocational skills to young people. By 1883, they reportedly had 2,632 Christian members in Malabar.
In places like Chombala, Badagara, Cannanore, Quilandy, and Murad, they ran various training programs for youth.
Most of the other Christian movements mentioned were prominent in Travancore in terms of membership. The Roman Catholic Church in Calicut may have been an isolated case.
I must state that I have limited knowledge about these Christian movements. Their histories are complex, and those interested in learning more should research these groups individually.
Now, let’s discuss the migration of Travancore’s lower-class Christian communities to Malabar.
Their movement from Travancore to Malabar was a key factor in the creation of the state of Kerala. Another factor was the Ezhava organization in Travancore, which, using the slogan "all are one caste," was adopted by influential figures in northern Malabar’s Marumakkathayam Thiyya community to manipulate, charm, and control their own people, turning them into followers. In English, whether people are one caste or ten makes little difference, as the language’s codes do not emphasize such hierarchies.
The formation of Kerala as a state likely involved significant conspiracy and covert operations.
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A place to relocate the socially advancing lower classes
Official Indian history, filled with pure fabrications, grandly refers to a supposed great Indian empire before 1947. However, this notion of a grand empire is entirely a fictional tale.
I am about to discuss how lower-class communities in Travancore, who converted to Christianity, migrated or relocated to British Malabar. Today, history portrays this as a mere relocation from one place in India to another nearby. In reality, these were people from various kingdoms within the Travancore region, such as Venad, Attingal, Chengannur, Changanassery, Thekkumkur, Vadakkumkur, Nanjanad, Mavelikkara, Kottayam, Ambalapuzha, Alleppey, and others, who prepared for this relocation. The English East India Company enabled these small kingdoms to function as a single entity called Travancore. Some of these kingdoms had already been annexed earlier by Venad (Travancore). Cochin remained an independent kingdom, supported by the Dutch.
Whether the English Company’s actions were beneficial is unclear. The issue is whether aligning with one faction among warring groups is morally right. However, the English Company had an interest in keeping Travancore strong, as conducting trade with a region plagued by constant fighting, cutting, and killing was extremely difficult. The words of people in such unstable regions carried the same volatility, and those who made promises today might not be seen tomorrow.
Through English influence, Travancore saw significant social changes and the emancipation of enslaved people. However, this created a new problem: what to do with these liberated communities. The language is feudal. If those at the bottom rise, those at the top must fall—a certain outcome given the linguistic environment. This is not social reform but merely an upheaval of society.
Since English Christian movements operated across the subcontinent, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and parts of Asia and Africa, they likely had general knowledge of various regions. Missionaries from the London Missionary Society, engaged in social transformation and uplifting primitive tribes in African jungles, probably had at least hearsay knowledge of South Asian regions.
The mental fortitude and social consciousness of those who ventured into distant, wild regions to bring about social change are viewed with contempt by today’s official historians. The reality is that English Christian movements had no colonial imperialist ambitions. In truth, England itself lacked such ambitions, unlike some continental European nations. Today, official history conflates the two, and many historians seem to lack proper understanding.
Where English rule spread, peace, social progress, written laws, formal education, and the captivating communication framework of the English language took hold. This was generally seen as positive in England, but well-meaning yet misguided individuals there interpreted it negatively, creating internal issues.
Many Indian historians steer their writing towards garnering applause. It’s easy today to portray England as thieves, plunderers, or slave traders. With vast investments, advanced technology, and glamorous actors, films depict enslaved people and their benevolent kings, stirring patriotic fervour and earning applause.
Amid dense forests, venomous creatures, wild animals, ferocious natural calamities, and barbaric local overlords, missionaries worked tirelessly to impart courage, knowledge, and technical skills to enslaved people living like worms, facing numerous daily challenges. These missionaries cannot compete with the cinematic geniuses on today’s silver screen.
Film superstars can perfect scenes through multiple takes, portraying dramatic frowns, sorrows, anxieties, grand adventures, heroic deeds, unblinking bravery, horse-riding feats, and commanding voices with precision and beauty. However, the real-life experiences of English missionaries offered no such opportunity for polished retakes.
Moreover, they had to daily confront and internalise the grim expressions and harsh realities of the lower classes. Whether this toxic social environment and its deformities adversely affected the missionaries’ resolve is a question. Yet, the absence of negative indicant word codes in English likely protected them from being ensnared by many toxic social dynamics.
Sitting in small rooms in isolated buildings in distant regions, far from their refined social environment, they tirelessly dipped quill pens—or rarely, reed pens—into ink bottles, writing laws, administrative regulations, and codes of conduct with seemingly superhuman precision. I recognise and acknowledge the mental fortitude required for this.
Yet, the public idolises the dazzling, costumed figures on the silver screen.
These missionaries undoubtedly had significant knowledge of the nearby Malabar district in the Madras Presidency. It was not just Malabar but British Malabar—sparsely populated, with vast forested areas, no government-sanctioned caste discrimination, and limits to social, personal, or occupational growth only at the farthest heights.
There is no doubt that Christian missionaries realised British Malabar was the ideal place to relocate Travancore’s socially advancing lower classes.
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Books like Native Life in Travancore by The Rev. Samuel Mateer and Travancore State Manual Vol 1 by V Nagam Aiya contain little mention of Malabar. In contrast, Malabar Manual by William Logan references Malabar extensively. However, for a long time, this book was not available from online sources. In 2017, I found that Volumes 1 and 2 had been scanned and converted into PDF files by two different individuals. I endeavoured to painstakingly combine these into a single, highly readable PDF digital book and believe I succeeded.
I also wrote an extensive commentary for this book. This complex task allowed me to delve deeply into every line of Malabar Manual. I gained insight into the intricate process by which the English East India Company integrated the small kingdoms of southern and northern Malabar into a single region, transforming it into a major district within the Madras Presidency of British India.
This book is highly complex, making it challenging for the average reader. It is filled with numerous government reports, discussions, tables, and more, spanning two volumes with over 500,000 words. My commentary exceeds 240,000 words.
From the scanned PDF files, I extracted words, checked each one individually, and preserved superscripts, notes, alphabetic ligatures (e.g., œ, æ, Æ), and italics as they appeared in the original text. I meticulously recreated images, tables, and other elements, adding over 200 new images with their copyright licences. This process enabled me to read Malabar Manual more thoroughly than most and provided an opportunity to engage with it profoundly. The same effort went into the 240,000-word commentary.
The book’s actual title is MALABAR, but it is known as Malabar Manual. It is attributed to William Logan, the Collector of Malabar district. The Madras Presidency government likely instructed district collectors to produce comprehensive manuals for all districts, which seems to be the basis for Malabar Manual.
Some sections of the book appear to have been written by a few senior government officials, with their names noted in relevant parts. However, I found indications that some pages attributed to William Logan were not written by him. Local individuals and communities’ interests seem to have influenced the wording, indications, and allegiances, which shift and sway throughout the text. Some perspectives in certain sections contradict those in others.
Moreover, I detected a tone in some parts criticising certain policies of the English establishment, likely reflecting the views of Hindu (Brahmin) and Nair landlords.
Given the book’s size, written in an era without computers or modern printing, and with limited travel facilities, it’s likely that William Logan required assistance from many others to produce it.
At that time, Malabar district and British India as a whole saw the creation of modern roads, communication systems, water transport, administrative systems, police forces, public education, healthcare facilities, hospitals, drinking water systems, sanitation, railways, postal services, written laws, and judicial courts. Logan’s time and mind must have been heavily occupied with these developments, leaving him limited time, resources, or peace of mind to write this book.
Additionally, from 1836, intermittent attacks by certain Muslim groups in southern Malabar targeted Hindus (Brahmins), their Nair followers, and some loyal lower-class individuals. Although Malabar Manual was published in 1887, these events likely disrupted Logan’s official duties and mental state. I will address these events later.
The reality is that many, particularly in Travancore, yearned to record a geographical entity called Kerala in history. Key groups included: first, leaders and missionaries of Travancore’s new Christian converts from the lower classes; second, certain individuals in Travancore’s Ezhava movement; third, subversive elements among the newly prosperous Marumakkathayam Thiyya elites in northern Malabar; and fourth, Travancore’s general Christian population. Additionally, some Nair overlords in northern Malabar may have been interested in using this idea to suppress the rising Marumakkathayam Thiyya community.
It’s important to understand that such a collective idea was initially used in a very subtle manner.
The project to “discover” Kerala as a state resembles the effort to “discover” India in world history. Indian official history often seems determined to prove that a great Indian empire existed centuries ago in this subcontinent, cobbling together scattered references to terms like Hind, Inder, Sindhu, or Indies, claiming continuity with modern India.
The folly of such projects is this: if one tried to prove that modern England existed centuries ago by citing isolated trade records from small ports in Africa or Asia, what relevance would that have? Would comparing that ancient “England” to today’s be appropriate?
Indian official history often manipulates words, stretching or shortening them to fit narratives, claiming one word equates to another. A similar story seems to apply to Kerala. The name Kerala may appear in historical records, as do other names. But assigning such a name to a state formed in 1956 and linking it to historical references has questionable meaning, which only formal education can unravel.
In Malabar Manual, a rock inscription in Gaya, attributed to King Ashoka of the Magadha kingdom, mentions “Keralaputra” as evidence of Kerala’s ancient existence.
Today’s Wikipedia and other sources on Indian official history about Ashoka are riddled with misconceptions, which I won’t delve into now.
The Malabar Manual notes that the term in the rock inscription is actually “Ketalaputra,” not Keralaputra. The Magadha kingdom was far removed from Malabar and Travancore. Indian official history is written to fit the contours and boundaries of British India’s map, stretched and manipulated. Had Ceylon and Burma not been separated from British India, they might have been included in this narrative.
Magadha was likely an ancient kingdom in South Asia, but calling it an ancient Indian kingdom is meaningless. If India’s name changes in the future, Magadha’s address would shift too. Ashoka never claimed to be an Indian king, a fact official history should clarify. Linguistically and tribally, Magadha likely had no connection to Malabar, Pandya regions, Travancore, or Canara. It was probably an ancient kingdom in South Asia’s northeast. The link to India likely stems solely from the term coined after British India’s formation.
Moreover, people who migrated or arrived in Malabar and Travancore from various parts of the world were often subjugated as lower classes by local Hindu (Brahmin) elites, much like how people today might fall into the hands of pirates along Sudan’s coast. This is hardly a grand heritage.
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It is almost certain that Christian missionaries from England recognised that uplifting the lower classes in Travancore would necessitate a new region for their settlement. This issue was likely discussed with great seriousness at the highest levels of their executive committees. They probably understood that the Malabar region, just beyond Travancore, would allow these people to settle and grow mentally, physically, and economically without experiencing any form of degradation. This is because missionaries could communicate freely with the upper echelons of the English administration in South Asia and England without any hindrances.
Given their knowledge of various primitive regions worldwide, they likely had the foresight to anticipate the potential social developments that could arise if foreigners settled in Malabar.
Malabar was a district in British India, gradually progressing socially. It was necessary to foster the notion among its inhabitants that Travancore was, in reality, a historical part of their region. Moreover, this idea needed to be instilled through a robust doctrinal approach within their spiritual beliefs. Once embedded in spiritual convictions, questions would cease.
When the lower classes of Travancore began living alongside English missionaries, they proved they were not mere fools lacking intelligence or vigour. On the contrary, given opportunities, they demonstrated immense talent and physical capability. Some of these individuals may have settled in places like Tellicherry, residing in various Christian churches or similar establishments. I cannot confirm these details with certainty, as I have no records to substantiate such claims. This writing is composed in an impressionistic manner, discussing plausible scenarios.
Travelling from Travancore to Malabar by sailing ships or large boats was quite straightforward. Moreover, the sea was as familiar to the English as their homeland, making sea travel with them relatively safe.
The notion that British India would become a renowned nation with vast potential was prevalent at the time, particularly during the oversight of the English East India Company. A decline occurred when the British Crown began directly governing the region and, influenced by the foolish academic geniuses in England, introduced democracy in British India. This disrupted the region’s steady progress towards peace, reintroducing chaos and commotion.
It was to this evolving Malabar district in the Madras Presidency of British India that Travancore’s lower classes and others needed to integrate socially. At that time, there were likely no restrictions preventing the subjects of Travancore, Cochin, or other independent kingdoms in the subcontinent from entering British India to work, purchase land, or build homes. This is because clear concepts of citizenship or subjecthood identification documents probably did not exist then.
However, if a group of complete foreigners began encroaching on Malabar’s forests, the Madras Presidency government would undoubtedly impose effective restrictions.
This is because forest encroachment in Malabar was prohibited by the newly established forest department and its written laws, which applied to both the English administration and the English East India Company. These facts highlight the exceptional standards of the Company’s governance.
In 1840, Henry Conolly, the Malabar district collector, proposed Nilambur as a suitable location for a teak plantation. This suggestion was not driven by personal interests, a point I will address later.
However, most forest land in Nilambur was privately owned.
QUOTE from Malabar Manual:
Almost all these extensive and valuable forests are private property, except the two Government forests known by the names of the “Chenat Nayar” and the “Walayar” Reserves.
Further QUOTE from Malabar Manual:
Forests in Malabar are chiefly private property and the great bulk of the land in the Nilambur valley is the property of the Nilambur Tirumulpad, a wealthy landowner not likely under any circumstances to sell land, still less for the purpose of instituting a local industry of a character to compete with his own agricultural and timber operations for the limited supply of local labour. The plantations owed their existence to the accident that one of the many religious bodies holding temple lands happened to be in want of funds and to own blocks of land scattered here and there in this valley, many of which constituted the very best sites for planting that could have been selected had the whole area been available to choose from.
This information about the Nilambur Teak Plantation illustrates how meticulously the English administration protected Malabar’s forest regions. It was to such a carefully preserved region that Christians from Travancore, prepared for relocation, were to migrate.
However, this was likely not the only path for their arrival. Some may have joined various government and private institutions in Malabar and British India.
Teachers, pleaders, doctors, officials, and others may have been among them. This group likely included Syrian Christians, Roman Catholics, and others, as government jobs were unavailable to them in Travancore.
Upon escaping Travancore’s oppressive social environment, the mindset of being “lower class” likely faded among many Christian lower classes in British India. This is a significant reality. When removed from a language code that suppresses, personal charisma can soar to great heights. Among second and third generations of Travancore’s lower classes who relocated to England, one might observe a brilliance in their demeanour that even local English people might lack.
QUOTE from Native Life in Travancore: We have known one or two apostates from Christianity, well educated in English, who assumed Sudra names, and passed in distant parts of the country as such.
In essence, English missionary efforts managed to awaken the personality of higher classes in some of the lower classes.
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Al-Biruni (AD 973–1050), an ancient Persian polymath, writer, and traveller, is mentioned in an article with the following statement:
Al-Biruni was critical of South Asian scribes who he believed carelessly corrupted South Asian documents while making copies of older documents.
Interpretation: When South Asian scribes copied older regional records, they added whatever they pleased without any mental effort.
Regarding the authenticity, reliability, and purity of South Asian historical records, William Logan writes in Malabar Manual:
… and even in genuinely ancient deeds it is frequently found that the facts to be gathered from them are unreliable owing to the deeds themselves having been forged at periods long subsequent to the facts which they pretend to state.
Such practices in this subcontinent may have been heavily influenced by linguistic codes. This could stem from fear of adversaries’ attacks and competitive spirit in daily life, as well as the dire consequences in linguistic codes if one loses to an opponent. Over time, this evolved into hypocrisy becoming a standard tactic, employed by all in various social interactions. No one can be blamed—it’s a matter of survival and social dignity.
In Rabindranath Tagore’s novel The Home and the World, a Bengali character, a leader of the Gandhi movement, suggests that there is no harm in spreading any lie to discredit the English administration in South Asia.
Keralolpatti, an old text, is said to provide significant authentication for the idea that Kerala was a single kingdom. It appears to be written in Malayalam (not Malabari). I have not read this text, so I lack direct knowledge of its contents.
However, texts like Travancore State Manual, Native Life in Travancore, and Malabar Manual reference Keralolpatti.
It is said to rely on Keralamahatmyam, a Sanskrit text, to establish the authenticity of its accounts. Sanskrit texts often evoke an immediate sense of antiquity. However, Malabar Manual notes that the Sanskrit in Keralamahatmyam is “indifferent Sanskrit.” The word “indifferent” implies careless, apathetic, or detached.
From this, I infer that Keralamahatmyam was not written by individuals with profound expertise or knowledge of Sanskrit. Yet, it reportedly incorporates various myths, legends, and stories prevalent among both the upper and lower classes in Travancore, Malabar, Canara, and Pandya regions before 1800.
Gundert, a German missionary living in Tellicherry, reportedly wrote about Keralamahatmyam:
The intention of the Purana is evidently to describe Kerala as being first under the rule of the united Travancore and Kolattiri dynasty, …
This statement seems to assert Travancore’s claim over Malabar. It feels as though Gundert, while based in Tellicherry, may have been supporting Malayalam and Travancore’s new Christian movement from outside Malabar.
The language in Tellicherry was not Malayalam. Malabar had a distinct language, unmingled with Tamil or Sanskrit. Words like thach (hit), kayene (entirely), periya (path), othiyarkam (discipline), paanj (ran), olumbuk (wash), thirumbuk (launder), pathach (boiled), oda (bamboo), aye (is that so?), uyi (alas), ethakked (confusion), alamp (nuisance), baus (capability), and many others not found in Malayalam at the time existed in Malabar. It feels problematic to suggest that a foreign language was nurtured in such a region. At the same time, one wonders what remains of Malayalam if Tamil and Sanskrit words are removed. I won’t delve into that now.
The key question is: who might have painstakingly written Keralamahatmyam?
Now, let’s consider Keralolpatti. Malabar Manual states it was written in modern Malayalam. It claims Gundert discovered and transcribed its sentences. If so, the original palm-leaf manuscript should be in Tellicherry’s Christian Mission House or Bishop’s Palace. No one seems to mention such a record.
Travancore’s Christian missionaries likely developed and spread modern Malayalam. (I’m not addressing Thunjath Ezhuthachan here.) This modern Malayalam was not Malabar’s traditional language.
Although Malabar Manual suggests Keralolpatti was written to justify Brahmin dominance, it doesn’t seem to focus on Brahmins. Instead, it appears to concern various “Kerala” kings.
It reportedly lists villages in Travancore and Malabar, providing brief descriptions, arranged from north to south. However, the writers seem unaware of the villages’ actual locations, with errors indicating this. Some village names were apparently misheard and recorded with incorrect phonetics.
Moreover, the text seems to weave together historical events, preserved as traditions and legends in prominent households over centuries, to craft a “Kerala history.” However, the writers likely lacked a precise historical sense. Many details mentioned align with other historical sources but are often misordered. Additionally, there’s a reference to bullets and gunpowder weapons in the context of ancient times.
This supposed Purana, through storytelling, seems to reach around 1600 AD or beyond. The writers may have recorded everything they heard. However, they likely didn’t anticipate that the chronological order of historical events would later be scrutinised.
The story of Parashuraman throwing an axe to create Kerala likely originates from Keralolpatti. Parashuraman is not a Vedic avatar but a divine figure in the Mahabharata’s distinct, newer Hindu traditions. Curiously, the tale of Parashuraman throwing an axe from Gokarna in Karnataka to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) to create Kerala is absent in northern South Asian Hindu traditions and epic poetry. Who wrote this story, and with what intent?
When I moved to Alleppey in the 1970s, the flat terrain felt reminiscent of sea sand. Unlike Malabar’s fine coastal sand, Alleppey’s sand seemed coarser. As a young child, I felt Alleppey had risen from the sea. I don’t know if this has any basis today. However, regions like Cannanore, Tellicherry, Badagara, and Calicut in Malabar don’t evoke this sensation.
It’s clear that those writing this history had access to various sources about Malabar and Travancore. It feels like Keralolpatti was crafted through a grand conspiracy. But who would invest time in such an endeavour? Who would be interested in uniting Travancore and Malabar? Who would have knowledge of numerous villages’ names and details in both regions?
Those said to have discovered and transcribed Keralolpatti seem to have had a strong interest in proving Travancore’s historical connection to Malabar.
Though Gundert lived in Tellicherry, he appears closely tied to Travancore’s traditions. He reportedly translated the copper-plate agreements of Travancore’s Syrian Christians. Gundert also seems to have had good relations with the English administration. It’s as if the English overlooked that Gundert wasn’t British and spoke English as a foreign language.
Gundert’s presence in Malabar may have helped spread the notion that Travancore and Malabar share the same traditional language. However, Travancore’s true traditional language appears to have been Tamil.
The word “Kerala” is used numerous times in Keralolpatti. Words have the power to indoctrinate. Some uses of “Chera” in the text seem intended to reinforce this. Chera refers to a royal dynasty. The text reportedly argues that Chera, Cheram, and Keram derive from the same source, suggesting Keram (Kerala) comes from Chera.
However, Chera commonly refers to a serpent-like aquatic creature. The writers of Keralolpatti may not have known this or deliberately omitted it, as it wouldn’t bolster the term “Kerala.”
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The map provided above is of the states of South India before the formation of new states across India in 1956. Malabar had no connection whatsoever with Travancore. There wasn’t even a railway line connecting Travancore and Malabar. Yet, people from Travancore are increasingly flooding into Malabar.
When new states are formed, Malabar must undoubtedly be merged with Travancore. Otherwise, the Madras State will perceive that outsiders from another state have come and encroached upon forests and other resources in one of its districts. Moreover, if Malabar itself is formed as a separate state, this very issue will arise even more acutely.
In the minds of Malabar’s people, the notion that we are all Keralites and Malayalis must be instilled through a subtle ideological campaign without their awareness. If this is not done, the prevailing thought among Malabaris—that they are Malabaris—will persist. Their address in foreign lands was as Madrasis or Malabaris. It must be remembered that the Madras address of that time was entirely different from today’s Tamil Nadu address.
What needs to be ideologically propagated?
That Travancore and Malabar have historically been the same geopolitical area.
That the lower communities under the Nairs in both regions are essentially the same, with identical social standings and similarities.
That the traditional languages of Travancore and Malabar are the same, and that it was the Malayalam of Travancore.
And more.
Such an ideological campaign can be seen in parts of the Malabar Manual.
Geographically, the two regions are indeed distinct. The people are also different. The Brahmin Namboodiris may be the same community in both regions, though this is not certain. However, there are various types of Nairs. Moreover, it is heard that there was some form of social distance between the Nairs of North Malabar and South Malabar. If true, it is unclear what kind of hierarchical relationship these two groups traditionally maintained with the Nairs of Travancore. Yet, these three groups only came closer during Tipu Sultan’s invasions. Until then, they may have only had hearsay knowledge of each other, at best.
Furthermore, it is likely that many lower communities showed great subservience to the Namboodiris, possibly even offering women from their families to the Nairs. This is plausible because the language reflects a rigid hierarchy. Escaping the social whirlpool and rising above it is beneficial for both social and personal dignity. The idea that Nairs have Namboodiri blood is likely seen as a positive attribute.
While Nairs could define those beneath them as they saw fit, the lower communities of Travancore and Malabar are not the same. Below the Nairs in North Malabar are the Marumakkathayam Thiyyas, and in South Malabar, the Makkathayam Thiyyas. One of these groups likely adopted the name “Thiyya” from the other in some manner, as they follow different family systems, maintained slight social distance from each other, and are thus distinct communities.
Below the Nairs in Travancore are the Ezhavas, Chovvans, Shanars, and others. Among these groups, there may have been a competitive spirit over who holds a higher status for generations. However, with the rise of the Ezhava movement in Travancore, these three groups may have converged under a single identity, though this is not certain.
Many have tried to establish that Ezhavas and Thiyyas are the same community. The Ezhava movement in Travancore made significant efforts in this regard, but this is not accurate. I will elaborate on this later.
It seems that in earlier times, Travancore’s people generally had a closer affinity to darker skin tones, while Malabar’s people leaned toward lighter skin tones.
It does not seem that the lower communities beneath the Ezhavas in Travancore were entirely present in Malabar. However, I cannot say this with certainty at present. That said, many from the enslaved communities were likely transferred, shared, sold, or leased between regions by landlord families.
Shamanistic spiritual practices like Theyyam, Thira, Vellattam, and Thiruvappana in Malabar do not seem to have existed in Travancore, though this is not certain. Just as snake worship, tree worship, and similar practices exist in many parts of the world, they likely existed in both regions.
It appears that Thiyyas, Malayans, and Nairs in North Malabar have traditional ties to spiritual practices like Theyyam, Thira, Vellattam, and Thiruvappana. It is unclear whether Nairs, Ezhavas, or Shanars in Travancore had connections to these practices. However, there are indications in Native Life in Travancore that the Malarans of Travancore had some form of shamanistic practices. They believed their deity, Ayyappan, was more powerful than Hindu gods, but it appears that Ayyappan’s temple has now been appropriated by Hindus.
Other lower communities in Travancore may also have had similar shamanistic practices.
Martial arts known as Southern Kalarippayattu and Adithada existed in Travancore. However, the Kalarippayattu in North Malabar seems entirely different and far more complex. Yet, history has been distorted, and Kalarippayattu, a North Malabar tradition, is now presented as Kerala’s martial art heritage in global knowledge sources. The term “Southern Kalarippayattu” seems to have been conflated with North Malabar’s Kalarippayattu.
It is indicated that Nairs in North Malabar were connected to Kalarippayattu. Some Mappilas there also practiced it, as suggested by the Malabar Manual. However, the text does not clearly mention North Malabar’s Kalarippayattu, which is surprising. It is unclear if some Marumakkathayam Thiyyas practiced it. I believe my family had connections to families that conducted Kalarippayattu in the past.
In Keralolpathi, which attempts to weave history from observed events, it is written that Parashurama brought the Kalarippayattu system to Kerala. However, it is difficult to understand why this Kalarippayattu, brought by Parashurama, remained confined to North Malabar’s heritage.
Academic scholars now include Kalarippayattu in Kerala’s heritage. Imagine if the European Union strengthened and Britain became part of it. If Romanians then began to believe they ruled India from 1760 to 1947, how would that be? Similarly, conflating Malabar’s heritage with Travancore’s and proclaiming it as Kerala’s is problematic.
When Malabar was part of the Madras Presidency and Madras State, Malabaris were known as Madrasis or Madrassiwalas. Even then, it seems nothing from Malabar’s heritage was recorded as part of Madras’ overall heritage. Kalarippayattu, Muthappan Theyyam, Vellattam, Thira, and others were recognised as North Malabar traditions.
Syrian Christians or Mappilas in Travancore are not part of Malabar’s heritage, just as Malabar’s Mappilas (Muslims) are not part of Travancore’s heritage. It does not seem that Travancore’s Methans and Malabar’s Mappilas had social connections in those times. It is unclear if this has changed significantly today.
Onam in Travancore and Malabar differed in many ways, particularly with the presence of Onappottan in Malabar.
It is recorded that Travancore’s traditional language was Tamil. The Malayalam that developed or was cultivated there was likely enriched by adding Sanskrit words to Tamil. In Malabar, a language traditionally known as Malayalam existed, along with its scripts. Today, the name of this language has been adopted by the language created in Travancore, and the scripts likely followed suit. The chanting in Muthappan Theyyam was probably in Malabar’s Malayalam (Malabari), though I am not certain.
It is unclear if there is anything wrong with blending Malabar’s and Travancore’s diverse traditions into Kerala’s overall heritage. However, it must be said that the realities of the past were not as they are perceived, recorded, or understood today. As Al-Biruni and William Logan noted, in every era, things are interpreted and depicted as per the needs of the authorities.
This reality may apply from Kashmir, the North-Eastern states, Punjab, to the southernmost regions today.
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Among a disorganised people lacking a clear, unified leadership, a smaller but organised group with clear leadership can establish their private and selfish agendas within that society. While this is a general truth, the inherent quality—or lack thereof—of those infiltrating the society can also affect it.
It is true that both South Malabar and North Malabar had various social shortcomings and flaws. However, it does not seem that those coming from Travancore had any significant interest in addressing these with quality improvements. In fact, they likely came from a region with even more issues than Malabar.
Yet, some of these individuals, influenced by English missionaries, may have acquired considerable quality in various skills and matters.
There were several Christian movements active in Malabar. It does not seem that the general populace across different strata in Malabar was aware of this. In the Malabar Manual, William Logan acknowledges Gundert’s Malayalam Dictionary. However, Malayalam words were not significantly used in the Malabar Manual. The words used sporadically were not Malabari but rather Travancore Malayalam. For instance, the word adichu (hit) used as an example in one section is Travancore Malayalam. In North Malabar’s Malabari, the same word is thachu.
It must also be noted that, due to the lack of significant social connections between various regions in North and South Malabar, different words were likely used for the same thing.
From what I learned from Govindan (CPS’ father), a new perception spread in Malabar that the Christian movement leaders from Travancore’s lower communities had a high linguistic standard, while Malabar’s general populace lacked education in the Malayalam language.
The general point here is that words like avan (he, lowest) - oan (he, lowest), aval (she, lowest) - olu (she, lowest), nammal (we) - njammal (we), avattakal (they) - aittingal (they) show a connection. Many of these words likely exist in Tamil as well. Thus, words like oan, olu, njammal, and aittingal used by Malabaris might seem like the speech of uneducated people speaking Malayalam or Tamil.
This perception may be correct or incorrect. For this reason, in earlier times, many Malayalam films depicted Malabari speakers by inserting words like oan, olu, and njammal into dialogues to indicate that the character is from Malabar.
This is, in reality, foolish. However, it effectively conveys the intended impression to the audience.
It seems that when Kunchacko, a Travancorean, discovered the vast collection of North Malabar’s folk tales called Vadakkan Pattukal (Northern Ballads) and made films based on them without any sense of authenticity, he added a few Tamil words to the characters’ dialogues to suggest that this is how Malabaris speak. During those times, the general populace in Travancore had various peculiar notions about what Malabar was.
I have been hearing the Malabari language since 1962. By then, the Malayalam language had already spread everywhere. Malayalam newspapers, radio stations, and school textbooks were ubiquitous. Among those considered uneducated and disconnected from these, there was a belief among the educated that they spoke a primitive language.
Words like bussi (bus), paikkinu (for money), beichu (sold), koppa (cup), meed (fish), monthi (face), maimp (body), konayi (yawned), karandi (spoon), kaikkalkkoottal (collusion), koottamkoodi (gathered), oriyane (loudly), baiyyil (in hand), ooyyaravum kookiyum (shouting and yelling), ayyampiliyum kookiyum (Ayyampili shouting), nenthrappazham (plantain), thone (seems), chotha (rotten), charayikkane (to lean), lesham (slightly), chiri (smile), pakki (bird), paathi (half), chanthi (buttocks), poothi (desire), cherangu (slope), keey (hand), annaakku (throat), koora (rubbish), koottu (group) became the language of an uneducated Malabari populace.
These people were seen as merely uneducated and ignorant. Meanwhile, those from Travancore were perceived as having great education, knowledge, traditional glory, and movement strength. The issue with this mindset is that the heritage of many from Travancore was likely quite humble. For many, their ancestral Malayalam was acquired only a few decades earlier, and their traditional languages were something else entirely.
When hearing Malabari words today, many Malabaris feel clear disgust and other negative emotions. Learning that their ancestors spoke such a “primitive” language is deeply upsetting for many.
Let’s consider the Tamil language in this context. Many commonly used Tamil words, when heard in Malayalam, might make people laugh. Some have even opined that certain words sound outright vulgar. Some words might evoke a sense of slipperiness in the mind. However, when I lived in Madras State and heard people speak Tamil daily, I never observed such feelings of disgust. On the contrary, Tamil words were found to have great phonetic beauty, literary elegance, and profound depth. Yet, there was also the realisation that speaking Tamil makes one seem like a Tamilian, which is another topic for later.
Songs like “Machane paathinkala?” (Have you seen my brother-in-law?) and “Adi ennadi rakkamma…” (Hit, oh Rakkamma…) were greatly enjoyed by me in earlier times.
Just as Malayalam in Travancore had regional variations, it seems Malabar’s local language also had minor and major differences across regions.
Among Malabari Mappilas, there may have been influences from Arabic and Persian languages, though I lack detailed knowledge on this.
Moreover, South Malabar and North Malabar only became closely connected after the arrival of English rule. Thus, linguistic differences between these two regions are likely.
Most Mappila songs heard today seem to primarily use Malayalam words. It is unclear if such Mappila songs existed earlier.
In the 1980s, students in Travancore began hearing Mappila songs for the first time. Many said they couldn’t understand the words at all and even claimed they weren’t Malayalam. However, today, many Malabari words are part of Malayalam.
In the 1970s, a new social phenomenon was observed in Alleppey. In college and school stage programmes, mono-acts mocking Malabari “kakkammars” (Malabari mappilla men) were performed. The supposedly foolish Malayalam words spoken by these “kakkammars” returning from the Gulf were used for comedic effect, reflecting the notion that they had money but no sense. At that time, people from Travancore had not yet begun migrating to the Gulf in large numbers. However, within a decade, they too started rushing to the Gulf, the magical world of Malabaris. With that, everyone became “Mallus.” I will discuss related matters later.
Returning to the Malabari language, the Malabar Manual states that the name “Malabar” was not used locally by anyone. It was a term used by foreigners. Locally, the region was known as Malayalam. This could be strongly true or deliberately false.
If true, another thought emerges. In Travancore, Malayalam is a new language. In Malabar, however, the local language was not new but existed since ancient times, and its name was Malayalam. Could it be that the Malayalam of Travancore, as it exists today, was created by blending Tamil and Sanskrit with that language?
The reason for this speculation is that when Christian movements in Malabar adopted Malayalam, it seemed to have sophisticated grammar, structure, and order. In Travancore, local scholars wrote grammatical rules and imported Sanskrit words. The influence of English movements likely inspired quality improvements in all aspects.
Meanwhile, in Malabar, English rule allowed some lower communities to experience the beauty and fragrance of English classics, but no efforts were made to enrich the local language. The direction of the local language shifted toward the decisions of those from Travancore.
Below is an old Mappila song, believed to be written by Moyinkutty Vaidyar, though I couldn’t find this information online. Moyinkutty Vaidyar seems to have been from South Malabar. The lyrics can be found on the Malayalam text page.
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When attempting to write with great precision, readers may perceive that I have an excessive passion for some matters and strong opposition to others. However, the reality of this has been indicated earlier.
QUOTE from PART 2 - 104: My loyalty, gratitude, affection, and all forms of fondness toward the unadulterated English movement—that is, toward ancient England and the globally established English rule—are evident throughout this writing, as clear as daylight, without any hesitation, shame, or qualms of conscience. END OF QUOTE
In the previous chapter, I included words from the Malabari language and a Mappila song. A new reader might assume I have an excessive attachment to Malabar and its language. In truth, I have the same affinity and detachment toward Travancore’s Malayalam as I do toward Malabari. However, the aspects of these languages that evoke aversion in my mind may differ. I plan to elaborate on this later.
The Malabar Manual was first published in 1887. It is understood that several other District Manuals were published in the Madras Presidency during the same period.
However, in 1948, the Indian Central Government deemed the Malabar Manual a highly significant text and ordered its revision and republication. Upon reading this in the new edition, I sensed an intent to manipulate. There was no apparent reason for the Central Government to consider this text highly significant in 1948. Many other texts, published by the English administration in this subcontinent, were far more scholarly, yet none received such prominence. The question arose: how did a Malabari text gain such importance among North Indian Hindi speakers?
One might wonder who in Delhi declared this text significant. Below is a statement from one of the opening pages of the 1951 edition of the Malabar Manual, published with critical alterations by the Central Government:
QUOTE: In the year 1948, in view of the importance of the book, the Government ordered that it should be reprinted. The work of reprinting was, however, delayed to some extent, owing to the pressure of work in the Government Press. While reprinting, the spelling of the place names have, in some cases, been modernized.
B. S. BALIGA,
Curator, Madras Record Office
Egmore,
17ᵗʰ September 1951
Upon examining this edition, I noticed that the English spelling in the Malabar Manual followed American English conventions. How could a text published under British rule contain lower-standard US English spelling? This could be possible if an American publishing house reprinted it.
However, the phrase importance of the book in the above quote raised further suspicions. What national significance did this text hold? It does not inherently warrant such prominence, as previously mentioned.
The phrase “While reprinting, the spelling of place names have, in some cases, been modernized” sparked serious doubt. It implies that certain place names were updated. Yet, names like Calicut, Cannanore, Tellicherry, Cape Comorin, Palghat, Alwaye, Trivandrum, Cochin, Badagara, Quilon, Alleppy, Manantody, and Wynad in the Malabar Manual are largely consistent with those in texts like Travancore State Manual, Native Life in Travancore, and Castes and Tribes of Southern India. The question is whether there was any need to alter other local place names.
Reading the text, I noticed the imposition of the place name Kerala and the collective term Malayalee (Malayali) for the people, alongside the application of Travancore’s Malayalam across Malabar. It does not seem that, during William Logan’s time, the general populace in Malabar held notions of a unified Kerala. Moreover, subtle revisions in wording suggest a conflation of Malabar, from its northern reaches, with Travancore at the southern tip of South Asia. The overuse of the term India is also noticeable in several places.
Above all, claims from Keralolpathi and Kerala Mahatmyam permeate the text.
Even when written in the 1880s, the Malabar Manual shows influences from Travancore’s Christian movements and other Travancorean communities in Malabar. Subtle word choices suggest that Malabar was part of an ancient kingdom called Kerala, which included Travancore. Additionally, there is an implication that both regions were part of a grand India, though India as a nation did not exist at the time. Yet, there was evident enthusiasm for creating India.
The question is why the Central Government was keen to republish this text in 1948 with deliberate misconceptions and subsequent revisions.
With Nehru and his associates taking control of South Asia’s southern regions, various conspiracies and appropriations likely occurred across the land.
Two distinct movements likely operated quietly in Delhi, collaborating to assert that Malabar was part of Travancore: Travancore’s Christian movements and the Ezhava movement. Both groups needed to conquer Malabar for their survival.
The Indian Central Government in 1948 seems to have been in disarray. Nehru faced various survival challenges. There was discontent within the Congress over his assumption of power with the support of the British Labour Party. Strong opposition likely existed within Congress against sidelining Patel from the Prime Minister’s role. Nehru used the military to annex around five independent states, including Kashmir, Travancore, and Hyderabad. Additionally, there were likely allegations of conspiracies related to Gandhi’s assassination.
These issues likely preoccupied Nehru. Moreover, demands from across South Asia probably flooded Delhi. Thus, it is difficult to see Nehru directly involved in merging Malabar with Travancore. However, I have heard that in earlier times, Christian movements could blackmail Nehru on a certain matter. This was visible on several websites in the early days of the internet but is no longer seen.
Regarding state reorganisation, various efforts were likely made to merge Malabar with Travancore. One was to prove that a region called Kerala, encompassing both Malabar and Travancore, existed historically. The Malabar Manual seems to have been used at least twice to insert and propagate false information for this purpose. To confirm this, one would need to check if the Malabar Manual was cited or referenced in the drafting of the 1956 States Reorganisation Act.
Such deliberate manipulation by a spiritual organisation and a social organisation may seem unlikely, but the issue concerns a people’s survival and a community’s social standing.
In feudal languages, survival and social standing are significant matters.
Christian organisations often act for the welfare of their followers, not for personal selfish gains in such matters.
When I moved to Travancore in the 1970s, I noticed a major government policy manipulation. Surprisingly, those adversely affected by this seemed unaware of it. I will address this in the next chapter.
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In 1970, I moved from Malabar to Alleppey. Before that, I was studying at an English boarding school in Malabar.
While at this school, I sensed a serious decline in quality. New priests, replacing the previous ones, spoke a different and less refined English. Though they knew English, they thought in Malayalam. Instead of the polite conduct typically seen in English, they addressed students with terms like nee (lowest you), eda (pejorative addressing), and enthada (pejorative what’s it?). Their speech showed no influence of the local Malabari language.
The journey to Alleppey was arduous. Boarding a train at night from Badagara, it would reach Mattancherry Railway Terminus in Ernakulam by morning. There, the train would halt for a while. The engine was detached from the front, moved to the rear, and reattached. After some time, the train would move backward, then head east to Kottayam. From there, it turned right, heading west to Kayamkulam, back to the coast. It then continued to Quilon and Trivandrum.
To reach Alleppey, one had to disembark at Ernakulam and take a bus. Later, while studying in Quilon and Trivandrum, I grew weary of waiting at Mattancherry Railway Terminus and travelling via Kottayam and Kayamkulam.
Initially, unfamiliar with Travancore’s geography, I didn’t grasp the peculiarity of this circuitous route. However, occasional KSRTC bus trips from Quilon to Ernakulam, bypassing Kottayam, sparked some thoughts.
In the 1970s, when I arrived in Alleppey, I lived not far from the coast. There was a sea bridge—a structure extending about half a kilometre into the sea, resembling railway tracks, likely used for pushing cargo trolleys. Large ships and vessels docked at its end for loading and unloading cargo.
By the 1970s, this sea bridge in Alleppey was no longer in use. Neglect had left it deteriorating. Along the roads to the coast, numerous large warehouse-like buildings stood shuttered. Clearly, Alleppey had once been a thriving commercial hub. Yet, industrially and commercially, it felt like a ghost town.
Reflecting later, I share thoughts without concrete evidence. The British-Malabar railway likely extended to Cochin. Historical texts mention a British-Cochin area within the Cochin kingdom. Travancore farmers sold produce directly to local traders in British-Cochin via sea routes, avoiding taxes and bribes, which were rampant in Travancore.
From Calicut, the railway reached Shornur Junction, splitting—one route heading to Coimbatore and Madras, connecting to other parts of British-India.
When India was formed in 1947 and Travancore was annexed, certain powerful movements in Travancore likely pushed for a railway connecting it to Malabar. The Christian movements of the lower communities, operating behind the scenes, seem to have been the strongest advocates.
Such a railway would allow their followers to easily enter Malabar. Their communities were concentrated in places like Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Mallassery, Changanassery, and Kozhencherry. Diverting a railway from the southern tip of the peninsula slightly would go unnoticed in Delhi.
Routing the railway through Kottayam would boost its commercial, industrial, and educational growth, sidelining Alleppey. Kottayam would become the commercial hub.
In the 1970s, Alleppey, once prosperous, appeared stagnant socially, commercially, and industrially. These are childhood observations, and their accuracy is uncertain. However, about seven kilometres from the town, Kunchacko’s Udaya Studio was renowned.
Why did the railway connecting Malabar to Trivandrum bypass Alleppey, weaving through mountains and tunnels? The explanation I heard was that a route through Alleppey would require numerous bridges. This reasoning might have been used to justify diverting the railway through Kottayam. This argument may not be entirely false. Those wanting the route through Kottayam would highlight this, while others would not. That’s all.
Diverting the railway through Kottayam increased the distance from Kayamkulam to Cochin by about 20%. However, from Mangalore to Trivandrum, this added distance was negligible, though travel time likely increased by over an hour.
When the English administration withdrew from British-India, it was indicated that people from neighbouring regions infiltrated British-India’s territories.
In a region where people are preoccupied with their own affairs, a small, organised, and covert group can establish their desired agendas. Whether their actions benefit the public or a select group depends on their mindset.
The English administration operated with clear plans in this subcontinent. Their actions reflected great philanthropy, selflessness, and high-quality intentions—for those willing to see it.
Christian missionaries from England in Travancore likely shared similar intentions. However, what happened in Malabar must be documented, as today’s official history is laden with manipulative narratives and little truth.
During English rule, the administration protected British-India’s interests, not those of outsiders or British commercial entities.
One more point to note: in my youth, I observed two types of officials. Those from English administrative systems spoke English among themselves and permitted no official misconduct. They weren’t necessarily inherently honest, but the presence of English in their system prevented compromises. If anyone tried, others would respond courteously.
In contrast, I saw officials in Travancore who thought and operated solely in Malayalam. They faced no issue with official manipulations. Yet, they weren’t personally dishonest or bad. Many were great philanthropists, helping and compromising officially. The term sar (sir) smoothed their interactions. Doing a favour for another official created a debt of gratitude, to be called upon later.
When India was formed, this second type of officialdom filled Delhi and beyond. From key positions, they would compromise, revise, or manipulate as requested. Yet, personally, they showed great honesty, loyalty, and affection toward those they respected.
If asked from a decisive position, such officials might indeed make a slight railway route adjustment.
This railway story is mentioned to highlight one point: several such schemes likely existed to merge Malabar with Travancore.
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In Travancore, it can be generally said that the London Missionary Society and similar missionary groups organised the lower classes and established a Christian sect. However, this needs to be stated with greater precision.
From the Ezhavas, who were among the highest of the lower classes, down to the Pariahs and Pulayas, as well as the Kanikkars, Mal Arayans, and other forest-dwelling communities who claimed their own elevated status outside the social hierarchy, it appears that all these groups came together as members of this Christian sect. Initially, there may have been mutual aversion and hostility among them, but over time, in the presence of missionaries from Britain, these feelings faded. They all grew collectively in knowledge, wisdom, and cultural development.
However, as the social language retained its feudal character, rather than eliminating the inherent communication issues within society, these groups evolved into a new movement, arguably making the complexities of social interaction even more pronounced.
In other words, a new community emerged with its own selfish interests and leadership. It need not be explicitly stated that their social advancement caused issues, anxiety, and frustration for others.
Moreover, among the various lower-class groups and others mentioned above, those who did not join the new religion continued to live under the traditional oppressions they had endured. It is undoubtedly true that seeing their own kin thrive in the new religion with significant organisational strength and cultural growth would have caused them resentment and mental distress.
This Christian sect did not consist solely of lower-class groups from Ezhavas downward. It is understood that Nair and Namboodiri women, along with their offspring, were also part of it. If Nair or Namboodiri women were socially ostracised for any reason, they would promptly seek refuge in this new Christian missionary movement and join the religion.
Similarly, as previously mentioned, lower-caste groups like Pulayas acquired Nair and Namboodiri women in various ways.
Thus, this Christian sect was indeed a community with a mixed-blood heritage.
It is understood that this Christian sect was a group within the Catholic Christian community. However, it is unclear whether historical records distinctly identifying this Christian sect as a separate group exist on any web pages. Furthermore, whether the clear social transformation efforts by figures like The Rev. Samuel Mateer, F.L.S., Rev. Henry Baker, and organisations like the London Missionary Society and CMS are documented clearly in any Christian movement’s online or offline records is also unknown. In many places, histories seem to be written by conflating St. Thomas, Syrian Christians, Roman Catholics, and others. When examining web pages of some Christian movements related to Travancore, much foolishness is found written.
It is evident that there is a reluctance to record true history.
It appears that the lower classes of Travancore who converted to Christianity and migrated to the forests of Malabar formed the Syro-Malabar Church. This is not known with certainty, as it seems no church has documented such history.
This writer has no clear information about the migration of lower-class Christians to the forests of Malabar. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether such details can be found online today. On Wikipedia, such information appears to have been carefully concealed. There is much to say regarding Wikipedia, but that can be addressed later.
It is unknown when migration to the Malabar forests began. It likely started during British-Indian rule, particularly during the Second World War, when government regulations in Malabar district may have been lax. Govindan (CPS’ father) mentioned that local wealthy traders and others amassed significant profits through hoarding and other means during that time, which the British administration could not prevent. Many of these hoarders were Gandhi followers and Congress members, but this topic will not be delved into now.
However, it seems that large-scale migration from Travancore to the Malabar forests began when Kerala was formed by merging Malabar with Travancore.
This writer believes direct memories of such events date back to around 1966. At that time, this writer resided at home for only a short period, so memories from that time are sparse.
It is worth mentioning that the term “Achayan” is used in Travancore. It appears to be a term used by Syrian Christians and various Protestant Christians who claim a rich heritage linked to St. Thomas’ tradition. Thus, these Christians are also known as Achayans.
At the same time, it seems that the equivalent term used by Christians who converted from the lower classes is “Chettan” or “Chettayi.” Consequently, in some parts of Malabar, this group is known as Chettans.
In the 1960s, visitors to the house occasionally spoke about the Chettans in the hills. It was said they possessed homemade guns and freely hunted black monkeys, wild boars, and deer. This writer recalls an instance when a Chettan brought the meat of a black monkey he had shot to sell for consumption.
It does not seem that the general public in Malabar was particularly aware that hunting animals was a serious offence. Moreover, it appears unlikely that the local populace knew how to make guns or use gunpowder. There is also a memory that a medicine called “black monkey chemical” was openly advertised in newspapers and magazines and sold at high prices.
Another memory, likely from around 1980, relates to a visit to Deverkovil from Travancore during college holidays. A Chettan came to discuss a property-related matter with Govindan (CPS’ father). He was a fair-complexioned individual. During a conversation about the cost of timber for building a new house, this person remarked, “In my youth, we used to burn down trees in the forest in droves. Just one of those trees we burned would fetch tens of thousands of rupees today.”
This person was likely 25–30 years old at the time. From the conversation, it was clear that his parents had come to the forest around the 1960s. They cleared the land by burning and levelling the forest.
Thereafter, through immense labour, they made the cleared land arable. They planted saplings of coconut, areca nut, and rubber, fetching water from wells and nearby streams, carrying it in pots, and diligently watering and caring for the saplings daily.
It was arduous work. However, for these people who migrated to the forests, such tasks were not unfamiliar. It is clear that their blood carried the experience of toiling under the scorching sun in the fields of Travancore’s landlords for centuries without wages. They were people who had to wait centuries for British rule to raise its flag in this subcontinent. Yet, it is surprising that this historical detail alone did not remain firmly etched in their minds.
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The activities of the London Missionary Society in South Africa have been mentioned earlier. The local Griqua tribe was converted to Christianity, equipped with vast knowledge, clear social structure, and skills in using firearms and gunpowder. This enabled them to display superior abilities compared to other local tribes. It can be said that this caused significant harm to other local tribes and the wildlife in the forests there.
However, it seems that the London Missionary Society and others did not let the rope loose on the lower classes in Travancore as long as British rule persisted in the subcontinent. But once British rule withdrew from British India, it must be said that the direction of affairs in the subcontinent completely changed. The lofty values upheld by the British establishment plummeted to negligible worth in British India. In independent states like Travancore, the principle of might is right had long prevailed.
In a forest where various groups of animals compete and survive by clashing with one another, providing modern weaponry to one faction would undoubtedly disrupt the existing balance. For instance, if rats were given miniature firearms, gunpowder, and the skill to use them, the fate of cats and other animals would be sealed.
The Christians who moved into the Malabar forests may have been bearers of diverse human lineages and blood ties. The language they spoke likely contained hierarchical codes, possibly rendering it animalistic. Nevertheless, clear spiritual leadership, priests or evangelists, collective prayers, communal singing, shared places of worship, and spiritual warnings, confessions of sin, and moral principles that restrained deceitful, backstabbing, or other covert or overt harmful actions enabled them to progress as a group. This significantly reduced or eliminated the social rifts, tears, and fractures that feudal language codes could create.
One can imagine men, their women, and children trembling as they moved through dense forests filled with venomous creatures, carnivorous wild animals, and other great dangers. I vividly recall an incident from long ago when I was stranded for two days in the dense forest-covered hills of Travancore. However, by then, the population of wild animals in that area had significantly dwindled. The Malabar forests encountered by the Christians who migrated there were not like that.
It can be assumed that these people did not enter the forests unarmed. They likely possessed firearms and gunpowder, along with iron weapons, spades, and other tools.
Their struggles aside, on the other side were the local forest dwellers and wildlife, who had lived in a delicate balance, encountering each other daily for ages. Into their midst came a heavily armed group with clear leadership. It is unlikely that these newcomers carried great cultural values or compassion. Spiritual leadership could only restrain their rowdiness and abusive language to a limited extent.
From snippets of information overheard, some vague details about the actions of these migrants came to mind. Once, while sitting among a group of such Christians, an elderly man shared some matters. These were things that should not have been revealed in the presence of an outsider. It felt as though the others immediately signaled to him to stop. When I later asked him about what he had said, he denied having said anything of the sort.
The fate of edible animals that came before this armed group was dire. When British rule left the subcontinent, these animals were left with no protection. Not only black monkeys but all kinds of monkeys ended up in curry pots. Porcupines, deer, wild buffalo, and others likely vanished in this manner. Wild boars were not only shot but also killed by hiding gunpowder in tapioca and other edible items. When the gunpowder exploded, it would shatter the boar’s mouth and teeth. It seems that wild boars live together as families—husband, wife, and children.
The migrants also had to fear elephants and tigers. It is recalled that they dug large pit traps, placed tender coconuts and other bait on top, and let elephants fall into them. These elephants were left to die of starvation and thirst over days. Their cries could be heard for days, it is said. Though elephants are deeply family-oriented, they reportedly do not attempt to rescue a trapped elephant, knowing that doing so might lead them to fall into another pit.
Large snakes sneaking into chicken coops and other places were another concern.
Some would wait below to shoot mountain goats grazing at the edges of high cliffs. These goats, grazing confidently at the cliff’s edge, would be carefully targeted and shot from below. When hit, the goat would fall to the ground with a loud thud.
Another matter heard was the vulnerability of local forest dwellers living in isolated huts. They had no protection against the large, powerful groups arriving from outside their territories.
At night, some men among the migrants would band together, approach these isolated huts, seize the legs of sleeping women inside, and drag them out through the thatched walls.
It is recalled that someone said the new generation of these inhabitants were no longer true inhabitants. In truth, both sides were of roughly the same status until the London Missionary Society elevated one side in Travancore.
When a foolish prime minister in England dismantled the British Empire, millions worldwide were left in distress. In the northern parts of South Asia, around 10 lakh people were brutally killed. The plight of their women was beyond description.
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It appears that the large-scale migration of Christians from Travancore to Malabar occurred only after the formation of India, when Malabar was merged with Travancore to create Kerala. However, it may also be true that the presence of Travancore Christians in British Malabar existed even before India’s formation.
Govindan (CPS’ father) and others in Tellicherry might have been aware of this, and the notion that the entire subcontinent was one nation could have been fostered by the various conveniences introduced by British rule. Moreover, it seems unlikely that anyone paid particular attention to the invisible and subtle schemes orchestrated by outsiders behind the scenes. Additionally, media like newspapers likely operated in a manner devoid of meaningful information. They probably gained large readerships by exaggerating the petty political tricks played by minor politicians in the northern parts of the subcontinent. Furthermore, such writings might have brought financial gains through various dubious channels.
Take, for instance, the construction of the railway bypassing Alleppey. It was the responsibility of newspapers to inform the people of Alleppey about such a deceitful act. However, it seems highly unlikely that the ‘M’ publications based in Kottayam uttered a single word about this at the time.
In truth, the phenomenon of British colonial rule is something that deserves to be written in golden letters in world history books. It brought about such profound social and psychological transformations in uncivilized and semi-civilized regions, whether isolated or not, across the globe.
At the southern tip of the subcontinent, in the tiny and seemingly insignificant kingdom of Travancore on the world map, the liberation of slaves and the upliftment of lower castes by the London Missionary Society and others was something no great intellectual, Vedic scholar, spiritual leader, king, or social reformer in this subcontinent could have accomplished or even envisioned before the arrival of British rule.
Among the Christian community that rose in this manner, there seems to be no sense of gratitude, acknowledgment, or appreciation for this significant historical truth embedded in their heritage, despite its immense importance.
Instead, they seem to strive to conceal the fact that such an event is part of their history, lineage, and spiritual growth. Numerous falsehoods related to British colonial projects are widely propagated and written about today. Even honest local English people in England appear to believe these lies.
One of the facts capable of dismantling these false narratives is the social reforms carried out in Travancore by the London Missionary Society, the royal family, and others, with support and inspiration from the British administration in the Madras Presidency.
However, today, entirely false historical information is being written by academic geniuses and others who have gained prominence in Wikipedia’s Indian pages and other platforms displaying historical records.
Image: Thiyya labourer female in South Asia c.1860.
The term Indian indentured slaves is portrayed in a way that suggests British rule in this subcontinent enforced bonded slavery. It is written that lakhs of ‘Indians’ were taken from ‘India’ and sold in South Africa and elsewhere by the British. However, the truth is far more complex than this simplistic narrative. South Africa was a destination where many enslaved people from this subcontinent fled willingly to escape their overlords. Moreover, the Dutch, French, and others bought enslaved people from their overlords in this subcontinent and sold them in regions like South Africa, where they found social liberation.
The problem with such historical writing lies in the assumption that a single ‘Indian’ community lived in this subcontinent.
Have you seen the false writings on Wikipedia?
Great historical truths are concealed or ignored, explained away with trivial and misleading words. Consider this: The British wanted Indians to work in Natal as workers. But the Indians refused, and as a result, the British introduced the indenture system.
The fact that a vast population in Travancore and throughout South Asia lived as slaves, bound to the land like cattle, is increasingly unlikely to be found in official historical writings today.
On Wikipedia’s page about Christian migration to Malabar, it is even written that this migration and settlement were carried out by Syrian Christians and Knanaya Christians. See:
QUOTE 1: Malabar Migration refers to the large-scale migration of Syrian Christians from Central-South Kerala to Malabar in the 20th century. END OF QUOTE
QUOTE 2: The vast majority of the migrants were Syrian Christians, mainly from erstwhile Travancore state. The migrants were mostly from present-day Kottayam such as Pala, Chaganacherry, Kanjirapally, Kuravillagadu, Ramapuram, Bharananganam etc. and Idukki districts (Thodupuzha Taluk) with many from hill areas of Ernakulam district also, like Kothamangalam, Moovattupuzha etc. Settlements were established in various hill areas of Malabar region (north Kerala). END OF QUOTE
This is how history is being written. It creates the grand fictional narrative that Syrian Christians from Travancore ventured into Malabar’s dense forests with tools and communal singing, engaging in immense physical labour, which future generations will study and believe.
It is understood that a specific group of people manages and controls Wikipedia’s Indian pages. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. The issue is that these individuals are Indians, not English. It seems they manage these pages by succumbing to various inducements.
They reportedly conduct daily surveillance of the pages. Any information contrary to the narratives of certain interest groups or movements is promptly removed. It was once alleged that these individuals receive significant financial rewards for whitewashing pages in this manner.
My Wikipedia account has been blocked for nearly seven years, subjected to various accusations. Whenever I provided corrections on the Talk Pages of various articles, some individuals would add nonsensical or malicious content, portraying it as vandalism by me, leading to the account block. Even if Indian interest groups operated behind the scenes, the block was likely executed from the US.
Image: South Asian indentured labourer in South Africa, possibly.
Germans, Italians, and other continental Europeans who harboured great animosity towards old England took control of the US after the Second World War. They, too, dislike my writings. There is much to write about this, but that can wait.
Nehru, Gandhi, Subhas Chandra, Aurobindo Ghosh, and others studied in England and, upon returning, misled people into believing they could bring about significant social reforms. They spread outright lies about British rule. In truth, their hierarchical use of terms like you, he, and she degraded and devalued the common people of this land. They were incapable of uplifting the lower classes. One might point to isolated incidents, but that’s all.
Similarly, an individual who studied in the US and has climbed into Indian politics today through sheer financial power misleads people with absurd claims about British rule. There may be hidden motives behind this. One such misleading claim is that British rule engaged in the slave trade. When encountering such falsehoods, I believe those who rose from the status of slaves in Travancore have a moral obligation to refute them.
Yet, they are not ready to do so. Instead, they silently lend support by remaining quiet. The reason is simple: most lower-class communities that did not convert to Christianity remain backward even today, despite significant reservations in employment and education.
Would anyone among them feel inclined to admit that their ancestors were slaves?
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The migration of Christians from Travancore to the forests of Malabar likely brought significant changes to Malabar’s culture. This account is written with a purely empathetic perspective.
Once this group settled in an area as a community, it is believable that their first act would be to build a church. Following that, a school. This brings two benefits. First, their younger generation gains access to formal education qualifications. Second, it gives rise to teachers within the community, a position of great social prestige in Malayalam culture.
Due to strong spiritual leadership, most households likely had access to priests or evangelists capable of providing excellent guidance and advice.
In the early days, during British rule, some of those who entered Malabar’s forests may have occupied land without clear ownership documents. However, in later years, these settlers likely received robust legal advice for such land acquisitions. Often, they sold small properties in Travancore and used the proceeds to purchase large tracts of land in Malabar’s forests at low prices from various landlords.
This was possible because landlords or intermediaries often had little connection to their forested land. Many had likely never even seen those areas. Based on their documents, they would allocate a specific amount of land to these migrants. It cannot be definitively said whether these settlers took more land than allocated.
Land registration and registry offices in Malabar and the subcontinent began after 1865, starting near Tellicherry in Anjarakandy. By 1956, when Kerala was formed, the Christian migrants likely secured their land with clear ownership documents.
Another point regarding land acquisition must be noted. Often, valuable timber trees in the allocated forest areas had already been felled, possibly by the previous landowners. However, in many cases, individuals linked to timber merchants in Calicut’s Kallayi region would illegally cut and clear trees. It is heard that such activities were often carried out by Mappila (Malabari Muslim) traders.
William Logan’s Malabar Manual contains such observations:
QUOTE 1: We leave the depot and a few yards further come on a large “Punam” clearing. What reckless and wanton damage has been done here! All the larger trees have been girdled and killed long ago, and every sapling has been pollarded.
QUOTE 2: It is very sad to look round us from where we are and see the vast extent of forest that has been destroyed by the Mappilas all round for coffee. END OF QUOTES
These Mappila timber merchants would turn forested areas into barren land, showing no interest in cultivating other crops. In contrast, the areas settled by Christians would transform into thriving agricultural plantations.
It can be said that the occupational culture demonstrated by these Christians was novel in Malabar. Landowning Christians would personally work their fields with tools like hoes, sickles, machetes, and clay pots, often alongside hired labourers. Housewives would personally clean their homes and surroundings.
In Malabar, Hindus (including Brahmins) and newly converted Hindu communities, particularly those with financial means, likely lacked the social environment to engage in physical labour. Moreover, such farmers directly engaging in agricultural work may have posed a social discipline issue for traditional landowning communities. The prevailing language dictated a hierarchy between labourers and employers. When groups with characteristics from both sides rose economically, it likely caused unease among others, potentially creating contradictions in language codes.
It seems that tapioca was introduced to Malabar by these Christians, though this is not certain. Socially prominent households in Malabar did not consume tapioca at the time. If they did, it was discreetly. Tapioca was food given to labourers. However, Christian landowners in the hills saw no loss of dignity in eating tapioca, which was another point of contention.
Stories were once faintly heard about locals who, upon learning that certain Christians consumed creatures as curry, experienced fever and physical discomfort.
As news of the economic progress and fertile forest lands in Malabar reached Travancore, other Christians likely invested heavily in these areas.
In some regions, the collective efforts, economic progress, slight cultural refinement, and strong spiritual movement of these Christians may have sparked some envy and opposition among Mappilas, traditional Hindus, and new Hindus. This is because local languages were hierarchical; as one group rose, others felt diminished in linguistic terms.
Moreover, these Christians may have collectively suppressed local labourers working under them, though this is not certain. The language itself encourages such suppression.
In some areas, thoughts and discussions about boycotting or obstructing these Christians reportedly emerged. However, it seems the Christians largely avoided confrontation, likely recognising it as futile and a waste of valuable time.
The Christian movement then and now may have maintained a slight connection with English Christianity and England. If so, this connection is a significant asset, providing a pathway to cultural refinement.
One more point must be addressed: the names among this group. Are they English Christian names?
Names like Peter (Pathros), John (Yohannan), Joseph (Ouseph), and Abraham (Avarachan) have a dual nature. It is heard that these names are sometimes used humorously. It seems such names are common among traditional Christians in Travancore, though further details are lacking.
The mandatory use of caste names was abolished in British India. In Travancore, King Ayilyam Thirunal, in 1875, permitted lower-class converts to Christianity to avoid using caste names in official records. Removing a derogatory name eliminates the personal degradation it causes, highlighting the power of words.
This discussion of Christians concludes here. The next topic will briefly explore the Ezhava movement’s attempts to claim Malabar. However, one matter must be addressed first, possibly related to ethnographic studies, though its formal scope is unclear.
Generally, it is difficult to discern clear physical or psychological traits of lower-class communities among Malabar’s hill Christians. Exceptions may exist to a small extent.
At the same time, some among them may have inherited intriguing knowledge about nature as part of their heritage, and some may preserve this knowledge carefully.
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The arrival of an unusual group of people speaking English locally in South Asia was a phenomenon that laid the foundation for significant psychological advancements among those who migrated to this subcontinent from various regions and eras. These people brought a linguistic culture that was unimaginable for the diverse groups bound and constrained by the invisible chains of language codes.
When British rule spread, a sentiment akin to “anyone can dream anything” took root in the minds of many enslaved people.
Now, turning to the Ezhava movement’s interest in Malabar, a few points will be noted as a preface.
It is understood that there are many people worldwide, in various regions, who openly declare or adopt the stance that “we are not ourselves, but rather you,” or “we are not them, but those others.”
For instance, continental Europeans are not truly English. Many differ significantly from the English populace. Just as it is foolish to say all Asians are one people, it seems equally absurd to assume all white people are one group.
A few years ago, in an online discussion, I humorously suggested that the US should be divided into four parts: one for Africans, one for Asians, one for continental Europeans, and the fourth for local Red Indians and the English. A continental European in the US took great offence to this, as evident from his words. He firmly believed that separating them from the English was utterly disgraceful.
The local English of old maintained, for ages, the stance of “we are who we are, and we need no one else’s identity.” There may be other such groups as well.
George W. Southgate, BA, in his monumental history book The British Empire and Commonwealth, notes something to this effect: German travellers in various African regions would carry a Union Jack (British flag), as it reportedly helped them pass as British in many places.
When British rule was established in Malabar and English Christian missionary movements facilitated profound psychological transformations among lower-class communities in Travancore, it likely seemed that social possibilities soared to the skies everywhere.
In Travancore, just below the Nairs were the Ezhavas, Shanars, Chovvans, and others, who were in constant competition to determine who was superior. However, when Christian movements brought knowledge about Malabar to Travancore, it spread that the Thiyyas were below the Nairs there. It’s akin to thinking that the rank just below a Captain in the armies of different kingdoms is of the same level.
The information gathered suggests that those below the Nairs in Travancore and those below the Nairs in Malabar are the same people. In Travancore, Ezhavas are linked to coconut trees, palm leaves, and toddy, though not all are. Similarly, it may have spread that Thiyyas in Malabar are associated with coconut trees, palm leaves, and toddy. Using such reasoning, one might argue that Ezhavas and Thiyyas are one people. This argument is indeed foolish, akin to the flawed logic in dialectics that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
It’s similar to how lower-class people from various Asian regions migrated to England in the past. In England, language codes elevate human personality and mindset like a helium balloon, soaring skyward. The local English populace seemed to touch the heavens in communication and personality. When migrants from various regions settled under the English, they, too, rose in personality as if tied to a helium balloon. After a few generations, these diverse migrants might all seem to be of the same kind, standing equal to the English.
This logic doesn’t necessarily hold in Travancore, Malabar, or South Asia generally, because the language is feudal. In feudal languages, words in conversation, commands, or oversight can inject the venom of a serpent. This venom can degrade a person’s personality, causing mental numbness or aggression. Generally, words suppress individuals in complex ways, depending on the environment.
Before proceeding, another point must be mentioned. In Tellicherry, Cannanore, and elsewhere, I recall seeing Thiyya individuals with strikingly fair skin in the past. Edgar Thurston and others have recorded this too. However, generally, most Thiyyas today lack this radiant fairness in their lineage. Some children in certain families may have it, while others may be dark-skinned. This suggests that the blood of darker-skinned people mixed with Thiyyas long ago.
In my case, my father is a Makkathaya Thiyya from South Malabar, while my mother, from a North Malabar Marumakkathaya Thiyya lineage, holds deep disdain for the former group as part of her heritage. Moreover, both fairness and slight darkness are seen in our family traditions. Thus, it seems neither group of Thiyyas today carries purely their respective ancestral Thiyya blood.
Regarding the Ezhavas, it seems they were traditionally a dark-skinned people. In places like Alleppey, I have seen jet-black Ezhavas. However, fair-skinned individuals are also found in some Ezhava families, suggesting their blood has mixed with other groups.
More needs to be said about this fairness-darkness issue, which I will address in the next post.
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It seems that some people in the past believed that those with dark skin belonged to lower castes, while those with fair skin belonged to higher castes. However, this is not entirely true.
Moreover, there was a notion, a few decades ago, in the epic tales of South Asia’s northern regions, like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, that gods were fair and demons were dark, as depicted in multicoloured illustrations of these characters. It also seems that when these stories were adapted into television serials, actors were chosen to reflect this pattern. I vaguely recall that when English filmmaker Peter Brook adapted the Mahabharata into a film and cast some main characters with Negro actors, it caused significant distress among some in India, though the memory is not clear.
It also seems that Krishna, known as Karvarnan (dark-coloured), is not typically depicted with the hue of dark clouds.
It appears that the fairness of white people has no connection to the fairness found among people in Malabar, Tamil Nadu, or Travancore. Similarly, the darkness of Africans seems unrelated to the dark skin tones of people in these regions.
It seems that prolonged exposure to sunlight can darken the skin of many fair people, though I know of fair-skinned individuals unaffected by this. This suggests some difference in their fairness.
About 20 years ago, while travelling across Kerala on a two-wheeler, covering 1,200 to 1,600 kilometres over five to six days from north to south and east to west, I experienced the effects of constant sun exposure. Wearing a full-sleeved shirt protected my arms, but the tops of my hands, gripping the bike’s handle, were exposed. When I removed the shirt, those areas were as dark as if painted with black dye.
White people do not seem to experience this.
I have heard that there were dark-skinned Varmas in Travancore, particularly in the Mararikkulam area, where royal family members had dark skin. I also recall seeing dark-skinned Nairs.
In Malabar, things were generally different in the past. It is known that some lower-caste individuals, especially in areas north of Cannanore, like Kasaragod district, had notably fair skin.
The skin colour of white people is described as white, and that of Negroes as black. In South Asia, fair-skinned people are referred to as fair-complexioned, dark-skinned as dark-complexioned, and those in between as medium-complexioned.
It seems many prefer fair skin, implying that some dark-skinned individuals dislike their own colour.
For ages, across various languages, fairness and darkness have been contrasted with opposing emotional connotations—fairness as positive and darkness as negative.
For example, consider these sentences:
“On hearing that, his face darkened!”
“On hearing that, his face brightened!”
Do negative emotions affect skin colour? There is much to say on this, but I won’t delve into it now.
In Tamil Nadu, I observed that dark-skinned people could endure the sun without tiring. The Tamil language carries harsh feudal tones of suppression. Do such language codes cause changes in skin colour?
In physical strength, dark-skinned people often surpass white people. Yet, they too seem to prefer fairness.
It seems that among local English-speaking Negroes, there is a distinct brightness in their face, mind, and personality. This brightness may not be seen in fair-skinned individuals suppressed by feudal languages.
This raises a question: if the English had dark skin, would the linguistic and emotional definitions of darkness have been different?
Returning to the mindset of the Ezhavas in Travancore, it seems they too desired a fair-skinned identity. Yet, there were likely fair-skinned individuals among them. What made their social reformers feel this was insufficient?
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It is noted that Sree Narayana Guru is recognized as a social reformer of the Ezhava community. I lack detailed knowledge about him. According to Wikipedia, in 1885, near Trivandrum in Aruvikkara, he took a stone from a river and consecrated it as a Shiva idol. Upper-caste individuals reportedly questioned his authority to perform such a consecration, typically a Brahmin prerogative. His response was that it was an “Ezhava Shiva,” which allegedly left the Brahmins without a rejoinder.
As a lower-caste individual, the social challenges he faced are understandable. Though I am unaware of the specific actions—big or small—he undertook for social reform, they likely required immense courage. This writing has no intention of accusing him or diminishing his significance.
However, those who extol Sree Narayana Guru may have failed to fully understand him or may have portrayed him in ways that align with their personal agendas.
Writers about him seem to obscure various historical truths and lack precision in their accounts. This post first addresses such issues.
Discussing the Ezhava movement without mentioning Sree Narayana Guru is nearly impossible, as his name is deeply intertwined with it. Separating him from the movement’s self-serving interests might diminish its prominence.
Ezhavas are a traditional community in the Travancore kingdom, considered the highest among the lower castes there. It is understood that they migrated to Travancore from Ceylon (Eezham Island, now Sri Lanka).
Sree Narayana Guru’s words clarify that Ezhavas were not Hindus. His reference to an “Ezhava Shiva” distinct from a Brahmin Shiva is problematic, as it appears to lack traditional legitimacy.
It seems that not only Ezhavas but also Shudras (Nairs) were not Hindus, as Hinduism appears to be the religion of Brahmins.
The Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, deities like Varuna, Indra, Mitra, Surya, Agni, texts like Manusmriti, other Dharmic codes, Shrutis, the 18 major Puranas (e.g., Agnipurana, Garudapurana), 18 minor Puranas, Upanishads, Brahmanas, and epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana do not seem to be part of the traditions of Nairs or those below them. Moreover, practices like Devadasi, snake worship, or vows tied to lunar days do not appear to be part of the heritage of Ezhavas or communities below them. Spiritual terms like Ganga, Kailasa, or Rasaleela seem rooted in Brahmin traditions. Above all, the Sanskrit language itself does not seem to be part of the Ezhava heritage.
The rituals, homas, mantras, tantras, esoteric practices, ceremonies, and traditions associated with these are not part of lower-class heritage. However, lower communities may have had their own versions of these, likely focusing on different spiritual figures or centres rather than Brahmin deities or philosophies.
From the words of those who surrounded Sree Narayana Guru, it is evident he was a person of remarkable character. However, those around him likely lacked the knowledge to articulate his greatness, as they seem to have indiscriminately gathered and written everything to highlight and propagate his significance.
He was an Ezhava, and the way his greatness is described often portrays this as a flaw. His Brahmin connections are frequently emphasized.
At the time in Travancore, Ezhavas and those below them faced various forms of social slavery and restrictions. The upper castes cannot be solely blamed, as each lower caste harboured disdain and contempt for those below them.
Many aligned with movements like the London Missionary Society to uplift themselves socially. However, it does not seem that each group helped those below them to rise socially; rather, they likely attempted to suppress them.
Sree Narayana Guru’s spiritual connections will be addressed in the next post.
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Writers who extol Sree Narayana Guru with great admiration face certain challenges. They are writing about a person who spoke Malayalam, a feudal language. The issue arises when the writer’s native language is Malayalam or another feudal language of the subcontinent. If an Englishman were to write about him in English, they would likely be unaware of these issues.
Calling him a great personality or a mahatma in the English sense, when expressed in Malayalam, can lead to complications. In English, a person can be described as great based solely on their natural abilities, character, actions, and achievements without ascribing any divine aura. For instance, saying “Isaac Newton was a great scientist” allows an Englishman to hold Newton in high regard without implying divine knowledge or enlightenment, which isn’t necessary.
Newton, despite being a great scientist, was a human with natural bodily needs, desires, interests, and emotions, and this does not need to be explicitly stated, as it doesn’t affect the statement “he was a great scientist.” No assumption of divine wisdom or awakening is required.
In feudal languages, it’s different. When calling someone great or a mahatma, there’s a need to elevate them from the potentially derogatory “he/she” to the respectful “they.” This is a significant issue.
This problem seems to have affected the early days of English Wikipedia, which had a rule against using honorifics with names. Honorifics denote respectful terms. When Indian pages were introduced on Wikipedia, this became a major issue. Not only for Gandhi but even a village schoolteacher’s name couldn’t be written without honorifics, creating a deadlock.
Prominent figures like Robert Clive and Thomas Macaulay are referred to by their plain names in Indian Wikipedia and elsewhere. However, individuals whose abilities or social reform sincerity pale in comparison are deemed to require honorifics. Indian academic “geniuses” on Wikipedia didn’t relent, reportedly even holding a vote, which Indians are hard to defeat.
Today, M.K. Gandhi’s Wikipedia page is titled Mahatma Gandhi. It couldn’t be otherwise.
Sree Narayana Guru’s page is titled Narayana Guru. In feudal languages, it can’t be otherwise.
This itself is a problem. In feudal languages, societal hierarchies persist, and no guru can change that. Even Sree Narayana Guru’s name reflects this issue, and his followers couldn’t prevent it. It seems that even Islam’s prophet Muhammad faced similar issues when his religion was shaped by feudal language speakers, but that’s a topic for later.
Sree Narayana Guru’s real name was Nanu, it appears. When a person gains prominence, their name often changes, especially in feudal languages. For instance, when someone becomes a medical doctor, adding “Dr.” before their name is considered respectful. (PhDs are a separate matter.) For a spiritual figure, appropriate changes are necessary, and others conferring these titles is deemed courteous.
His followers refer to him as Sree Narayana Guru. However, in Travancore’s past, some opposed to the Ezhava movement reportedly called him Nanu Guru with a slight mocking tone.
His supporters have adorned his name with powerful honorifics, creating an aura of reverence, and seem to continuously strive to protect his dignity with additional words and narratives.
In feudal languages like Malayalam, single-word names carry significant weakness. While English has a slight issue with this, words like you, he, and she lack variations, so it’s not a major problem.
Two-word names carry greater social weight. For example, Balan Nair has more strength than just Balan. Casually calling Balan Nair Bala is socially offensive. Titles like Balan Mash or Balan Sir carry even more respect. Much could be said about this.
Readers may recall a previous point about the social difference between Ashari Madhavan and Madhavan Ashari.
Digressing slightly, under Article 18 of the Indian Constitution’s Right to Equality, using titles like Sir, Mash, or Madam with one’s own or others’ names may be interpreted as impermissible. The issue is that many grand ideals of the Indian Constitution, conceived in English, become ineffective in feudal languages. When education and administration are steeped in feudal languages, the Constitution becomes a mere formality.
Returning to the topic, in English, Christian priests are addressed as Father or Reverend (Rev), and a president’s name is prefixed with President. In formal settings, Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. are used, none of which affect words like you, he, or she.
For Sree Narayana Guru, honorifics like Sree and Guru are added before and after his name. In some places, he’s referred to as Sree Narayana Gurudevan or Sree Narayana Guru Swamikal.
While Gandhi’s name also carries honorifics like Mahatma or Gandhiji, they aren’t used together as Mahatma Gandhiji.
Comparing Sree Narayana Guru and Gandhi feels necessary. Gandhi was the son of a prime minister in Porbandar, outside British India, with his grandfather and uncle in similar roles. Married young to the daughter of a prominent figure, he studied in England. Many who studied there aimed to “win” India’s “freedom” and lead the new nation. In England, addressing people by name or with Mr./Mrs. elevated one’s personality significantly, fostering a belief in surpassing the English. In truth, these individuals often had great abilities.
Aurobindo Ghosh, Nehru, Subhas Chandra, and others pursued similar paths. Even today, some who study in the US believe they can achieve the same. Understanding how Gandhi became obligated to secure British India’s freedom remains challenging. In Porbandar, he could have rallied people to overthrow the king and establish democracy, but that’s another topic.
Gandhi tested leadership in South Africa, returned, and brought a unique selling point (USP) to British India—spirituality, with concepts like ahimsa, satyagraha, and Ram Rajya. These weren’t rooted in the subcontinent’s traditions but earned admiration from British officials in India, a topic for later.
Gandhi started newspapers and magazines in Gujarati and English, not in his native state but in British India. He publicized images with English men and women, shocking South Asian masses who had never seen such a “divine” figure.
He wrote grand narratives for the English to read, spent lavishly, gave speeches in public squares, infiltrated Congress, and stirred opposition within it. He collaborated with another wealthy, England-educated individual with political ambitions.
Image: Scene from the film Gandhi
In 1982, a British filmmaker produced the grand film Gandhi, with a British actor playing Gandhi—taller and larger than the real Gandhi. The image above is from that film, showcasing Gandhi’s English-like personality.
The Indian government reportedly provided $10 million for this film’s production.
Now, turning to Sree Narayana Guru, a lower-caste individual from Travancore, just outside British India. It’s unclear if he had wealth. His Ezhava Shiva consecration was not with a panchaloha (gold, silver, copper, iron, lead) idol but a river stone, as I recall. Born in 1855, when lower castes in Travancore faced severe hardships, he likely held animosity toward those below him, as was traditional, while showing subservience and respect to those above.
At 26, he began teaching children in his hometown, earning the title Nanu Ashan. He traveled across British India for some time, likely observing that the British administration didn’t oppress lower castes. Returning to Travancore, he found the courage to consecrate an Ezhava Shiva, likely backed by the strong protection of British rule.
Whether he published newspapers or magazines is unknown. Works like Travancore State Manual by N. Nagam Aiya, Native Life in Travancore by Samuel Mateer, and Malabar Manual by William Logan, published after his major reforms began, make no mention of him.
In an era when Nairs, as Brahmin subordinates, addressed Ezhavas with derogatory terms like nee, eda, or worse, Narayana Guru likely operated without expecting social protection from his own people. Did the British administration in Madras, shining like eternal light, instruct their Resident to protect him? It’s unclear, but related matters will be addressed later.
He didn’t study in England or fight against British rule, as far as I recall. His connection to the British was similar to Gandhi’s. Both Porbandar and Travancore were outside British India.
No British filmmaker, with millions from the Indian government, made a film with an English actor portraying him.
Whether this comparison between Gandhi and Narayana Guru is complete is uncertain. Still, for a young man from Travancore, once just Nanu, to assert his community’s dignity required immense courage. Whether this came from exposure to British systems or Vedic studies needs further reflection.
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Another thought about comparing Gandhi and Sree Narayana Guru has come to mind, and I think it’s worth writing down before moving forward.
Gandhi was the son of a prime minister from a kingdom outside British India. Narayana Guru was a lower-caste individual from another kingdom outside British India, Travancore.
Imagine a person like Gandhi in the Travancore kingdom.
This person is the son of Travancore’s Diwan (prime minister). As such, he is immensely wealthy. He resides in British India whenever possible, where he has influential friends. He studied at a British-style school there. Afterward, his father advised that studying in England would be best, as it would allow him to build connections with the English—connections worth their weight in gold in Travancore.
Being wealthy, he can safely travel anywhere in the British-ruled world.
He goes to England and begins his studies. There, he is known as an Indian, which, in England, means someone from British India. At the time, the British Empire’s flag flies across many regions, and most people in England lack clear understanding of these places.
The notion is that Britain has conquered and rules India. There’s talk of Indian princes, but details are vague. Discussions about India needing to wrest freedom from the British are a pastime among intellectual elites in colleges—a form of grand verbal exercise. Moreover, continental Europeans, who resent the British Empire, are ready to support any effort for India’s freedom. Many such individuals come to study in England, meaning a large group of white people is eager to help India gain independence.
The son of Travancore’s prime minister realizes things don’t look the same as they do in Travancore. Many wealthy South Asians in England, competing fiercely, are engaged in verbal battles for India’s freedom. The question is: who will claim India?
They use various tools—spirituality, Om, Vedas, Vedanta, mantras, tantras, snake charming, the great Indian rope trick, tigers, tiger claws, leopards, wild buffalo, elephants, ivory, peacock feathers, cow urine (gomutra), Ganga, Yamuna, Savitri, Sindhu, sati, yoga, Patanjali, Charaka, Sushruta, Dhanvantari, dashamoolam, dashavataram, dashapushpam, Charvaka, Mimamsa, Dvaita, Advaita, Ashoka, Buddha, Vajrayana Buddhism, Gandiva, Brahmastra, Pushpaka Vimana, Jatayu, palazhi mathanam, panchamakara, mudras, dance, Nataraja’s dance, samhara tandava, thrikkan, Vikramaditya, Maurya Empire, vaidooryam, naga, nagamanikyam, and more—to capture public attention. They claim this is India, that is India, and so on.
However, most of these intellectuals and “freedom fighters” seem to have little real connection to these concepts. Before the British flag flew over the subcontinent, their ancestors likely never ventured beyond small territories the size of a matchbox. Yet, they shock the English with their claims. Many don’t wear their traditional attire in England, opting for coats, suits, and shoes. Some, however, display their opulence with traditional headgear. Still, many who make such grand claims don’t seem capable of swimming 100 meters in the sea or riding a horse for 100 meters. Their claims, though, know no bounds.
Moreover, no one mentions that their language codes allow them to cut others down, suppress, or elevate as they please—spewing venom with every word.
Travancore’s prime minister’s son tries his hand at this game. But many South Asians in England are playing the same game and won’t yield the stage. They’re all wealthy, too. He needs a different platform. Thus, our protagonist heads to South Africa.
There, things are intriguing. The English and Dutch are constantly clashing, with the English prevailing. Once they win, the stage is set for the antics of England’s naive academic “geniuses.” They proclaim democracy as their plan and hold elections. The Dutch, with greater numbers, come to power. The English insist some Africans should have voting rights—a notion the Dutch reject.
The prime minister’s son observes that South Africa has many wealthy South Asian merchants, but they bear an unflattering label: “Indians.” This is due to the presence of lower-class South Asians. These merchants can’t claim they’re distinct from the lower classes, as both are labeled Indians. Saying “we are not them” or “they are not us” makes little difference.
South Asians arrive in South Africa as slaves in two ways: some are bought and sold by the French, Dutch, or Arabs from South Asian landlords; others, from British India, escape their landlords and board ships in Madras to South Africa of their own accord.
Observing closely, the prime minister’s son realizes something critical. While enslaved South Asians in South Africa have progressed, many are unaware of their families’ conditions back home. They focus on having identity cards—proof of recognition.
In Travancore, thousands of enslaved people live and die like cattle without identity documents. In South Africa, these same enslaved people’s distinction from higher classes becomes a problem, inspiring the protagonist to start a social freedom movement. But this doesn’t succeed, as established South Asian elites won’t yield the stage, and freeing the lower classes outright poses issues.
The protagonist returns to South Asia—not Travancore, but British India. After consulting loyalists, he crafts a compelling spiritual USP. In British India, he spends heavily to gain media prominence, launching a new spiritual USP to oust British rule. Many British officials in India are impressed, seeing him as a good man.
Newspapers, magazines, and public speeches follow.
Yet, no one questions why a man from Travancore is involved in British India. His father is Travancore’s prime minister, where thousands of enslaved people rely on the protection of the Madras Presidency’s British administration. Without it, landlords might lock them in cages. The protagonist’s plans oppose this British rule, and Travancore’s landlords would undoubtedly support him, raising their flag.
This is the figure being compared to Narayana Guru. If the prime minister’s son is a mahatma, shouldn’t Narayana Guru be one too?
The first figure is cloaked in spirituality. Doesn’t Narayana Guru need the same?
The first figure fought British rule. Should there be any hint that Narayana Guru was loyal to it?
Thus, Narayana Guru can be adorned in grandeur. But consider: isn’t he opposing the slavery of the lower classes in the kingdom represented by the prime minister’s son? How, then, can they be on the same side?
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
QUOTE: Narayana Guru, née Nanu, was born on August 28, 1855 to an Ezhava peasant, Madan Asan and his wife Kuttiyamma, in the village of Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram, in the erstwhile state of Travancore, in British India END OF QUOTE
The above is a sentence from an article about Sree Narayana Guru written by some erudite scholar on Wikipedia. Let’s examine a few points from this sentence.
He was born in 1855. At that time, British India, beyond Travancore, was governed by the English East India Company. Great Britain took control of it in 1858.
Sree Narayana Guru was not from British India. Introducing him as such is based on a blatant falsehood.
At the time of his birth, numerous social reform efforts were underway in Travancore. He was, in reality, a person who grew up amidst this wave of change. He did not initiate these reforms. This is stated not to diminish his greatness but to emphasize that there’s no need to elevate him with baseless claims.
The second point is that his early name was Nanu. The term née means “originally called,” indicating his initial name was Nanu. A single-word name in feudal languages carries significant social devaluation.
Next, his parents were Ezhava peasants. They likely leased land from upper-caste or intermediate landlords for farming or worked in agricultural estates. If the latter, admitting it might be difficult, as, in local language codes, those engaged in such “lowly” occupations are socially demeaned.
The term peasant obscures the complex social relationships and land rights of that era. Land leasing involved various contracts, such as chundi panayam (simple mortgage), melpattadharam (lease of usufructs), kaivasham panayam (mortgage with possession), kuzhikanam (lease), or janmam theer (sale).
His father’s name, Madan, is followed by Asan, which may be true or artificially added. Asan often denotes a teacher. If his father was a teacher, the question arises: what did he teach? It’s written that he was a Sanskrit teacher. How a lower-caste person acquired the Brahmin religion’s language at that time is unclear.
Alternatively, he may have taught Malayalam script, numbers, and basic arithmetic. This itself is significant. If he taught English script, it would be remarkable, as it could open doors to knowledge and communication skills for students. However, if he taught Malayalam script, it might often confine a lower-caste learner to society’s lower rungs. Claiming he was a Sanskrit teacher carries greater prestige.
The name Madan, his father’s, suggests Ezhava movement followers might name their sons Madan, akin to Christians naming sons Joseph after Jesus’ foster father or Hindus using Govinda after Krishna’s father. Madan is noted as the name of a traditional deity among Pulayas, Kuravas, Kanikkars, Ezhavas, and Kushavas. Other deities like Choola Madan, Ninna Madan, Marutha, Mallan, Karingali, Kottuthamburan, Ayiravalli, Panchakanyakal, Mathandan Pey, Athirakkodi Pey, and Poocha Mallan Pey are mentioned in Native Life in Travancore. The accuracy of this is unclear, as is how much these communities, now Hinduized, acknowledge these deities.
From the Malayalam Wikipedia, three distinct ways of glorifying Sree Narayana Guru emerge:
First, he is said to have read Sanskrit texts like Balaprabodhanam, Siddharoopam, Amarakosham, Raghuvamsham, Meghasandesham, and Shakuntalam, and was proficient in Sanskrit language, poetry, drama, literary criticism, logic, rhetoric, debate, Vedanta, and grammar. He authored around ten philosophical works (Atmopadesha Shatakam, Daivadasakam, Darshanamala), nine reformist works (Jati Nirnayam, Matha Meemamsa, Jati Lakshanam), four prose works (Gadya Prarthana, Daiva Chintanam), fourteen Shiva hymns (Shiva Prasada Panchakam, Sadashiva Darshanam, Shiva Shatakam), seven Subrahmanya hymns (Shanmukha Stotram, Shanmukha Dashakam), five Devi hymns (Devi Stavam, Mannanthala Devi Stavam), and Vishnu hymns (Sri Vasudevashtakam, Vishnvashtakam). I don’t know the content of these works, but he seems to have been deeply engaged in profound thought and spiritual observation.
Second, he is portrayed as possessing divine knowledge and abilities, having practiced Hatha Yoga (which I know little about).
QUOTE: Historians say he cured diseases, performed miracles, and undertook penance at Maruthvamala. END OF QUOTE
QUOTE: He became a sannyasi in the forests of Maruthvamala, where he is believed to have attained enlightenment. END OF QUOTE
These quotes appear on Wikipedia. I don’t question their validity; they may be true or exaggerated. It’s also said that tigers would sit near him in the forest—a hearsay claim. These narratives aim to give him a divine persona.
Additionally, he is said to have had personal connections with figures like Chattampi Swamikal, Thaikkad Ayyavu (a yogi), Kummampalli Raman Pilla Asan, Velutheri Keshavan Vaidyan, Perunelli Krishnan Vaidyan, Chattampi Asan Pazhavila Manuel, Nazareth, Mangattu Varampel Ouseph, and Thayyil Kochu Nanu Pilla. These names likely belong to societal elites, possibly including Ezhava physicians. (More on Vaidyan later.) These associations highlight his social connections’ grandeur.
Based on this, it seems he didn’t have a lower-caste persona. This raises the question: how did the Ezhava movement claim him?
In 1916, in Prabuddha Keralam, Sree Narayana Guru published a notice with these lines:
QUOTE: We abandoned caste distinctions years ago. Yet, some groups consider us part of their caste, leading to misconceptions contrary to our reality. We do not belong to any specific caste or religion. END OF QUOTE
It’s certain he mentally and socially transcended lower-caste identity. I don’t know how he felt about the Ezhava movement using his name. He uses terms like we, us, and our, reflecting a Brahmin-like stance toward lower castes. Whether this was due to the editor’s insistence is unclear.
His third persona will be explored in the next post.
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Before writing about Sree Narayana Guru’s third persona, I read his Malayalam Wikipedia page. Here, I list some descriptors from that article, examining them briefly without delving too deeply.
QUOTE: A social reformer and renaissance leader who lived in Kerala END OF QUOTE
This could be more precise. He lived in the Travancore kingdom, not Kerala, which didn’t exist then. Malabar was part of another region. “Social reformer and renaissance leader” is a generic label used for many.
QUOTE: He fought against social evils and led Kerala society to a renaissance. END OF QUOTE
This is a claim. Saying he “led to a renaissance” is less accurate than saying he “tried to contribute to it.” Replacing “Keralites” with “people of Travancore and British Malabar” would add granular precision. Claims need not always be true.
QUOTE: The most important social reformer who questioned the caste system. END OF QUOTE
This risks being an empty claim. English rule was the most effective force against caste in the subcontinent and Travancore, often informally. No individual’s efforts can compare to that administration’s impact. Praising Guru’s efforts is fine, but exaggerated claims may disrespect him.
QUOTE: Guru established schools and temples, working for the upliftment of avarnas. END OF QUOTE
Claiming schools and temples uplift lower castes may be naive. The claim’s strength depends on what was taught, the teachers’ caliber, and how the curriculum fostered dignity and personality. More on this later. Many lower-caste youth in India receive formal education without social upliftment. Moreover, an Ezhava building Brahmin-style temples might erase lower castes’ traditional deities and practices. If erasing them is deemed good, that carries deeper implications. Also, how would the ancestors of lower castes—treated like cattle—view adopting the traditions of their oppressors?
QUOTE: Non-violence was among his core philosophies. END OF QUOTE
Might this irk Gandhi’s followers? Non-violence was advocated by Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, and even Jesus.
QUOTE: He founded the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam in 1903. END OF QUOTE
Uncertain if true. English Wikipedia states: The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam was founded in 1903 with the guidance and blessings of Sree Narayana Guru.
QUOTE: His maxim was, “Whatever the religion, it’s enough if a person is good.” END OF QUOTE
This seems to conflict with his alleged saying, “One caste, one religion, one God for humanity.”
QUOTE: Those from Nayadi downward were classified as avarnas. END OF QUOTE
No mention of enslaved people treated like cattle.
QUOTE: Not a single Ezhava earned a five-rupee monthly salary in government jobs then. END OF QUOTE
This is notable, as it undermines the Ezhava organization’s claim that Ezhavas and Thiyyas are the same. Thiyyas in British Malabar held well-paid government jobs then.
QUOTE: The system then didn’t recognize all humans equally. END OF QUOTE
The folly or shallowness here is that most Indian languages today, and the behavior of Indian officials, still don’t recognize all humans as equal in dignity. Officials act as Brahmins, treating common people like lower-caste “trash.” The Ezhava organization seems unbothered by this. Many who praise Guru may belong to the elite, viewing commoners as inferior through language codes. More on this later.
QUOTE: Avarna castes followed Dravidian and primitive customs. END OF QUOTE
This implies everyone in South Asia’s southern regions is Dravidian, their traditions are primitive, and Kshatriya traditions are superior. In reality, South Asia’s southern regions have diverse communities. Assuming all are one due to similar languages and lifestyles is a misconception. Over time, shared linguistic heritage may create common traits, but they aren’t a single people.
QUOTE: Refusing to accept savarna deities led to being deemed lower caste. END OF QUOTE
This suggests savarna deities were offered to lower castes, who rejected them—an unlikely notion. Edgar Thurston’s Castes and Tribes of Southern India notes lower communities’ eagerness to adopt Brahmin traditions.
QUOTE: Dr. Palpu, Sahodaran Ayyappan, T.K. Madhavan, Ayyankali, Chattampi Swamikal, and others worked for and succeeded in social reform. END OF QUOTE
Decades before Guru and these figures, Christian missionary movements from England worked tirelessly for reform in Travancore, supported and protected by the Madras Presidency’s English administration. Compared to these collective efforts, Guru’s and the named individuals’ contributions, even combined, seem like a “storm in a teacup.” This isn’t to insult Guru but to clarify his stage. The Ezhava movement’s exaggerated claims are the issue here.
Comparing the Ezhava movement to English rule and movements that quietly implemented social freedoms through English education in places like Tellicherry is misguided. The Ezhava movement in Travancore likely owed its existence, sustenance, and protection to the oversight of Madras’s English systems. One doesn’t typically compare a protected entity to its protector, especially when the latter operates on a vast scale with a language fostering equality and personal growth.
Guru, his followers, and the movement operated in a confined subcontinental space, using a local language that inherently divides and fosters disdain among people. In the future, a grand film in English, with a charismatic actor and global appeal, could elevate Guru’s fame worldwide, much like the Gandhi film mythologized a South Asian figure as surpassing the British Empire in human minds.
The Ezhava movement’s claims often seem flawed, particularly in ignoring the remarkable impact of English rule and its transformative effect on Travancore’s society and thought. Closing one’s eyes may create darkness, but refusing to see what’s clear as daylight—obscuring it with verbal loopholes—is that right?
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I previously mentioned three distinct personas of Sree Narayana Guru, clearly defined in Wikipedia entries and other writings praising his character.
First, he is portrayed as a great scholar who has read numerous ancient texts in Sanskrit and Tamil, among other things.
Second, he is depicted as a person with divine knowledge and abilities, someone who practised Hatha Yoga, lived in dense forests, and meditated, among other things.
Based on the information mentioned above, I understand that he mentally, physically, and in personal charisma claimed a Brahmin-like stature.
Now, let’s examine the third definition found in these same writings: that he was a legendary social reformer.
In social terms, this is the most relevant aspect. The qualities, charisma, and abilities mentioned above, if true, were not novel in this subcontinent. I don’t think the authors of these writings would deny that South Asia was a region filled with individuals possessing Brahmin-like qualities, well-read in ancient Sanskrit and Tamil literature, and endowed with divine powers and knowledge.
It’s akin to an astronaut claiming to stand at the universe’s edge, asserting that the universe begins from their position—a claim likely to be a mere delusion. Social reform in Travancore did not begin with Sree Narayana Guru or the other local figures mentioned earlier.
During English rule in Malabar, around 1836, isolated incidents began in South Malabar where some Mappila individuals, who had converted to Islam from lower castes, attacked Hindus (Brahmins), their temple associates, and their Nair subordinates. One must understand that the English administration at the time had no grasp whatsoever of the flaws in the social communication system driving these events.
Around the same period, various social upheavals began in the Travancore kingdom.
The mere act of English movements raising their flag in Anjengo, Tangasseri, and elsewhere was an explosive experience in Travancore’s social imagination. A language and people who viewed and treated everyone equally raised that flag. This sparked immense astonishment not only among the social underclass but across all sections of society.
Moreover, these newcomers could neither understand nor speak the local Tamil, rudimentary Malayalam, or other languages. This was a significant factor. As a result, the brutal language codes could not influence their mindset. Even continental Europeans lacked such ideological exclusivity.
The Malabar Manual records an incident related to this development:
QUOTE: For about November 1697 the Anjengo settlement was violently but unsuccessfully attacked by the Travancoreans on the plea that the factors were pirates. It may, however, be doubted whether this, their ostensible reason, was the true one, for, as will presently appear, the presence of the English in Travancore was gradually leading to a revolution in that State. END OF QUOTE
While it’s a general truth that the mere presence of English speakers brought significant mental shifts in their surroundings and those observing them closely, delving deeper, it’s also true that the presence of individuals within feudal language hierarchies induced different kinds of mental changes.
Although the English administration in South Malabar had a legal duty to maintain social discipline, they had no understanding of the flaws in the incomprehensible social communication system. Operating from this state of ignorance, they attempted to enforce legal norms as permitted in South Malabar.
In Travancore, English Christian missionary activities began causing significant societal issues. These missionaries had little understanding of linguistic traps.
In 1820, Nadar women took to the streets in groups, rioting for the right to cover their breasts, an event named the Channar Revolt. This may have been a consequence of the Rani appointing Col. Munro, an English Company official and Travancore’s British Resident, as Diwan in 1811.
Although Col. Munro had some awareness of the brutality in the local language, I think he lacked sufficient understanding of what lower castes might demand if fully empowered. The right for lower-caste women, especially those who converted to Christianity, to wear upper garments was granted during his tenure.
The Travancore royal family gradually began granting freedoms to lower castes. However, for lower castes who had the chance to closely observe English Christian missionaries, demands for social rights skyrocketed.
In 1833, Shanar Christian women took to the streets. They had the audacity to demand the right to wear the attire of Brahmin women. Even after gaining the right to wear upper garments, this was not enough. Covering their breasts was insufficient; they believed they had the right to wear the same attire as Brahmin women (the second cloth worn over the shoulders and around the neck).
Shudras (Nairs) and Hindus above them viewed this desire as akin to a soldier demanding an officer’s uniform. I think the Shudras either beat these insolent women in the streets or verbally suppressed them with outrage. One must understand that Travancore was not under English rule. Here, the same group wielded both governance and social oppression.
In 1858, when Queen Victoria took possession of British India, everything changed dramatically. According to Queen Victoria’s proclamation, traditional rulers were assured their hereditary rights. This was because the information received in England suggested that the Sepoy Mutiny in Delhi was caused by resentment among hereditary landlords due to the English Company empowering lower castes.
Hearing this proclamation, Nairs understood the situation and began suppressing lower castes. For Shanar Christians, the proclamation conveyed a different message: they understood that Queen Victoria guaranteed social justice for all people in this peninsula. While this may have been true, it applied to British India, not the Travancore kingdom.
Violent clashes occurred in many places. It was a misfortune for the upper castes—they had to fight those they found repulsive even to approach.
According to a proclamation issued by the Travancore Rani in 1829, Shanar women who converted to Christianity could wear upper garments covering their breasts. However, they were explicitly forbidden from imitating the attire of upper castes in any way. I understand that the real issue here was not women covering their breasts but the need to abolish the definition of “lower caste.” Shanar Christians began to shed the notion that they were lower castes.
Taluks such as Vilavankod, Kalkulam, Eraniel, Agastisvaram, and Tovala turned into battlegrounds. One must understand that the government intervened physically. It’s likely that both sides openly hurled highly offensive Malayalam insults like “Poda pooreemone” and “Podi pooreemole” at each other.
Both groups began constantly submitting complaints and petitions to the British Resident appointed in Travancore. Hindus and their subordinates pleaded with the Resident not to believe the stories and information provided by Christian missionaries.
The fact that Christian missionaries were spreading claims in British India and England that lower castes were being oppressed in Travancore caused immense distress to Hindus.
In December 1858, both groups clashed physically. Shudra youths publicly seized and attacked Shanar Christians who took to the streets imitating upper-caste attire. Shanar Christian men, in turn, assaulted upper-caste women.
In Maycode, a Christian church was set ablaze. A massive brawl broke out in the Kottar market. In Erneel’s large market, arson, fights, assaults, and encroachments occurred. Some lower castes who did not convert to Christianity likely pledged loyalty to their social overlords.
In Nagercoil, a Christian church and the Residency bungalow were burned to ashes. Hindus likely felt that the British Resident’s presence gave lower castes courage, defiance, and boldness.
Mission schools in two areas were burned and destroyed. In Thittoovellay, Shudras assaulted a Shanar man and his wife, attacking them. Their house and 27 surrounding houses were burned down.
A story spread that Shanars in Agastisvaram were gathering people and funds to confront the government. There may have been rumours that they planned to attack and loot upper-caste homes. Shanars from British India, just beyond Travancore’s border, might join them.
The Travancore army, known as the Nair Brigade, was deployed to the streets by the government. The police also intervened. Law and order were restored.
The government demanded that both groups live in accordance with the 1829 royal proclamation’s rules. Petitions for changes could be submitted, but no one should create or amend laws on their own.
I think English officials in Madras lacked clear knowledge of their legal jurisdiction. Reading missionary petitions and understanding the situation, they exerted significant pressure on the Travancore royal family. The royal family must have been distressed.
In reality, neither British India, England, nor Britain had any significant legal authority over Travancore. However, defying English rule would isolate Travancore. Many would seize the opportunity to take control. The royal family would be left in dire straits.
Yielding to the persistent demands of English officials, the Travancore royal family issued a proclamation allowing Shanar women to wear any attire they wished. This occurred in 1859.
Later, an Ezhava individual named Nanu, known as Narayana Guru, was born in 1855. Note the power of words in feudal language.
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In feudal languages, subjecting an ordinary person to discussion, critique, analysis, or study is often best done within certain limitations, especially when that person is being portrayed as divine.
For example, when Robert Clive, a key figure in English rule in this peninsula and thus responsible for many positive social changes in this vast region, is discussed on English Wikipedia and elsewhere, it is openly stated or implied—using unrestrained language—that he was merely a lowly clerk, a notorious troublemaker roaming the streets during his school days, a deceiver, a thief, someone who amassed wealth through bribes, a depressive, a drug addict, and a person with suicidal tendencies, among other things. Indian academic scholars today use their low-grade knowledge and their highly valuable time—useless even for trivial tasks—to convey this to readers.
When writing such accounts in English, there’s no risk of agitation from word codes. This is because words like “he,” “his,” and “him” in English lack dichotomy or trichotomy. In feudal languages, the situation is entirely different. Referring to the person defined by the aforementioned terms with words like “adheham” (highest-level he) or “avaru” (highest-level he/she) is extremely difficult. (An exception arises only with Indian government officials, where, regardless of negative opinions, great respect in words and a tone of subservience are mandatory.) Meanwhile, deviant behaviours of a divine figure are unlikely to pose a significant issue among those who accept that divinity. If a “sir” uses a mild sexual innuendo, it may not cause much trouble. But if an “avan” (lowest-level he), “chekkann” (lad), “cherukkan” (young man), or “ayaal” (middle-level he/she) does the same, it could lead to serious problems.
Take the case of Lord Krishna:
At the sandalwood steps, shedding all their garments,
The restless-eyed maidens dive and bathe.
Stealing their silk clothes, climbing the golden bough,
He unties and shakes them, folding and hanging them back.
…
As Kannan sits there, the waves of the Kalindi
Embrace the maidens, and the lotus-eyed one watches, hiding.
…
Submerged waist-deep in water, their hair swaying,
The maidens cover their bosoms with pearl-bangled hands.
The maidens stretch out their hands, and the thief gives back their clothes,
Their shyness glimmers in the moonlight.
Such playful antics may evoke profound devotional ecstasy.
However, in the case of Sree Narayana Guru, there is no room whatsoever to even suggest that he was a lowly employee, a clerk, someone who skipped school to wander, a troublemaker, a street thug, a deceiver, a bribe-taker, a greedy person, someone who amassed excessive wealth, a depressive, a drug addict, a suicidal individual, a person with sexual anarchy, or a rogue.
Even so, subjecting him to discussion as an ordinary person could itself cause issues with language codes.
Before proceeding with this writing, I feel it’s worth mentioning one thing. When studying individuals who operated in different domains, I think it’s most appropriate to focus on their relevance within the domain they represent. When discussing Sir Isaac Newton, I believe the focus should be on his work and observations in classical mechanics, other energy theories, occultism, and similar fields. If one fixates on his personal life and uncovers something else, the entire study could go awry.
I can say that no negative information about Sree Narayana Guru has ever come to my attention.
Yet, when viewing him in a feudal language as a child born in Travancore, a teenager, a young man, a social activist, a guru to many, and so forth, one must be extremely cautious. This is because getting caught in the tug-of-war between words like “avan” (lowest-level he) and “ayaal” (middle-level he/she) requires careful handling of potentially sensitive matters.
This issue has persisted in this peninsula for ages. As a result, one cannot and should not discuss such matters with the same ease and nonchalance as in English studies. Providing information that allows a person to be defined with words like “avan” or “ayaal” could itself be perceived as an attack on that individual.
I’ve elaborated on this at length to clarify one point. One cannot discuss the Ezhava movement’s gaze toward British Malabar without mentioning Sree Narayana Guru. However, when discussing such matters clearly, there is no intention whatsoever to demean him. Rather, what should stand out is the courage and determination of a person defined as belonging to Travancore’s lower castes.
Here lies the problem. If a divine figure undertakes such actions, questions of courage or mental strength don’t arise. A great man did it, not an ordinary person.
But the reality is the opposite. It was an ordinary person who displayed courage and resolve.
In a feudal language, which is more acceptable? An ordinary person exhibiting immense courage, personality, and knowledge, or a great man casually performing a trivial act?
There’s truly nothing remarkable about a great man performing a trivial act. Yet, that’s what gets revered.
Conversely, if an insignificant ordinary person shows such courage, it’s a monumental event. It could also be seen as troublemaking, arrogance, or doing something forbidden.
Consider the punishment for this:
QUOTE from Wikipedia: Punishments for crimes were determined based on caste hierarchy. The punishments imposed on avarnas were extremely cruel. Even for minor offences, limbs were severed. Chitravadham was the most brutal punishment method in practice at the time. It involved impaling the victim from the back with a rod and leaving them staked to die. They would linger for two or three days, gasping their last breaths.
It was from a kingdom where such horrific punishments had been in place for ages that a mere individual named Nanu attempted to upend the social order, using very gentle and refined words. By then, he had already acquired the modest honorific “Nanu Ashan,” which offered a small protective shield.
Just think about it for a moment.
Teachers daily address students as “nee” (lowest you), “eda,” “edi,” “enthada,” or “enthadi.” For ages, this has caused no issue.
But one day, a new student, raised alongside the English, addresses the teacher back as “nee” in a gentle, soft manner, without confusion, discomfort, or aggression.
To someone who only understands English, the social explosion that occurs in that moment would be incomprehensible. Yet, the teacher might need immense effort to maintain self-control. And the teacher is neither a villain nor a demon.
It’s a person from the lower castes who has upended the communication norms. In the teacher’s mind, there would be venom strong enough to pierce that person’s chest and pour molten steel into the wound.
Yet, despite presenting the Brahmin deity Shiva in a lowly divine form, nothing significant happened to Nanu or Nanu Ashan!
One must remember that the invisible, intangible oversight of the English administration in Madras loomed over Travancore.
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
To describe Nanu, who grew into Narayana Guru, as an ordinary person is indeed quite challenging in feudal languages.
When speaking of an individual from the lower castes of Travancore, a demeanour that belittles them tends to creep into the mind. This is because Tamil and Malayalam inherently view individuals in this manner.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to create a divine aura around the Guru’s head and an air of Brahmanical brilliance in his body and personality. The language demands it. Without such an aura, even a high-ranking IAS officer would struggle to engage with the masses. That is the social reality and truth of this subcontinent.
In Wikipedia and other writings, Sri Narayana Guru’s Brahmanical powers and connections are often highlighted. Knowing the power of linguistic codes, I understand there is no fault in this.
He was a person who practised Hatha Yoga, mastered it, or at the very least, brought that yogic knowledge under his command.
It is written in the Malayalam Wikipedia that the ultimate goal of Hatha Yoga is to reach the path of Raja Yoga.
The English Wikipedia describes the goal of Hatha Yoga as follows:
Quote: Goals include physical siddhis (special powers, bodily benefits such as slowing age effects, magical powers) and spiritual liberation (moksha, mukti). End of Quote.
These kinds of proficiencies may indeed grant great abilities to an individual.
If these claims are true, it is certain that many people, both in this subcontinent and beyond, must have attained such abilities. However, there is no evidence that those with such abilities ever attempted to eradicate various forms of slavery or address social issues in this subcontinent, Africa, or the American continent.
Globally, it appears that only the English have endeavoured to bring about change in such matters. And it seems they did so without knowledge of Hatha Yoga, most other forms of yoga, divine powers, or magical abilities.
Yet, in the English language, there is no need to proclaim such proficiencies, nor to conjure a divine aura around the head or a Brahmanical brilliance in body and personality. Without any of these, individuals can still communicate, organise movements, maintain discipline, obedience, education, order, codes of conduct, training, and a sense of discipline, and execute them effectively.
When viewed this way, attributing great value to claims that Sri Narayana Guru possessed various divine abilities or practised Hatha Yoga may reflect the weak social mentality of those writing such accounts or the subservient mindset of feudal language readers.
To state this more precisely: when an English writer pens about Sri Narayana Guru as a social reformer, there is no clear need to highlight such knowledge or abilities. If such abilities exist, they can be noted. However, in English, they do not seem to create a special radiant aura in the language’s codes or the reader’s mind. This is because English lacks the duality or triplicity in its linguistic codes that ignites imagination and elevates.
For example, Isaac Newton was not only a scientist but also a person who conducted experiments related to occultism. Such observations were understood in his time as linked to esoteric knowledge and magical powers. Yet, nowhere in writings about him is it claimed that he possessed such proficiencies. This is because such claims are unnecessary to evaluate his discoveries in physics.
It cannot be definitively stated that the abilities and proficiencies attainable in the 1800s through Hatha Yoga, divine knowledge, or divine powers could surpass the mental and physical capabilities a smartphone would have provided to an individual back then.
This is because there are accounts that Narayana Guru had the ability to cure diseases. Even today, smartphones lack the ability to heal ailments. The matter of curing diseases goes beyond that.
Nevertheless, it is certain that, to a person of that era, the technical capabilities of a modern smartphone would have seemed like immense divine powers and proficiencies. Remote vision, communication with those far away, clairvoyance-like abilities to predict rain, lightning, or storms, seeing events occurring at a distance, viewing video recordings that were once only seen in dreams, interacting with a virtual entity from beyond the physical world (Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, etc.), detecting the presence of imperceptible objects, instantly sharing images and videos of nearby events with those far away—these were and remain matters of a magical realm.
The divine proficiencies available to the human mind and the ability to connect and communicate beyond physical reality are, in many ways, akin to the capabilities of a smartphone. This is because both are operated, executed, and controlled by various software systems.
Yet, no one with a smartphone in hand has been seen to embark on social reform, social service, or human upliftment solely for that reason. To someone without a smartphone, a person with one might indeed seem like a great sage.
There seems to be no significant connection between an individual gaining Hatha Yoga siddhis, divine knowledge, divine powers, or magical proficiencies and that person becoming a great figure striving to uplift humanity. This is because it was without any such abilities, proficiencies, or omniscience that the English administration in this subcontinent endeavoured to bring about major social changes and began to succeed in many ways.
It was the English officials who worked here that transformed the stagnant social atmosphere of this subcontinent. Yet, the names of most of them are not recorded anywhere today. Nor is there any record suggesting they possessed esoteric knowledge or divine powers.
However, within each of them was embedded a remarkable software application: pristine English, a wondrous communication software. Once this software system is introduced into any stagnant social atmosphere, the obstacles that have solidified over time begin to dissolve.
It was Nanu, a man from the lower castes, who dared to perform rituals, chant mantras, and consecrate Lord Shiva, a deity of the Brahmanical faith, on a mere rock. Did the courage for this come from Hatha Yoga, divine knowledge, or divine powers?
In Malayalam and Tamil, a mere Nanu could not be granted permission for such an act.
This is the point mentioned earlier.
In this context, I wish to evaluate Sri Narayana Guru as a social reformer.
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Today, in this country and many others, various forms of knowledge, thoughts, opinions, mental inclinations, attitudes, preferences, and dislikes are instilled, imposed, or integrated into people’s minds as a form of indoctrination through formal education, cinema, newspapers, media, and the like. However, these are often crafted with clear objectives, meticulously planned, and frequently with misleading information and ideas, with shallow reasoning and discernment, by a few people working in well-equipped environments.
When encountering individuals and events from the past through such media, people perceive these figures as legendary beings who rewrote history with supernatural abilities. In doing so, the way their contemporaries viewed them and the real-life challenges they faced are understood in a very superficial manner through these media.
If Rama from the Ramayana left his home and land, wandering with his wife and younger brother through unfamiliar territories, without considering the problems faced in a feudal language region, one might imagine him today as a divine, supernatural figure moving among primitives. On one hand, there are practical concerns: money for daily sustenance, food, fire and a stove for cooking, clean clothing, bathing and sanitation, a safe place to stay, and the privacy and safety required for a young wife. Additionally, there’s the desire that might arise in others to exploit a woman accompanying a man without the strength of numbers, driven by ulterior motives.
Beyond this, in feudal language regions, one often encounters cunning, an eagerness to deceive the weak, hidden thorns masked by captivating, gentle smiles. Moreover, the discussions and conspiracies among learned people and others—who see no wrong in plotting to abduct a beautiful young woman from her husband or use her occasionally for their desires—are unlikely to be depicted clearly in such films or media.
Without displaying connections to powerful family ties, one would be left exposed and vulnerable, wandering aimlessly in this subcontinent.
Above all, there’s the reality of forest life. The presence of carnivorous wild animals is not the only issue; food itself is a problem. One might ignorantly claim that living off forest fruits and berries is possible, but I, having once been stranded in a dense forest for nearly two days, can attest that no such edible fruits were found. The only thing available was a bitter, tough, and shrivelled gooseberry. Moreover, in many areas, tall grass grew so high that one could only stand upright by pushing it aside with both hands.
It goes without saying that when trivial or subtle scenes are magnified on a cinema screen with precise, grandiose sound effects, recorded soundtracks, and performances by major superstars, the audience loses its sense of reality.
An autorickshaw driver in Kerala, on a public road, reminds a police commissioner of his jurisdictional limits, saying: “That (the police department) is your department! This (the autorickshaw) is my department!!”
In a film, this line is delivered by a Malayalam superstar. There’s no doubt it would evoke immense excitement in the audience. Such superstars earn applause by performing many such deceptive scenes.
The reason for elaborating on these matters at length is to view Sri Narayana Guru as an individual from the lower castes of Travancore. It’s akin to the autorickshaw driver mentioned above being introduced as a relative of a high-ranking IPS officer, someone who passed the Civil Service exam and is awaiting an interview, before boldly delivering the dialogue to a police commissioner who isn’t an IPS officer. This is how Sri Narayana Guru is often presented.
In reality, that autorickshaw driver has no connection to such credentials.
Claims that he is a Guru, a great Vedic scholar, with most friendships among Brahmins, and proficient in Hatha Yoga, indeed confer great personality and social strength.
However, evaluating Sri Narayana Guru in this way fails to capture his true courage.
Consider this: an autorickshaw driver, fluent in English, enters a police station in a village. He asks to see the inspector, stating it’s a personal matter. He enters the inspector’s room and asks, “May I sit down?” Hearing the question, the inspector permits him to sit. The conversation then continues in Malayalam, addressing the inspector as “you.” Observing the individual’s demeanour, the inspector responds with equanimity, without retorting with words like “hey,” “you,” or “get up.”
Such an ordinary person is the one with true great abilities. Without the element of English, displaying such a personality would rely solely on the foundation of the local feudal language. In that language, what the autorickshaw driver did would be a grave offence, akin to a student addressing a teacher as “you”—a despicable act.
However, if both the autorickshaw driver and the police inspector are fluent in English and conduct the conversation in English, only then does the interaction described above gain a sense of reality. Otherwise, it’s not unlikely that the inspector might retort with something like, “What, you dog?” or similar outburst.
I once had an experience remarkably similar to this, long ago, in a distant place where I lived on the streets without any personal or influential connections. It was a moment when I truly experienced the nobility of English-language communication and its ability to grant anyone a towering personal presence. Whether that incident can be included in this writing remains to be seen.
If an autorickshaw driver named Nanu did such a thing in a Kerala police station, avoiding verbal abuse or physical assault would require significant preparation. And Nanu wouldn’t even have committed any real offence.
It was Nanu, a lower-caste individual, who overturned social conventions in a land with extreme primitive punishments. When social elites asked him, “What right have you to do this?” written in English, the true context is lost.
This is because, in the local devilish language, there are three distinct conversational tones: “What right do you (highest) have to do this?” “What right do you (middle) have to do this?” or “What right do you (lowest) have to do this?”
Without specifying which tone was used with Nanu, standing with his drum and chants, historical analysis cannot proceed.
Let’s not forget: the English administration in Madras was committed to ensuring strong protection for the lower castes in Travancore. A British Resident was present in Travancore. If the English administration withdrew its protection, Travancore would collapse like a house of cards with the bottom card pulled out.
It cannot be said that the era when social elites could question anything freely had entirely ended back then. Whatever misdeed a lower-caste person commits, even if expressed in English, remains a misdeed; a misdeed that isn’t so cannot be enforced as law by the English administration in Travancore, as Travancore was not part of British India.
Last edited by VED on Sat May 24, 2025 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sri Narayana Guru can be evaluated as a social reformer. His other abilities and shortcomings are considered here solely from this perspective.
Those who write in praise of him often turn a blind eye to certain matters or misrepresent others. One thing they pretend not to see is the English administration in British India. The caste-based practices prevalent in Travancore had no legal validity in British India. Yet, various forms of social depravity persisted even there. The reason these could not be eradicated simply by changing laws is that society was deeply rooted in the monstrous linguistic codes.
Merely elevating a lower-caste person to the status of an upper-caste person does not eliminate this monstrous nature. Instead, it only strengthens it. In British India, this monstrous nature began to weaken of its own accord only in places where the English language took hold.
A common misrepresentation in writings about the Guru is the suggestion that Travancore was part of British India. This is not used as a claim or argument but presented as an unquestionable truth.
Many official movements today have succeeded in subtly planting such misinformation in people’s minds without their awareness.
While there are political reasons behind this, the Ezhava movement has its own motivations for claiming such a narrative. I will touch upon this later.
It is written in some accounts that young Nanu (Narayana Guru) travelled across India. In reality, he travelled outside Travancore, in British India. This subtle detail was a reality at the time. It is true that the English and other British people often referred to British India as simply “India.” They might have felt it inappropriate to constantly mention their own nation’s name when referring to a distant region.
Nevertheless, in the Travancore State Manual published in Travancore, British India—lying just beyond Travancore—is explicitly referred to as such.
For example, consider this quote:
Quote: The road, already described, cuts the mountain saddle at its lowest point, and connects it to British India. End of Quote.
This refers to a road in Travancore, highlighting its connection to British India.
Similarly, in Native Life in Travancore, British India is clearly mentioned as a separate nation.
When the Ezhava movement today refers to British India as “India,” it deliberately fosters a significant misunderstanding. Such statements are driven by modern India’s self-serving interests, distorting historical records.
When the English administration voluntarily withdrew from South Asia, one of the two nations that emerged immediately adopted the name “India,” creating the conditions for such misconceptions. This issue pervades Wikipedia, official historical writings, and other sources today. There is much to say on this, but I’ll address it later.
I have no detailed information about Sri Narayana Guru’s activities. However, this writing focuses on the general aspects of these matters. It is understood that he performed Hindu deity consecrations in various places and built temples there.
If Ezhavas joined Hinduism, it would not be the same as lower-caste individuals joining Christianity. Lower-caste Christianity was established by missionaries from England. These individuals likely benefited, to some extent, from the egalitarian ideals of the English language. English-speaking missionaries would have introduced refined systems, disciplined codes of conduct, and architectural concepts to the Christian movement. Moreover, missionaries could exert various pressures on the English administration in Madras.
At the same time, when Ezhavas pushed into Hindu movements, it likely caused discomfort among Brahmins, temple-dwelling communities, and Nairs.
While lower-caste individuals converting to Christianity may not have been welcomed by Syrian Christians or other Protestant Christians, lower-caste Christianity built its own churches, avoiding direct conflict. Similarly, it seems the Ezhavas built their own temples.
Does building temples or consecrating Hindu deities lead to the social advancement of a community?
The monstrous conditions that have persisted in this subcontinent for ages are rooted in its feudal languages. It does not seem that even Sri Narayana Guru escaped their grip.
It is known that he read works like Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsham, Meghasandesham, and Shakuntalam. It is understood that mastering Sanskrit words enhances the quality of using the Malayalam language. For those confined to the gaps, crevices, and cracks of a hierarchical social structure, the beauty of such words, the mental soaring they inspire, and the like may indeed provide great mental upliftment.
However, the reality remains that these feudal languages bind individuals with invisible shackles and chains. I recently read in a low-grade English novel that the greatest freedom for a prisoner comes from the dreamlike experiences during sleep.
It seems that works like Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsham, Meghasandesham, and Shakuntalam can evoke grand delusions, illusory visions, fantasies, and a sense of walking among the stars in those trapped by feudal languages. They conjure the aura of a maharaja, the ecstasy of eternal love, the honeyed pain of longing, the valour of a heroic warrior, the eternal mysteries of unattainable feminine beauty, tender emotions, adoration, the breeze and rain of forest landscapes, rivers, lakes, honeyed streams, leafy huts, swans and their songs, the Mallikarjuna temple, the banks of the Alaknanda, snow-melted Himalayan peaks, smiling stars, celestial beings, Gandharva cities, secretive nights, nectar, sacred offerings, yellow sapphires, and other gemstones—a vibrant, shimmering dreamworld opened in the minds of those bound socially and personally.
I am not questioning Kalidasa’s Sanskrit scholarship or literary brilliance. However, reading his works may evoke a social consciousness similar to reading Shakespeare’s plays. It seems that Shakespeare’s plays do not represent the egalitarian ideals overflowing in pristine English or the lives of ordinary English people. Instead, most are stories of continental Europe or royal dynasties.
Reading them cannot be compared to reading English classics. They may not reveal the profound egalitarian ideals inherent in English.
Young Nanu did not study English classical literature but immersed himself in the ideas of a linguistic tradition that, for ages, has trapped people in the upper echelons of social hierarchy. It seems that those who follow this path end up in the same societal prison.
It appears that Sri Narayana Guru also reached a state of Brahmanical identity. There may be many positive aspects to this, but more needs to be said. I hope to address this in the next writing.
