C H Flyover (Calicut City (Kozhikode))

Calicut city

Name
The name Kozhikode is derived from koyil (Palace) Kodu (Fortified) and Calicut is the anglicized version of Kozhikode. Traditionally Calicut was a world famous port for trading and it has a long time relationship with the Arabian peninsula. The place surrounded by the fort was known as Koyil (palace) Kotta (fort) and hence the name of the place became Kozhikode. Foreigners called it by different names: for Arabs it was Kalikat, for Chinese it was Kalifo, while the city is known to the outside world by its European name. Tipu Sultan, during the conquest of Malabar, unsuccessfully attempted to change the name of the city to Ferozabad.

History

Zheng He's navigation chart from Hormuz to Calicut, 1430The ports of the Malabar Coast have participated in the Indian Ocean trade in spices, silk, and other goods for over two millennia. There are documented visits in as early as the 14th century, by Chinese travellers such as Zheng He[2]. Kozhikode had emerged as the centre of an independent kingdom by the 14th century, whose ruler was known as the Samoothirippadu (often anglicised as Zamorin). Thus Calicut came to be called the City of Zamorins

In the year 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad, about 25 km from Calicut city. This was a major event in the era of European Discoveries, because the discovery of the sea route from Europe to India gave the Portuguese a significant advantage in the control of international trade that lasted for almost a century.

During the 16th century, the Portuguese set up trading posts to the north in Kannur and to the south in Kochi, but the Zamorin resisted the establishment of a permanent Portuguese presence in the city. In 1509 though, the kingdom was forced to accept a Portuguese trading post in Chaliyar[citation needed]. The Samoothirippadu later allied with Portuguese's rivals, the Dutch, and by the mid-17th century the Dutch had captured the Malabar Coast spice trade from the Portuguese. In 1766 Hyder Ali of Mysore captured Kozhikode and much of the northern Malabar Coast and came into conflict with the British based in Madras, which resulted in four Anglo-Mysore Wars. Kozhikode and the surrounding districts were among the territories ceded to the British by Tipu Sultan of Mysore at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792. The newly acquired possessions on the Malabar Coast were organized into the Malabar District of Madras Presidency, and Calicut became the district capital.

After Indian Independence in 1947, Madras Presidency became the Madras State. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines. Malabar District was combined with the state of Travancore-Cochin to form the new state of Kerala on November 1, 1956. Malabar District was split into the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, and Palakkad on January 1, 1957.

In 1971 Kozhikode had a population of 333,980.[3]

Geography

View of Kallai riverKozhikode is located at 11.25° N 75.77° E[4]. It has an average elevation of 1 metre (3 feet). There are many number of rivers and lakes in the district. Chaliyar puzha, Kallayi Puzha, Korapuzha, Poonoor puzha, and Iravanjhi puzha are some amongst them.

Calicut, is the most important coastal city of Malabar the north region of state of Kerala. It was a leading trading centre for spices on the West Coast of India during the medieval period. Ruled by the Zamorin dynasty, Calicut found a place in World History with the discovery of sea route to India in 1498 by the Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama. He landed at Kappad a coastal fishing village and history was changed with the political scanario of India ultimately ending with its colonization by the British. It remained under the Madras Presidency till the formation of Kerala in 1956 after independence.

During the Sangam period, the Calicut District formed part of the Chera Empire. It played a leading part in fostering trade relations between Kerala and outside world. Tondi, the present Kadalundi as per scholars, was one of the most flourishing seaports of Kerala that time. Again nothing is known in the post-sangam age which is considered to be the Dark Age in South India's history. In the 9th century, Calicut became a part of the Second Chera Empire. The Chera's also known as Perumals, ruled the territory till 1122 AD. With the fall of Cheras, the kingdom was divided into many independent districts called "Nadus" such as Ernad and Polanad. Originally Calicut area was under the Porlarthris, rulers of Polanad. It became an important town in 13th century with the conquest of Polanad by the King of Ernad.

The Udaiyavar of Ernad, whose headquarters was at Nediyiruppu wanted an outlet to the sea and after fighting with the Polatthiri King for 48 long years conquered the area around Ponniankara and build a fort at a place called Velapuram. Thus the city of Calicut came into existence sometime in the 13th century AD. With the accession of Calicut, the status of Nediyirippu increased and he come to known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, which gradually became Samuri or Samuthiri over the years. The Europeans called him Zamorin. The place surrounded by the fort was known as Koyil (palace) Kotta (fort) and hence the name of the place became Kozhikode. Foreigners called it by different names, for Arabs it was Kalikat, for Chinese it was Kalifo while the city is known to outside world by its European name - Calicut. Interestingly, the name Calicut is derived from "calico", the fine variety of hand-woven cotton cloth said to have originated from this place, which was then an important manufacture. Kozhikode passed to British rule in 1792.

Climate

The rainy season allows for abundant growth of beautiful vegetation.The district has a generally humid climate with a very hot season extending from March to May. The main rainy season is during the South West Monsoon, which sets in the first week of June and extends up to September. The North East Monsoon extends from the second half of October through November. The average annual rainfall is 3266 mm. The best weather is found towards the end of the year, in December and January—the skies are clear, and the air is crisp. The highest temperature recorded was 39.4 °C in March 1975. The lowest was 14 °C recorded on 26 December 1975.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census[5], Kozhikode had a population of 436,530.Sex ratio : Females/1000 - 1,057. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Kozhikode has an average literacy rate of 92.24%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 96.11%, and female literacy is 88.62%. In Kozhikode, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

People

Kozhikode has been a multiethnic and multi-religious town since the early medieval period, as it was an important trading port in the Indian ocean.

Hindus form the largest community, followed by Muslims and Christians respectively.[6]

The Hindu community is organized on the basis of caste and sub castes as elsewhere in the State. They worship all the major Gods and Goddesses of the Hindu pantheon as well as several minor deities. Vishnu and Siva are the major Gods worshipped. The temples are in many respects different from those of the East Coast. Elaborate rules prescribed by the Sastras are followed in their construction. The Kavu dedicated to the Bhadrakali is a typical example. They have their own oracles called Velichappad. There are also temples devoted to such deities as Ayyappan, Hanuman and Garuda. Serpent worship has been widely prevalent here.

Muslims of Kozhikode are known as Mappilas. The great majority of them are Sunnis following the Shafi school of thought (Shafee mad'hab) and are known as Mappilas. There are also some smaller communities among the Muslims such as Dawoodi Bohras.

Many of the Muslims living in the historic part of the city follow Matriliny. In fact, Mappila is a Dravidian word, meaning a newly-wed husband coming to his wife's house. The argument is that the infant Muslim community in Malabar adopted it as a convenient arrangement that they were familiar with, owing to the increasing number of marriages between West Asian traders who visited the area for business and Malabar women belonging to trading families.

Media

Kozhikode occupies a prominent place in the history of Malayalam journalism. The origin of journalism in this district can be traced back to 1880. The Kerala Pathrika is likely to be the earliest newspaper published from Kozhikode. Keralam, Kerala Sanchari and Bharath Vilasam are among the other newspapers that were published from Kozhikode before 1893. Kozhikode is the birth place of one of the top Malayalam dailies "Mathrubhumi".

Many prominent writers of Malayalam literature are from this city. Among them are M T Vasudevan Nair, S K Pottekkadu and Thikkodian. Vaikkam Mohammed Basheer was also settled here and known as Baypur Sultan.

The Kozhikode station of All India Radio was commissioned on 14 May 1950. It has two transmitters, Kozhikode AM of 100 kilowatt power and Kozhikode FM (Vividh Bharathi) of 10 kilowatt power. A television transmitter has been functioning in Kozhikode from 3 July 1984, relaying programmes from Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram Doordarshan.