The Wandering Y

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A Discussion on genetic deciphering to understand human migration

I have been getting into this subject and out of it so many times, so I finally decided to put down what I gleaned and be done with it, till more definitive answers were available. It was indeed a complicated subject and one which was very subjective. As you may have noticed it started with comments that one can get to our roots easily by studying the genetic makeup and divide it by castes and tribes. Easier said and done and that I agree with after so many forays into the subject. Ethiran kathiravan an eminent blogger and one who like me, loves movies and music had previously written a great article on this subject. I will refer to it often and augment it with inputs from a few other books, papers and a text book my ‘medical student’ son gifted me in exasperation (did not want me to come up with half-baked theories, as he said)after some arguments on migration.

Anthropology is an exacting study exemplified by eminent persons like the late LA Anathakrishna Iyer of Palghat, one of the first to venture into it. However, nowadays the methods have drifted more towards genetic studies and involve microscopes and computers. That such studies provide much insight to migration is amply clear and the methods used are quite interesting. Let us first see what is done from a very superficial level, and please note here that I am neither an expert nor a recurring student of this topic, but just somebody who tried to glean through some of these studies with interest.

Armed with all that I got into a brief study of what they term Proto Dravidians, in an area where much mingling of people occurred, both aborigines, invaders as well as visitors, to create thirty four or so groups. When a man belonging to one such group bonds with a girl of another, the resulting offspring carried properties of both. As time goes by and as generations of people are created by the offspring of this union the genetic sequence that one studies, exhibits what one could term a secret diary of the years and what happened. A genetic Sherlock Holmes puts meat into the study and comes up with startling results by unraveling the gene sequences and structure. How would that be possible? Well, as we note, a child carries chromosomes from both parents in a standard genetic structure or sequence. But then again, there are slight variations and these are called polymorphisms which can sometimes be observed over a wider population.

If parents have differing polymorphisms, the child carries both (John Tainer explains scientifically - For genetics, a polymorphism refers to genetic variants within the population that allow evolution by natural selection. A mutation may create a polymorphism in the population if the resulting variant form is transmitted to subsequent generations without causing major defects in biological functions). There is one other term one has to understand to get going and that is a term called Allele. An allele is defined an alternative form of a gene (one member of a pair) which is located at a certain position on a chromosome. This kind of genetic coding determines very distinct traits which are passed on from parents to their children. Gregor Mendel was the first to study this and formulated what is known as the Mendel's law of segregation (It is also to be noted here that organisms have two alleles defining each trait). Typically alleles of a heterozygous pair have one which is dominant and another, recessive. A study of distinct alleles can help one study migration or events in a specified population over time. These are the signatures or unique codes which a genetic detective studies to get to the point of singular origin.


Perhaps this is all quite confusing to the lay person, so a paragraph on the fundamentals would be useful. As we all know our body comprises zillions of cells. Some cells are somatic which compose the body structure and others are gamate or reproductive i.e. comprising of sperms or eggs. Every cell has 23 chromosome pairs (a genome) and each of these chromosome pairs have some 25,000 genes. The nucleus of a somatic cell thus comprises of 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent whereas the gamate comprises only 23.  Of the 23 pairs, 22 are termed autosomes and one sex chromosome. Alternative versions of genes account for variations and are based on inherited characteristics - termed alleles. Getting a little deeper, each gene comprises four different arrangement of atoms called bases or nucleotides. These are termed as G, A, T & C, each being a unique arrangement. So when one goes on to decipher a genome, he ends up writing a very long sequence using these 4 alphabets (In addition to the 25000 or so of these genes, there is also a lot of junk DNA).To summarize, genes are made of DNA, a genome is made up of genes and the genome has some 3 million bases or bits of information in them. This field is quite interesting and produces many pointers to where we are headed. As some of you may be aware, males have an X and a Y chromosome and females have 2 X chromosomes. The Y chromosome is gene poor and deteriorating, so will be gone in another 125,000 years, so you never know, males may become extinct!!!


And so looking back into our own history thus far, you will realize that it becomes a story of the wandering Y. But well, a study of alleles (certain specific ones like the HLA or Human leucocyte antigen) and their distribution frequency over a certain area can establish certain conclusions. In general this kind of study is a study of haplotypes. Put in simple words, haplotype is the group of genes that a progeny inherits from one parent. As time goes by you will see many more of these statistical studies to determine community migration paths and family history, triggered by for example Nairs who want to determine their ancestry, Ezhavas who want to determine theirs, each caste tired of the old myths and legends which talk about gods and kings having determined their fate.

Reference paper 1:  One of the first analyses were tabulated in reference paper by Thomas, Nair and Banerjee in 2006. This analysis of HLA-A & C alleles in Pulayas, Nambuthiris, Malabar Muslims, Syrian Christians, Ezhavas and Nairs was conducted using a number of genetic samples. Some very general conclusions on genetic drifts were arrived at by these experts after comparing the HLA alleles. They were
  •          The tribal Dravidians of Kerala stood somewhat pure and isolated compared to a veritable mix in N India. The Pulaya and Kurichiyars seem to the original aborigines or ancestral stock.
  •           Malabar Muslims and Syrian Christians, based on the B35 and CW04 alleles show a characteristic Mediterranean influence showing a migratory pattern more consistent with history.
  •          Nairs show an influence of the European B07 and CW07 more often seen in Belgium Germany and Scottish populations. They also have the highest mix of alleles and corroborate North Indian influence, with connections to the Newars of Nepal.
  •           Ezhavas and Nambuthiri’s also exhibited influence from European as well as central and East Asian genetic pools.
  •           The Ezhava shows an eastern and Mongoloid influence, signifying a possible Buddhist past.
Reference paper 2:  But that was one study, let us look at the study by Seema, Ashwathy and Chippy done in 2011 which focused on the Ezhava population after analyzing the 8Y STR markers on the Y chromosome. They focused on the Y chromosome and its genetic markers. It took a direction that the Ezhava’s were influenced by the East European (60%) and East Asian (40%) genetic pools and pointed to a genotypic resemblance with the Jat Sikhs of Punjab and the Turkish population thus concluding a parental lineage of European origins. However for some strange reason, the paper linked the conclusion relating to the Nairs from the previous study, erroneously to Ezhavas.

Reference paper 3:  Now we look at a third study by the same group, this one focused on the 17 YSTR marker over 168 males which showed a peculiar connection to the males of Vasterbotten in Sweden as well as East Asian (Taiwan, China, Thailand) countries. Some connections were also seen to Afridi’s, Pathan’s and so on.

Reference paper 8:   Ethiran Kathiravan also dwelt on some of these studies and agrees that no definitive pattern could be identified while it becomes clear that Pulayas and other hill tribes were the original aborigines of Kerala whereas all other non-Dravidian groups had much of intermixing, with significant contributions from other wanderers.

Reference paper 9:  Andrew J Bohonak, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA states provides an interesting explanation - Genetic drift consists of changes in allele frequencies due to sampling error. Even if all individuals in a population have the same opportunities to mate, their reproductive contributions to the next generation will vary due to random chance alone. In any population of finite size, this sampling error will cause gene frequencies to fluctuate from generation to generation. Genetic changes due to drift are neither directional nor predictable in any deterministic way. Nonetheless, genetic drift leads to evolutionary change even in the absence of mutation, natural selection or gene flow.


Reference paper 4:  While all this was going on, a team of Indian scientists got working on the popular folktale related to Parayi Petta panthirukalam (we will get to it another day - for a detailed account read Dr Rajan Chungath’s book or the Aithihyamala). Ethiran Kathiravan also focuses on this tale and its impact. But for those who do not know, there is an ancient legend in Kerala titled ‘Parayi petta panthirukulam’ and deals with the twelve offspring of a low caste woman and their lineage. As the story goes, Vararuchi, one of the nine wise men in Emperor Chandragupta Vikramaditya’s (375 – 415 AD) court married a Paraya girl (an orphan who came with the raging waters of Bharatapuzha and was raised at the Naripatta mana). As he married a lower caste woman, he excommunicated himself and the couple then set out on a long trip or pilgrimage in the course of which they were blessed with 12 children – 11 boys and a girl. As each child was born, Varuchi would enquire if the child had a mouth and if the answer was in the affirmative, Varuchi would say ‘good, God will take care of him’ and they would abandon him on the way. Each of these children ended up being cared by families of various castes, high, medium or low. It is said that the families which adopted these children were Mezhathol Agnihothri (Brahmin), Pakkanar (Parayan), Rajakan (Dhobi), Naranathu Bhranthan (Elayathu), Karakkal Matha (Nair adopting the girl child), Akavoor Chathan (Vaishya), Vaduthala Nair (Nair), Vallon (Pulaya), Uppukuttan (Moplah), Pananar (Panan, country musician) and Perunthachan (Carpenter). Interestingly the last and 12th child was born without a mouth. Vararuchi sadly buried this child near a hill. This location is supposedly near Kadampazhipuram in Palakkad and known as “Vaayillaakkunnilappan” (Hill Lord without mouth).

The descendants of these children live at Shornur, Pattambi and Thrithala of Palakkad district of Kerala state and despite the differences in their caste and social status, these families are bound together by various rituals and religious customs. These were the subjects of the next study, but when the group headed by Suresh collected genetic samples from these families to study the patterns, they actually found that the results were contrary to the folktale and common haplotypes were not detected across the tested families with the result that co-ancestry could not be proven.

Why mention this? Well it is to prove that genetic sampling and studies are not always conclusive when you span many generations and so hype about genetic studies is not a good thing. The authors concluded thus -  Considering that the survival of a lineage from a single founder through 20 generations (approximately 700 years) is only 9.6%, the chance of survival of Vararuchi’s lineage, which is believed to have originated 1600 years ago (45 generations) is meagre. On the other hand, it is also possible that the haplogroups of different families, who adopted Vararuchi’s children, were different and had multiple own men at the time of adoption. The true descendants of Vararuchi’s sons may have been either extinct through time due to different genetical or social reasons or severely declined in relation to the descendants of the own men of a family lineage. Alternatively, the Vararuchi episode may be a pure myth.

Reference paper 5:  In the next paper covering directional migration, we come across another interesting conclusion - Migrants leaving the high status castes showed a greater probability of entering the middle-status castes than entering the low-status castes. Migrants leaving the middle-status castes showed a greater probability of entering the low-status castes than the high-status castes. Why so? The Hindu concept of anuloma, for instance, occasionally permits men to marry women of lower caste, while women are rarely permitted to marry men of lower caste. This mechanism of movement implies that females should be more “upwardly mobile” than males, and it has been suggested that anuloma is the source of greater female inter-caste mixing inferred from genetic data.

Reference paper 6:  The next paper on genetic affinities covers a wider study and concludes that - No significant difference was observed in the mitochondrial DNA between Indian tribal and caste populations, except for the presence of a higher frequency of west Eurasian-specific haplogroups in the higher castes, mostly in the north western part of India. On the other hand, the study of the Indian Y lineages revealed distinct distribution patterns among caste and tribal populations. The paternal lineages of Indian lower castes showed significantly closer affinity to the tribal populations than to the upper castes. The frequencies of deep-rooted Y haplogroups compared to the upper castes. However, Y-SNP data provides compelling genetic evidence for a tribal origin of the lower caste populations in the subcontinent. Lower caste groups might have originated with the hierarchical divisions that arose within the tribal groups with the spread of Neolithic agriculturalists, much earlier than the arrival of Aryan speakers. The Indo-Europeans established themselves as upper castes among this already developed caste-like class structure within the tribes.

Reference paper 7:  But one has to look at the Tamil areas to compare conclusions. So we look at yet another study where the conclusion is that Genetic data from Y-chromosome, mtDNA, and autosomal STRs are in accord with historical accounts of northwest to southeast population movements in India. The influence of ancient and historical population movements and caste social structure can be detected.


Times Of India article:   But CCMB scientist Kumarasamy Thangarajan states - There is no truth to the Aryan-Dravidian theory as they came hundreds or thousands of years after the ancestral north and South Indians had settled in India. The genetics proves that castes grew directly out of tribe-like organizations during the formation of the Indian society. The study provides an interesting conclusion

Between 135,000 and 75,000 years ago, the East-African droughts shrunk the water volume of the Lake Malawi by at least 95%, causing migration out of Africa. ``The initial settlement took place 65,000 years ago in the Andamans and in ancient south India around the same time, which led to population growth in this part,'' said Thangarajan. He added, ``At a later stage, 40,000 years ago, the ancient north Indians emerged which in turn led to rise in numbers here. But at some point of time, the ancient north and the ancient south mixed, giving birth to a different set of population. And that is the population which exists now and there is a genetic relationship between the population within India.''

Reference paper 11:   And the last paper emphasizes European connections - Our results show the presence of west-Eurasian typical mtDNA haplogroups in Indian tribes, presumably resulting from admixture with Indo-Europeans (i.e. who probably introduced the caste system in India). This interpretation would suggest that caste people initially possessed west-Eurasian mtDNAs rather than Asian mtDNAs. This view is reinforced by the fact that caste groups are more similar to west Eurasians than are the tribals .In summary, although the data support a recent India–Australia connection, we could not find in Indian tribals any unquestionable genetic signature of the approx. 60 000 year-old migration from Africa to Sahul following the postulated southern route. A possible explanation would be that such migration never occurred along that route. Alternatively, the early migrants from Africa may have made their way to Sahul following the southern route without settling in India. Another possibility, which is probably the most reasonable one, is that in India the genetic traces of early migrations along the southern route were erased by the subsequent migrations which shaped the present-day mtDNA gene pool of India

Reference paper 8:   This is all in line with Ethiran Kathiravan’s conclusions that you will find connections to lower caste tribes even in the progeny of the highest classes and there is always certain amount of intermixing in populations. So the notion of purity in races and classes or castes is a bigger myth.

But then again to detect migratory patterns, the study of genetics will help, only that you need access to a large amount of samples coupled with well-funded and dedicated research using proper tools. Presently it is sporadic, based on small amounts of samples and hardly conclusive.

While my own reading of all this was very stimulating, the potential for misunderstanding (If I have already done that please forgive me, for all I wanted to do was make some general summaries on the subject to show its general complexity, but also explaining the general methods adopted) was too much considering my relative lack of in-depth knowledge in the subject. So let us wait and watch as we leave the leg work to the experts….

References
Papers
  1. A crypto-Dravidian origin for the non tribal communities of South India based on human leukocyte antigen class I diversity R. Thomas, S. B. Nair & M. Banerjee
  2. Haplotype analysis of the polymorphic 17 YSTR markers in Kerala nontribal populations - Seema Nair Parvathy, Aswathy Geetha, Chippy Jagannath
  3. Y-short tandem repeat haplotype and paternal lineage of the Ezhava population of Kerala, South India- Seema Nair, Parvathy, Aswathy Geetha, Chippy Jagannath
  4. Co-Inheritance of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups And Lineages In ‘Parayi Petta Panthirukulam’: An Evaluation Of Human Motifs In A Popular Folktale In Kerala, India. Kumar U Suresh, R. V. Ratheesh, Rajan Chungath, George Thomas, George Sanil
  5. Directional migration in the Hindu castes: inferences from mitochondrial, autosomal and Y-chromosomal data - Stephen Wooding, Christopher Ostler, B. V. Ravi Prasad, W. Scott Watkins, Sandy Sung, Mike Bamshad, Lynn B. Jorde
  6. Genetic affinities among the lower castes and tribal groups of India: inference from Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA Ismail Thanseem1, Kumarasamy Thangaraj,  Gyaneshwer Chaubey, Vijay Kumar Singh, Lakkakula VKS Bhaskar, B Mohan Reddy, Alla G Reddy and Lalji Singh
  7. Genetic variation in South Indian castes: evidence from Y-chromosome, mitochondrial, and autosomal polymorphisms WS Watkins, R Thara, BJ Mowry, Y Zhang, DJ Witherspoon, W Tolpinrud, MJ Bamshad, S Tirupati, R Padmavati, H Smith, D Nancarrow, C Filippich and LB Jorde
  8. Kerala Kaumudi – Ethiran Kathiravan – Pulayar – The great grandfathers of Namboothiris, Christians and Muslims
  9. Genetic Drift in Human Populations Andrew J Bohonak,
  10. Reconstructing Indian population history David Reich, Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Nick Patterson, Alkes L. Price & Lalji Singh
  11. Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals diverse histories of tribal populations from India - Richard Cordaux, Nilmani Saha, Gillian R Bentley, Robert Aunger, S M Sirajuddin and Mark Stoneking

Times of India article  
Panthirukulathinte Pingamikal – Dr Rajan Chungath
Human Origins – Rob Desalle & Ian Tattersall
The Journey of Man – Spencer Wells
Deep Ancestry – Spencer Wells

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Electrifying the Calicut City

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As some of you may know, my life is quite entwined with electricity and as an electrical engineer, I have been involved with power transmission, distribution and power system protection for so many decades thus far. Automating power plants, substations and so on provide the funds which run my life and so it was in the natural course of things that I ventured back in time to find out when electricity was heralded to that once bustling and glorious town of Calicut.



Until about 1927 or perhaps 1930’s, there were only lamp posts here and there with kerosene lamps, and an old timer Mr ARS Iyer explains succinctly in his autobiography – “In those days the lanes and bye lanes were not lit well after dark and we normally make it home before it gets too dark. The lanes which we normally take as short cuts to reach home were dotted with lamp posts with only kerosene lamps encased in a glass container as electric street lights were a rarity in those days. A municipal worker carrying a tin of kerosene, a few wicks and a cleaning cloth and a ladder on his shoulders would stop at each of these posts to fill in kerosene in the lamps, change the wick if necessary and wipe clean the glass case of the lamp. He would lit the lamp by sunset every evening, which would burn throughout the night giving light to people to walk safely. I have often watched these men at work fascinated by the clockwork regularity with which they provide the lights to the common man.”
Two decades back, the first hydro-electric power station (450KW) in the South had been constructed by the Government of Mysore on the Cauvery River at Sivasamudram in 1902 to power the Kolar gold fields. The British as you can imagine, had no interest in Malabar which was just a small part of Madras and the days when it prompted many a European nation including Britain to venture out to the East to establish trade with Calicut were forgotten. So the people of Calicut trundled on, though the spice and Calico trade was keeping people somewhat busy. Poverty had set in though and it was nothing more than a stopover on the way to somewhere, perhaps the Nilgiri hills or Cochin or Travancore. The kerosene lamps lit the streets in Palayam and near Mananchira and the lamp cleaners kept the crime rate low. The stories of those streets are so beautifully covered in SK Pottekat’s ‘Oru theruvinte katha’.

But finally one gentleman in Calicut decided to change things. He took surety from the Chalappuram bank to the tune of Rs 2 lakhs, purchased a diesel generator and set up a small distribution network for Calicut in 1927, after getting the required license from the ‘powers that were’, at Madras. His travails sound very much like the fascinating movie starring Mohanlal - who came back from the Gelf and purchased a bus (Varavelppu). For the sake of completeness, I will provide you a little bit of that account to complete the story. Regrettably all I know is that the person is named KC Menon. I do not know any more of his antecedents or ensuants and I will only take a wild guess that the C stood for Chandran or Chatu or Chandu. If somebody can provide more information, I’d be much obliged.

Well anyway the municipality of Calicut was responsible for providing street lighting and it was only by 1934 that electric street lighting was available in some parts while the rest still continued with kerosene lamp street lights. In general the power generated till the 1940’s was mainly to cater to the requirements of some upper class families of all religions, businessmen and only used to a very limited extent to meet the requirements of street lighting and industrial use. It cost the user a huge amount of some 8 annas per unit (double that of Madras city!) and so you can imagine that KC Menon was not very popular.
To get some perspective, the Kannan Devan estates in Munnar started a 200KW hydel power plant (Muthirapuzha river) within their estates in 1906 and it was some time thereafter, in 1929, that Travancore put up a small 5MW power plant in Trivandrum. The Pallivasal project was started in 1933. In the 30’s a number of diesel plants were put up in Kottayam, Kollam, Kalamassery, Aluva and Nagercoil. Cochin power and light came about in 1935-36. In Malabar, it was in Calicut that as we saw previously, efforts started in 1927 to power parts of the city.


The roads of Calicut sported horse carts (Jutkas) and hand pulled rickshaws, a few bicycles, an odd car now and then and of course some bullock carts. That was Calicut 7-8 decades ago. But let us get to Menon’s story and also meet a couple of other key persons who determined the future course of action.
In the early 30’s Menon’s outfit had started to be trouble prone with the generator failing often and as there were no engineers locally to look into it, they took a long time to repair. The users and of course some who did not get powered up of course used this situation to complain vehemently to the government and write they did with such eloquence that Madras finally took note. Menon in the meantime had no recourse but sell his plant to another interested party and some traders and businessmen who had their eyes on it and perhaps understood the power and profitability of electricity, raised a big hue and cry.
The entire affair came up for considerable debate in the Legislative council of the Governor of Madras on 21st March 1934. The two members who complained about KC Menon were KP Raman Menon (who hailed from Calicut, the famous tenancy agitation advocate) and mainly Pocker Sahib Bahadur (who hailed from Malabar but was resident in Madras – He was an advocate in Madras High Court, a big time Khilafat supporter and MES founder. Pocker Sahib was also the fifth University graduate and Second Advocate among Malabar Muslims). The member who argued (actually I must say – the one who laid down facts correctly) for KC Menon was Diwan Bahadur M Krishnan Nayar. The argument raised by Pocker was that KC Menon who had the license to supply power had not discharged his duties fully, had at times stopped supplying power to the dismay of the general public and after a period of grave financial distress (actually his bankers collapsed), had decided to sell his license to another private party named West Coast Electric Supply Co. Pocker’s question was why the municipality had not revoked Menon’s license and taken over the responsibility and how the government had permitted the transfer of a lease to CESC (part of WCESC) without giving the municipality a chance to take it over.
Krishnan Nair explains – Originally, license for generating and distributing electric current to the town of Calicut was granted to Mr. K. C. Menon. That was in 1927. One of the provisions in that license states "that –the municipality is at liberty to purchase the licensee's right after the expiry of fifty years after the grant of that license, that is, after the expiry 50 years from 1927. It may be noted that the municipality which knew about the grant of this license did not raise any protest against or objection to this period of 50 years which was fixed in the original license. Then, after this license was granted on the usual conditions that find a place in the electric licenses, Mr. K. C Menon borrowed two lakhs from a bank known as the Chalapuram Bank· The Government was therefore satisfied that he was in a position to carry on the work and as a matter of fact, within the stipulated time, he completed the compulsory works and before the expiry of time fixed for it, he began to distribute energy to the people of Calicut. Subsequently, complaints reached Government repeatedly. It was stated that he was not in a position to discharge his financial obligations and it was also stated that the supply of energy within the Calicut municipality was not efficient. When the Government received these complaints; Government naturally made enquiries. The Government were satisfied that everything was not in a satisfactory condition, and the Government sent repeated instructions and orders to the licensee, to the effect that, if he did not attend to these things, the license would be cancelled.  
He then went on to explain that revoking a license was not a simple thing and required many steps to be completed, and that there was no precedence to follow and no fall back supplier for power supply. Sankaran Nair then explained to the others in the chamber that the problem was the failure or collapse of the Chalappuram bank resulting in the loss of funds put in by many small investors and individuals. A show cause notice was sent to Menon in 1933. Menon replied jointly with the CESC (Calicut electric supply corporation) that they had reached an agreement whereby Menon would sell his license and assets to CESC who would then honorably discharge the original contract. Menon requested approval for the transfer of the license to CESC. In the meantime the collector of Malabar opined that the Municipality was not an alternative as they would mismanage the business if given to them. The government studied the proposal, decided that CESC were financially stable and technically competent, after which they accorded permission.
In the meantime one of the two engines ceased to work and town power supply was affected. The collector who lost power to his house also complained and then it came to light that the public offices in fact had no electricity and that plans to electrify them were only under consideration! The main power house was situated near Mankavu and this signifies that the Zamorin’s Kovilakom would have been the primary recipient of power in Calicut in those early days.
In any case, the arrangements with Menon was terminated, CESC were finally accorded permission and more money (to the tune of 5 lakhs or so) was pumped in. I wonder why they did not feel like supporting Menoin, perhaps it was because he was just an individual and not a Madras based compaby like West Coast Electric Supply Co, a company listed in the Madras stock exchange!  Anyway Calicut electric Supply Co became the power company vested with the responsibility of serving a 12 square mile (considering Kallayi railway station as the center) area. They continued to take care of Calicut (Interestingly they had their first strike in 1937 over low wages!) until the activity was taken over or acquired by the Government of Kerala on 1st August 1963.
Around 1945, the Pykara Hydroelectric scheme near Ooty was linked to Calicut over a 70 mile long 66KV link. Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer was responsible for mooting Pykara and many other Hydropower projects and HG Howard executed the Pykara project. The Southern grid in those days comprised of three hydro-electric power stations, those at Pykara, Mettur, Papanasam and a thermal station at Madurai, while serving 13 districts across Chittoor to Tinnevelly and Chingleput to Malabar.
The WCESC/CESC as you saw owned the diesel generating stations at Calicut, Tellichery and Cannanore. With the extension of Pykara Hydro-Electric Supply to West Coast these diesel generating stations were mothballed in 1946-47. The Units at Cannanore and Tellicherry were taken over by the Government in exercise of its power under the Madras Electricity Undertakings (Acquisition) Act, 1954, and these Units were transferred to the newly formed Kerala State Electricity Board with effect from April 1, 1957.
That was a long time ago. It was only in Jan 2014 that the southern grid was fully connected to the national grid totaling to some 232 GW of installed capacity and access to another 1500MW to the southern states. Out of the country’s total installed generation capacity of 232,164 MW, the Southern region accounts for 57,529 MW (as of November, 2013).

Just imagine! In 1934, Pykara generated just 6.65MW, now the demand in the South is 60,000 MW!! That was a steep climb but then I must admit that the delivery and stability of power supply in Kerala, so much dependent on hydel power plants is still patchy and power cuts still the norm in a country that is seen to be well behind the other stable/galloping economies. Such small facts literally put India into a poor light when seen through the eyes of a foreigner. I can only hope and believe that these things will improve soon…
Perhaps friends like Premnath Murkoth can add their views and perspectives on their experiences in the times when electricity was premium in Calicut..

References
Proceedings of the Madras legislative council 21-03-1934

Note: If you want to get a blurry view of how one of those kerosene lamps looked like, look to the left of the bullock cart in the foreground right side of this fascinating photo (courtesy BEM), Calicut in the first decade of the 20th century, a corner of Mananchira tank, I suppose.

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Calicut Salt fields of Yore

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Kozhikodinte Uppupadangal

Not many today would be aware that once upon a time, there existed a number of salt pans or salt fields around Calicut. Historians past and present have alluded to it and stressed on their importance while Prof Raghava Varier had penned an article around the topic. It was interestingly a major trade as well as an important source of income to the people of Calicut at one time. Later during the last stages of the British reign over India, when Gandhiji started his salt satyagraha, a similar one was conducted in Calicut.

But let us see what the salty history of Calicut has to narrate from ancient times to the days when the people of Calicut had to shell out large taxes to the British for consuming a natural produce!

As CHF told us some years ago, Calicut, it was claimed, was a marshy expanse with only salt pans and a rugged sea coast before it suddenly developed in the 12th Century into a bustling sea port which traders from many nationalities frequented and acclaimed as 'the City of Truth'. So what was part did salt have to play before the advent of sea trade and all the politics and wars which followed, culminating in colonization?

Prof Raghava Varier, our esteemed historian provides an insight in his excellent article analyzing the place names around Calicut. Following a Toponymical approach, Varier provides a detailed analysis which I will attempt to summarize below. He starts with a basic explanation as to why salt found its way into human diet. In the earliest of times, salt in the meat itself satisfied the salt requirements of the eater but as diet moved to a grain based one, this had to added externally (as we see, it went from trace amounts to dollops these days!!) and then again it was a good preservative agent. Other uses were in glazing earthen pots, worship and for use in burials of a certain caste.

As one can imagine, salt produced in the salt fields on the coastal belt was carried inwards to the larger user base laden in carts and sold in exchange for paddy, sometimes costing as much as the latter. We also note that the saltpan owners lived close to their production pits. These locations, many of them around Calicut, are identified by their old place names (not current or applicable today). ‘Kali’ was salt, ‘uppalam’ is salty area, uppupattanam was saltpan, ‘uppukootam’ is a salt warehouse, ‘uppuchungam’ was salt tax and each of these terms were used together with the locale providing basic identification. According to Varier’s study, these 52 or so production and storage areas were located all around Calicut, in the midst of which grew up the town as we know today. One of the two salt tolls named Palaya Gunkam was located in Velapuram. The second toll was situated 2-3 miles North, at Kurumbrakattucheri.

We also note from this study that these locations depict a strong Buddhist presence, that they were the purveyors of the salt trade or the ‘Umanar’ and the trade routes went across to Waynad, Mysore and Kongu Nadu (around Coimbatore). Varier concludes that the Zamorin’s attack on the Porlathiris to take over Calicut was actually for control over the lucrative salt production and trading network that would help him also control the spice traffic from the eastern production centers which were beyond his domains, but terminating at the coast. Eventually as the acquisition of Calicut was completed, a bureaucracy was set up to control all aspects of salt production. So we can conclude that the ancient salt pans of Calicut now came under the Zamorin’s control.

We get a picture of Calicut under the Zamorin from the accounts of F Buchanan (1800) who recorded that Calicut had salt pans in abundance and that Calicut was a large manufacturer and exporter of salt using high tide sea water. He calls the salt makers ‘vaytuvans’ from the Punchuma tribe (Thurston defines them as the Patunna group in the Kannakkan caste) and explains the 92 day process starting between February - June. These tribes also carried on with stone work, coir rope, built mud walls and so on, when not working on salt fields. Buchnan also explains with a summary of costs that the business is quite lucrative, but required access to a large square footages of land (the soil had to be hard and smooth, sort of clayish). These lands were leased out by the local Jenmis on short and long terms. We also note that they were a different lot where it was taboo to touch a Vaytuvan woman, as she could be killed for adultery by her husband and that the caste buried their dead.

Even though salt production at Calicut largely ceased by 1807, the salt business did well in Malabar for another century, and the British were soon to monopolize the business in 1807. The monopolization Regulation AD 1807 II extract shows how it was done …

A Regulation for extending the Salt Monopoly to the Provinces of Canara and Malabar: Passed by the Governor in Council of Fort St. George, July 1807
Whereas it has been resolved that the salt monopoly, which by section XXIII Regulation I, A.D. 1805, is temporarily exempted from operation in Canara and Malabar, should be now extended to those provinces, wherefore the following rules are hereby enacted for that purpose.

II First -The landholders, proprietors, and inhabitants of Canara and Malabar shall be at liberty to carry on the manufacture of salt as heretofore.

Second - The salt so manufactured shall be sold by the landholders, proprietors, or inhabitants to the officers of Government alone, at a price to be determined with the consent of the respective parties, and with reference to the average sale price of several years preceding the establishment of the monopoly.

III All salt which may be sold by a proprietor, landholder, inhabitant, or manufacturer, to any other than the officers of Government, or others authorized by Government to purchase it, shall be confiscated and, on a repetition of the offence, the party shall be liable to be fined, at the discretion of the judge, in a sum not exceeding one thousand pagodas.

But we also see that lighter Bombay salt is preferred over the heavier Calicut coarse salt and that it was exported to Wynad, Coonoor etc from Calicut. So Calicut indeed continued it ways as a warehouse for spices, salt and other items of value.

Thomas Warden was cross examined by House of Lords in 1830, The Q&A is interesting and lends perspective

Do you know whether the salt tax was introduced for any particular object? It was introduced, as far as I can understand, to cover the expenses incident upon the judicial establishments. The salt monopoly of Malabar was introduced under my administration.

The government have a monopoly there, no salt can be sold but by the government?Just so.

And that at a fixed price? Yes. The salt warehouses are open to all purchasers at a fixed price. They are established in different parts of the country, so as to give a facility to the inhabitants to purchase salt at the government price. Stipendiary servants are attached to them, who retail the salt.

No salt can be sold by the manufacturer but to the government? Just so; but a great proportion of the salt consumed in Malabar is foreign salt, which on importation is purchased by the government. It comes from Bombay and the Red Sea, and is preferable to that manufactured in the country.

The government equally derive a profit from it? Yes.

And those profits are appropriated to the support of the judicial establishment? That object originated the salt monopoly under the Madras Presidency.

Let us see what Thomas Baber had to add in his testimony to the House of Lords in 1830

Were you in Malabar before the Introduction of the Monopoly of Salt?

I was; and for years both before and afterwards.

Can you state whether any Salt was manufactured, and in what manner previous to the Monopoly?

There are what they call Ooppadam, Salt Pans, all along and in a parallel line with the Coast. The lands are overflowed by the sea; some of them are dammed up, into which the Salt Water is admitted, which, by the heat of the sun, being evaporated, leaves the salt Residue.

Was that a source of Income to the Proprietors previously?

Very considerable; the Diminution of which is a Source of great Grievance to the Inhabitants.

Was any Compensation made to the Proprietors of Salt?

Yes.

To what Extent?

Not by any means equal to what they enjoyed before the Monopoly.

Was more Salt manufactured in the Aggregate before the Introduction of that Monopoly than has been since?

Considerably. One Reason is, that a great deal of Foreign Salt, from being more profitable to the Government, has been imported from Goa, Bombay, Cutch, Mocha and the Gulf.

Has the Price of Salt been enhanced in consequence of the Monopoly?

From Three hundred to Four hundred per Cent in some parts of the Country. I have known it stand the Consumer perhaps as high as Six hundred or Seven hundred per Cent; but this and other Grievances of the People I noticed in a Memorial to the Honorable the Court of Directors in August last, which, if it is the pleasure of your Lordships, I can produce.

We also find that the business was becoming a corrupt one as the officials colluded with the proprietors. In a letter written by T Baber to Sir Thomas Munro in 1817, several of these criticisms are aired. He believed that most of the officials running the salt and tobacco monopolies in Calicut were corrupt, and that the monopolies should be stopped. He says in the letter, amongst other issues………..

 I am not at all surprised at you not having found amongst the Malabar Cutcherry, records what Europeans are employed in the Salt and tobacco department because I never can suppose Government would lose sight of what was due to the Company and their subjects as to give their sanction to such a wanton enhancement of the monopoly price (which in all conscience is high enough) of those commodities – The arrangements, I believe, to be entirely Mr Warden’s and so far from any advantage to the company from it, I know quite sufficient, of these excise agents to pronounce that they would not hesitate to avail themselves of any opening to enrich themselves at the public expense .

How was it done? It was done with a play of the measures at Bombay & Calicut. Alfred Delisle explains - Of these measures the Malabar ‘para’ approaches nearest to that of Bombay in shape, and will consequently admit of fair comparison. From their respective cubic contents, it appears that a shipper, having taken 1000 maunds at the salt pans, need only send 812 to Calicut to get his certificate for the full quantity; so that he can smuggle, or otherwise dispose of the difference, viz. 188 measures; of course in this calculation I suppose no loss to have occurred from waste.

We also note that the Calicut inspector was quite important as there was no salt work near Mahe, Bombay, so its salt was locally purchased and supplied to Mahe by the Salt Inspector stationed at Calicut. Salt was also diverted to Conoor, Wynad etc. As one can imagine, the salt pans started their slow death as imported salt from Bombay came into Malabar, and this as we saw above, soon became a conduit for corruption. This salt was thence termed Sircar salt.

As time went by, a salt department was formed. Prior to 1889, the Salt Abkari and Customs department were together. However by the Madras Salt Act 1889, Salt and Abkari were organized under the Madras Salt department and it functioned from the Customs House at Madras. In more ways than one, in the Salt and Abkari department which stood separated from the Customs but functioned from the Customs House, Madras the initial Excise administration in Madras was initiated.

The Salt department, under the Collector of Salt Revenue, Madras had three divisions- Northern, Central and Southern. Northern division consisted of Cocanada, Nellore, Massulipattinam and Chicacole. Central Division consisted of Chengleput, Bellary, Arcot and Cuddalore. Southern division consisted of sub-divisions like Nagapattinam, Tirunelvelli, Trichinapally, and Calicut. Besides Salt and Abkari revenue, the Salt department also administered all the Customs out ports in the coastal areas and land customs stations.

The effect of the monopoly is explained in the Memorandum on the Progress of the Madras Presidency by SS Raghavaiyengar.

Before the Government monopoly came into force, the price of salt at Calicut in 1800 was, according to Buchanan, 4 annas a maund. In Mangalore, Bombay salt was sold for less than 4 annas and Goa salt less than 3 annas a maund. At Taikulam (near Bangalore) the price of earth salt was 10 annas 8 pies per maund, and of Madras sea salt 2 rupees or three times as much. After the creation of the Government monopoly the price at the Government factories was fixed at 9 annas at first, and it has been continually enhanced till it amounts now to 2 rupees 11 annas. Till 1882, the manufacture of salt except on Government account was prohibited. Between 1882 and 1886, the system of manufacture and sale of salt by private individuals on payment of an excise duty was substituted for the Government monopoly system throughout the Presidency, with the exception of half a dozen places where the old system is still maintained.

There can, however, be little doubt that the salt tax presses with severity on the poorer classes, especially on the sea coast, where the duty has been enhanced in recent years, and large preventive establishments have at the same time been employed to put down illicit manufacture and smuggling. There has been much discussion as regards the soundness of the policy of taxing a necessary of life like salt.

The Duke of Argyle, the Secretary of State for India, said in 1869: "On all grounds of general principle, salt is a perfectly legitimate subject of taxation. It is impossible to reach the masses of the people by direct taxes; if they are to contribute at all to the expenditure of the State, it must be through taxes levied upon some articles of universal consumption. If such taxes are fairly adjusted, a large revenue can thus be raised, not only with less consciousness on the part of the people, but with less real hardship on them than in any other…

Ah! How easy it is to make such fancy explanations!

And so after many years of oppression, like in Gujarat, the people of Calicut also rose up against the authorities and protested. In 1930 we too had a Salt Satyagraha in Malabar.

The Hindu report explains

Removal of the Salt Tax was one of the 11 demands of the Indian National Congress, and observing Poorna Swaraj (Complete Freedom) on January 26, 1930. Following Gandhiji, salt marches were held by freedom fighters in different parts of the country, in Vedaranyam, led by Rajaji in Tamil Nadu, and K.Kelappan at Payyanur in Kerala.

It was on April 21, 1930, that the volunteers under the leadership of K. Kelappan, the ‘Kerala Gandhi', collected salty sand with coconut shells in gunny bags and distilled it and sold small packets in the evening. Ninety-five year-old Madhavan recollects that packets with a pinch of salt were sold then at the incredible price of Rs. 25 per piece and the demand could not be fully met. That was the fervor with which people of the area heralded mass participation in the Satyagraha movement.

Gandhi chose salt as the very basis of the mass civil disobedience for a greater reason. Salt invariably formed part of the food of every Indian, rich or poor, Hindu or Muslim. Leaders like TR Krishna Swamy, Muhammad Abdul Rehiman Saheb, Moidu Moulavi, Moyyarath Sankaran also participated in this agitation.

So many volunteers were arrested and brutally tortured by the Police. PC Kunhiraman Adiyodi and Andra Kanna Poduval, who were students, were arrested and put in Kannur Jail. Later they were shifted to Madhura and then to Bellary Jail. In Bellary, Kunhiraman Adiyodi started hunger strike against the cruel and brutal torture. After 43 days of his 'upavasa' Adiyodi breathed his last in the Jail itself and was cremated in the Jail compound itself by the authorities.

In Calicut crowds were large for the salt march but notwithstanding the presence of some younger militants the overall tenor was Gandhian. The agitation however did not elicit much enthusiasm among peasants & laborers.

The Town Hall building in Calicut was originally constructed (1891) by the salt merchants and called the Salt Abkari Townhall. It is a strange coincidence of history that the appeal for salt satyagraha was launched from this place. In May 1930 was when the coastal town of Calicut saw a determined group of Congress volunteers getting beaten and booted by the police for their efforts to make salt from seawater as part of the salt satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi.

 Well, the indigenous production of salt in Calicut, the very reason for its importance and rise, fizzled out and was eventually replaced by Bombay salt, just like its famed Calico cloth had declined in popularity. The town hall stands a mute testimony to the power salt had over the masses and the rapacious tax policy of the British. Today the importance of  salt has not abated at all, in fact readymade food suppliers increase salt in their produce ever so gradually, people become over salted and end up with high sodium levels and high blood pressure, and drug companies mint money…That’s life..
A passing note – Do you know the British were even considering taxing betel leaves in Malabar???

References

A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar – Francis Buchnan
Some place names in and around Calicut suggesting Salt industry – M R Raghava Varier

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The tale of Palora Jamen

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Pallur Emmen Nair or (Muppainad Pallur Eman, Yemen, Yeman, Yemmin, Emman Nayar)
1809 Pulo Penang – Kampong Malabar - The stooping man who walked about the Georgetown - Fort Cornwallis area, looked nothing like the proud warrior he once was and one who roamed the forests of Waynad. The sinewy muscles had been replaced by sagging skin, the tone of his skin had darkened to a leathery hue, more like that of a water buffalo and his face wizened and filled with sorrow, showing eyes full of defeat. In fact he was not old at all, he must have been just 40 or so, but looked well past 60! He was a tired man and sat often with his head between his hands, near the Kapitan Kling mosque, making aimless conversation with a few of his country folk who came to pray. Often he sat at the pond steps looking at the pond or kolam. Sometimes he was seen near the Chowrusta lines, where other convicts from India were housed, on other days the old man could be seen looking for any new compatriots who had been transported from Malabar. The Pole or mata mata as the police were known, troubled him no longer nor did he bother with them. Sometimes he was seen helping with public works activities as other convicts did, but then again he was a political prisoner and not a convict bound in chains or imprisoned, he was a transportee. What a horrible word that was and what a terrible experience it was, for only the one who underwent it could understand it. Of the worst kind, if you ask the old man, being cut away from family, his land, and his people and its customs, to forget them forever. Banishment or exile of the worst sort!


Often he would look across the waters in the westerly direction to the land he once hailed from, sights now reduced to a distant memory. Malaria and other sicknesses had reduced him to a decrepit soul with no hope left, only looking forward to the deliverance promised by death. Nobody who saw him would connect him to a once proud overlord of Pallur or Mupainad.
Some years ago, John Leyden (remember my article about him and his ode?) too had moved to Penang to teach Hindoostanee and wrote with the same agony that our convict faced - for his heart was sad too, and his spirits depressed,

Friends of my youth forever dear,
Where are you from this bosom fled?
A lonely man I linger here,
Like one that has been long time dead.

Foredoomed to seek an early tomb,
For whom the pallid grave-flowers blow,
I hasten on my destined doom,
And sternly mock at joy or woe!

Pallur Emen Nair’s story has never been told and though we do not know about his youth or his family, we do know of his role in the Southern Indian rebellion against the British and we do know some about his last days in Penang. But before we go there, we must start at the dense jungles of Wynad, near the Kottayam region which is somewhat sandwiched between the Zamorin’s domains in the south and the Kolathiri kingdom in the North.


Emman Nair originally hailed from today’s Mayyazhi or Mahe and Palloor was a part of the Naaluthara comprising Chaalakkara, Pallur, Chembra and Pandakkal desas. How he got connected to Muppainad in the Meppadi area of wayanad is not clear, but Palloor Emman was also called Muppainad Emman, where he led the Kurumbar tribals there. His story intertwines the accounts, fortunes and diaries of Baber, Wellesley, Macleod, Dow and Duncan and of course that of Pazhassi Raja, Chandu, Kungan, Ambu and Kannavath Nambiar.
Tipu had accompanied his father Hyder during the 1766 Mysore invasion of Malabar. Various events occurred since then and it was finally in 1789 that Tipu lost to the Travancore forces at Nedumkotta and retired to Seringapatnam. After the 1792 battles with the British, he ceded Malabar to the EIC. However based on the premise ‘my enemy and your enemy is our enemy’ he carried on many intrigues with Malabar Nair lords who were dispossessed of their power or territories by the EIC. Some of these included the lesser princes of Calicut, the Kottayam raja and so on. The situation was exacerbated when it was rumored that Napoleon was setting his sights on India. We talked previously about the events concerning Ripaud and how Wellesley then laid a siege on Seringapatnam resulting in the killing of Tipu Sultan.


However the chiefs of Malabar had not given up. The next uprising the British faced was the loosely coordinated revolts in Southern India, at Coimbatore, Dindigiul, Panchalamkurichy (Polygar revolts), some Kannada chiefs and eventually the Pazhassi revolt headed by the Kottayam raja. The interesting aspect here is that there was some element of coordination between the Tamilians, Malabar people and the Kannadigas, only that it was very ineffective and was quickly nipped in the bud by the much militarily stronger British. K Rajayyam’s accounts provide quite some details of the confederation which included Polygars of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Backed up by brief mentions in the Malabar district records 1714-1835, we can trace the life and times of Emman Nair.
With this background, let us ascend to the hills of Wynad where the next events took place starting with the 1797 time frame. Dhondia Waugh, another Kannada rebel also played a link role in these affairs but his death ensured rebel disarray in front of the well-organized British. In many ways it was an ineffectual alliance, with vast distances and bad terrains separating the various groups. The Pazhassi Raja himself first settled for peace with the EIC after his house and treasure were restored by them, but fell out again when the EIC insisted that Wynad belonged to them as part of Tipu’s territories, following the sultan’s death. Pazhassi of course contented that Wynad was part of Kottayam and the continuing struggles between the two were primarily based on this difference of opinion. The common man too cast his support to the rebels as they too were suffering heavily from heavy taxation (3 gold fanams per pepper vine, ½ a gold fanam per coconut tree, ¼ fanam per arecanut tree) amounting at times to double that of the produce!!

Readers - Note that I have used the names Yemen, Emman signifying the same person and similarly Kottayam and Pzhassi raja to mean the same person)
In 1796 the EIC took the first misstep of raiding the Pazhassi palace and looting the kovilakom and money worth Rs 17,000 therein, and the raja fled to the jungles. The Bombay government decided to let him back but did not return all the money. When the people threw their lot with the king and refused to pay any taxes, the EIC took heed. However there was no respite for 2 years which followed. We start with the relations between the Pazhassi raja and Tipu Sultan, 1797 as reported by the Coorg raja. It appears that Emmen Nair was deputed to Seringapatnam to meet and discuss potential alliances on behalf of the raja. The Sultan gifted him a Palankeen, a pair of gold bangles a necklace and a shawl. It appears that Emman promised some of the tax collection to Tipu but did not carry out the promise. We also see from the files that the people discussing anti-British activities with Tipu are the Raja, Yaman nair and the Padinjare kovilakom rajas. It is mentioned that Emman nair was the Kariakkar of the Kottayam raja. We also see that meetings are arranged and messages sent, Ranga Pandit being an emissary from Tipu’s side and Emman Nair from the Malabar side. Between 1796 and 1798, a number of skirmishes take place and finally the EIC concluded a treaty with the Raja in 1797 after restoring the house and treasure of the Raja.
We also note that Yeman nair was held or imprisoned by Tipu in 1798 over nonpayment of tax arrears by the Kottayam raja. Presumably this caused a rift between the Raja and Yeman Nair. All this was reported to the EIC by their faithful ally, the Coorg raja. The EIC promptly relinquished claims on Wynad, but later discovered that the Raja and Dhoondaji Waugh had been corresponding. They get alarmed and Wellesley is involved in quelling the disturbances and the death of Dhoondaji Waugh.

Records from March 1799 detail the fallout between the Kottayam Raja and Emman Nair. Apparently the Raja wanted Emman to go and visit Tipu Sultan at Seringapatnam, again. Emman refused (perhaps due to the bad treatment he suffered) and informed Spencer of the EIC as well as the Ganabadiya (Kannavath?) Nambiyar. Yeman is now in a standoff with the Raja who is reportedly trying to take his life with 500 men at Kunjimangalam while the Emman Nair is trying to defend himself with 300 men. Emmen Nair talks about being oppressed by the Raja, signifying some kind of a monetary quarrel. At the same time, Tipu is expected to arrive in Wynad and the Raja is not feeling too happy about it. The Parappanad Raja has informed the Kottayam raja that the British are planning to send troops up the Ghats. Coincidentally there are a series of Moplah attacks in the region. The British also expect the Pazhassi raja to attack their Tellichery factory and get prepared.

Ganabadiah who is allied to the EIC however brings around Emmen Nair and the Kottayam Raja to the EIC side. The EIC decides to provide Emman Nair support, in their own interests. The British also play the Kurumbranad raja and Ambu who are allied with them, against the Pazhassi raja and try to split the people’s support. In June the EIC informs Emman Nair to try and go on an offensive against the Raja. Emman Nair continues to feed the EIC with information about rebel movements in Malabar and Wynad. The EIC also obtain an agreement from the Travancore king that they will not allow any asylum to anybody going there from the Malabar region without their permission.

1799- Pazhassi refuses to meet Tipu when summons him. Soon Emman Nayar announces his allegiance with the EIC and requests 10,000 cartridges and 10,000 flints to fortify himself and his troops. Pazhassi raja decides to get rid of Yeman Nayar. Emman Nayar requests protection and an allowance of Rs 200 for him and his family per month. The EIC provide Emman Nayar with an assurance that his family and children are now under EIC protection and that he could attack the Kaikeni kottah and the Edatara kottah. The Pazhassi Raja quickly contacts the EIC to mend fences and tells them that he sent his emissary to Tipu only to ensure security for his people in Kottayam and had nothing to do with securing Wynad. The EIC continue to try and drive a wedge between the Emman Nayar and Pazhassi raja. Emman reports that Pazhassi Raja has raided the house of Tondura Chatu and has decided to stop the Kurumbranad Raja from coming up the Ghats. We also note here that Emman Nayar’s assistant (karyasthan) is one Krishna Ayyar. Was Emen Nair at this stage a Pazhassi spy? It is not quite clear, though many have provided such a hypothesis.
Anyway by May, Emman is accorded formal protection and an allowance of Rs 200 per month. At the same time, Seringapatnam has been taken and Tipu finally killed. So Tipu has no more role in this story and the Raja is now on his own. He cannot use Tipu’s name to play against the EIC. However as the EIC prepares to consolidate once and for all, it is seen that the Pazhassi raja now forms a coalition with the Dhondia Waugh, other Nambiars and Unnimoota. And Yeman Nayar, a key player aligned to the EIC surfaces often in the Wellesley dispatches. Wellessley has been deputed to quell the rebellion in Malabar and cleanse the area after his successes against Tipu in Mysore.
1800 - Emman Nair is in those days living at Muppainad (Parahmetal Hoobly of Nemeyn) and over lording the Kurumbar’s (gold dust collecting tribe) and offers many ideas to Col Wellesley about effective troop movements against the Pazhassi Raja. The EIC record that Yeman Nair’s influence, it appears, is most prevalent in the districts to the southward of the great road to Tambercherry
Wellesley is by now considered Yeman Nair’s friend and considering that Wellesly is already in high standing after his successes in Mysore and his relation to the Marquis Wellesley (brother), Yeman Nair gets his way often. However the prospect of a Napoleonic invasion is feared by Wellesley. Later in the year he requests the presence of Yeman Nair in Seringapatnam so they can formalize the relationship and have a detailed face to face discussion which happens. It has been decided to keep Wynad under the Malabar administration. He has big plans for he states – “It is proposed to leave to the decision of this Council all the future arrangements in Wynaad, whether regarding the settlement with Yeman Nair and other chiefs of the same description, or the employment of the Nairs in general in the service”. Yeman Nayar then meets the iron Duke and suggests various courses of action against the Raja, though it is not clear if Wellesley used them. I believe he also gets the title of a Tahsildar of the EIC by then and Major Macleod, the principal Collector, took charge of the district of Malabar on October 1, 1801
The Pazhassi raja is soon dispossessed of his lands and he becomes a fugitive in the jungles with his friends. A couple of years pass and we are now at the tail end of 1802. Kannavatt Nambiar and his son have been hanged by the EIC, much to the disgust of some British soldiers (G Stratchan – Indian atrocities, Sep 20, Sept 27, Nov 1- 1818) one who even wrote three articles detailing the atrocities without fear of being tried for treason. Nick Balmer had written about part 1 of the article, in his blog dated 30th May 2010 and provided some detail on what happened to Stratchan afterwards. Part 2 is actually more detailed about the gruesome atrocities committed by those sepoys and Part 3 concludes his opinions and commentary. These two articles provide details of the barbarous fashion in which the war was fought, and shows ample reason for a native like Yeman Nair to switch sides. After he absconded, his movements are not recorded and he is elusive, sighted rarely, so we know little of his activities, but only that he is in league with the Raja.
Following this, a sense of normalcy was seen in North Malabar, but it was not to remain so. Collector Major MacLeod ordered a total disarmament of Malabar and threatened death penalty for those who carried arms. Taxation issues also created discontent. The rebels retaliate at the Panamarathu kotta in Oct 1802 where EIC soldiers are killed, and for the first time, a British report mentions that Yeman Nair has changed sides. Wellesley reports - It is said that the Rajah himself, with Coongan and Yeman Nair, were present; but this can only be mere conjecture, as every inhabitant in the vicinity of Pancoorta Cottah had deserted their houses. On Dec 6th 1802, Yeman Nayar’s duplicity is seemingly brought to light by the EIC and Yeman Nair is now seen as an enemy rebel.

 In 1803, Wellesley left for Europe, after three years of inconclusive war with the Pazhassi Raja, becomes the Duke of Wellington, and goes on to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo. Emman Nair, his friend is still in the jungles, now supposedly involved in the Calicut Sub Jail attack - One thing I am not sure if Eman was really involved in the jail attack at Calicut in March 1803 though some articles state so. KKN Kurup who provides some details of the attack in his Modern Kerala book does not name Eman as a leader. As it appears, rebels marched through Thamarasseri towards Calicut and overran the Sub-Jail. They tried to free the prisoners, through a hole in the wall. In the melee, 40 of them were killed, some 130 escaped and 38 were retaken by the British. This prompted a resignation by the then Collector of Malabar, Major McLeod but historian KKN Kurup is clear in stating that the leadership could not be ascertained. Perhaps it was Emen, for the Calicut leadership was very severe in the case of Emman‘s petition later

In 1804 a reward is posted by Col Macleod where Pallur Eman (Col Wellesley’s friend) carries a bounty of 1000 pagodas. We also note that Pallur Eman has an elder brother Pallur Rayarappan who carried a 300 pagoda bounty for his head. And that is about the time frame when TH Baber has entered the scene and is in pursuit of the rebels.
We note from his reports that the Koormers - Kurumbrar’s are under the leadership of Pallur Eman , termed in his report as Palora jamen (It surprises me why Baber called him so when even in Wellesley’s reports he is named more correctly as Yeman Nayar).
Baber states - As these people were exclusively under the influence of Palora Jamen, it is not difficult to explain whence this unfortunate notion originated: it is only those who have had a personal opportunity of knowing the extensive abilities and artifices of this man who can justly calculate upon the mischief and dire consequence that must ensue where such qualifications are employed against us. This was unfortunately instanced in the Kooramars, who, from the time of Palora Jamen’s defection, had become in a manner desperate; they had been foremost amongst the rebel ranks, and there is no crime, no species of cruelty and outrage, which they have not committed.
We note then that during May or June of 1805, an attack on a post at Choorcharry took place, led by Welatory Rama Thareakarar accompanied by Palora Yemen who exhorted his men to fight - Palora Yemen urged and persuaded the party to proceed, saying “go on never fear” according to Rama Tharakar.
Later, we see the last mention of Emman Nayar in Wynad, in the report of final decisive foray by Baber during 1805 against the rebels. With many agents, I could not fail of success in some one of them. On the 30th ultimo, three of them at last brought me intelligence of the Pyche (Palassi) Raja and all the rebel leaders, with the exception of Palora Jamen (Pallur Eman) being then in the opposite side of the Kangara river, a short distance in Mysore, and this so unequivocally that I determined to act upon it.………..Previous to this I had deemed it expedient to make a feint to divert the attention of the rebels (who I thought it probable might have their spies in camp) by detaching 70 of my kolkars, under the Sheristadar, under the pretext of going in pursuit of Palora Jamen who was reported to be in the Komanpany Mala in the South-eastern direction, while they had secret instructions after marching half-way to this mountain to strike off eastward to the Kallir Mountain and there lie in ambush near to paths to cut off the retreat of any fugitives who would, in most probability, go off in that direction in the event of our party coming up with the rebels.
Nov 1805 - As we now know, this supposed pursuit of Yeman Nair led to the discovery and death of the Pazhassi Raja who was hiding in the area. Thereafter Emman Naiar was captured in 1806 together with his brother near the mountains near Nilambur where his brother Rayarappan died in the fighting. The trial reports suggest that it was actually the Coorg Raja who (a big time EIC supporter) who discovered his hideout. Pallaur Eman, Colonel Wellesley’s friend was captured alive and sent to Seringapatnam to face a trial. In April 1806, he and four of his friends were sentenced after trial and sent to the Dindigul jail. The Court Marshall found all the men guilty and sentenced them to hang, but an appeal resulted in the men having their sentences commuted to transportation to Prince of Wales Island. The official transcript states - Yemen Nayar, the principal adherent of the Pyche Raja of Cotiote, is captured and put on trial for rebellion - he is sentenced to transportation for life to Prince of Wales Island. Papers regarding the trial of the rebel Yemen Nayar - question as to why the death sentence was not imposed and a finger of doubt is pointed to the fact that it was perhaps due to his earlier friendship with Col Wellesley. Macleod questions the court repeatedly why he was not executed and the court emphatically replies that its ruling is commensurate with the crime.
Accordingly the five were transported to Penang in 1807 where a number of Polygar prisoners captured in South India had already been dispatched. Some of these people were apparently known to Emman Nayar and they were involved in some amount of coordination on rebellious matters. Wellesley, who heard about this, expressed some alarm that Penang was not entirely a wise location to send them to, for Penang was frequented by south Indian Muslim traders who could try to bring them back to India. But his doubts were soon to prove farfetched.
Now we refer to a couple of papers written by the eminent Anand Yang, who deals with the subject of Indian convicts in Penang, and transportation as such in great detail. The British evolved the method of transportation as an effective way to ostracize these culprits. Foremost, it would effectively result in a loss of caste position due to the ocean crossing taboo. British officials considered transportation to be "a weapon of tremendous power as it packed an extra punitive punch because of its negative cultural and religious implications. In fact they fell upon the base that banishment was a very Hindu way of punishment since Vedic times.
It was different in those days, for the journey of the banished to Penang took 50-80 days by sea!! These convicts were not kept behind bars in Penang, but were allowed to roam about and even paid a small stipend and live amongst the other Polygar prisoners. It is said that at least some of the Polygar prisoners knew Eman or of him, as he had been one of those who coordinated with them on the matters concerning rebellion. They were provided 1 seer of rice per day, 1 ½ seers of ghee per month and a piece of cloth per annum.


They also kept themselves active by sending petitions for pardon and return to India.  Many of them wrote asking for better conditions and escalation of status compared to others. Seven years is the usual banishment or exile term, but in the case of Emen Nayar it was for a lifetime. The Polygar prisoners were not allowed to return by the Tinnevelly magistrate. In fact they tried to compare that even Rama in Ramayana had to remain banished for 14 years and not more, so they should be allowed to return. It fell on deaf ears but some got an increased stipend of 7 Spanish dollars per month and later up to 15 dollars, but it is not clear of Emman Nair received such amounts. In Penang, the situation deteriorated and owing to the acute depression many convicts suffered and adding the rigors of tropical confinement, by 1817 only 15 of these political prisoners survived from the original 71.
So after 7 years, Emman Nair appealed for relief in March 1814. Some appeals were collective, some individual like in the case of Emman Nair. Krishna Iyer, his accomplice was allowed to return to Malabar. Emman Nair’s appeal was disallowed. We are not sure about the other four Malabar accomplices.
The Malabar magistrate refused to allow release of Emman nayar. The magistrate wrote to the secretary of the Madras Government expressing no objection to the release of the rebels of 1798 and 1801 EXCEPT Yemen Nair: "he is a character who ought never to be allowed to revisit Malabar.  His determined opposition to government, his treacherous conduct on various occasions, his talents as a partisan, his daring courage, are all so many arguments against it."  He then goes on to say that Malabar although in a "tranquil state" had "many disaffected persons, who would, if men of rank and situation secretly encourage opposition and tumult, and if otherwise, would readily join any gangs which might hold out to them hopes of plunder."
The Polygar convicts were finally sent back to India in 1819 following deliberations in Britain as they felt that the situation was somewhat unjust. Finally only five remained and then four out of the five were repatriated to Madras, but only one remained for fear of national security.
You guessed right, that was Pallur Emman Nair. He did not live long and died shortly thereafter in 1819, with all hopes of seeing his beloved land, shattered. Nobody in Pallur or Muppainad remember him, nothing is known about his progeny, no tombstone of his exists in Penang so far as I know, nor is there a picture or statue of this rebel. He may soon be forgotten, but I did not want it to be so and hence, this article.
Now who could that magistrate be, the person who hastened the death of Emman Nair? It was the very same James Vaughan who was mentioned by Walsh (if you recall Walsh also wrote about Karunakara Menon’s house etc). Vaughan was also the person who believed that the practice of slavery in Malabar should continue (Baber was against it) and one who had to contend with the beginnings of the Moplah disturbances.
Penang is a teeming city today which has showcased its history, but tells little of the efforts of the Indian prisoners who built it up. They were the ones who laid the foundations and got the place running for the British. The Malays today talk more about the Chinese and English in their history and are at times unkind in referring to the Indian convicts or klings, but little do they know of the imposition of transportation by the British and the sad stories from those early days.
Wynad – It is a beautiful place and people go there these days to spend a few days in solitude. But in the 1796-1804 time frame, it was full of action, soldiers, cannons and guns, bows and arrows, spies, bravery, valor, cowardice, Frenchmen, Englishmen, locals, tribals, kings, princesses and what not. Their stories are consigned to what they call ‘forgotten history’.
References
South Indian Rebellion: the First War of Independence, 1800-1801 - K. Rajayyan
From Contact to Conquest: Transition to British Rule – M Frenz
“Bandits and Kings: Moral Authority and Resistance in Early Colonial India,” The Journal of Asian Studies 66, 4(2007):881-96 - Anand yang
“Indian Convict Workers in Southeast Asia in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries,” Journal of World History, 14, 2 (2003):179-208 - Anand yang
Indians in Malaya: Some Aspects of Their Immigration and Settlement (1786-1957) - Kernial Singh Sandhu
Various dispatches by Col Wellesley
Malabar manual – W Logan

Authors note – Emman Nayar was perhaps one of the most complex characters in the rebellion and perhaps the most important rebels of all, even rivaling Pazhassi Raja, in my opinion. If anybody knows more at Pallur Emman Nayar or Krishan Ayyar or any of their descendants, please do let me know.


I thank Dr Anand Alan Yang and Nick Balmer for helping me with their own notes and comments, without which this story would have been incomplete.

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A naval officer who met some of these Polygar prisoners (perhaps the last lot who were finally pardoned and sent back to Madras), wrote in the United Service magazine thus….

The day previous to the sailing of the fleet, we received on board as passengers, or rather prisoners, for the island of Pulo Penang, whither they were exiled for some political delinquency, two Polygar Chiefs, or Rajahs, Currapoovance and Shunderlingum, by name. The situation of these unfortunate men was truly pitiable: torn from their country, from friends, and home—for the first time in their lives on board a ship, on a strange element, and among a strange people ; it was not the least among the catalogue of their ills at this trying moment that they should be separated from the only beings to whom they might look for sympathy or consolation, whose services were indispensable, and the only persons, in short, from their religious prejudices, with whom they could hold communion. It so happened, they had arrived on board the evening prior to the intended sailing of the fleet, and not having completed the arrangements for their voyage, two or three native servants, the only portion of their household which accompanied them, were sent on shore for that purpose: owing, however, to some misconception, the convoy having weighed early the ensuing morning, they were left behind. To those acquainted with the tenets of the Hindoos, and the scrupulous tenacity with which they adhere to them, it will readily be imagined that this circumstance, which among any other people would have occasioned but a temporary inconvenience, was in this case an irreparable misfortune. We had, it is true, some few natives, Lascars, on board, but these not being of the same caste, their services were not available. It was amusing to observe to what various and minute circumstances their scruples extended: the touch of an European, as of another sect, was shunned as pollution; and it was no easy matter to avoid at all times on a crowded deck, where they sometimes came for air, the contact of someone or other, and whenever this occurred their chagrin was evident.
They were men of an uncommon stature, robust, and of noble men, and bore their lot with dignity and resignation: part of the great cabin was screened off for their use, here they shifted for themselves as well as circumstances would permit. They cooked their own plain rice meal; fortunately their simple habits required but little, and they had provided their own stock of water, and a few other necessaries. Nothing remarkable occurred during the remainder of the passage to China, the coast of which, after a few days' stay at Penang, where we took in a cargo of rattans, we reached in little more than a fortnight from Madras, and proceeded to the usual anchorage of the East India fleets off the village of Whampoa, in the river of Canton, where we remained between three and four months to take in a cargo of tea.

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