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Kannur

Short History

Kannur is a beautiful miniature of the picturesque state of Kerala. Now history of Kannur commence since the arrival of Europeans. In 16th century Portuguese, Dutches, English and French people louded at Kannur. In February 1766 Hyder Ali invaded and subdued Kolathunadu, subsequently during his invasion Tippu sultan subdued Malabar and Kannur being then in Malabar came under Mysore Regime. In 1792 the English people attacked and defeated Tippu Sultan and former Malabar District was brought under British Regime.

The former Kannur district was carved out of the portions of Malabar district and the Kasaragod Taluk of the Madras state, linked to Kerala as per the state Re-organisation Act.There upon Ist January 1957 it was bifurcated for administrative convenience, into three districts namely Kannur, Kozhikode, and Palakkad. Then kannur district had six taluks namely Kasaragod, Hosdurg, Taliparamba, Kannur, Talassery and North Wayanad. On 1.1.1979 North Wayanad was linked to Wayanad District. On formation of kasaragod district, the taluks namely Kasaragod & Hosdurg were de-linked from Kannur district and the present Kannur district was formed with the remaining taluks namely Taliparamba, kannur & Thalassery.

            The district is bound by the western ghats in the east ((Kodagu district of Karnatak), Kozhikode & Wayanad District in the South, Lakshadweep Sea in the west and kasaragod District in the North. It is located between attitudes 11 degree 40 minute and 12 degree 48 minute towards north and between longitude 75 degree 10 minute and 75 degree 57 minute towards east

            The old port St. Angelo built by Don.Francisco-De-Almayde the first Portuguese Viceroy, in 1505 at Payyambalam Beach near Kannur Condonment, and the Talassery port built by the English East India Company in 1708 A.D. are monuments of historical importance which attracts tourists. The only drive-in-beach in Kerala is at Muzhappilangad in Kannur. Talassery is also acknowledged as the home of IndianCicus which is believed to have evolved from the celebrated Martial Arts "Kalarippayattu". The pageant of impersonated local duties- Theyyams-elevates Kannur into a land of spectacular fantasies.

            Payyannur in Kannur district is believed to be one of the 64 villages founded by Lord Parasurama and one of the first regions in the state inhabited by Aryan Ammigrants.

            The Parasinikkadavu- Muthappan Temple, Raja RajeswarTemple, Taliparamba the Snake Park at Parasinikkadavu, the Trichambaram Sree Krishna Temple and Pythalmala are some of the other place which attracts tourists.

Dr.Herman gundart, the famous German Missionary and lexicographer, compiled the first dictionary in Malayalam when he lived in Thalassery in the first half of the 19th century.
Head quarters of kannur in Kannur Town the district has its Revenue Divisional Office in at Thalassery from 1793 (as a part of former Malabar District).
As stated earlier Kannur district is comprised of 3 taluks and the area of the district is 2967.97 Sq Kms. This is about 7.6% of the area of the state. There are 129 villages in the district. A break up of these details is as follows.

Sl.No. Name of Taluk Area (in Sq.Km.) No.of Villages

1. Taliparamba 1330.56 47
2. Kannur 430.80 34
3. Thalassery 1206.61 48
District 2967.97 129
(Source:District Plan, Kannur)

Taliparamba Taluk

Taliparambu Taluk has 47 villages. It is stretched from the coastal area of Ramanthali to Nuchiyard and Vayathur Villages touching the Karnataka border.

Kannur Taluk

Kannur Taluk has 34 Villages from Muzhippilangadu in the South to Kadannappally and panappuzha Villages in the North, which are seen spread into the Taliparamba Taluk.

Thulassery Taluk

This Taluk has 48 villages. Western boundary of the taluk in the Lakshadweep sea and eastern boundary in Karnataka border.

Based on the Geological features the district may be classified into three regions. Coastal region of about 157 Sq.Kms touching the Lakshadweep Sea, midland comprised of small hills, sloped area and plain surface of about 1216.82 Sq.Kms and hilly forest area of about 1594 Sq.Kms.

A distribution of area according land position is as follows.

Taluk Coastal plain Highland Midland Total

Taliparamba 30.00 667.86 632.70 1330.56
Kannur 127.20 303.60 430.80
Thalassery - 622.51 584.10 1206.61
Total 157.20 1593.97 1216.80 2967.97

It is rainy season in the district from June to August due to South-west monsoon and from September to November, due to North-east monsoon. From December to February it is cold season and from March to the end May the weather is hot.

Red laterite stone is abounded in Kannur, Besides this red laterite soil and sand are also seen in plenty. A number of groves attached to temples seen in the district is also a source of natural resources.

Out of 44 rivers in Kerala 7 are in Kannur district. They are Ramapuram river, Kuppam river, Peruvamba river, Valapattanam river, Ancharakandy river, Thalassery river and Mahe river. Valapattanam is the longest river which is 110 Kms long of which 45.06 Kms. Are navigable.

Deposits of minerals :
Deposits of China Clay, Bauxite, illemenite, Monocite are seen in the district.China Clay is mostly seen in Pattuvam, Perumba, Karivellur and Vadakkumbade in the district. Illmenite and monocite are seen in the southern part of valapattanam river and in Azhikode. Deposits of bauxite is seen in Payyannur and Pattuvam. Since its quality is poor it is used for the manufacture of cement

Temperature :
When it is examined the past 10 years data, the maximum temperature noticed in the district is found to be 38.8 degree Celsius (in March 1996 and in April 1997) and a minimum of 18.2 degree Celsius (in January 1992).

Rainfall :
Rainfall is found to be maximum during the month of June and July. 70% of the rainfall is got in the district during this period. During the past 10 years rainfall was maximum in 1994 (4993.6m.m) Month(s) in which the district had maximum days (31 days) of rainfall are July 1991, July 1994, July 1995 and July 1997

Industry :
There are 13 medium scale industrial units in the district. Handloom forms a major portion of the industrial units in the district. The district is also well known for its Beedi industry. Prohibition of smoking has adversely affected this industry recently. The major Beedi company viz; Dinesh Beedi has adopted product diversification.

In the small scale sector there are 12206 industrial units as on 31-3-2001 out of which 2929 are textile based industrial units which forms a major portion (24%) of the total SSI units.

Institutional and infrastructural facilities :

The district has one University (Kannur University), One Medical College (Allopathy), One Medical College (Ayurveda), One Engineering College, 3 Polytechnics, 13 Arts and Science Colleges and 1252 Schools
Length of National High Way in the district is …78….Kms. District has …1798 Kms of PWD roads. Length of Railway line in the district is 39.Kms.

In the district there are 15 electricity substations and 78 Telephone exchanges. 121 Hospitals are there in the district out of which..111..are in the private sector.

Population :

Population in Kannur district as per 2001 census in 24,12,365 out of this 11,54,144 are males and 12,58,221 are females. This shows a sex ratio of 1090. Density of population in the district is 813 (population per square kilometre).

Population in the age group 0-6 is 2,70,200;out of which 1,38,169 are males and 1,32,031 are females.

During 1991-2001, the growth rate of population in the district is 7.13 percent. Malappuram district shows a highest growth rate of population (17.22) in the state and Pathanamthitta district shows a lowest growth rate (3.72).

Total literates in the district are found to be 19,88,014 out of which 9,79,240 are males and 10,08,774 are females. This indicates a majority of literate females over males. Literacy rate of the district is 92.80 (Percentage of literates to the population aged 7 and above).

The district has 9 development blocks, 81 panchayats, 6 Municipalities and one contonment