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MIGRATION AND THE CHANGING PATTERN OFLAND USE IN MALABAR

K.V.Joseph

The pattern of land use may undergo changes with the influx of migrants in which they operateas agents of change by introducing new ideas and practices. Kerala state which came into existencein 1956 by amalgamating the princely State of Travancore in the south, the princely State of Cochinin the middle and the erstwhile Malabar district of the former Madras Presidenct, in the north hasbeen the scene of migration of peasants from Travancore region to Malabar region in search of tandsuitable for cultivatbn. The peasants who migrated were those who had acquired some sort of aconsciousness of deveLopment and who were inspired more by the desire to improve their economicprospects rather than to eke out an existence. While extending cultivation in the wastelands of thesub-mountaineous regions of Malabar, the peasant migrants tilted the land use in favour of incomerendering cash crops rather than to raise subsistence crops. How they introduced such a pattern ofland use and changed it subsequentLy form the theme of the paper.

(;

Patterns of land use vary from time to time andplace to place. Any pattern is moulded and con-ditioned by a number of factors of which the mostimportant are the pressure of population,agro-climatic conditions, technological progress,etc. Once established, a pattern may undergochanges with the induction of new ideas andpractices. Migration is an important channelthrough which new ideas and practices are dif-fused from outside. By introducing their owncultural traits and agricultural practices in thepiaces of destination the migrants themselvesoperate like innovators and change agents. Whenland use pattern undergoes changes with theinflux of migrants it becomes a cultural assimi-lation in which new ideas and practices diffusedfrom outside are adopted as part of the existingsystem. There can be quick acceptance of the newpractices under homophilous conditions.

Kerala state which came into existence in 1956by the amalgamation of three political units, viz..the Princely State of Travancore, the PrincelyState of Cochin and erstwhile Malabar district ofthe former Madras Presidency, has witnessed themigration of peasant farmers from the Travancoreregion in the south to the Malabar region in thenorth. Streams of peasant farmers from the mid-land region of the northern half of Travancoremoved with their families to the Malabar region,

located at a distance of more than 300 kms awayfrom their native places, and settled down thereand in the former Kasaragod taluk of the erstwhileSouth Canara district where plenty of cultivablewasteland was available. The exodus, whichstarted from the 1920s, continued upto the 1970swhen practically the whole area of the unculti-vated lands was occupied by the peasant inmi-grants. They were instrumental in bringing aboutfar reaching changes in the land use pattern withinMalabar region of Kerala State. The paper seeksto uncover the changes in the land use pattern inMalabar brought about by the peasant migration.The study would be focusing from a historicalangle.

Land Use Pattern in Malabar Durinp the Pre-Migration Period

The land-use pattern in the Malabar region ofthe pre-migration period bears the stamp of astatic economy with very little change in the ageold cropping pattern. A wide variety of crops,most of them meant to produce subsistence goodsof the traditional category, were being cultivatedin Malabar. A clear cut picture of the land usepattern can be drawn by examining the total areaas well as the area under each croo. Table 1

K.V. Joseph is Retd. Professor of Economics, A-2 1, Aiswarya Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram 695 004

61

indicates the extent ofthe area ofland uti l ised forcultivation and the extent of area occupied by eachcrop in Malabar as on 1930-1931 (See Table i ) .

As can be seen from the Table, only 40 per centof the total land area of the district was used foragrioultural purposes. Nearly 9 lakh acres oflandaccounting for aboul 25 per cent of the total landarea were kept as cultivable wastelands. Of the

JAN-MAR 2OO2

total cropped area, paddy occupied nearly half.Crops l ike pulses, other cereals, plantains, etc.,which fall within the category of subsistencecrops accounted for about 4 percent ofthe croppedarea. Traditional cash crops like coconut, areca-nut and pepper did not occupy much of thecropped land. Modern commercial crops likerubber, coffee or cashew were yet to appear onany significant scale in the cropping pattern.

JOURNAL OF INDIAN SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

Table l. Land Use Pattern in the Erstwhile Malabar District as on 1930-31

S l . No

( l l

Pattern of usc

(2 )

Area ln Acres

(3 )

Percentage to the total

Cropped Area Land Arera(4) (s)

I I .I I I

l. Cropped Area(a) Paddy(b) other cereals and pulses

Total2. Oi l Seeds3. Condirnents and spices4. Orcl.rards and garden crops5. Others

Total Cropped areaArea cropped more than onceNet cropped area

Cultivable WastclandsFallow land, Forest Land

819,29162,661

941.952311 .489n4.4922 1 0 , 1 2 8157,490

1 7 7 I , 5 5 I213,520

1498,03 I930,790

t2 t t ,517

49.633.54

5 3 . 1 7t9 626 4 6

l 1 . 8 68 8 9

100 00

40.482 5 . 1 534.36

Total land area 3700,398

Note: (l) Figures in the bracket indicate percentage(2) (a) oil seeds include coconut; (b) orchards include areca; (c) condirnents and spices include pepper; and (d) others

include coffee, tea, rubber and plantain.Source: K.N. Kr ishnaswamy I ier r l9-11t . St t t t t . r t i tLt l Appenr l i r to Maktbar Distr ic t Gazetteer (Madras. Government Pressl .

100.00

In Kasaragod, a taluk of the then South Canaradistrict which was also merged with Kerala in1956, the cropped area accounted for only 25 percent of the total land surface. Cultivable waste-lands formed as much as 38 per cent of the totalland area (Iyer, Krishnaswamy, 1933). Thecropping pattern, with subsistence crops domi-nating the scene, was exactly similar to that of theerstwhile Malabar district.

Cultivated land itself was divided rnto threecategories, each one with diff'erent croppingpattern. They wcre known as wet, garden anddrylands. The first category consisted oflow lyingareas with heavy rain and natural water facilities.Though such land could be found throughout thedistrict, its concentration was in the coastalregion. This land was used almost exclusively for

thc cultivation of paddy.

Lands around paddy fields where a mix ofcrops is raised are known as garden lands. In atypical garden land the usual practice was to raisecoconut, arecanut, jack i iuits and pepper-vine.These four crops were known as nalbhogant orfour improvements [ Innes, 1908(a) , p. 218] .Crops l ike mango, betel-vine, vegetables and rootcrop were also being cultivated intercultured inthe lands growing these four crops. All the othercategories of land fall within the category ofdryland. Drylands were of two kinds: occupiedand unoccupied. Practically very l itt le distinctioncould be drawn between the occupied drylandsand garden lands. Such ofthose drylands in whichcrops like hill rice, samai, gittgell.v and gingerwere ocoasionally a raised, as in the case of fallow

MIGRATION AND THE CHANGING PATTERN OF LAND USE IN MALABAR

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cultivation, were known as unoccupied drylands

[Innes, 1908(b), p. 208]. They were exemptedfiom the payment of land tax. Naturally, there wasa disinclination for cxtending cultivation in suchlands.

If the land use pattern in the district as a wholedepicted the characteristics of a stagnant agri-culture with subsistence crops dominating thescene, the conditions in the midland and highlandregions, where drylands account for much oftheland area, were worse. Table 2 gives the land usepattcrn in some of the midland and highlandregions of Malabar in 1934-35.

As can be seen fiom the Table, very l itt leextension of cultivation had taken place in anyone of thc villages where nearly three fourths ofthe land area were left as cultivable wastelands int934-35. Though midland and highland regionscontained very limited area of wetlands suitablefor paddy cultivation, the area under paddyaccounted lbr 57 per cent ofall cultivated area, apercentage higher than the district average. Sig-nificantly, in sonc of the vil lages, morr: than 80per cent of the land area was uti l ised for paddycultivation. On the other hand, most of the landsin the midland and highland regions are stated tobe highly suitable for the cultivation of coconut,arecanut, pepper, rubber, cashewnut and coffee.Among them, coconut, areca and pepper fallwithin the category of traditional crops. Except-ing pepper, which accounted fbr a fairly highproportion of the cropped area in a I 'ew vil lages,none of the other crops were cultivated on anymarked scale in any one of these vil lages. Amongthe modern crops, rubber began to appear inNilambur, Pattur, Puduppadi, Malappuram,Kuturanji, Thiruvambadi and Velapper, andcofTee in Mutti l , Kudathai and Puduppadi. ltcould be ascertained that these crops were raisedby only a f 'ew planters, most of them beingEuropeans, on an experimental basis. The sons ofthc soil appeared to have been reluctant to takeup the cultivation of these crops. Though the

IAN MAR 2002

drylands are suitable for the cultivation of cropslike tapioca or cashew or lemon-grass they wereyet to appear in any one of the vil lages.

In this connection, the question is: why ncrextension of cultivation, let alone the cultivationof cash crops, had taken place in Malabar. Thequestion assumes added significance because thenatives of Malabar were migrating to far offplaces in order to eke out an existence on accountof the pressure of populat ion.r I t is beyond rhescope of this paper to provide a detailed answerto this question. Neverthelcss, a word of expia-nation would be helpful as a starting point inunraveling the role o1'rnigration in changing theland use pattern.

The inabil ity ofthe people a1 large to challengethe social and economic barriers inhibit ingdevelopment would have to be regarded as one ofthe main reasons for not extending cash cropcultivation. There were a number of social andcconomic barriers which inhibited the economicdcvelopment of Malabar. One of them was toregard agriculture as a degrading occupation

[Shea, 1989]. At the same time, the cultivablewastelands were junglelands located in the inte-rior parts of the region. Those parts were prone tomalarial infection and attack from wild animals.Any extension of cultivation into the jungles withthe malaria and wild beast, was feasible only atheavy to i l [S later , i918, p. 192] . Tenant farmersof Malabar were unwill ing and unable toenoountcr such hcavy toil with money and cffbrt.The netresult was the failure in extendins the areaof cultivation.

Peasant Migration from Travancore andChanges in the Land Use Pattern

It was to those malaria-inf'ested jungle landsthat the peasant fan.ners from Travancore hadopted to migrate. The movement which started indriples from the twenties acquired the charac-teristic ol a stream durins the Second World War

JOUI(NAL OI' lNDIAN SCHOOL OF POU'I ICAL ECONOMY

VOL. 11 NO, 1

period when an acute food shortage alsodeveloped in Travancore. The flow continuedcven after the end of the War and by 195 I nearly80,000 persons of Travancore origin migrated andsettled in thc interior parts of Malabar from northto south.r

With the influx of misrants from Travancore

6 7

more areas of land, hitherto uncultivated waste-

land, were brought under cultivation. Changes in

the land use pattern became visible even by the

beginning of 1950's when brisk migration was

only a relative recent development. Table 3 given

below indicates the cropping pattern with the area

under each croo in 1950-51.

MIGRATION AND THE CHANGING PA?-TERN OF I,AND USE IN MAI,ABAII

Table 3. Cropping Pattern in the Erstwhile Malabar District, 1950-51

Sl.No. Narne of the Crop( l ) ( 2 )

Area ln acres(3)

Percentage(4)

l .2 .315

Ricei PaddyOther cerealsPulscsPepperCinger

Areca (Betel nut)Banana and PlantainsTapiocaCashewnutCoconut

RubberCoffecTeaAll Others

Total AreaArea cropped more than onceNet area cropped

8,44,16'7I 3 , 6 2 13 3 ,84490,96310,906

85,75566,30062.3644,61 I

3,97,5 86

l7 ,7 50t2,301

1 1 ) ) 4 1

19,62,43-s2,87.9t '7

16,74.5 I 8

43.0 I0.701 . 1 24.630.55

4.363.3'73 . l 80.23

20.26

0 9 00.62

16.42

100

6 .1 .6 .

9 .l 0

1 1 .t 2 .1 3 .1 4 .

Sotnce. lndittrt Agriculturul Statistics 1950-52, Vol. II. Detailed Tables (Covcrnment of India, 1957, Calcutta. CovernmenrPress).

How could the migration of peasants fromTravancore lead to ohanges in the cropping pat-tern within a short period of time?

As already stated migration as such, is aptocess which leads to changes in the land usepattern. However. any pattern of migration to aparticular region is a specific event dictated bythe conditions relevant to that pattern. An answcrto the question can naturally be provided byexamining the particular conditions whichmoulded the migratory flow from Travancore.

ln Travancolc, frorn where the peasantmigration originated, the very process began toappear as part of the process of development

ushered in during the years following the FirstWorld War. The peasants themselves hadacquired a new development consciousness or, toput it in the phraseology of Penny, "economicm indedness " a round th i s t ime . 'Th i s i s we l lreflected in the changing attitude of the peasantstowards wants and material comforts. TheUnemployrnent Committee of 1928 appointed inTravancore expressed the same in explicit termsthus: "The families of the cultivating classesneeded more clothes, new and comparativelybetter houses and other conventional necessariesthan they did twenty or thirty years ago" [GOT,19281. However, most of them did not have thewherewithal to meet the glowing needs. The wayout was to seek occupations other than agricul-

68

turc. Howcver, most ol 'them were not suff icientlyexperienced to take up occupations other thanagriculture. As an alternative what they did wasto introduce cash crops whose prices weresteadily rising and to extend the area of cultiva-tion. Howcvcr, by thc end of twenties, practicallythc entire area ofland in Travancore was broughtunder cultivation. It was at this time that theycame to know about the existence of uncultivateclands in Malabar. The availability of land inMalabar presented itself as an EI Dorado to them

[Joseph, 1988(a), p. 95]. Needless to say, themigration, which originated under such condi-tions, could lead to a change in land use pattern.

However. change in the land use pattern,especially the extension of cultivation, calls forfinancial resourccs. Migration also needs finan-cial resources. Migrating peasants need moneynot only for the purpose of acquiring land but alsc,fbr the reclamation of the land purchased and forthe maintenance of their own families. Migrationto Malabar was to the malaria inf'ected jungle-lands. As ah'eady statcd, extension of cultivationin such lands could be undertaken at heavy cost.All thcsc callcd for fairly large amount of ilnan-cial resources. How to raise the funds required forthese purposes was the problem that confrontedthe peasants.

Luckrly most of the peasants were owners ofsmall bits of land. The lands so owned werecultivated with crops l ike pepper, areca, coconut,rubber, ginger, cashcw, etc. Land prices werepretty high in Travancore. On the other hand, thecultivarble wastelands in Malabar - most of thenrowned by a class of non-cultivating landlords -

were available for letrse on nominal consideration

[Panikar, 1978, p. 84]. The peasants thercforefollowed a course of action by which they soldtheir landed property at higher prices in Travan-core and purchased more land in Malabar at lowerprices and utilised the difference between the twoas capital for further investment in land lJoseph,1 988(b), Pp. I i 9- I 251. The peasants who resorted

JAN-MAR 2OO2

to this course of action could thus bring moderatevolume of capital which could be uti l ised foraltering the land use pattern.

Migrants act as some sort of innovators. Thcpeasants who migrated from Travancore hadsufficient experience in cash crop cultivation.Unlike the land owing classes in Malabar, theysuff'ered no taboo against engaging in agriculturaloperations. Most of them haiied from the midlandregions of Travancore. The topography andagro-climatic conditions of the areas occupied bythem in Malabar were similar to that of theirplaces of origin in Travancore. Such favourableconditions facil i tated the change in the land usepattern at the shortest possible period of t ime.

The peasant migration which acquired thecharacteristic ofa stream by the forties continuedto remain unabated during the fift ies and sixties.New batches of migrants poured into Malabar.The formation of Kerala State in 1956 and theenactment of the Kerala Land Reibrms Act 1963gave added stimulus to the cause of migration. Tctthe migrants, the formation of the state of Keralameant unification of their place of origin and placeof destination in one polit ical unit. Similarly, withthe enactment of the KLR Act 1963 and its furtheramendments, the migrants who leased land fiomthe landlords under uncertain tenurial conditionscould now become owners of the land so acquiredby them. Migrants could thus move with a senseof security and confidence which the earliermigrants did not have. Migration seemed to havereached its pcak during the decade 1961-1911.Thc process of migration seemed to have slack-ened by 1970s when cultivablc wastelands wereexhausted. By 1980's nearly 4 lakh persons ofTravancore origin seemed to have settled in thcinterior parts of Malabar [Joseph, 1988(c), p.1691. The presence of the Travancore migrantscan be seen conspicuously all over the midlandand highland regions of Malabar from south tonorth.

JOURNAL OF INDIAN SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

voL. t1No. I MIGRATION AND THE CHANGING PATTERN OF LAND USE IN MALABAR 69

With the inf-lux of new batch as of migrants.more al'eas of land hithcrto regarded as unculti-vable or left as fallow were brought under culti-vation. Srgnificant changes in the land use patternas well as cropping pattern took place in Malabarregion as a whole and in the localit ies occupiedby the migrants in particular. Quantitative mea-

surement of the magnitude of change cannot bemade fol want of comparable data since theprocess of migration started in the twenties.Nevertheless, the indices of the area additionallybrought under cultivation and the indices of thearea under each crop can indicate the broad trendsin the land use pattern (See Table 4).

Table 4. Indcx of the Arca Under Different Crops over the Years in the Malabar Region of Kerala (tsase f957-58)

Sl .No. Narne of Crops( l ) ( 2 )

l 9 57-58(3)

l 960-6 l(4)

t910-7 |(s)

t97 5-7 6( b )

l 989-90(7)

l . Paddy2. Pulses3. Other Cereals4. Pepper5. Ginger

6. Arecanut7. Plantarns and Bananas8. Cashewnut9. Tapioca10. Coconut

I l . Tea12. Coffee13 . Rubbe r1,1. C)thers

100100100100100

100100l0t)1 0 01 0 0

t00100t00100

9 9 . 1 It02 .5699.42

tt3.'79l49.t i5

92.74105.69159.12205.411 09 .56

8 9 . 3 11 0 0 . 1 2t46 .31t02 .97

t09.911 1 0 . 4 113 38

13.1.48154.3 I

1 l t . t ]71 .20

554.754 l I .05180.42

9 1 . 1 0196.05230.0u112.46

l 0 l .08l 9 L 2 048 61

l 03 .391 0 1 . 3 0

106.26l1 .20

636.0146u 25I82 50

I30 .94230.69302.20I 1 3 . 2 5

65.519 0 . 1 459 56

l5 r .70173.90

123.4896.48

554 75260 822 7 6 . t 9

94.46419.02.457.58l 1 0 . l 3

Total 1 0 6 . 1 5 1 3 8 3 1 t 4 l . 8 f l 1 3 8 . 3 |

Source: Govt. of Kerala, Agricultural Sttttistit:s tl Ke rulu, Various issues. (Trivandrurn. Dept. of Econornics and Statistics)

100

As can be seen liom the above Table, paddycultivation did not record any increase at all. Nordid any of the traditional food crops. Apparently,the green revolution which was promotcd by thegovernment during the sixties and seventies dicnot have any impact on the land use pattern inMalabar so far as food crops are ooncernedWorse still was the fall in the area under fooccrops by 1989-90. While cereals displayed sucha declining trend, tapioca, a substitute food cropwhich thrives in the drylands with fairly goodmoisture content in the soil was able to recordexceptionally good growth rate ti11 1980-8 IHowcvcr, a decelerzit ing trend seems to have setin the case of tapioca by 1989-90. The traditionalcash crops l ike areca, pepper and coconut couldrecord only moderate increase. On the other hand,new crops like rubber, coffee or cashew haverecorded exceptional growth rates. The overallpicture is one ofexpansion ofperennial cash crops

with the traditional cash crops like pepper or arecarecording only marginal growth rate. What canbe the reasons for such trends in the land usepat tern as ref lected in the cropping pat tern overthe years'? Are they because of migration or ofother factors? As indicated earlier, the peasantswho migrated were those who had developedsome sort of development consciousness. Theirpurpose was to meet their expanding sets of wantsby earning more income, than to meet the meresubsistence needs. They would have adopted astrategy fbr this purpose. A detailed examinationof the strategy would naturally be able to providean answer to thc questions.

Strategy of the Migrants

The migrants arrived in various centers of theinterior parts of Malabar with their whole fami-l ies. As already stated, the sale proceeds of their

70

landed propcrty formed the main source ofcapital. The volume of capital was not much asmost of the migrants were mere marginal farmers.The migrants had therefore to act cautiously andto spcnd thc money prudently. Though the landprice which they had to pay was not high, theyhad to meet various kinds of expenditure with thelimited amount of money available with them.Since most of thern had arrived with their fami-l ies, they had to maintarn their families ti l l thefirst harvcst was rcady. Secondly, they had to setapart a sizable amount of money for medicaltreatment, particularly against malaria. They hadto ercct houses fbr their accommodation. Moneywas also needed for purchasing draft animals andagricultural implements. Finally, they had to clearthe junglelands of wild growth. Certainly thefinancial resources available with the migranthouseholds was too inadeouate to meet all thesediverse requirements.

Under such pressing conditions what theycould think of was to replace the working capitalat the shortest period of t ime possible. As astarting point they tried to raise short durationcrops l ike hil l paddy. tapioca, yam and vegetables.Accordingly soon after clearing the jungle theycultivated hil l paddy or modan paddy, tapioca andother vegetables. Subsequently they raised othershort duration crops such as plantain, lemon-grassand ginger.

Though the lands they purchased were suitablefor permanent cash crop cultivation and theythemselves were well experienced in cultivatingperennial cash crops, the investments in suchcrops were delayed by the earlier migrants forvarious reasons. First, there was the need formeeting the subsistence requirements. Secondly,there was a f-ear of attack from wild animals likeelephants i ind boars. Had they cultivated peren-nial cash crops l ike coconut or rubber, whichinvolves high capital investment, they would havelostmuch higher amounts if at all attacked by wildanimals. They had to devise extensive protective

JAN.MAR 2OO2

measures before undertaking the cultivation ofsuch crops. There was also fears about the securityof tenure. In places around Nilambur. for exam-ple, peasants occupied lands as Verum Pattak-karans or tenants at wil l [Joseph, 1 988(d), p. 1 691.There was also a fear that crops like coconut orrubber may not thrive in certain regions as theland had rather poor water restentivity. There wasthe fear of attack from pests and disease.

Investments in permanent cash crops werenaturally taken up after the subsistence needscould be satisfied by raising short duration crops.They were also guided by the movement of pricesin the market. The initial venture was pepper-vine. It can bear fruits within three or fbur years.Some of the migrants themselves broughtpepper-vine from their native places for the pur-pose of planting in the newly purchased lands.Coconut, arecanut and rubber wel'e attempted atthe next stage. Side by side, they converted lowlaying wetlands into paddy fields for meetingfood requirements on a permanent basis. Cashewcultivation was also attempted in lands not soferti le. In this connection it is worth quoting thefollowing exoerpts from the census monographof 1961 on the strategy adopted by the peasantmigrants in Mutti l , a vil lage in Malabar.

"The new settlers were all poor cultivators orlabourers and their immediate concern on settl ingdown in the village was production of fbodarticles and other necessaries. Therefore in theinit ial stage, they cultivated seasonal crops suchas paddy, tapioca, plantain and vegetables.Immediately after the clearance of thc forest. theland was subjected to paddy crop which used toyield a good return. The second crop was eitherpaddy or tapioca according to the residuary f-er-ti l i ty of the soil. Ginger, plantain and other veg-etables were also introduced as second crop in thesame area. Aiier two or three years when theproblem offood had been solved to some extent,cash crops were introduced gradually. Thus camethe new ooffee nlantations for which the land of

JOURNAL OF INDIAN SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

VOL, ].1 NO. ] MIGIIAT'ION AND THE CHANGING PAT-IERN OF LAND USE IN MALABAR

the village is particularly suited. Pepper andlemon-grass were also inlroduced in course oftime and ginger was cultivated on more and morep lo t s " [GOI , 1966 , p . 219 ] .

Findings of'the I. ield Study

The pattern of land use as depicted in thepreceding pages may not hold good in all thelocalit ies where migrants settled. Instead, therewould be variations fiom place to place depend-ing on the nature of the soil and characteristics ofthc migrants. Patterns of land use have undergonechanges over the years with the changes in thestrategy of the migrants. Sources of data on thechanges in the strategy with the resultant changesin the land use pattern are scanty. A field studywas therefore undertaken to gather informationon the trends in the land use pattern that emergedin various parts of the region. The study wasundeltaken in four vil lages located in differentdistricts. The vil lages selected are Puduppadi.Kodencheri, both in the present Kozhrkode dis-trict, Mutti l in the present Wayanad district andAralam in the present Kannur district; all the threedistricts were created by bifurcating the erstwhileMalabar district after the formation of KeralaState. In addition, a few leading migrants werepersonally interviewcd and their experiences andreminiscences were collected (See Appendices)

Characteristics of the FieLd Centes

The present Puduppadi vil lage consisted ofthree vil lages, viz., Puduppadi, Pattur and Mal-appuram of Kozhikode Taluk. It is located nearly40 kilomcters east ol 'Kozhikode. at the foot hil lo1' Thamarachelry range of mountains. TheKozhikode-Sultan Battery road, a district high-way opene d during the latter half of 1 9th century,

passes through the middle of the vil lage.Europeans opened one rubber plantation in Irin-

_eappuzha in Puduppadi vil lage in 1892 on anexperimental basis [Innes, 1908(c), p. 225]. Theattempt was abandoned. However, during thethirties of the presenl century another plantationwas opened. Inspite of all these f-avourable con-ditions most of the area of the village was lefi asunoccupied drylands or forest lands during thethirties when migrants from Travancore started topour in .

The whole of the present Kodencheri vil lagewas part of the then Thiruvambadi vil lage ti l l196l-62. Adjoining to the present Puduppadipanchayat and located nearly 50 kilometers eastof Kozhikode, Kodencheri is also situated at thefoothill of Thamaracherry range of mountains.When migrants started to arrive. Kodencheri wasa totally uninhabited jungleland.

Mutti l vi l lage is locatcd in the Wayanad pla-teau. Located at a distance of more than 90kilometers east of Koznikode, Mutti l is wellconnected with the outside world through theKozhikode - Sultan Battery road. Europeans hadopened a few coffec and tea plantations in thevil lage during the nineteenth century. Neverthe-less, Mutti l was a sparsely populated vil lage withextensive areas of unoccupied drylands whenmigrants slarted to arrive fiom Travancore.

Aralam situated at the eastern borders of thepresentTellicherry taluk was a sparsely populatedvil lage with very i itt le extension of cultivation.Though not connected with a major highway, itis not I'ar away fiom the Kannur-Virajpet road,another district highway opened during nine-teenth century.

a

72 JOURNAL OF INDIAN SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

Table 5. Land Use Pattern in the Studv Centres (Area in acres). 193.1-35

JAN.MAR )UO)

Classi f icat ion of lands

( l )

Name of the Village

Pattur(2 )

Puduppadi Malappurani( 3 ) ( 4 )

Thiruvambadi(s)

Aralam(7 )

Munil( 8 )

Wetlands

Garden landsOccupicd dryEstatesUnoccupied dry

PorambokeForestTotal

2042.01 8860.91(89.83) (96 22) 49.51

1 9 9 . 3 51 5 1 5 )

6.8224.79

219 .41

52.51

21t 12

7.39

495 .59

81.79501 23

3 2 t i . t 7

8 8 . 1 9,+29.85

2580.35(91.42)23.00

2580.73(8e 28)60.82

8 1 5 1 . 7 9(89.62)97.90

29Q6.61(24.8 l )

1 380 35t024.206354.46(54 24)4'7.86

22'/3.03 9192.89 2822 46 1 0 7 1 8 . 1 6 9095.90 I 1 7 1 3 . 4 5

Notcs: ( i ) Thc rvholc of Kodencher i v i l lage was included in the Thiruvambadi v i l lage in 193.1-35. Pract ical ly the whole areaof Kodencheri was unsurveyed forest lands.

(ii) Pattur, Puduppadi and Malapppurarn villages forrn the present Puduppadi revenue village.(iii) Figures in the bracket indicate percentage to total land.

Sourcc: Revenue Resurvey Maps of the respective villages prepared during the Resurvey and Settlement conducted in I 934- 35.

As can be seen from the above Table, croppeclands did not occupy even one tenth of the totalland area except in Mutti l . Cropped lands con-sisted mostly of wetlands which were invariablyused fbr paddy cultivation. Plantations occupieda good proportion of the cropped area in Mutti l .A good proportion o1'the occupied lands in Thi-ruvambadi was also used as plantations. As canbe seen, all these vil lages contained extensiveareas of wastelands. Besides all these vil lagescontained unsurveyed forest lands also.

It was the availabil ity of extensive areas ofwastelands which attracted the migrants. Practi-cally, the entire area of the vil lages was owned bya class of non-cultivating landlords under asystem known as Jenmom holdings. During thethirties or even fiom earlier periods much of theland was given on lease to certain intermediariesunder a system known as Odachrth. The lesseeswere entit led to collect bamboo and other hil lproduces from the unoccupied drylands underthei r contro l [Joseph, 1988(e) , Pp. 117-119] . I twas invariably these intermediaries who leasedout the lands for nominal consideration to themi grants from Travancore.

Inflow of the Migrants and the Growth of Pop-ulation

The availabil ity of land suitable fbr cultivationwas the pull f 'actol which prompted the peasantsto migrate. Those who had access to this infor-mation and those among them who took a decisionto migrate sold their landed property andproceeded to Malabar with the sale proceeds ascapital. Though migratory movement fiom Tra-vancore to Malabar had its beginnings in thetwenties, the actual process of migration to thefour centers appeared to have started a bit late.The first instance of migration reported fiomMuttil was in 1932.4 With the arrival of fivefamilies who had migrated earlier to Wayanad,migration to Puduppadi appeared to have startedin 1938 [Joseph, 1988(0, p. I 16] . The f i rs t batchof migrants consisting of seven families arrivedrn K t rdenche r i a b i t l a te i n 1942 . 'Beg inn ing o imigration to Aralam seemed to commence around1940 when a wealthy farmer of Paiai leased a fewacres of land for cultivating lemon-grass.6In closesuccession more and more peasant fhrmers bcganto i lock rnto each of the fbur centres. With the

VOL. I1 NO. ] MIGRATION ANDTHE CHANGING PA7'TERN OF I,AND USE IN MAI,ABAR

arrival of new batch of migrants these four vil- fast rate. Table 6 gives the details of populationlages began to experience population growth at a growth recorded in these four villagcs since 1 93 I "

Table 6. Growth of Population in the l'ield Centres

Year

0 )

Populat ion in

Puduppadi( 2 \

Malappuram(3 )

Aralam( b )

Kodenchen(7 )

Pattur Muttil(4) (s)

193 II94 I195 Il 9 6 l191 |1 9 8 I

u84596NA42047 1 3 0

3854 1 0NA19462182

23646*( l63 l .04)

2 .361NA

9,330r 9,03427.9t338,693

( l , s38 .84)

ta T lq

23,546( 169.74)

97 3 .36195 3 ,830NA 1 ,74627 t2 12.4453802 t7.676

22,21|(562.63)

Notc: L Figures in the bracket indicate percentage ofincrease since 1931.2. *Puduppadi. Pattur and Malappuram form the present Puduppadi Revenue village

Source: Collectcd fioni the District Census Handbooks of various vears.

As can be seen fiom the Table, these fourvil lages were sparsely populated in 193 1. Sincethen the population growth was phenomenal.

Between 1931 and 1981 both Puduppadi andAralam recorded a population growth of around1600 per cent each. Against this the respectiverates of population growth of the districts ofKozhikode and Kannur were around I 80 per cent

[GOI, 1983]. As a vil lage, Kodencheri was partof the then Thiruvambadi vil lage ti l l 1961 andpractically the entire area of the present Koden-cheri vil lage was unsurveyed forest lands. Eventhen the growth rate recorded since 1971 waspretty high. Needless to say, the high intensity of'migration accounted for the sudden growth 01population. Mutti l was an exception to the high

rate of population growth. Even then, the increasewas 563 per cent. Wayanad district as a wholewas an inmigrating district and unlike the con-centration of migrants in certain selected vil lages

of the other districts, migrants were distributed allover the district of Wayanad. It is estimated thatthe migrants fiom Travancore or their descen-

dants forrned about 70 percent of the population

of both Kodencheri and Aralam. They would bearound 30-40 percent in the other two vil lages

fJoseph, i988(g) , p. 137] .

What the n.rigrants did on arriving at the vil-lages was to acquire land suitable for extendingcultivation. Invariably most of them acquiredmore land than they possessed at their places oforigin. As stated earlier, a fleld study was con-ducted among the migrants in order to ascertainthe extent of land purchased and the land useintroduced by them. The design of the sample wassuch as to collect the infbrmation from themigrants who had migrated directly tiom Tra-vancore during the period 1940-1980. As manyas 341 migrant households were visited withstructured schedules during September-December 1997. Table 7 given below indicatesthe cxtent of different categories of landpurchased by the migrants on their arrival inMalabar.

As can be seen from the Table, the respondentspurchased an area of 3832 acres of land duringthe period 1940- 1980. On an average, each familypurchased 11.24 acres of land. The land pur-chased by them consisted mostly of wastelandsand forestlands. Some of the respondentsmanaged to purchase cultivated lands also.However, such lands fbrmed only 8 per cent ofthe total. Cultivated lands were invariably pur-chased by the later migrants who made the pur-chases from the earlier migrants who offbred tosell their lands for one reason or another.

JOURNAI, OF INDIAN SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY JAN-MAR 2OO2

Table 7. Classification of Lands Purchased/Acquired by the Sampled Migrant Households Over the Years

Year No. of households Cultivated land(Acres)

( r ) ( 2 ) ( 3 )

Cultivable waste-lands (Acres)

(4)

Forest lands(Acres)

(s)Total Acres

( 6 )

I 94t)194t,15l 946-50l 9 5 l - 5 5I 956-60

l 9 6 l 6 5t966-70tg l l 75l 976-80

6.024.05 .0

2 0 572.5

1 .049.5

240.0260 55 9 1 . 0

393.5399.585.078.5

-s0.025.0

1004.044.0

t 6 1 . 5

80.562.0'7.0

1 .0

57.080.5

1268.0309.,577 9 .0

546.5548.0123.0120.5

86.53 1 . 035.0

76

63338 l

64561 8l 3

Total 280.5(1 .32)

2104.5(s4.92)

1447.0(31 . 16 \

3832 0( 100.0)

3 4 1

Note; Figures rn bracket indicate percentage to total acres. (Average per farnily I L24 Acres)

lntensih of Lancl Use

Immediately after purchastng the lands whatthe migrant households did was to reclaim thewaste-lands into arable lands. Of course. thereclamation could not be completed within oneyear. The process continued for four or five years.

A variety of crops suitable for improving their lot

was raised in the lands reclaimed. The crops

raised in each year upto the sixth year of arrival

ofeach migrant household and the extent ofland

devoted to each crop during the years 1940- I 980

are given in Table 8.

Table 8. Percentagc of Area Brought Under Different Crops by the Respondents

Narne of Crop

( l l

P r i o r t o l 94 l - 45I 940(2 ) ( 3 )

Years

1946-50 l95 l 55 1956-60 l96 l -65

(4) (5 ) (6 ) (7 )

1966-70 l97l-75 1976-80 Average

( 9 ) ( 1 0 ) ( l l ) ( 1 2 )

Paddy 23.10Tapioca 14.89Ginger I 7.05Lemongrass 31.95Coconut 4.25

Arecanut i i .5 IPepperRubberCashewnutCoffee

CocoaOthersTotal 100Total arca 11cultivated acrcsTotal land 51purchased Acres

1 4 . 6 1 1 2 . 3 11 6 8 9 1 . 1 222 83 5.9618.26 39 .5-512.32 16 28

t2 .95 7 .321 3 . 8 1 9 . 8 9t6 .61 13 0913.16 8.381 8 . 3 5 2 l . 1 9

1 2 . 0 8 1 1 3 96 . 5 2 I 1 . 6 5| . t 2 4 . 3 62 . t 4 l . 5 12 .14 4 .08

0.20 0.280.20 0 .21100 100

380.-5 | ,420

119.0 -546._s

10.21 2 .131 0 . 1 2 6 . 3 618.61 t3 .419.02 3 .82

1 8 . 2 1 1 3 . 3 7

3 . 1 5 1 9 0 710.19 16 .284 1 1 t 6 . 1 |

14.49 2 t92.60 2.31

1.63 3 .09-- 0.54100 100

l,036.5 549

1.65 9 .627 . t 6 9 . 5 6

12.61 14.20t3.17 15.49I l . 0 t 1 8 . 4 0

1 . 1 6 t 2 2 . 11 2 . 3 9 1 0 . I I29.20 1.',75I . 6 5 I 7 50 . 5 5 2 . 1 2

2.15 l .03- - 0 2 5100 t00

I 81 5 6 .285

l 20 3 .832

6.307.81

17.0814.8223.88

2 1 3 6 5 4 t 2 7 74. l0 8.62 9 641.82 0 .09 3 .172.13 2 .08 1 .40

0 . 1 4 | . 2 9

0.96 1 073.64 0 .29 0 .10100 100 100

109 5 l ,03 L5 921 5

80 5 1.268 309 5 548

VOL. I1 NO. I MIGRAT'ION AND THE CHANGING PATTERN OF LAND USE IN MALABAR

The Table indicates that four short duratiorrcrops comprising paddy, tapioca, lemon-grassand ginger occupied more than 60 per cent of thecropped land during the forties. Though there wasa decline in the area under these crops, as yearswcnt. they sti l l oocupied a fairly large proportionof the cropped land. During the init ial years thearea under perennial crops l ike coconut or arecaor rubber was proportionately less. However, thepercentage under these crops began to increaseprogrcssively.

The Table points to one significant aspectabout the whole process of land rcclamation. Itwas the high intensity of land use throughout theperiod under the study. As can be seen, the grosscropped area was much more (64 per cent higher)than the net area of land. The question is: why didthe migrants resort to such an intensive cultivationwhen they had purchased more area of land thanthey had possessed in their place of origin andwhen cultivable wasteland was available at a vcrylow price? The question becomes all the moreimportant bccause they did not reclaim the entirearca purchascd by thcm within the year ofacquisit ion. Such a dcvclopment was the outcomeof the strategy adopted by them. The strategy asstated earlier, was both to raise subsistence cropsand to replenish the working capital at the shortesrpossible period of't ime. The cultivation of paddy,tapioca, lemon-grass and ginger could meet thispurpose. Significantly they did not attempt tocultivate traditional subsistence crops l ike theminor cereals and pulses. Instead they promotedtapioca which could serve them as a substitutefood material and at the same time i'etch a goodincome. Even paddy cultivation was notattempted beyond a limit. The paddy which theycultivated during the earlier years was modanpaddy. Low laying areas were converted intopaddy frelds only gradually. Crops like ginger andlemon-grass (for oil) had a ready market with afairly high price in those days. No wondcr, thesecrops occupicd a large part ofcropped Iand. Since

these were short duration crops, more than onecrop could be raised in a year on the land bycultivating any ofthese crops.

Anothcr side of their strategy was to raiseperennial cash crops in a phased manner. Per-manent oash crops take a longer gestation period.What the peasants did was to plant permanentcash crops l ike pepper, areca, coconut or rubberand simultaneously to raise any one of the shortduration crops till the permanent crops reachedthe yielding stage. Some of the permanent cashcrops like areca or pepper are also suitable forintercropping with short duration crops. Nowonder, intensity of land use was very high duringthe period of reclamation of land and rearing o1'permanent cash crops.

With minor variations, the same pattern of landuse seems to have prevailed in Puduppadr, Aralamand Kodencheri. Lemon-grass was popular in allthe villages except Puduppadi. It could beascertained that firewood was not available insufficient quantity for distilling lemon grass arPuduppadi and therefbre the migrants wereunable to raise lemon-grass. Instead, they pro-moted tapioca which could be easily transportedto Kozhikode through Kozhikode-SulatanBattery road, an important highwav passingthrough the vil la-{e.' Mutti l is an exception to thegenelal trend in so far as rubber is concerned.Rubber was not at all cultivated by the rnigrantsin Muttil. On the other hand. coff'ee has been animportant crop occupying a fairly large percent-age of cropped land in Mutti l from the beginningSuitabil ity of the land for cultivating ooffeeaccounted for the importance of coffee cultivationin Mut t i l .

TiLt in FavoLtr of Perennictl Cash Crops irt theLand Use

The development conscious peasant migrantswere not satist\ed with the initial land use DatternInstead they introduced more of perennial cashcrops l ike rubber, coconut, cashewnut, etc.. incoursc of t ime. As a result, these crops began tooccupy much of the land space in course of t ime(sec Table 9).

76 JOURNAL OF INDIAN SCHOOL OF POL]TICAL ECONOMY

'l'able 9: Land Utilisation Pattern in the Selected Inmiqrant Villages in 1997

JAN-MAR 2OO2

Name of the Crop Percentage of Area Under Different Crops in

(4)( 3 )( l )

Kodenchery

(2)

Muttil Aralarn Puduppadi Average ofthefbr the r i l lages

(s) (6)PaddyTapiocaGingerLcmon-grassCoconutArecanutPepperRubberCashgwnutCoffeeCocoaMixed Crops

7 0 50 . 5 1

ti sgt4.200.76

36.13

i.n5.86

15.700. l70 . l7

7 l 0tt 73

23 606.490.08

36 85

1 0 5

4.530.630 . 5 1

20.421 0 7 52.93

37.940.33

0.3021 60

5 5 6l 2 l

z8.os1 2 . 2 82.60

36.28

0. i l0.92

t 2 . 9 2

6.9 r0 6 80.25

: L . + .

I 1 . 3 65 . 7 1

32.,+80 1 65.710.38

l 3 .86

1001001 0 01 0 01 0 0Total

The Table indicates that rubber has emergedas the most important crop reckoned in terms ofthe area under cultivation, closely followed bycoconut in all the vil lages except Mutti l . Arecanutretains the third rank. In Muttil on the other hand.coffee has become the most important crop fol-lowed by pepper. None of the seasonal cropswhich accounted fbr much of the cropped landdurins the init ial stases of land reclamation could

be found of any importance in any of the vil lages.All of them had been marginalised or totallyeliminated as in the case of lemon-grass. Datarelating to a few panohayats also point to such atilt in the land use pattern in favour of perennialcash crops. Table 10 given below indicates thcextent of land occupied by diff'erent crops in a f'ewDanchavats.

Table 10. Land Usc in Certain Panchavats in 1997

Narne of the Crop Area of land occupied by diffcrent crops in (Area in hectares)

( l )Kodencheri

( 2 )Aralam

( 3 )Kutaranji

( r+.)

Paddy I CropPaddy II CropRubberCashewnutCoconut

ArecanutPepperCoffe eTapiocaGinger

CocoaOthersTotal Land undercultivation

4040

4,2503 5

3,400

2,200325

6030

1 8 0NA

r0.560

l 0 lti0

I ,4359 6 1102

1 0 6443

I ncct.

2,211'60

1.450

1,302210326{J

140

21NA

6 , 1 5 33,820

Note: l . N.A. : Not Avai lable2. Total would be more than the figures indicated above as the details of other crops are not included here

(Source: Collected frorn the Devektpntent Reportr of the respective panchayats prepared in I 997.)

VOL. 11 NO. ] MIGRATION AND THE CHANGINC PATTERN OF L4ND USE IN MALABAR

The Table indicatcs that rubber occupics thelargest area of the cropped lands in all the pan-chayats. While cashewnut occupies the secondposition in Aralam. it is coconut that holds thesecond position in other panchayats. However,the panchayat reports mention about the exten-sion of rubber cultivation in the areas occupiecby cashew. The other important crops are arecaand pepper. All the other crops including paddyhave been marginalised. The reports point to theprogressivc dccline in the area under paddy, thcl' ields for which werc reclaimed at heavy cost bythe migrants soon after their arrival. Lemon-grass. ginger and tapioca which sustained thernigrants during the formative years of migrationhave been marginalised for all practical purposes.Instead, cocoa, pincapple and plantains haveemerged as intern.rediate crops in the midst ofcoconut and arecanut on a l imited scale IKutaranj.Panchayat, 19981. What can be the reasons for theti lt in favour of perennial cash crops in the landuse pattern?

One of the main f-actors would be the agro-climatic conditions. It is the favourable agro-climatic conditions which account for theextension of colTec cultivation in Mutti l .Suitabil ity of land could contribute to a largeextent to the increase in the area under rubber inothcl'centres. At thc same time, mono crops l ikerubber or cashewnut do not tolerate short durationcrops as inter cultured crops. However, suchagro-climatic conditions cannot explain the rea-sons for the marginalisation of annual crops. Inthis context the peasant migrant themselves wcreasked during the survey to explain the reason forsuch alterations in the cropping pattern. Theanswers were not unanimous. While some of thempointed out thc changes in the plice level as themain factor, some others regarded crop diseasesas the compelling I'actor for making changes inthe cropping pattern. All these factors haveinfluenced the migrants to change the land usepattern in some way or other. The exact reasonsvaried from time to time and place to place.

77

Among the factors, thc changes in the price ofcrops in the markel is perhaps the most importantin ti l t ing the scale in favour of perennial cashcrops. One of the important f'actors whichinfluenced the migrants to raise annual crops likelemon-grass or ginger was the high price. Theydid not bother to cultivate minor cereals or pulses,though the lands they purchased were suitable forraising them, precisely because such crops couldcommand only very low prices in thc market.With very high price, lemon-grass was the hotchoice ti l l the sixties. Lemon-grass oil could notrecover fiom a serious fall in its prices in theinternat ional market s incc the c lose oI s ix t ies. 'Consequently lemon-grass cultivation was our-tailed by the migrant households. Cocoa is atypical crop whose cultivation was dictated solelyby the movement of priccs. Almost all the migranthouseholds started to cultivate cocoa as aninter-crop during the seventies when it couldcommand a high price in the market. However,they abandoned cocoa cultivation at a later stagewhen its price began to fall. With thc improve-ment in the price of cocoa in the market duringthe nineties, cocoa cultivation is being revived.

Profitabil ity of the crops is closely connecredwith the price. Almost all the fhrmers raisedpaddy, though not on a large scale, init ially undcrntodan cultivation and consequently under wetland cultivation. Eipe, one of the pioneeringmigrants in Puduppadi, was quick to convertnearly four acres of low lying area of the landpurchased by him into paddy fields soon afterarriving in Malabar. He began to abandon paddycultivation from the sevcnties when paddy culti-vation became unprofitable. He, instead, startedto raise areca and cocoa as intercrops in hiswetlands. He conf'essed that he is able to earn asteady income because of this change in the landusepal tern rn favourof arecaal acr i t ica l momenl . "In Kutaranji panchayat paddy field covered 280hectares during the peak period of migration. Asindicated in Table 10, the same has conte down

78

to mere one hectarc. A similar fall has taken placein all the panchayats precisely because of theunprofltabil ity ol ' paddy cultivation.

Crop disease is one of the important factorswhich adversely aff'ected the cultivation of vari-ous crops leading to changes in the land usepattern. One typical example is pepper. It was apromising crop in all the panchayats during thefifties. Pepper raised by the migrants was of highquality. By the sixties pepper was affbcted by adisease known as [)ruthavctttom. Its prices alsodid not remain steady in the following years

fAralam Panchayat, 1998]. As a result, the areaunder pepper was diverted to the cultivation ofother crops. Interest in pepper cultivation hasreappeared since the eighties with the rise in theprice of pepper in the international market.Peasant migrants revived the cultivation of pep-per by introducing new crop varieties which areresistant to crop disease. However, it has notregained its old position in any one of thc pan-chayats except in Muttil. Ginger is another cropwhose cultivation has been abandoned because ofcrop disease. Areca is yet another crop whosecultivation is adversely affected by crop disease.With the rise in the price of arecanut, migrantshave revived the cultivation of areca since theseventies, the strategy being the introduction ofnew crop varieties llke Mangala, Sumangala,Monith Nagar, etc., which are somewhat resistantto crop disease. Actually, most of the wetlandsused for paddy cultivation are being conveltedinto arecanut.

Government's policy is yet another factorwhich changed the land use pattern. As mentionedearlier, migrants except those who had experiencein rubber cultivation were reluctant to cultivaterubber on any largc scale during the early days ofmigration. However, as the Rubber Board camefbrward with the scheme to provide subsidies forrubber cultivation from the seventies, rubbercultivation began to expand. The price ofrubberwas also fairly high. Rubber quickly emerged as

JAN-MAR 2OO2

the top ranking crop in all the vil lages exceptMutti l. Since rubber does not tolerate inter-cropping, short duration crops arc not being raisedin rubber plantations. In Mutti l . the Coff'ce Boardprovides patronage for coffee cultivation. Natu-rally, coffee takes the leading position among thecrops in Mutti l . Cashew is cultivated mainly inthe barren lands with less moisture content in thesoi l .

One new fbrm of land use which has gainedimportance on a l imited scale espccially with thcsmall famers is mixed farming. It is none otherthan the garden cultivation of the past. However,tapioca, a crop introduced in Malabar for the firsttime by the migrants has emerged as another cropamong the nalbhoganls of the new garden culti-vatlon.

ConcLusion

The migrants from Travancore cleared thejungle and converted them into paddy fields andplantations of rubber, cofTee and orchards ofcoconut and gardens of areca and pepper in theupland regions of Malabar from north to south.The development consciousness which set inmotion thc migratory movement of the peasants

of Travancore seems to have ruled the roost inshapin_e and reshaping the land use pattern iitdifferent stages. Any development is f 'easible onlywith material resources in terms of money. Nat-urally the pattern which they introduced was toraise those crops which can fetch the maximumyield in terms of value and discontinue those cropswhich do not command a good price in the market.On seeing the success of the venture, the nativepeople who were indifferent to reclaim cultivablewastelands in the past also came forward andopened plantations and orchards in many parts ofthe interior areas of Malabar fJoseph, 1988(h), p.1621.

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Howcver, the peasants who migrated fiomTravancore, not only acquired cultivable waste-lands but also occupied forest lands. As indicatedin Table 7. nearly 40 percent ofthe land occupiedby thcm werc fbrcst lands. Such lands were alsoconverted into arable lands. Similarly lbrests inother parts of Malabar were also occupied by themigrants and converted into arable lands. Need-less to say, the depletion of forest can result inecological disturbances.

On the other hand, the migration of peasantsand thc ncw land use pattern introduced by themcould lead to the developme nt of Malabar regronin genelal ernd ol the centres where migrantssettled down in particular. The roads, schools andhospitals constructed by them could contribute tothe progress of the region. The places inhabitedby the peasants are noted for high literacy ratealso. The overall economic development and theprosperity discerniblc in the region have to beattributed by and large to the migration and to theland use pattern introduced by the migrants.

NOTES

I . On the Plight ofthe People ofMalabar district the Reporr

d the Muktbur Tenturct' Comnittee /940 contains the fol-lowing observatron:

"With the alarming increase of population, without acorresponding increase in the yield of lands and with thefall in exports and the necessity for more imports, theconditions of the people has become deplorable... What

more evidence of it we require than the fact that thousandsof young men quit Malabar in search of employment and

that nenial servrce throughout the presidcncy if not

throughout the whole of India has become the monopoly

of the Nairs of Malabar instead of the military service ofthe Pre-B ritish days ". See Government of Madras ( I 949)

Report fi the Muktbur Tetuutcy Comnittee 1940, p. l5(Madras, Gov5rrnrnent Press).

2. The total number ofinmigrants from Travancore Cochin

to the rural areas of Malabar district was 78 I 48 according to

the I 95 I census. Practically all of them were peasant migrants

from Travancore. See Governrnent of India (1951): Cen.ru.r

Hundbook I 95 I Mulabur District lMadrasGovernment Press,

Pp. 246-2471. In addition a few thousand would have alsr.r

moved to the then Kasaragod taluk of south Canara district.

MIGRATION AND 7'HE CHANGING PA1-I-ERN OF LAND USE IN MALABAR 79

3. The terrns "Subsistence mindedness" and "Economicmindedness" appear in D.H. Penny's, "Growth of economicmindedness among small fanners in North Surnatra,lndonesia" in C.R. Wharton (ed.) (1970) Subsistent:e Eun-omics und EutnontiL: Devektpnent ILondon, Frank Cass Ltd.]p 1 5 8

,1. Collected by the author dunng the survey in Muttil.5. Collected by the author during an interview with

Venkey Vadakkel, one of the early niigrants to Kodencheri.He migrated to Kodenchen with his parents in 1944.

6. Information gathered from Varkey Kulathunkal. adoyen among the migrants who reached the area in 1943.

7. Collected by the author during the survey.8. Details gathered during an interview with Varkey

Poovathunkal (see Appendix I ) which gives an insight on theplight and strategy of the migrants.

9. Infbrrriation gathered tiom Eipe Komath. whose travailsgives a lot of information about the strategy of the rnigrantsand its subsequent modification. (See for details Appendix 2).

REFERENCES

Aralam Panchayat, 19981 Devektpment Reporl. Secretary.Aralam Panchayat.G.O.l. (Government of India). 1966: Census ol lndiu 1961,Vol. VII. Kerttlu Part VL ViLktge Survev Monogralth.s Cun-nttnore uncl Koz.hikode Di.strict.s. Trivandrum. GovernmentPress.G.O. l . (Government of lndia) , 1983: Cen. l rs r t lndio 1981.Series 10, Kerala District Census Handbooks of Kozhikode.Wayanad and Cannanore districts, Trivandrurn, GovernrnentPress.G.O.P. (Govemment of Madras Presidency). 1940 Report o.fthe MuluburTenunc,- Committee, Madras Government Press.G.O.T. (Government of Travancore), 1928, Report o.f theUnempktynenl Conunittee, Trivandrum, Government Press.Innes, C.A., 1908(a), Madras District Guz.etteers; Muluhru'und Anjengt, Madras, Superintendent, Government Press.lnnes, C.A. , 1908(b): op.c l l .Innes, C.A. , 1908(c) : o/ l .c l t .Iyer, Krishnaswami K.N.. 1933: Statistitul Abstrau nt Di.s-trict Munuul ol South Cunuru District, Madras, GovernmentPress.Joseph, K.V.. 1988(t): Mig,rution und Econontit Det'eIoptnentol Kerulu. Delhi . Mi t ta l Publ icat ions.Joseph. K.V . 1988(b): ry.c l r .Joseph, K.V. , 1988(c) ; op.r : l l .Joseph, K.V. , 1988(d); rZ.c l l .Joseph, K.V. , 1988(e); r?.c l l .Joseph. K.V. , 1988(f) ; op.c l l .Joseph, K V. . 1988(g): r? c i t .Joseph, K.V. , 1988(h); op.c i t .Kodenchen Panchayat, 1998, Detektpntent Report. Secre-tary, Kodenchen Panchayat.Kutaranji Panchayat, 1998 Devektpntent Report, Sccretary.Kutaranji Panchayat.Panikar P.G.K. (Ed.) , 1978; Pol tuLut ion ( ] row' th und Eut-rutmic Development ol Kerola, Rorne, F.A.O.

8'

Shea, Thornas, 1959: ' l larr iers to Economic Development inTraditronal Societies: N'lalabar - A Case Study' in Journal rlEt'otnmic Hlslory, Vol. 19.Slater, Gilbert, l9l8: Sonre South Indiut Villages, London,Hurnphrey Milcfred, Oxford University.

APPENDIX I

Varkey Poovathinkal. 62. member of Aralam Panchayat

f iom 1964 to 1988. was only 12 years old when his e lder '

brother migrated to Keezhpally in Aralarn Village in l9zl8.

Afier completing his education, Varkey also followed the foot

steps of his brother by migrating to Keezhpally for the purpose

of improving his economic prospects. Unlike the other

migrants, the two brothers migrated from Kuravilangad in

Kottayam district without selling their ancestral property as

they belonged to a rnoderately rich peasant farnily owning

rnore than I 2 acres of I and. When Varkey rcached Keezhpally.

it was a nrere fblest land extending upto the borders of the

fbrrner Coorg state. A can road constructed by the rnigrants

through the middle of the thick forest to Iriny, the nearby

commercial centre located at a distance of more than 15

kilometres from Keezhpally was the only means of transport

Lluses began to ply only f}om 1978 when a bridge across the

river separating Iritty to Keezhpally was constructed at

Kol ikkadavu.

The crops initially raised by Varkey were tapioca,

lemon-grass and ginger. Lemon-grass was an attractive erop

in those days because ofits high price in the market. Unlikc

the other commodities, lemon-grass oil could be transported

to the distant commercial centres with ease on head; the only

mode of transport in those days, as it is not a bulky commodity

Cultivation of pepper, arcca, coconut and cashew was taken

up in a phased manner. He continued to raise shon duration

crops in those plots where coconut or areca seedlings were

planted till they reachcd thc yielding stage. Low-lying areas

were converted into paddy flelds. He faced a set-back when

his pepper-vrnes were destroyed by a disease known as

druthovutton by I 97 I . Attempts were made at a later date to

revive pepper cultivation by introducing new plant varieties

Iike P unnit' ur- I, Kuritntuuln. etc.Lemon-grass cultivation was

discontrnued mainly as a result of the fall in the price of

lcnion-grass oil in the market by the end ofsixties. Paddy lands

which hc reclaimed at heavy cost were conve(ed into areca

gardens f rom 1981 onwards.

He now owns about 25 acres of land planted with crops

like rubber, coconut, area and cashew, etc. He continucs to

cultivate ginger also bccause it is a favouritc crop of his place

of origin. Keezhpally the jungleland where Varkey settled

JAN-MAR 2OO2

down ncarly ,10 years back has grown as a busy commercial

centre. whcre t raders ant l pcastnt nt igr f ,n ls congregalc l ( ,

conduct transactions of hill produces like lemon-grass oil,

ginger, areca, pepper, coconut, cashew, pineapple, rubber.

cocoa, etc., all raised by the rnigrants by reclaiming wastelands

or forestlands.

APPENDIX 2

Eipe Komath, was a young man of 26 when he reachedKuppayakode in Puduppadi village of Malabar district fromTravancore as the leader of a family of nine consisting of hisfather, younger brother, two unmarried sisters. his own wifeand three children. His was not a case of rnigration for thepurpose of eking out an existence. It was under taken solelyfor improving his economic prospects by cultivating morecash crops in the sub-mountaineous regions of Malabar. Thefarnily had enough paddy lands. sufficient to suppon two orthree generations, but not enough area of good drylands. Asa young man, he sensed that the paddy dominated economywhich reigned supreme for generations was on the decline andthat future lay with cash crop cultivation. Inspired by aneighbour, Mr. Poulose who could enrich himself bymigrating to Malabar, Eipe visited Malabar, ananged topurchase 20 acres ofland at Kuppayakode located 5 kms awayfrorn the 24th niile ofKozhikode - Sultan Battcry road. for aprice of Rs 250 per acrc and constructed a thatched shed forthe accolnrnodation of his family. In this area he settled downwith his family rn 1948 after selling his ancostral property fora sum of Rs 20,000i - at Kadavoor in Muvattupuzha and starteda new career.

The immediate task was to raise some subsistence cropsin the jungle land purchased by him. This he did by sowingmodan paddy and planting tapioca - tapioca stems being thosethat were brought fiorr his native place. The tapioca he plantedyielded good yield and itinerant merchants werc at his door-step to purchase tapioca: a facility which was not available tothe migrants who settlcd down in places away from any mainroad. He did not lail to convert the low lying area into paddyfields and to plant pepper-vine, areca and ginger in the dryland once the first round of cultivation was over. This timethe pepper-vine was brought frorn his native place during asubsequent visit. Once thc base was secured, his next agendawas to increase the area of land, by purchasing another 20acres ol-land: the price being Rs 500i - per acre. The next turnwas that of coconut and rubber - the cultivation of rubber wasdelayed par l ly on account o1'h is lack of exper ience rncultivating rubber and the cultivation of coconut was delayedon account of the genuine doubt about the suitability of landfor raising coconut. Simultaneously, cultivation of shortduration crops like tapioca, ginger and plantains wereundefiaken as inter crops in those plots where pernanent cropslike pepper or areca, or coconut or rubber werc planted till

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these pennanent crops attained the yielding stage. He was notinclined to cultivatc lcmon grass on account of the shortageof firewood.

To his dismay, when everything was smoothly going on,disturbances of one type or another began to befall. The firstinstance was the entry of a new claimant to the ownership ofthe land purchased by hin. It tumed out that the original dealerfiom whom Mr. Eipe purchased the land had no legal nght tothe land. The new clairnant arrived in the scene thrcateningEipe with eviction fion the land purchased and cultivatcd byhim. A cornprornise was struck by which Mr. Eipe wascompelled to pay an amount of equivalent to the one, paid to

the onginal seller. as price to the new claimant. The secondsetback was the destruction of pepper-vine by crop disease.His atternpt to revive pepper cultivation with new cropranel ics has nol becn very ef fect ive.

One thing which saved him from financial disaster wasthe conversion of a portion ofhis paddy lands into areca gardenin which he planted ncw crop varieties like Mungalu, Sri-manguLu, etc. He confessed that he is able to eam a steadyincorne mainly because of this conversion of paddy lands. Hewas a pioneer in planting cocoa in the ntdst of areca palmsas an inter crop. He now owns about 25 acres of cropped landsdistributed amons his four sons.

5)

DOCUMENTATION

The purpose of this section is to make available to thereaders official documents such as reports of committees,commissions, working groups, task forces, etc., appointedby various ministries, departments, and agencies of centraland state governments which are not readily accessibleeither because they are old, or because of the usual prob-lems of acquiring governmental publications, or becausethey were printed but not published, or because they werenot printed and remained in mimeographed form. It willbe difficult and probably not worthwhile to publish thedocuments entirely. We shall publish only such parts ofthem as we think will interest our readers. The readers arerequested to send their suggestions regarding officialdocuments or parts thereof for inclusion in this section.

In the present section we publish:

Report of The National Statistical Commission,(Chairman: C. Rangarajan), Volume I, August 2001,Chapters 2 and 3, Approach and Overview; Recom-mendations.

'1"5Yr*t '',--' i7