Kerala

Capital: Trivandrum
Main language: Malayalam
Area: 38,854 square km
Population: 31,838,619

Kerala, the land of 'green magic', is a narrow, fertile coastal strip bordered by the Western Ghats on the south-west coast of India. These high mountains have sheltered Kerala from invaders from the rest of India but at the same time Kerala has a very long history of contact with the outside world. In Cochin there is still a small community, descendants of Jewish settlers who fled from Palestine 2000 years ago. Kerala has also had Christians for as long as Christianity has been in Europe! The Portuguese were more than a little surprised to find Christianity already established along the Malabar coast when they arrived here 500 years ago. And more than a little annoyed that these Christians had never heard of the Pope. Long before Vasco da Gama led the Portuguese to India the coast had been known to the Phoenicians who came in search of spices, sandalwood and ivory. Kerala was not only a spice centre in its own right but also a transshipment point from the Moluccas. The Biblical Ophir, visited by King Solomon, is also thought to be in Kerala at the site of the small village of Puvar, south of Trivandrum. The Arabs and Chinese also made their mark on Kerala and fishermen still use Chinese fishing nets to this day.

The present day state of Kerala was created in 1956 from Travancore, Cochin and Malabar, which was formerly part of Madras State. The people speak Malayalam which hundreds of years ago was derived from Tamil. In 1957 Kerala became the first place in the world to freely elect a communist government. Although the communists are currently in power they have not always held power since that initial election success. The princely state of Travancore had, however, carried out a far-sighted policy of land distribution over a century ago. Today Kerala has a more equitable distribution of land ownership than almost anywhere else in India and this has resulted in unusually intensive cultivation and a much more even distribution of income than is found elsewhere in India. Although Kerala, predominantly agricultural and with little industry, is far from top of the per capita income scale in India it has remarkably little real poverty. This distribution of wealth applies also to education and health. The literacy rate in Kerala is 60%, twice the all-India average, and is actually growing faster than the rest of India despite the already high literacy level. Similarly infant mortality in Kerala is relatively low and both these achievements have been made without spending a higher proportion of the state's income on education or health than other states.
For visitors Kerala offers one of the best beaches in India at Kovalam, a unique wild life sanctuary at Periyar its intriguing blend of cultures and some unusual ways of getting around. Perhaps more than anywhere else in India getting there can be half the fun, particularly on the backwater trips along the coastal lagoons. Best of all Kerala has an easy going, laid back atmosphere quite unlike the bustle you find elsewhere in India.

Religions in Kerala
Kerala has an amazing mixture of religions, 24% of the population today are Christians and Christianity has been longer established here than almost anywhere in the world. St Thomas the Apostle, 'doubting Thomas', is supposed to have landed on the Malabar coast in 52 AD near Cranganore and in that town there is a church, with carved Hindu-style columns, supposed to date from the 4th century AD. Further south there is the 9th century Syrian church of Vallia Palli. Kerala's Syrian Christians were here at least as early as 190 AD for a visitor at that time reports seeing a Hebrew copy of St Matthew here. Kerala's now disappearing Jewish population also made a very early appearance on the sub-continent. The 'black Jews' are supposed to have fled here in 587 BC when Nebuchadnezzar occupied Jerusalem. Their descendants have now intermarried with the Hindu population but there are still a small number of the later 'white Jews' in Cochin.