Politics in Travancore: from the Late Nineteenth Century to 1938
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T i t l e : SOCIAL CHANGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF 'MODERN' POLITICS IN TRAVANCORE: FROM THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO 1938 Name of Candidate: James Lazar C h iriy a n k a n d a th D egree; Doctor of Philosophy C o lle g e ; School of Oriental and African Studies ProQuest Number: 10731124 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731124 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 A b s tra c t The subject is the development of politics, within a context of social change, in the Indian princely state of Travancore. The thesis is divided into two parts: Part One focuses upon social change, and Part Two on p o l i t i c s . Since, in considering the emergence of 'modern' forms of p o litica l expression we are concerned with the twin themes of p o litic a l social isation and m obilisation, Part One explores the social background. Beginning with the latter half of the nineteenth century it deals with the development of communal id e ntity. Chapters Two and Three give a survey of the castes and communities in the state and their situation at the turn of the century. They cover social and religious reform movements and the emergence of communal associations. Chapter Four is devoted to religious reform in the 1918-38 period. Chapter Five turns to the economy of Travancore: it considers the rise of capitalism and the consequences of change for nascent class conflict. Having examined p o litic a l development prior to 1918 in Chapter One, Part Two concentrates on politics in the eventful 1918-38 period. Chapter Six deals with the formation of the early p o litica l associations and the campaigns for civic equality and legislative reform in 19i8-22. Chapter Seven covers the communal p o litics of the 1920s, Chapter Eight examines the Abstention movement of 1933-35 that sought an end to the p o litica l and administrative dominance of caste-Hindus. The final chapter looks at the background to the formation, in 1938, of the m ulti- communal Travancore State Congress on a platform of responsible govern ment. The conclusion reviews the transformation of politics in a period of social and in stitutio n al change - the development and expression of a new sense of communal identity, nationalism, and an emergent class consciousness. It then goes on to consider the significance of a ll three in post-1938 Kerala. Table of Contents Page No. A b s tra c t 2 Acknowlegdements 4 List of Abbreviations 5 Map of Travancore 6 I. Introduction: i. The Historiography of Modern Travancore 7 ii. Travancore and Its Politics Before 1918 9 Part I: Social Change from the Late Nineteenth Century to 1938 II. Castes; Social Reform and Identity 27 III. Communities: Social Reform and Identity 63 IV. Caste Organisations, Religious Reform and Hindu Revivalism 90 V. The Development of Capitalism and the Rise of Trade Unions 109 Part II: Politics 1918 to 1938 VI. 1918-1922: The Emergence of ’Modern’ Politics 128 VII. 1922-32: Communalism and Nationalism 167 VIII. 1933-1935: The Abstention Movement 216 IX. 1935-1938: The Joint P o litica l Congress and the Formation of the State Congress 262 Conclusion; The Politics of Community, Class and Nation 295 T a b le s ; 1. Population of Travancore in 1931 302 2. Land in Travancore 303 3. Ownership of Wet Land 304 4. Ownership of Dry Land 305 5. Percentage Distribution of Classes of Owners of Wet Land 306 6. Percentage Distribution of Classes of Owners of Dry Land 307 7. The Electoral Strength of the Principal Communities in 1931 308 Biographical Notes 309 Bibliography 316 Errata Page 5 Add ’ SMPAP - Sri Mtilam Popular Assembly Proceedings’. 22 Add to n. 1 'V. Rangaswaini r The Story of Integration. A New Interpretation in the Context of the Democratic Movements in the Princely States of Mysore. Travancore and Cochin 1900-1947. New Delhi 1981'. 22 Add to n.3 ’C.J,Baker, The Politics of South India 1920-1937, Cambridge 1976’. 122 Add to n.2 (after Sree Padomvaka) 'Sree Pandaravaka and Kundukrishivaka’. 163 Add n.107a - ’Freedom Fighters, pp.258-59*. 294 Add to n,1^5 'Perumal, op.cit., pp.46-49’. Acknowledgements First of a ll, I must express my gratitude to my parents for their ungrudging support over the past four years. The School of Oriental and African Studies and the Central Research Fund, University of London, aided with the finance for my field research in India in 1982-83. I would also like to record my appreciation of the invaluable assistance rendered by the sta ff of various libraries and archives I have used, particularly those at the India Office Library, London, and the Kerala Secretariat Records, Trivandrum. Finally, thanks should go to my supervisor, Dr Peter Robb, for his patient guidance, and to Sarah,for her intellectual companionship and practical help. That this thesis has seen the lig h t of day is, in large measure, due to the sustained interest they have both taken. James Lazar C h iriy a n k a n d a th London, 31 May 1985. 5 Select List of Abbreviations Cl Census of India CT Census of Travancore C h.J. Chief Justice CMSP Church Missionary Society Proceedings •X CS Confidential Section files CSP Congress S ocialist Party CRR Crown Representative Records FR Fortnightly Report ■X G enl. General file s G e n l.(P o l) General (P olitical) files IMC/CBMS International Missionary Council/Conference of B ritish Missionary Societies INC Indian National Congress X J u d ic ia l Judicial files KPCC Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee ■X Leg. Legislative Section files LMS London Missionary Society MLA Member of the Legislative (or Sri Mulam) Assembly MLC Member o f th e L e g is la tiv e (o r S r i C h ith ra ) C o u n c il MNNR Madras Native Newspapers Report MSD Madras States Directory MSMD Madras States and Mysore Directory RRSC Regional Records Survey Committee RPT Regulations and Proclamations of Travancore •X P o l. P olitical files SMAP S ri Mulam Assembly Proceedings SCSCP Sri Chithra State Council Proceedings TAD Travancore Almanac and Directory TAR Travancore Adm inistrative Report TLA Travancore Labour Association TLCP Travancore Legislative Council Proceedings TLJ Travancore Law Journal TLR Travancore Law Report TSCC Travancore State Catholic Congress WSB Weekly Secret B ulletin YMNA Young Men's Nair Association * Travancore Government file s , Kerala Secretariat. For details see Bibliography. 6 MAP OF TRAVANCORE C o c HIM STATE _________ COIMBATORE INORTHER/V DIVISION' S T R IC T 1 \ ;pfW M w vv^ • alwa / e . pc v i ^ o l w <%£> ^ •KVWPAT//AD v • rtUVATT0PU2HA <OC?& ) • THObOPUZH* HIG-H KAT*<rt t > iv is io H 4 # VWKflM M**WV<VT > A SHU** peERMM>£ RAm / ^ A U tff’e D IS T R IC T .TlAI^LI-A .tHEMWlHHWA Ca J c ENT^A ^ n ^ i v i s i o V * \ ^ t * SHEKCdTTAH V/^V . W qvilojswI *^to A sA *TTlN6*L 5 OUTHEKN/ P lV lS IO A i 5UCH»Nl>Ri- Adapted from Cl (1931), XXVIII, I, pp.l, 338. C hapter I : Introduction i. The Historiography of Modern Travancore The Indian states, that accounted for a third of the area and a quarter of the population of the sub-continent before 1947, have only recently begun to attract the attention of historians. The studies by Barbara Ramusack, Ian Copland and Stephen Ashton have concentrated on the relationship between the princes and the B ritish, while Vanaja Rangaswami's examination of Mysore, Travancore and Cochin considers developments within the states specifically in relation to the nationa lis t movement.^ The internal politics of the states thus remain to be fully explored, and it is unsurprising that those seeking to f ill the gap should have begun with two of the most populous and politicised states - Mysore and T ra va n co re . The works by Bjjzfrn H e ttn e and dames Manor on tw e n tie th - century Mysore, and that of Robin Jeffrey on Travancore in the second 2 half of the nineteenth century, should be mentioned in this regard. Their studies appeared at a time when South Indian historiography in general benefited from the surge of interest in regional history aroused by the influence of the so-called Cambridge school, represented in the South by D.A.Washbrook and C.J.Baker. David Arnold has also covered the 3 development of p o litics in the Madras Presidency between 1870 and 1940. My study of Travancore is aimed at complementing the ir work, and that of Jeffrey and Manor, as well as contributing towards the understanding of the background to modern Kerala p o litics. Social and religious change in Kerala in the nineteenth and twent ieth centuries has been comparatively well covered.