Mapping Socio-Spatial Characteristics of Malappuram, Kerala, India

Home , Malabar Special Police, Malappuram, Malayali, Oorakam

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241

Dr. Nisar Khan1*, Aamir Khan2, Ajay Singhal2, Ankita Mangalik2, Sana Zehra2

1Department of Architecture Jamia Millia Islamia email: [email protected] 2Independent Researchers *Corresponding Author

Abstract The objective of this exercise was to prepare city level maps for the city of Malappuram to document the social and economical characteristics in spatial dimension. Cities are not uniformly distributed with respect to var- ious socio-economic aspects and thus illustrate diversity at urban scale. Mapping this diversity helps in understanding the pattern of urbanisation for that city and helps in taking informed decisions for its future development and planning. In this article five maps namely; evolution of city, morphology, ward wise population density, distribution of religious groups and occupation pattern are provided along with their explanation for the city of Malappuram. These maps are based on field surveys conducted in the year 2015.

Keywords: Maps, Socio-Spatial, Diversity, Urban Pattern, Malappuram

1. Introduction

Malappuram is a city located in the southern state of Kerala, India. The city of Malappuram is located about 50 kms south-east of the coastal city of Calicut. With a city population of 101,386 persons, Malappuram barely crosses the population threshold to qualify as a city. (Census 2011a) While the city is one of the smallest by the population size in the country, the urban agglomeration of Malappuram hosts a comparatively large population of 1,699,060 persons. (Census 2011b) This type of regional distribution of urbanisation is typically seen in the state of Kerala where the hierarchy of urbanisation is found to be comparatively balanced. (Natarajan 2008) Located in the hilly terrain, the city of Malappuram presents many reasons to study it for its socio- economic aspects and urbanisation pattern.

One of the reasons is the regional urbanisation as mentioned earlier, another one is its literacy rate which at 94% is higher than the national average of 85%. Another very significant aspect is the sex ratio in Malappuram which is 1102 females per 1000 males. Although the sex ratio for the state of Kerala itself is considerably higher at 1084 females per 1000 males than the national average of 926 females per 1000 males; it may be noted that the Malappuram betters the state average as well. (Census 2011b) Further, the city is also distinct for its considerably higher Muslim population which is not a common occurrence in the country where Mus- lims form about 14% of the national population.

In the following sections these socio-economic distinctions of the city of Malappuram are studied and depicted in the city level maps. The objective of this exercise is to highlight the spatial dimensions of the socio-economic patterns and variations as manifested in the Indian cities.

2. Methodology

This exercise was conducted in an exploratory mode beginning with the study of the available secondary information and supplementing that with the filed surveys. The secondary information and field surveys were collated and corroborated together and later plotted on the Maps.

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241

2.1 Secondary Study The exercise started with the historical study of the city from secondary sources. The objective of this study is to understand the emergence and growth of the city. Many historical sources like, books, articles and websites mentioned about the archeological findings in the region, expansion of the Mysore kingdom, British occupation, Mappila revolt etc. Also, the history of coastal trade in India helped in understanding the significance of Malappuram as a strategic military and trade centre. This information was further 1corroborated by knowing the date of construction of major landmarks like religious structures, police headquarter and mu- nicipal buildings etc to complete the evolution story.

Historical study was followed by the the collection of demographic data. Census 2011 data, electoral lists were used for the same. Other sources like Master Plan and websites of the government agencies were explored to add to the information on demographics, trade and commerce etc. Research articles and books about the trade and commerce in the region, specially the Gulf migration were referred to know about the income profile of the city.

2.2 Base Map preparation Base map was prepared using high resolution satellite imagery from Google Earth. Preliminary understanding about the urbanisation and morphological aspects was also developed from the satellite images. Using the historical satellite imagery from Google earth urban expansion was determined. The base map was prepared using AutoCad software and major physical features like roads, open spaces, green areas, built areas, river, lake etc were drafted. Multiple layers and attributes were assigned to these features in the softwares. Polylines were used to enable hatching at a later stage.

2.3 Field Surveys Field-surveys were carried out to collect ground information about social aspects, trade and commercial activities, informal activities, urban poverty, gender employment, location of slums, housing conditions etc. Obser- vation technique was used and photographic documentation was carried out to record the observations.

2.4 Mapping the Socio-Economic attributes The findings of the field-surveys were corroborated with the secondary data and were plotted on the base maps prepared earlier. The mismatch between secondary data and field-surveys was reconciled by giving preference to the situation on the ground.

3. Socio-Spatial Mapping

3.1 Map 01: Evolution of the City

It is always interesting to know the origin and growth of a city over the period of time. Usually historical information about a city is found in the form of the written text but when this history is plotted on a map; the pattern of the urban expansion becomes visible and highlights the possible factors influencing it. This spatial information helps in determining the future direction of growth of the city and facilitates in taking informed decisions by planners and administrators. For Malappuram, Map-01 titled ‘Evolution of the City’ depicts the evolution and expansion of the city from prehistoric period to the present times. There are four layers namely; Ancient-Medieval, British, Post-Independence and Contemporary depicted through grades of brown colour in Map-01, where darker shade represents ancient-medieval layer while lighter representing the contemporary layer.

Ancient history of Malappuram can be determined by the findings of rock-cut caves found in Melmuri, Ponmala, Oorakam and Kodakkal areas. The presence of rock-cut caves is common in the north Kerala and some parts of south Karnataka. (Kumar 2006) Due to the findings of the rock-cut caves in Malappuram region,

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241 it is speculated that the area was inhabited during ancient period in the form of scattered settlements that could have been trade or military posts. (Gurakkal 1999)

In the medieval era the city was ruled for about 800 year by Zamorin rulers of Calicut. During the Zamorin reign the city served as a military post. The city was conquered by Haidar Ali, ruler of Mysore and his son Tipu Sultan built a military fort on top of the hill, along the Banks of Kadalundi River. (Sastri 1958)

In 1800 the city was handed over to the British as part of Treaty of Srirangapatnam and subsequently became part of Madras state. British reinforced the military worthiness of the city by building Haig Barracks in the fort of the Tipu Sultan. (DTPC 2020) The city witnessed a major rebellion against the British rule called as Mappila Lahala or Malabar rebellion in 1921. The rebellion led to the establishment of Malabar Special Police in the city indicating the strategic significance of the city to the British to control the trade and military in the Malabar region. Among the major landmarks during the British period is Kind Edward Fraser Library on the Jubilee Road, Anglo Indian Vernacular School built in 1882 and Muslim High School built in 1936.

After the independence the British part of the city was converted into administrative area where district ad- ministration offices are located. The city grew along the highways and included the suburban settlements of Melmuri where new residential areas like Salath Nagar have come up. (DTPC 2020)

3.2 Map 02: Morphology

Morphology of a city helps in understanding its form and topographical features. Every city is unique in its morphology due to the geographical setting it is built upon. As the city expands with time (as explained in the previous section) its form also changes. With the study of the morphology, determining the factors behind the growth pattern becomes obvious. It also helps in identifying the suitable sites for the future development of the city. The morphology of Malappuram is depicted in the Map-02 and explained below.

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241

Malappuram literally means settlement on the hill top. It is a city located in the hills of Malabar region. The morphology of the city is dictated by the hill topography, course of Kadalundi River and the alignments of the major highways. The Kadalundi river forms the southern periphery of the city acting as a natural barrier to the urban expansion in that direction. The size of the city is 33.62 sq.km. with urban population of 101,330 and population density of approximately 2083 persons per sq. km. There are 40 wards in the city under Malappu- ram Municipality. (Census 2011a) The city boundary in shown as black dash line in the maps and ward bound- aries are depicted as the red dash lines.

The centre of the growth of the city is located on the Up-hill zone along the Kadalundi river. This site (as explained in the previous section) was of strategic importance for military defence and availability of water for utility and navigation purposes. With the subsequent expansions the core of the city, now comprises of three parts namely; Up-hill, Middle-hill and Down-hill based on the topography. The Up-hill is primarily administrative part while the Down-hill is commercial centre and the Middle hill is the zone connecting them.

The core of the city comprises of Uphill, Middle-hill and Down-hill areas, whereas the later expansions have been in the linear fashion along the highways forming the sprawl of the city. Due to the topographical variations the built density of the city varies a lot with built part concentrated in the gentle slopes along the NH 213 and SH 71 while the steeper areas in the western part remains sparsely populated. As a result the city acquires a finger-city form, where the ribbon development along the highways resemble the fingers emerging from the palm represented by the core part of the city. The core of the city accommodates about 70% of cities population with a number of 68127 persons residing there. (Census 2011a)

Malappuram city has grown in organic and unplanned fashion like most of Kerala cities. (Natarajan 2008) The building along the roads are mixed use with commercial use on the ground floor while residential on the upper floors. This character is derived from traditional building typology and can be seen in the downhill area. The new residential areas coming up in the sprawl of the city are however large bungalow type houses built on

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241 plots of average size 500 sq.m. These houses are built on the gulf remittances and use superior materials and finishes.

The city is traversed by a national highway NH213 which also acts as a major arterial road and connects all important parts of the city. State highways SH 71 and SH 72 further augments the intracity as well as regional connectivity. Major Landmarks of the city are Lutheran Church, Saint Thomas Church, Municipality office, Malabar Special Police head quarters and Kotakunnu Amusement park, all located in the core of the city.

3.3 Map 03: Ward wise population density

The population density of a city usually varies due to geographical and socio-economic reasons. The population densities are normally found higher in the historic-core of the city which is based on the traditional prin- ciples of compact city planning. This part also consolidates over the period of time due to the concentration of trade and commercial activities, further increasing the population density. In the case of Malappuram similar variation in the population density is visible. The Map-03 depicts the ward-wise densities of population in the city and explained below. As stated earlier there are 40 wards in the city. The population density is depicted in Person per Hectare unit (PPH) as conventionally used in planning exercises.

The pattern of the population density in the city is typical of a hill settlement, exhibiting uneven distribution. The population density varies from the low of 15 PPH to the high of 60 PPH. The variation in the population density is depicted in grades of grey colour in the Map-03, where the darker shade representing the higher range of densities and lighter shade the lower densities. As seen in the Map-03, the wards with highest population density of 45 to 60 PPH are no. 15 and no. 21. These wards are part of the core of the city, which is characterised by the traditional mixed use and commercial neighbourhoods. Ward no. 13, 23, 25, 26, 28 and 29 which are predominantly residential areas in the sprawl of the city also have high density of 45 to 60 PPH. These residential areas belong to the posh category and usually identified with the expat families and service class population. The increased demand by the expats for premium housing has resulted in the higher population density in the suburbs of the city.

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241

Ward no. 14 19, 20, 22 located in the core are mainly administrative part of the city, thus have medium population density of 30 to 45 PPH. Ward nos. 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 33, 34, 35, 37, and 39 form the outskirts of the city along the highway. These wards are part of upcoming urbanisation and currently have a population density of 15 to 30 PPH. The rest of the city is agricultural land, specially in the western part and has population density of less than 15 PPH. It can be seen in the Map-02 and Map-03 that the ward-wise densities corroborate with the morphology of the city. The finger-city form of Malappuram is represented by the lower and medioum density extensions along the highways while the higher density core acting as the palm.

3.4 Map 04: Distribution of Religious Groups

The region of Malappuram is distinctive for the large concentration of Muslim population in the country. In India the population of Muslims is about 14% which is distributed across the country. (Census 2011c) The distribution of Muslim population in the country is generally in proportion to its share of the national population, with greater presence in the urban areas as compared to the villages. Even in Kerala the approximate population share of Hindus, Muslims and Christians is 55%, 27% and 18% respectively. (Census 2011d) How- ever, Malappuram region with its 70% share of Muslim population presents a unique situation to study from socio-religious perspective in India (Census 2011d) In this section the distribution of religious groups in the city of Malappuram is discussed.

While the region of Malappuram has higher Muslim population; the city has significant population of Hindus and Christians as well. As evident from the Map-04 depicting the location of places of worship in the city limits of Malappuram; the mosques, temples and churches are distributed across the city. Despite, the higher concentration of one community i.e. Muslims, the concentration of religious place of worship of one faith is not seen at any particular location in the city, indicating a distribution of religious communities across the city. Proportionate to the population, many mosques are interspersed in the city along with the temples and churches. Another important aspect to note is that the temples and churches are located at major junctions of

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241 the city implying the participation of Hindus and Christians in the prominent socio-economic activities of the city along with the majority Muslims.

It can be interpreted from the mapping of religious places and corroborated from the field visit that Malappu- ram city doesn't depict spatial fragmentation on the religious basis. There is a heterogenous distribution of religious communities residing and living together. This pattern of religious harmony and its manifestation in spatial distribution is largely true to the state of Kerala where Malappuram is located. (Kanchana 2012) In other parts of the country, specially North India, religious distribution in the cities is very explicit, where homogenous enclaves of not only religious but caste and ethnicity based communities is commonly found. (Gayer 2012) Malappuram presents a rather contradicting situation where the degree of mixing of communities due to common Malayali culture is found to be very high and temples, churches and mosques are found to be located side by side. (Menon 1982)

3.5 Map 05: Occupation and Gender

Malappuram has been historically located at a strategic trade route. (Menon 1982) Presence of large number of Mappila-Muslim community who have been inter-continental traders ever since 7th century has resulted in the emergence of the Malabar region as a trade centre. (Miller 2015, Prange 2018) The trade activities were further organised during the rule of Tipu Sultan when a fort was established to enhance the security and pro- mote commercial activities. The trade and commerce continued to grow under the British occupation and the city is still serving as a major commercial centre in its region. (Logan 1995)

The historic relationship of trade and commerce is also manifested in present day spatiality of the city. (Sho- koohy 2003) As seen in the Map-05 the historical core of the city is an intensive commercial activity zone, depicted in the red colour. The commercial activities of both wholesale and retail category is carried out along the major spine of the core city. The city serves its region in supplying goods from its commercial district. Scattered commercial spots are also seen at the important junctions on the suburbs of the city. These commercial spots are catering to the new residential colonies and villages located in the surroundings of the city. The trade and commerce activities in Malappuram are carried out by all religious communities. However, the role of Mappila-Muslim community in carrying out large scale multinational commercial activities is prominent.

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241

As an example famous multinational jewellery brand Malabar Gold is owned by a Malappuram based busi- nessman among many others. (Kanchana 2012)

In last few decades, migration of workers from Kerala to Gulf countries is seen and understood and Gulf Rush phenomenon. Even significant population of Malappuram is working in Gulf countries which has lead to an increase in the household income levels. (Miller 2015) As as result, Gulf remittances have altered the occupation pattern in the city. Due to the rise in the income, consumerism is manifested in the opening of high-end retail stores. As observed in the field-surveys, super-markets, apparel stores, bakeries, restaurants have come up in the recent times and are very popular among the people for buying the branded products. Many of these stores are owned by the family members of people working in the Gulf countries. There is a sharp rise in the vehicle ownership in the city with all major brands opening their stores. This is combined with a parallel surge in the stores selling car accessories, which is to fulfil the taste of mainly the expatriate community.

Industrial activity is seen in the Inkel city which is a 70 acre Small and Medium Enterprise zone for non- polluting industries and shown in the Map-05 in purple colour. Furniture, timber, footwear, printing press etc are functioning in the Inkel City industrial area. While these industries are owned by the local businessmen, the workers usually come from other states of the country like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. These workers are often found residing on rented accommodation in the villages near these industries. Apart from the Inkel city, small scale informal industries like fabrication units, saw mills, spinning mill and carpentry units are located on the outskirts of the city. Stores selling building material like tiles, stone, sanitary ware etc have also come up to cater to the needs of the urban extensions. It was found in the field-surveys that most of the stonecutters and workers in construction industry come from the state of Tamilnadu. Similar to the industrial workers, they also stay in the lodges built on the outskirts of the city. A single room is rented by 4 to 6 such labourers on a rent of Rs 1000 per month.

Education sector is another source of income and occupation for the city. Many private universities and insti- tutes are functioning in the city which provide education opportunities to the residents and also act as a source of income to the staff. Intel Greens and Al-Abeer Edu-City are examples of large educational campuses in Malappuram. Although Kerala is a leading state in Tourism in India, Malappuram is not a major tourist desti- nation. The only tourist attraction within the city is Kotakunnu Amusement Park where a steady flux of local

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 11232 - 11241 visitors take place. Kerala is a leading state in literacy rate in the country with 94% literate population. (Govt of Kerala n.d.) Due to its high literacy, considerable population is also engaged in the service sector like working in government and private offices. In the field-survey it was observed that, the percentage of women engaged in the service sector is higher than other occupations. The literacy rate among the male and female in Malappuram is 96% and 92% respectively. (Govt of Kerala n.d.) However, the migrant women are found to be engaged in the construction labour specially the women from Tamilnadu.

Agricultural is widely practised within the urban limits of the Malappuram. As it can be seen in the Map-05 large part of the city area is unbuilt and is used for the cultivation of paddy and coconut. In the Map-05 patches of dark green colour depict the coconut plantation mainly concentrated on the either sides of NH213. These coconut groves are spread in hundreds of acres of area and the produce is traded in the coconut oil and jute industry and also sold for coconut water in roadside stalls. Paddy is cultivated in the farmland around the villages and is depicted by intermediate shade of green in the Map-05. The cultivation of paddy is mainly for the local consumption.

4. Discussion and Inferences

Maps impart spatial dimension to the statistical information available for a city. This spatial dimension pro- vides better understanding of variations and diversity of socio-economic aspects in a city. As socio-economic conditions are not uniformly distributed within the city and this variation is usually not represented in the statistical information, the role of maps becomes significant in facilitating informed decisions about the planning and development of the city. (Khan 2020)

This series maps of Malappuram informs us about the course of growth of the city and that it is more inclined towards ribbon development along the highways. This is also indicated in the population densities of wards located along these highways. The city administrators and planners may note this trend and plan the future development accordingly. In case of Malappuram the religious divide is not present in the spatiality of the city. This aspect although commonly found in Kerala, is rarely seen in the rest of the country. The planning inter- ventions should be careful in preserving this syncretic culture and develop city in a manner that distribution of communities and economic groups is heterogenous. Also, the large agriculture lands available within the city limits should also be appropriately preserved for food security, environment and regional balance.

These maps present the significance of knowing a city in spatial dimensions and how these maps can facilitate equitable and sustainable development of a city. These maps also document a history of the city for the future. Other socio-economic indicators and information may also be added to the series as required and should be made part of the decision making process.

Acknowledgements The funding to conduct Field-Surveys for carrying out the field surveys was supported by the Delhi Policy Group. Field- Surveys were carried out by Aamir Khan, Ajay Singhal and Ankita Mangalik. Maps were drafted by Sana Zehra. The research, writeup and guidance was provided by Dr. Nisar Khan, who is also the corresponding author for this article.

References

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