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Meloor Panchayat History

Meloor village is rich with its archaic temples, fort constructed by the king of Cochin to resist the attack of Tippu Sultan, plantains, lush greenery and mountains. The average hieght of the village from the sealevel is 250 feet. Kalady Shiva Tempe, the most prominant temple of the region in terms of historic prominance with , was earlier under Kaladi Paduthol Mana and Plangattu Paduthol Mana.The high range regions of the village are Kunnappilly, Devarajagiri, Adichili, Aalakkappilly and Pushpagiri. These high range regions are well populated. The people of the remote areas of the village, which is basically agro-based, considers farming as their chief source of livelihood.

The presence of Chalakudy river and the fertile soil inturn makes the village ideal for agriculture. The middle and the northern region of the Panchayat are plain leveled. Most of the canals of the village meets Chlakudy river.

There are several stories behind the name of the village. Meloor was once a region called “Mele Uuru” and it evolved to become Meloor, so says some. Another story is that being the land of might, or known as “menmayulla uuru” in Malayalam, it become Meloor.

It is said that during the reign of Tippu Sultan, the King of Cochin built the fort within a single day with the support of the locals. As a historic monument of the military occupation of Tippu sultan, still stands the Vattakotta of Pushpagiri and a statue of Palamuri. According to the history, this region which was once socially and economically rich was demolished during the invasion of Tippu. Several engraved stones were found from the Poolani chettithoppu.

SOCIO-CULTURAL HISTORY OF MELOOR

Meloor holds a predominant position in the history of kerala. There are remnants of the historic forts, statues and other such monuments. The Brahmins were the custodians of the temple and its property.The Edathrakkavu Temple of Poolani and the Temple of Pynadu were part of the wealthy Brahmin families of the village. There was arattu in the Kuunancheri kadavu. The land of the whole village was under Muringoor Pathissery Mana, Puvathadi Mana, Thakkippilly Mana, Poolani, Adichily Kovilakam, Kaladi Devaswom which were all part of Cochin royal family.

In those days, if the royal elephant falls in trap, it was the duty of subjects to rescue it. The people of the Meloor had the right to carry the head part and the people of Pariyaram had the right to carry botom part.

Nature played a predominant role in those days. Main seeds were njalu and virippu. The farmers used traditional seeds like moden, sheemoden, karathoram, adhiyan, nakara,ittikandappan and aryan. The cultivated products like tapioca, banana, yam and colocasia were transported to Ernakulam, Paravur and Kottappuram through the only waterway, Chalakudy river. In those days, people mainly depended waterways for transport.

During the second world war, the living condition of the people of the villages of Kerala were pitiable. Many starved to death. There was widespread famine and restriction to the availability of products like kerosene. Tapioca was the main food of the poor people. As the import of rice stopped, the starvation aggravated. Statutory ration system came into existance for the first time. Inorder to confront the starvation, a new programme called “Grow more food” was introduced. People were forced to consume wheat and bhajra instead of rice. Many of the young villagefolks joined army which improved the financial status of the people.

The farmers of the village started rioting against the landlords. The riots were initiated by K.S Damodaran, K.V Kumaran, P.V Kochukaruppan, E.K Velayudhan, Gopalan Katukandathil, Narayanan Manakkattil. To strengthen the revolution, they formed a drama group at Kunnappilly named Navodaya Nadanakala Samithi. They performed several plays at various parts of the state.

They faced severe obstruction from government includind arrest. The “narayaneeyamovement” also strengthened during this period. There was strong protest against untouchability. The lower class people were considered untouchables and were segragated from the mainstream by social custom. The revolutionary reformers of the village pasted a notice at the premises of Edathrakkavu temple, asking the authorities to allow the harijans to enter the temple. Maliyekkal Chacko was the leader behind the struggle. The struggle was a paving stone to the forthcoming Temple entry proclamations of Kerala.

The reformers from the village participated in the Iringalakuda Kuttamkulam struggle and Chaliyan sathyagraha. During this period, the Subhramania Temple of Poolani was constructed as a challenge to the caste hindus or savarnas.

The people of Meloor have an essential role in the major reformation of the state. Several people participated in the liquor ban strike of 1953.