Islamic conquest of Kerala

The Islamic conquest of Kerala by the Islamic Kingdom of Mysore began in 1763 when Haider Ali invaded Malabar and annexed the principalities of Chirakkal, Kottayam, Kadathanad, Kurumbranad and Calicut.^[1] After his reign, his son Tippu Sultan tried to conquer all of Kerala, but failed in doing so after the loss in Third Anglo-Mysore War.

Invasion by Haider Ali

Haider Ali was invited to Malabar by the only Muslim Raja there, the Arakkal Raja. With the help of Ali Raja, in 1763, Hyder Ali over ran smaller principalities in North Malabar and set up a confrontation with the Zamorin (Maharajah of Calicut), the major Nair ruler of the region. After receiving the support of the Kombi Achan (Raja of Palakkad), the Muslim forces of Mysore marched towards Calicut, where the Zamorin's palace was located. The Nair army of Zamorin tried to stop the Mysore army, but were routed by the numerically superior Mysore army. In 1767, as the Mysoreans edged closer towards the outer city, the Zamorin send most of his relatives to safe heavens in Ponnani and committed suicide by setting fire to his Mananchira Kovilakam.^[2]

Unlike the Zamorin, the other Nair rulers like the Kolathiri saw little use in fighting against a numerically superior militia unit and fled to Travancore along with most of their family members and soldiers. Those Nairs who remained became infuriated by the religious discrimination they faced and rebelled against Hyder Ali. Hyder imposed his troops on them, massacred many and deported over 15,000 Nairs to Kanara. The Gazetteers state that only 200 of them survived. After this event, an amnesty was proclaimed for the Nairs at Palghat. After the extinction of the Zamorin dynasty, second line successor to the thrown, the Eralppad, continued his military action against the Mysore forces from South Malabar and eventually forced Hyder Ali to cede many parts of Malabar to local rulers, who were supported by the British East India Company.^[3]

Hyder conducted a second invasion during 1774. Slowly he moved southwards and reached Travancore in 1776 along with a huge army. The Dutch military garrison in Cranganore made their movement through that region impossible. So Hyder asked his commander to take an army of 10,000 along the Cochin territory. In August 1776, Northern frontiers of Cochin were invaded and the fort at Trichur was captured. After the surrender of the Raja of Cochin, Hyder advanced to the Travancore defence lines. At the same time, the Dutch put down an attempt by the Mysore forces to capture the Cranganore fort with the help of the Travancore Nair Army. The Raja of Cranganore surrendered to Hyder, but the Dutch stormed his palace and captured it in January 1778. After this incident, the forces of Hyder were engaged in a series of small scale attacks and ambushes throughout Northern and Central Kerala, with the Travancore, British and Dutch forces as well as with the Nair rebels in Malabar. After facing losses in Calicut, Palghat and Tinnevelly, Hyder retreated to Mysore.^[4]

Atrocities under Hyder Ali

The Kolathiri Raja could not offer much resistance against the huge army of Hyder Ali, which was equipped with heavy field guns. On the other hand, Ali Raja who had been made a tributary chieftain in Cannanore, seized and set fire to the palace of the old Kolathiri Raja. The latter escaped with his followers and sought protection of the British in Tellicherry. Hyder Ali now entered Kottayam (Pazhassi) Raja's territory where he encountered resistance. There were casualties on both sides. But the Kottayam Muslims betrayed and deserted their Hindu king and assisted Hyder Ali Khan.^[5]

The first serious resistance encountered by the invading army of Hyder Ali Khan was in Kadathanad. A broad picture of atrocities as described by a Muslim officer of Mysore army in his diary and as edited by Prince Ghulam Muhammad, the eleventh and only surviving son of Tipu Sultan, is given as:^[6] "Nothing was to be seen on the roads for a distance of four leagues, nothing was found but only scattered limbs and mutilated bodies of Hindus. The country of Nairs [Hindus] was thrown into a general consternation which was much increased by the cruelty of the Mappilas who followed the invading cavalry of Hyder Ali Khan and massacred all those who escaped without sparing even women and children; so that the army advancing under the conduct of this enraged multitude [Mappilas] instead of meeting with continued resistance, found villages, fortresses, temples and every habitable place forsaken and deserted."

Hyder Ali despatched his Brahmin messengers to woods and mountains, with the promise of pardon and mercy to the Hindus who had fled. However, as soon as the unfortunate Hindus returned on his promise, Hyder made sure that they were all hanged to death and their wives and children reduced to slavery.^[7]

Ravi Varma further states that:^[8] "Before quitting the country (Kerala) Hyder Ali Khan by a solemn edict declared the Nairs deprived of all (social and political) privileges and (ordered) not to carry arms. This ordinance was found to make the submission of the proud Nairs absolutely impossible because they would have thought death preferable to such humiliations and degradation. Therefore, Hyder Ali Khan by another ordinance, consented to restore all social and political privileges including carrying of arms, to the Nairs who embraced the Mohammadan religion. Many nobles had to embrace Islam; but a significantly large section (Nairs, Chieftains and Brahmins) chose rather to take refuge in the kingdom of Travancore in the South than to submit to the last ordinance."

Relations with Travancore

Hyder Ali negotiated with the Dutch soon after conquering Malabar. The Dutch after their defeat in the Battle of Colachel to the Travancore Nair Army had been in awe of the Travancore Maharajah. So they kept him informed of all developments. Hyder wanted free passage to Travancore through the Dutch territories. The Dutch Governor replied that he has informed his superiors about Hyder's request and was waiting for a reply. Soon rumors of a proposed invasion of Travancore started developing after Travancore refused to stop the construction of Nedumkotta fortification, which formed the Northern defences of Travancore. Also, Travancore has given refuge to the political foes of Hyder Ali. Hyder Ali asked the Rajas of Cochin and of Travancore, to compensate him for his Malabar campaign. Cochin was asked to pay a total of Rs.400,000 and 10 elephants, while Travancore was asked to pay Rs.1,500,000 and 30 elephants. Hyder warned the Raja that if Travancore refused, "He will pay a visit." Although the Cochin royals agreed to pay the amount, Karthika Thirunal of Travancore replied, stating that it was "neither to please him nor in accordance with his advice that the invasion of Malabar was undertaken". But he stated that if Hyder Ali withdrew from Malabar with his forces and reinstated the local Rajas back in their kingdoms, he will provide some amount of money. This was taken by Hyder Ali as a threat, but before he could plan an attack on Travancore, he had to return to Mysore.^[9]

Invasions by Tippu Sultan

After the death of his father, Hyder Ali's son Tippu Sultan became the king of Mysore. Unlike his father, Tippu saw no merit in having Hindus as his subjects and after teaming up with the Ali Raja of Arakkal, he proceeded to spread Islam in Malabar and Travancore. He received widespread support from the local Mappila population of Malabar. During his reign, from 1783 to 1791, tens of thousands of Nairs besides about 30,000 Brahmins had fled Malabar, leaving behind their entire wealth, and sought refuge in Travancore State (according to the commission of enquiry appointed by the British soon after Tipu Sultan's death). According to Dr. M. Gangadharan, there is enough evidence that a few members of Zamorin family and many Nairs were forcibly circumcised and converted into Muhammadan faith as well as compelled to eat beef.^[10] In one of the most widely documented cases, the Muslim army invaded the small state of Kadathanadu and forcibly converted the remaining Nair soldiers, who bravely hold out for many weeks against the much superior Muslim army without adequate food or weapons.^[11]

Fall of Calicut

In 1789, Tipu Sultan marched to Kozhikode with an army of 60,000, destroyed the fort, and razed the town to the ground. Gunddart says in his Kerala Pazhama that it is just not possible to describe the cruel atrocities perpetrated by Tipu Sultan in Kozhikode. William Logan gives in his Malabar Manual a long list of temples destroyed by Tipu Sultan and his army.^[12] Elankulam Kunjan Pillai has recorded the situation in Malabar as follows:^[13][14] "Kozhikode was then a centre of Brahmins. There were around 7000 Namboodiri houses of which more than 2000 houses were destroyed by Tipu Sultan in Kozhikode alone. Sultan did not spare even children and women. Menfolk escaped to forests and neighbouring principalities. Mappilas increased many fold (due to forcible conversion). During the military regime of Tipu Sultan, Hindus were forcibly circumcised and converted to Muhammadan faith. As a result of Tipu's atrocities, strength of Nairs and Cheramars significantly diminished in number. Namboodiris also substantially decreased in number."

Atrocities committed in Malabar during the days of Tipu Sultan's military regime have been described in great detail in the famous works of many reputed authors. Notable among them, Travancore State Manual' of T. K. Velu Pillai and Kerala Sahitya Charitam of Ulloor Parameshwara Iyer.^[15]

In a letter dated January 18, 1790 to Syed Abdul Dulai, Tipu writes:^[16] "With the grace of Prophet Mohammed and Allah, almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted to Islam. Only on the borders of Cochin State a few are still not converted. I am determined to convert them also very soon. I consider this as Jehad to achieve that object." Tactics used to strengthen the hold of power

The letter dated March 22, 1788, to Kantancheri Abdul Kadir, and the letter dated December 14, 1788 to his army commander in Kozhikode, explanations the tactics used by Tipu to strengthen his power in Malabar (Details can be found in two autobiographies: Sultan-ut Tawarikh and Tarikh-i-Khudadadi, housed in the India Office Library, London).

Noted historian KM Panicker chanced upon Tipu's correspondence at the India Office Library. These have since been published. In a letter (March 22, 1788) written to Abdul Khadar, Tippu states:^[17] "Over 12,000 Hindus were honoured with Islam ... Local Hindus should be brought before you and then converted to Islam. No Namboodiri should be spared."

In a letter (December 14, 1788), he said to his army commander in Calicut: "You should capture and kill all Hindus. Those below 20 years may be kept in prison and 5,000 from the rest should be killed hanging from treetops."

Writing on January 19, 1790, to Badroos Saman Khan, he said:^[18] "I have achieved a great victory recently in Malabar and over four lakh Hindus were converted to Islam. I am now determined to march against the cursed Raman Nair (Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma)."

Tipu issued orders in different parts of Malabar: "All means, truth or falsehood, fraud or force, should be employed to effect their (Hindu) universal conversion to Islam."

What Fr.Bartolomaco, a Portuguese traveller and historian, saw in Malabar in 1790, he recorded in Voyage to East Indies:^[19] "First a corps of 30,000 barbarians who butchered everybody on the way… followed by the field-gun unit under the French Commander, M. Lally. Tipu was riding on an elephant behind which another army of 30,000 soldiers followed. Most of the men and women were hanged in Calicut, first mothers were hanged with their children tied to necks of mothers. That barbarian Tipu Sultan tied the naked Christians and Hindus to the legs of elephants and made the elephants to move around till the bodies of the helpless victims were torn to pieces. Temples and churches were ordered to be burned down, desecrated and destroyed. Christian and Hindu women were forced to marry Mohammadans and similarly their men were forced to marry Mohammadan women. Those Christians who refused to be honoured with Islam, were ordered to be killed by hanging immediately. These atrocities were told to me by the victims of Tipu Sultan who escaped from the clutches of his army and reached Varappuzha, which is the centre of Carmichael Christian Mission. I myself helped many victims to cross the Varappuzha river by boats."

When Tippu marched up to Kumbala on the northern borders of Kerala, he forcibly converted to Islam every Hindu on the way. He argued that if all belonged to one religion – Islam – there would be unity and consequently it would be easy to defeat the British. In a letter dated 8th Eezidy (February 13, 1790) addressed to Budruz Zuman Khan, Tipu writes:^[20] "Your two letters, with the enclosed memorandums of the Naimar (or Nair) captives, have been received. You did right in ordering a hundred and thirty-five of them to be circumcised, and in putting eleven of the youngest of these into the Usud Ilhye band (or class) and the remaining ninety-four into the Ahmedy Troop, consigning the whole, at the same time, to the charge of the Kilaaddar of Nugr." Ethnic Cleansing

Tipu even Islamized the placenames. Therefore, Mangalapuri (Mangalore) was changed to Jalalabad, Cannanore (Kanwapuram) to Kusanabad, Bepur (Vaippura) to Sultanpatanam or Faruqui, Mysore to Nazarabad, Dharwar to Quarshed-Sawad, Gooty to Faiz-Hissar, Ratnagiri to Mustafabad, Dindigul to Khaliqabad, and Calicut (Kozhikode) to Islamabad. It was only after the death of Tipu Sultan that the local people reverted to old names. Also, Tipu Sultan forcibly abducted a young princess from the Coorg royal family and made her his wife against her will. In Cherunad, Vettathunad, Eranad, Valluvanad, Thamarassery and other interior areas, local Mappilas unleashed a reign of terror on the Hindu population, mainly to retain the illegally occupied land and to establish their domination over Hindus as during Tipu's regime. Fearing the organised robberies and violence, people could not even travel freely in the Malabar hinterland of predominantly Mappila population.^[21]

Contempt towards local rulers

A small army of 2000 Nairs of Kadathanadu resisted the invasion of the huge army of Tipu Sultan from a fortress in Kuttipuram for a few weeks. They were reduced to starvation and death. Tipu Sultan entered the fort and offered to spare their lives, provided they accepted conversion to Islam. After several days of resistance, and finding it difficult to defend the fort any longer, the Nairs submitted to the usual terms of surrender – a voluntary profession of the Mohammadan faith or a forced conversion with deportation from the native land. The unhappy Nair captives gave a forced consent and on the next day, the Islamic initiation rite of circumcision was performed on all male members, closing the ceremony after every individual of both sexes was forced to eat beef. All the members of one branch of Parappanad Royal Family were forcibly converted to Muhammadan faith except for one or two who escaped from the clutches of Tipu Sultan's army. Similarly, one Thiruppad belonging to Nilamboor Royal Family was also forcibly abducted and converted to Islam. Thereafter, it was reported that further conversions of Hindus were attempted through those converts.^[22]

In the end, when the Kolathiri Raja surrendered and paid tribute, Tipu Sultan got him treacherously killed without any specific reason, dragged his dead body tied to the feet of an elephant through the streets, and finally hanged him from a tree-top to show his contempt for Hindu Rajas. Even the Palghat Raja, Ettipangi Achan who had surrendered, was imprisoned on suspicion and later taken to Sreerangapatanam. Nothing was heard of him subsequently. While escaping from Tipu's army, one of the princes of the Chirackal Royal family in North Malabar was captured and killed in an encounter after a chase of few days. As per the accounts of Tipu's own diary and as confirmed by the English Company records, the body of the unfortunate prince was treated with great indignities by Tipu Sultan. "He had the dead body of the prince dragged by elephants through his camp and it was subsequently hung up on a tree along with seventeen of his followers who had been captured alive." Another chieftain, Korangoth Nair, who had resisted Tipu, was finally captured with the help of the French and hanged.^[23]

Revolt by Ayaaz Khan

Ayaz Khan who was Kammaran Nambiar from Chirackal Kingdom before his forcible conversion to Islam by Hyder Ali Khan, had been appointed as Governor of Bidnur. Tipu Sultan was jealous of and opposed to Ayaz Khan from the very beginning because Hyder Ali Khan had considered the latter more intelligent and smart. When Ayaz Khan learnt that Tipu Sultan was scheming to kill him secretly, he escaped to Bombay with plenty of gold. Tipu Sultan came to Bednur and forcibly converted its entire population to Islam. The people accepted Islam for the sake of their lives.^[24]

Rebellion by Ravi Varma

The forced conversion of Hindus caused widespread dissent in Malabar. "It was not only against the Brahmins who were thus put in a state of terror of forcible circumcision and conversion; but against all sections of Hindus. In August, 1788, a Raja of the Kshatriya (Nair) family of Parappanad and also Trichera Thiruppad, a chieftain of Nilamboor, and many other Hindu nobles who had been carried away earlier to Coimbatore by Tipu Sultan, were forcibly circumcised and forced to eat beef. Nairs in desperation, under the circumstances, rose up against their Muslim oppressors under Tipu's command in South Malabar and the Hindus of Coorg in the North also joined them."^[25]

The revolt in the South Malabar was led by Ravi Varma, the Eralppad of the Zamorin family. Though Tipu conferred on him a jaghire (vast are of tax-free land) mainly to appease him, the Zamorin prince, after promptly taking charge of the jaghire, continued his revolt against the Mysore power, more vigorously and with wider support. He soon moved to Calicut, his traditional area of influence and authority, for better co-ordination. Tipu sent a large Mysore army under the command of M. Lally and Mir Asrali Khan to chase and drive out the Zamorin prince from Calicut. However, during the above operations, Ravi Varma assisted not less than 30,000 Brahmins to flee the country and take refuge in Travancore.^[26]

Almost all female members and many male members of different royal families such as Chirackal, Parappanad, and Calicut, and chieftains' families like Punnathoor, Nilamboor, Kavalapara, Azhvanchery Thamprakkal etc., fled to Travancore to escape the brutalities of Tipu's army and temporarily settled down in different parts of Travancore. Even after the fall of Tipu Sultan's regime in Srirangapatanam, many of these families, wholly or partly, preferred to stay back in Travancore because of the Mappilas' atrocities in the past. Rebellion by Manjeri Hassan

Manjeri Hassan (Athan Gurukkal) lead an unsuccessful rebellion by Malabar Mappilas against the heavy agricultural tax imposed by Mysore. The rebels managed to kill Manjeri Thampuran, a local Nair ruler and captured Arshad Khan, one of the admirals of the Mysore Army. The rebellion was quickly crushed and Hassan, along with his son and his followers were captured and taken to Srirangapatinam, where they remained as hostages until Tipu Sultan's death.^[27]

Extermination of Nairs

Attitude towards lower castes

Many Hindus belonging to lower castes accepted conversion to Islam under duress. However, many others, especially the Thiyyas, fled to Tellicherry and Mahe for safety.

Destruction of Hindu temples

According to the Malabar Manual of William Logan who was the District Collector for some time, Thrichambaram and Thalipparampu temples in Chirackal Taluqa, Thiruvangatu Temple (Brass Pagoda) in Tellicherry, and Ponmeri Temple near Badakara were all destroyed by Tipu Sultan. The Malabar Manual mention that the Maniyoor mosque was once a Hindu temple. The local belief is that it was converted to a mosque during the days of Tipu Sultan.^[28]

Vatakkankoor Raja Raja Varma in his famous literary work, History of Sanskrit Literature in Kerala, has written the following about the loss and destruction faced by the Hindu temples in Kerala during the military regime (Padayottam) of Tipu Sultan: "There was no limit as to the loss the Hindu temples suffered due to the military operations of Tipu Sultan. Burning down the temples, destruction of the idols installed therein and also cutting the heads of cattle over the temple deities were the cruel entertainments of Tipu Sultan and his equally cruel army. It was heartrending even to imagine the destruction caused by Tipu Sultan in the famous ancient temples of Thalipparampu and Thrichambaram. The devastation caused by this new Ravana's barbarous activities have not yet been fully rectified."

Hyder Ali Khan had exempted temples from the payment of land tax. But Tipu Sultan forced the temples to pay heavy taxes. The famous Hemambika Temple at Kalpathi of the Palghat Raja who had surrendered to Hyder Ali Khan, the Kachamkurissi Temple of the Kollamkottu Raja who had deserted the Zamorin and sided with Hyder Ali Khan, and also the Jain Temple at Palghat suffered serious damages due to the cruel policies of Tipu Sultan.

Some of the other famous temples looted and desecrated were as follows: Triprangot, Thrichembaram, Thirunavaya, Thiruvannoor, Calicut Thali, Hemambika Temple, the Jain Temple in Palghat, Mammiyur, Parambatali, Venkitangu, Pemmayanadu, Tiruvanjikulam, Terumanam, Vadakhumnnathan Temple of Trichur, Belur Siva Temple, Shri Veliyanattukava, Varakkal, Puthu, Govindapuram, Keraladhiswara, Trikkandiyur, Sukapuram, Maranehei Temple of Aaalvancheiri Tambrakkal, Vengara Temple of Aranadu, Tikulam, Ramanathakra, Azhinjalam Indiannur, Mannur Narayan Kanniar and Vadukunda Siva Temple of Madai.

According to certain personal diary notes of Tipu Sultan, the Chirackal Raja offered to pay over Rs. 4 lakh in gold and silver to save the destruction of the local Hindu temples by Tipu's army. But, true to his character, Tipu replied that^[29] "Even if the entire world is offered to me, I will not desist from destroying Hindu temples."

Attempted invasion of Travancore

The first battle

Second Battle

Impact on the local population

Upper Caste Hindus suffered terribly from the Islamic Invasion. Almost a fourth of the Kshatriya (Nair) population was wiped out and many more were forcibly converted. The Nambuthiris (Brahmins) were also severely affected. The demographic bleeding of the Nair community continued well in to the 20th century and their share of population in Kerala was reduced from close to one-third of the total population during the 1750s to around one-seventh by 1950s.

According to various sources, about half the Hindu population of Kerala fled the country to the forests or Tellicherry and Travancore State. They included most of the Hindu Rajas and chieftains who could not stand up to the mighty army of Muslims and the powerful field-guns of the French. Important royal families that migrated to Travancore State were those of Chirackal, Parappanad, Ballussery, Kurumbranad, Kadathanad, Palghat and Calicut. The chieftain families that did the same were those of Punnathur, Kavalappara, Azhvancherry Thamprakkal, etc. Even the Cochin royal family moved to Vaikkom Palace near the famous Shiva Temple when Tipu's army reached Alwaye.

Many members of the royal families of Malabar who migrated to Travancore State preferred to stay back even after the withdrawal of Tipu's army and restoration of peace, because of their nightmarish experience and the peculiar psyche of the forcibly converted Muslim population in Malabar. The prominent royal families were (1) Neerazhi Kovilakam, (2) Gramathil Kottaram, (3) Paliyakkara, (4) Nedumparampu, (5) Chempra Madham, (6) Ananthapuram Kottaram, (7) Ezhimatoor Palace, (8) Aranmula Kottaram, (9) Varanathu Kovilakam, (10) Mavelikkara, (11) Ennakkadu, (12) Murikkoyikkal Palace, (13) Mariappilly, (14) Koratti Swaroopam, (15) Kaippuzha Kovilakam, (16) Lakshmipuram Palace, and (17) Kottapuram.

HH. Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, the Maharajah of Travancore earned the title was addressed as Dharma Raja on account of his strict adherence to Dharma Sastra, the principles of justice by providing asylum to the thousands of Hindus fleeing Malabar during the religious and military onslaught of Tipu Sultan.

See also

• The Order of Extermination of the Nayars by Tippu Sultan
• Local Resistance to Muslim Occupation of Malabar

References