Kerala History Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

2025

During my research for an artwork exploring the themes of body, skin, and skin covering—where the gaze became central and later extended into questions of human relationships—I encountered the radical historical practice of Sambandham in Kerala. This institution, in many ways, parallels the contemporary Western liberal notion of "live-in relationships," albeit embedded within a matrilineal social framework that gave it unique cultural and familial dimensions.
What initially appeared to be a marginal or caste-specific tradition soon revealed itself as a widespread practice deeply rooted in Kerala's social ecology. Though today Sambandham is commonly associated with the Nair community, my study uncovered that similar conjugal arrangements existed across various caste and religious groups—wherever matrilineal traditions were followed. This broader presence of Sambandham across Kerala's communities became a compelling subject in my exploration of the body, not only as a site of touch and gaze but also as a bearer of lineage, memory, and social contracts shaped by time, culture, and gendered power.

2025, The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple: Unearthing History and Treasure in God's Own Country

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is an ancient and extraordinarily wealthy Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. While its exact age is unclear, its origins date back at least a thousand years. The temple gained international attention in 2011 when the exploration of its subterranean vaults revealed an unprecedented collection of jewels, precious metals, and other treasures, estimated to be worth billions of dollars. This discovery led to significant legal discussions regarding the temple's administration and the ownership of its immense wealth. The temple's riches are believed to have accumulated over centuries from donations by various dynasties. Let's dive into the temple's history.

2025, The Academic (International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research) Volume 3, Issue 1,

Research Paper The advent of the printing press in colonial Kerala marked a transformative period in the region's socio-political and cultural landscape. Introduced by Christian missionaries in the early 19th century, the printing press played a pivotal role in spreading literacy, religious texts, and political ideologies. Newspapers and periodicals such as Kerala Patrika, Malayala Manorama, and Al-Ameen fostered political awareness and mobilized resistance against British colonial rule. The press also became a powerful tool for social reform, advocating for caste equality, women's education, and progressive ideas. Despite British censorship and restrictions, print media continued to thrive, influencing public discourse and fueling nationalist sentiments. The printing press not only democratized access to knowledge but also shaped the cultural and intellectual awakening in Kerala. This study examines the impact of the printing press on colonial Kerala's political movements, social reforms, and cultural transformations.

2025

Dantari Hill, in Uttar Pradesh's Kaimur range, is a significant archaeological site. This research explores its rich cultural heritage, including microlithic tools, painted rock shelters, megalithic burials, and historical inscriptions. The study investigates the rock art's significance, symbolism, and cultural context, starting with an overview of Dantari Hill's geography, water resources, and archaeological finds. The painted rock shelters are examined for their artistic and symbolic content, with detailed micro-documentation of the pictographs. The paper traces the site's chronology from the Mesolithic period through the Iron Age and historical periods into the early medieval era, analysing microlithic tools, rock art, megalithic structures, inscriptions and ceramics. The findings suggest Dantari Hill's strategic location, natural resources, and spiritual significance made it a vital site for human settlement and cultural activities over millennia. This research underscores Dantari Hill's cultural and historical importance, highlighting the need for further exploration and preservation to uncover deeper insights into ancient civilisations and cultural heritage.

2025, South Asia Journal

Recently an incident in Bangalore highlighted ongoing tensions between traditional cultural expressions and modern urban norms. This case, involving the denial of entry to a man dressed in a dhoti and kurta at a prominent mall, has sparked widespread debate about cultural discrimination, the enforcement of dress codes, and the evolving interpretation of modernity in India’s urban centers. This seemingly simple denial of entry triggered a larger controversy, drawing attention to the cultural biases embedded within dress code policies of many urban establishments. Such incidence of denial of a person in particular place due to dress-codes in India has a number of list, though, the government at policies level could not take the issues. Hence, there may be more of such incidences if not addressed properly and strickly.

2025, Cogent Arts & Humanities

theyyam is an old socio-religious ritual from North Kerala that has been practised in different parts of Malabar for a very long time, particularly by certain castes or tribes such as Malaya, Pulaya, thiyya, Vannan, etc. it is a type of worship in which a common man assumes the role of a god and engages in a ritualistic dance and the performance is meant to benefit the society by bringing wealth and prosperity. theyyam has experienced many transformations and been incorporated into the social order. this article uses a few chosen materials that include Malayalam short films and album tracks (Neeli, Varav, Kaavakam, and Pambichi) which portray the traditional folk form theyyam. the convergence of gender performativity and counter-hegemony in the portrayal of theyyam as a traditional folk art is the focus of this research article. this study examines how social power dynamics, gender issues, and caste conflict are interwoven with theyyam through an analysis of the selected discourses. it demonstrates the ways in which alternate gender role presentations have been a part of subaltern opposition to dominant caste authority through the employment of theyyam. the paper also explores how popular culture absorbed and exalted the powerful theyyam, revealing the intricacies of its portrayal and possibly exposing societal hypocrisies.

2025, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research

Irrespective of high social development and reform movements, inter-caste disparity is still prevalent in Kerala and scheduled tribes have been the most marginalized among all groups (CSSEIP, 2010). Present study focused to examine the quality of Life and the level of Depression, Anxiety and Stress among tribal women. Age of the respondents limited in between 20-70. A number of 201 respondents were selected from Ernakulam (N= 101) and Wayanad (N=100). The Kuttambuzha panchayath is the only one tribal area of Ernakulam district. The huge amount of resources were pumped into this tribal area by the government and Non-Government agencies. But Wayanad is a thickly tribal populated area. Resource allocation was not sufficient because of the huge number of tribal settlements. Present study compares the quality of life of tribal women from these districts and found that quality of life is higher among tribal women belonging to Ernakulam district. Anxiety, Depression and stress is higher among women belonging to Wayanad district. Further it revealed that quality of life and depression, anxiety and stress significantly influenced by the age of tribal women.

2025

This paper explores the architectural expressions of sacredness in two distinct religious traditions—Hinduism and Judaism—through a comparative study of Hindu temples and Jewish synagogues. It examines how both types of religious structures reflect the spiritual values, cultural histories, and ritual practices of their respective communities. The analysis includes the symbolic meanings behind structural elements, the role of divine presence in design, and how worshippers interact with these sacred spaces. Drawing on academic sources and architectural studies, the paper highlights both the contrasts and connections between the two traditions. This study aims to promote a deeper understanding of religious architecture as a living expression of faith and identity.

2025

The Acts of the Apostles concludes: "He lived there two whole years, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance." At first view, it may seem as though the mission ends there. However, we must remember the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ: "I will build My Church." While God accomplishes His work through human agents, the growth and advancement of the Church remain His divine undertaking. This book, structured in eighteen chapters, provides a consistent and geographically comprehensive overview of how the mission has continued from the apostolic era to the present. It is a valuable resource for all Christians, not just those in theological education.

2025

The aim of this essay is to present an alternative hypothesis about the localization of the ancient Indo-Roman port of Muziris/Muchiri, different from the current ones that would position it in Kerala, and precisely in Pattanam or... more

2025, Journal of Early Modern History

A review of one of my very favourite books ever. Don't read this: read Abraham's Luggage (if you haven't)!

2025, Dialogist Journal of Kannur University Dept of English

The essay excavates the deeply rooted conflict in culture and society between Brahmanism and Buddhism and the eventual obliteration of Buddhism from the religious and social spaces and chronology by Brahmanical patriarchy in Kerala. The rise of modernity during the Western missionary intervention in early 19th century and the formation of anti caste struggles are critically contextualized. The dialectics of that peculiar modernity and its unique native epistemology and hermeneutics are analyzed and contextualized here. The cultural foundations of Kerala are identified to its ancient roots in Asokan Buddhist civilization in South India. The kinship of Kerala renaissance to that of Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj and Ambedkarite movement later are also evaluated in the present and in futuristic ways. Oligarchy and over representation by power elite are also probed and problematized. The grass root democratic movements having cultural and religious dimensions led by Ayya Vaikundhar, Ayyankali, Appachan, Narayanaguru and Sahodaran deconstructing and remaking Kerala modernity from the bottom as a critique of Brahmanical cosmology, theology and Sanskritized epistemology of Hinduism are discussed in detail in the context of the recent riots against gender justice and social justice unleashed by the RSS and NSS casteist orthodoxies in Kerala during the Sabarimala standoff in 2018. The threats to justice, equality and democracy from the caste Hindu forces who form the oligarchy or power monopoly and over representation are also critically discussed in the current conjuncture of India and Kerala. The historic junctures of the 1924-25 Vaikom struggles, the centenary is celebrated now are also used to analyze and understand critically the crucial subjectivities and contexts in Kerala’s struggles for equality, justice and democracy in relation to religious and cultural changes.

2025, Conceptualising People's Cinema- John Abraham, Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977) and the Indie Cinema of South India

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Jayjit Sarkar and Anik Sarkar; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Jayjit Sarkar and Anik Sarkar to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

2025, The Academic International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research

Initiatives undertaken by the state due to the necessity of land tenures during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries increased agriculture and, as a result, enhanced the state's economy. By the end of the 18th century, Travancore had become the largest Jenmi due to the confiscation of rebellious chieftains' holdings in and around the state with the support of colonial armies; these lands were turned to Sirkar land, and the state now possessed half of all cultivable land. By the early nineteenth century, British imperialism in Travancore had reduced rulers' freedom. Even though Travancore had its land policy, the status of princely state compelled them to oppose its actions. The British have always enjoyed forcing Travancore kings to implement strategies. The servitude was unavoidable because the colonial power backed the rulers passionately against the emerging problems.

2025, Exemplaria

From the intro: 'My contribution to this Exemplaria special issue on “Retracing Trauma’s Theories in Premodern Literatures” engages with Chavittunatakam, and my response to this genre as a scholar who was once trained as a medievalist and who now studies the Indian Ocean world’s creolized cultures. My dialogue is with both aims articulated in the introduction: “to explore the ways in which trauma, as a dynamic force, can be reconfigured as a tool of historical analysis for premodern texts and contexts,” and “to explore the ways in which premodern epistemologies of loss and suffering can be used to reconfigure contemporary frameworks of trauma theory” (Aiello and Calkin this issue). The preceding articles represent a collective effort to expand the scope of trauma theory as well as of premodern literary studies at a time when both fields are experiencing a “global turn and epistemological revision” (Aiello and Calkin this issue). Along with my fellow authors, I want to take the conversation to questions of voice, embodiment, futurity and pastness—“the temporality and timeline of traumatic experience”—and, of course, to “the ways in which traumatic experience intersects with racialization and legal procedure” (Aiello and Calkin this issue). The invitation to provide an afterword to these essays is an opportunity to join this important conversation, revisit my relationship to the premodern as a subject of enquiry, and shed light on how the folded temporalities of the Middle Ages are also an engagement with a spatiality of otherness and homing. In drawing attention to Malabar’s Charlemagne through Chavittunatakam, a genre little known outside its local context, and lacking comprehensive scholarly treatment, I ask: is it traumatic, or redemptive, for Charlemagne/ Karalman to be so much at home on the Malabar Coast that Malayalam’s phonetics creolize his very name?

2025, Heritage Research Journal

Hinduism is an amalgam of several cults, viśva-tattva (viśva “all, universal”) and viśvadevatās (myriads of divinities). The Śrītattvanidhi, a śilpa digest of the 19th century, compiled by Kṛṣṇarāja Uḍaiyār of the Mysore royal house, visualizes a comprehensive picture of viśvataṭṭva
and viśvadevatās. We have systematically summed up ‘Brahmatattva-nidhi’ (Brahman, the Universal Man). Though the names of the divinities are Sanskritized, and many are renamed or recast in vernaculars, they are extracts from various layers of Indian culture from the pre- or protohistoric
time (frozen in literature, folk and classical) to the high medieval period (śāstras and āgamas). The final output confirms the underlying philosophy in Hinduism that the so-called higher and folk had harmoniously amalgamated to make up a cosmopolitan religion. Multitudes
of divinities (personified natural forces [Trees, Serpents, Rivers], Patriarchs, Sages [god-man], Scriptures, Directions, Planets or celestial bodies and so on) are catalogued herein that may be refreshing to informants on Indian lore. The compilations, Sammlung Alice Boner Geschenk an
das Museum Rietberg Zürich and Museum of Indian Art Berlin, are on-hand reference books for Brahmatattva-devatās.

2025, Thudi Research Journal

അച്ചടിയെയും പുസ്തകചരിത്രത്തെയും കേന്ദ്രീകരിച്ചുള്ള പഠനശാഖ രൂപപ്പെട്ടുവരുന്നതുമായി ചേർന്നുകൊണ്ടാണ് വായന എന്ന പ്രവർത്തനത്തെയും (reading as a practice) വായനക്കാർ എന്ന സംവർഗത്തെയും (readers as a category) കുറിച്ചുള്ള സൂക്ഷ്മമായ ചർച്ചകൾ രൂപപ്പെടുന്നത്. ഇന്ത്യൻ ഭാഷകളിലെ വായനാചരിത്രപഠനങ്ങൾ പുസ്തകങ്ങളുടെ അച്ചടി, പ്രസിദ്ധീകരണം, വിതരണം, സാഹിത്യ ജനുസ്സുകളുടെ നിർമിതി, വായ്മൊഴിയിൽ നിന്ന് അച്ചടിയിലേക്കുള്ള മാറ്റം എന്നീ വിഷയങ്ങളെയാണ് പ്രധാനമായും പരിഗണിച്ചിട്ടുള്ളത്. ആളുകൾ എങ്ങനെ വായിച്ചു, എന്തൊക്കെ വായിച്ചു എന്ന് കൃത്യമായി രേഖപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടില്ലാത്തതാണ് വായനാചരിത്രങ്ങൾ പഠിക്കുന്നതിലെ പ്രധാന പരിമിതികളിലൊന്ന്. എന്നാൽ അച്ചടിവായനയുടെ മിക്ക ഇന്ത്യൻ അനുഭവങ്ങളും കൊളോണിയൽ ഇടപെടലുകളിലും മിഷനറി സാംസ്കാരികതയിലും അധിഷ്ഠിതമാണ് എന്ന് തിരിച്ചറിഞ്ഞാൽ ഈ പരിമിതിയെ മറികടക്കാനുള്ള സാധ്യതയുണ്ടെന്ന് പ്രബന്ധം വാദിക്കുന്നു. അച്ചടിവായനയുടെ ആദ്യകാലചരിത്രങ്ങളെ മിഷനറി പുരാശേഖരങ്ങൾ മുൻനിർത്തി പഠിക്കാനുള്ള ചില പ്രാഥമിക ആലോചനകളാണ് ലേഖനം വിശദീകരിക്കുന്നത്. ഉറക്കെവായനയുടെ ചരിത്രപശ്ചാത്തലത്തെ കേന്ദ്രീകരിച്ചുള്ള ചില നിരീക്ഷണങ്ങളും ഗവേഷണരീതിശാസ്ത്രങ്ങളും പ്രബന്ധം അവതരിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.

2025, Judith Becker & Dana L. Roberts (ed.), Nationalism and Internationalism in the Young Ecumenical Movement, 1895-1920s

The early 20th century was a period when the nationalist movement spread rapidly and widely across the Indian sub-continent. There was an increased awareness of the implications of British rule, a growing restlessness with the coercive power of the state and the apathy of the local elite, and an eagerness to delineate the objectives and course of nationalist struggle. This was also the time when nationalism tended to increasingly and explicitly pander to consolidated Hinduism, placing Indian Christians and other minority religious groups in an ambiguous position. The dilemma that the Indian Christians faced was as follows: the prevailing nationalist sentiment decried the European and American missionaries as purveyors of colonial domination, and tended to portray Christianity as a 'foreign' religion that was opposed to 'national' interest, wherein onus was increasingly put on the Indian Christians to prove their nationalist credentials. Meanwhile, Indian Christians, especially the educated ones, were increasingly becoming weary of the colonial attitude and racial politics prevalent in missionary work and church administration. They were keen to assert their independence and identify with the struggles of their countrymen, but without severing the close association they already had with churches and missionary societies across the world. In resolving this dilemma, the Indian Ecumenists articulated a sense of being and becoming 'Indian' that was in consonance with the humanist and social reformist tradition of 19th Century India as well as the intellectual departures set in motion by Gandhi, Tagore and others at the time. It was one that conceived India as an organic 'civilizational entity' rather than a 'nation'-'that aspect which a population assumes when organised for a mechanical purpose' (Tagore, 1917); and as having a distinct identity of her own, which is essentially plural, as well as remaining open to people, cultures and ideas from other parts of the world. It was also one that prioritized the moral imperative to work towards 'elevating' people and communities from their dehumanised existence and restoring them with dignity and self-respect just as Christ did.

2025, Pius Malekandathil, “ The Early Missionary Works of the St.Thomas Christians: A Historical Overview, “in Thomas Christian Heritage: Journal of the Syro-Malabar Liturgical Research Centre, Special Edition (Missionary Trajectories of Syro-Malabar Church: A Historical Overview), Vol. XVIII, nos.34&3...

The trade network along with the faith-related connectivities in the Indian Ocean brought together the Christians of Thomasine tradition in the East into one ecclesiastical unit , stretching from Edessa and extending to South India and going further into South East Asia. Missionary activities and trade-related engagements went hand in hand from one point of this trade route to the farthest eastern part of the Indian Ocean spreading faith and carrying out trade, which led to proliferation of Christianity in the Indian Ocean in quick speed. Besides participation in the engagements of faith propagation and trade promotion, the St.Thomas Christians actively got involved in spreading of the message of Jesus in South Asia at different time points. This paper looks into the meanings of early missionary engagements of the St.Thomas Christians and tries to see the plurality of ways how this Christian community eventually got re-oriented towards the direction of a missionary-supplying Church.

2025

Movements/protests/activisms are the significant part of articulating an issue to the mainstream socio-culture bulletin. Environmental movements in India has been providing sufficient exposure of the environment related issues from remote corners of the country. Among the numerous mainstream and grassroots environmental movements, some movements remain prominent while others have not been lucid. On the other hand, the written narratives of movements and their issues have been asserting their place in the environmental discourse. Jothibai Pariyadath's Mayilamma: The Life of a Tribal Eco-Warrior is a writer-activists' text of the Plachimada protest. The article positions the select text as a narrative of writer activism which is an integral part of environmentalism.

2025, Bhashaposhini, Malayala Manorama

This article presents a detailed summary of the new findings on the Garshuni Malayalam script and recent studies on Christian manuscripts from Kerala.

2025, British Journal of Educational Technology

2025, PhD Thesis, IIT Madras

This study is an inquiry into the role of costumes in performing cultural identities in contemporary Malayalam movies of the post-2010 period motivated by phenomenological writings. It also endeavours to map the mutual interactions between film costumes and the constitution of ethnic identities in Kerala society, its reflections and affections within the cinematic conventions and broader socio-cultural contexts. A phenomenological investigation, as film scholar Vivian Sobchcak explains, engages in a thick and radical description of film experience, foregrounding the lived body and sensory perception of moving images, thematisation and interpretation of the structures of communication while being in the world. The major questions addressed in this research comprise a) variations in costumes according to changing notions of masculinities and stardom in the characters enacted by three contemporary actors, Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil and Nivin Pauly, b) the role of costumes in the production and communication of religious affects and identities, and c) the visual figurations of Dalit and backward caste identities in selected New Generation Malayalam films. This analysis emphasises the materiality and affects embodied in costumes and moving images and on the social and cultural conditions of production and perception of films. This research has an interdisciplinary orientation that borrows concepts from multiple areas of study, mainly film studies, fashion studies, social anthropology and cultural studies. A broader argument upon which this research is built is that film costumes are a frame and lens to look at cultural identities within and beyond cinema, a rich resource to make sense of the nuances in the manifestation of identities and their complex interrelationships in cultural expressions and corresponding Malayali society, at the intersections of the local, national and transnational flow of ideas, images and commodities.

2025, SOUTH ASIAN POPULAR CULTURE

India, the biggest democracy in the world, once experienced the
worst oppression in its history when the late Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi declared a state of emergency, on 25 June 1975. Civil
liberties and personal freedom were curbed, using the constitutional
powers under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution.
Creativity faced the biggest casualty during the Emergency until it
was withdrawn on 21 March 1977. The Southern state of Kerala
being the most politically conscious and creatively corrective population,
its own cinema in the Malayalam language was ineffective in
its immediate response to the event. However, traces of resistance
can be found in this crisis, and they are often demonstrated in
tactical ways to escape the omnipotence of a censorship system.
This article argues that Malayalam cinema categorically avoided
representing the historical authenticity of the Emergency, on the
contrary, it adopted a strategic disavowal to depoliticize it by
manipulating narratives that do not identify themselves as
a constructive form of resistance. Such a discourse is a new form
of apolitical resistance that continues to be a characteristic of
modern states sustained by political order and cultural hegemony.
The spatial and temporal dimensionality of this recalcitrance was
reflected in the Emergency cinema of Malayalam as ideological,
personalized, and allegorical texts of narrative modes. This paper
historically explores these modes as well as the role, responsibility,
and status of Malayalam cinema during the political crisis of the
Emergency.

2025

it is a draft about Sukanasopadesa of Kadambari written by BanaBhatta

2025, Transcultural Psychiatry

Thangals are an endogamous community in Kerala, India, of Yemeni heritage who claim direct descent from the Prophet Muhammad's family. Due to their sacrosanct status, many thangals work as religious healers and thus are part of the informal mental health care system in Northern Kerala. Using the case of one thangal healer as an illustration of the many ritual healers in Kerala who engage the modern discourse of psychology in their practices, I argue that the psychologisation of ritual healing is part of a wider trend: the increasing rationalisation and scientification of traditional medical practices, whereby an increasing number of traditional healers negotiate science, modernity and religion and position their practice within these contested fields. Based on the analysis of this thangal's healing practice in the local context of Northern Kerala, I further argue that in order to understand "ritual" healing, scholars should emphasise pragmatic realism more than doctrinal purity. Keywords mental health, pragmatic realism, psychologisation, ritual healing, South Asia, Thangals Mental health care in the southern Indian state of Kerala consists of various formalised and nonformalised medical and religious practices. Both biopsychiatry and Western psychology strongly influence professional and lay discourses on mental illness. Patients and their families also use Ayurveda, homeopathy and naturopathy in both their institutionalised and noninstitutionalised configurations, and seek additional help through religious healing, be it Muslim, Hindu, or Christian. In the largely Muslim Malappuram and Kozhikode districts of

2025, Series Catalogorum

Catalogue des manuscrits persans de la BnF
Deux volumes.
Première partie, Supplément persan 1-524 ; Deuxième partie, 525-1000

2025, JHARKHAND JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Kerala is a multiethnic, multilingual, and multireligious state that is located in southern India, between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. The ethnic groups of Kerala society are referred to by the words "Keralite" and "Malayali," where "Keralite" denotes membership in Kerala society and "Malayali" denotes membership in the linguistic ethnicity. The alteration of pre-colonial social edifices and the impacts of colonialism are contentious issue among sociologists, historians, linguists, cultural anthropologists, and other academics. The relationship between foreign power and transformation is examined in the process of ethnic alteration during colonialism. This study uses a qualitative research approach, combining historical, sociological, and anthropological perspectives to understand the dimensions of ethnicity in Kerala society. The conceptual framework integrates theoretical insights from various disciplines to analyse the complex dynamics of ethnicity in Kerala. The article challenges the distinction between "natural" and "manufactured" ethnicity, emphasizing the boundary-maintenance method as the significant issue in social stratification based ethnic groups; and emphasizes the importance of considering power dynamics and social hierarchies that underpin ethnic relations and how these dynamics shape the experiences of different ethnic groups.

2025, Telicham Monthly - Darul Huda Islamic University

hcpam\amÀKw ]camh[n tXSn¸nSn¡pIbpw D-]t`màm¡sf ]camh[n hÀ[n¸n¡pIbpw sN¿p ¶XneqsS amI-v knaw bq«nenänbpw s{]m^näpw am{Xw e£oIcn¡s¸Sp ¶ \hbpK ]cnkc¯p\n ¶v hJv ^nsâ [mÀanIamb D¯chmZn¯hpw kaqlt¯mSpÅ A-Xnsâ Imgv N¸mSpw a-JmknZnsâ ho£WtImWneqsS... more

2025, Journal of Veda Samskrita Academy

Aranmula is a village in the Pathanamthitta district of the state of Kerala. It is situated on the banks of the holy river Pamba. Aranmula is a centre of culture and pilgrimage hence it is known as the cultural capital of Pathanamthitta. The history and mythology of the particular land is related to Aranmula Pardhasarathi temple. The study of Aranmula is the study of Pardhasarathi temple and its rituals itself. Through this study the cultural importance of Aranmula will be unraveled.

2025, Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology

Reconstructing the Sramana history of Kerala is being herculean task by the absence of sufficient sources. High density of population led rapid urbanization leading encroachment and obliteration of evidence is one of the main reasons. Furthermore, most of the monuments were constructed with the perishable wooden materials. To compound the problem still further, research into historical archaeology focusing on systematic, problem-oriented explorations and excavations are very few and far between. Moreover, the impartial addressing of historical problem based on systematic analysis and interpretation of available sources are hardly find in any of the previous researches. Against this backdrop, present study based on native and extra-native sources associating Jainism with Perumals of Kerala may have a significant bearing on the historical development of Kerala. Those records may shed fresh light into the dark corners of not only Jainism but other non-Brahmin belief systems thus can a landmark in the politicoreligious history of medieval Kerala.

2025, South Asian Review

The proposed paper attempts to situate the layered stakes involved in translating Dalit literature from Malayalam to English. Dalit writers while envisioning their literature as a mode to establish their visibility and dissent have also observed how language itself has limitations in conveying their radical politics. Their counterhegemonic writings are often ignored or labeled "uncouth" for the literary public. Through a reading of Pulayathara (1962), we examine the following questions-Do errors in the English translations of Dalit literature always result in what Venuti calls, the "ethnocentric violence" of a culture? How does the lack of cohesive readership, given the fact that the target audience can be both foreigners and a wide cross-section of heterogeneous Indians, complicate the translator's job? We argue that translations of Dalit literature from Malayalam to English contest caste-determined regimes of writing and reading, making the project a subversive force that challenges established power structures.

2025, Mark Leveri

The culinary heritage of East Africa, particularly as expressed through Swahili gastronomy, represents an intricate amalgamation of diverse cultural influences shaped by centuries of trade, migration, and social interaction. This article examines the historical, cultural, and social dimensions that influence the food practices of the Swahili people, who inhabit a coastal region that has long served as a nexus for cultural exchange between Africa, the Arab world, and the Indian subcontinent. This study highlights the significance of local ingredients-such as seafood, tropical fruits, and a variety of spices-alongside traditional cooking methods that emphasize flavor infusion and communal sharing. The communal aspect of Swahili cuisine, particularly the practice of kisinia, is explored in depth to illustrate how food acts as a conduit for social connection and cultural identity. Through this exploration, the article emphasizes the enduring relevance of Swahili gastronomy as a vital link to the region's rich cultural heritage and a symbol of communal values that persist in contemporary society.

2025

Jain accounts of ChandraGupta Maurya

2025, Pratyabhijñā: The Research Journal of Sanskrit Sahitya, SSUS Kalady

2025, Journal of Manuscript Studies

Indian mathematics. There are numerous texts in mathematics deals about geometry with special reference. In Malayalam, there is no text entirely deals about Geometry. At this juncture the discovery of the text KÀ®traga¸itaAE printed from German Evangel Mission Press, Thelicherry of Kerala state in the year 1857 will be a noteworthy contribution to the technical literature of Malayalam. There is no reference about the text is available. But it is sure that the text was used as a reference manual for local surveyors of 19 th century Kerala.

2025, GEO - EYE

Flooding is one of the most destructive natural disasters, capable of causing significant damage to infrastructure, ecosystems, and human lives. It is triggered by a variety of factors such as persistent rainfall, rapid snowmelt, rising sea levels, cloudbursts and anthropogenic activities. This study focuses on mapping flood-prone areas in the Alappuzha district of Kerala using the Weighted Overlay Method for flood risk mapping, the research integrates geospatial techniques such as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create a flood inundation map. Key parameters include physical factors like slope, drainage density, rainfall, geomorphology, soil, land use, NDVI, NDBI, MNDWI, and WRI, along with social factors such as population, households, building conditions, and access to information. The analysis reveals that low-lying areas near water bodies, including Cherthala, Ambalapuzha, and Kuttanad, are highly susceptible to flooding, intensified by poor drainage infrastructure. Kuttanad situated below sea level, faces frequent floods, severely impacting agriculture and livelihoods. Southern taluks like Karthikappally and Mavelikkara, although at higher altitudes, still face moderate flood risks due to proximity to minor rivers. This study underscores the importance of integrating geospatial data and hydrological models for effective flood risk assessment and sustainable flood management practices.

2025, Journal of Indian Art History XXV

Shasta and Ayyappa have been considered as one and the same in popular belief. In Iconographic depictions Shasta idols in stone have a early origin and display definite charachter. The current idol of Ayyappa in Shabarimala is as late as the 20th CE and popular as Dharma Shasta. Ayyappa is however noticed in mural paintings from late 18th CE as a young prince and a hunter on a horse back and also addressed as Vetta Shasta by some. While Shasta is sylvan-ethnic deity Ayyappa cult has its origin in ethnic/tribal ancestor worship. Essence of both these deities have been merged to lay genesis to the deity Dharama Shasta- Ayyappan at Shabarimala

2025, Ar. Mohammed Asrar Shaikh

This paper aims at bringing out the understanding of mosque architecture of Kerala, it reflects a rich blend of socio - cultural influences, historical evolution, and a deep connection to Islamic traditions. From the early Islamic influence in 629 AD till date.
This summary offers an overview of the significant elements of Kerala mosques, emphasizing the specific architectural aspects and the cultural fusion that has influenced their construction and the way the mosque architecture has transformed over the years from traditional to Modern contemporary.
Modern building materials and architectural designs are frequently used in contemporary mosques, creating larger prayer hall spaces. Technology integration, such as sound systems for the call to prayer, Use of R.C.C, glass also demonstrates how mosque construction has changed to meet the community's changing demands.
Kerala has seen a large number of Mosques being built because of the large sums of money being donated by the Arabs through the people of Kerala working in Middle-east.
Kerala's mosque design is changing along with the state, showing how innovation and tradition interact in an evolving manner. This abstract provides further research into the cultural and historical aspects of these sacred places by providing an insight into the Kerala Mosque architecture.

2025, Journal of Indian History, Vol.C, ISSN 0022-1775

The society in medieval Kerala gave importance to expressing their emotional selves
at every stage of their life and in this way, they regulated the social institutions prevailing in the society at that time. During this period, many treatises were written in this regard, especially focusing on male - female relationships. Among them, the Maṇipravāḷaṃ works occupy a prominent place. This study mainly analyses the idea of love as expressed by men mentioned in Maṇipravāḷaṃ literature. It is important to note that these literary works offer a perspective on women’s views and aspirations concerning love, as imagined and articulated by the male authors. These sources primarily pertain to the upper echelons of the society and their social life, making it challenging to gain insights into the practices of love among the lower caste people. The social norms surrounding the emotion of love, as reflected in the Maṇipravāḷaṃ works, were shaped by the upper strata of society. Therefore, this paper is a
critical analysis of the idea of love as a socially constructed, culturally and historically
specific phenomenon that existed in medieval Kerala, as depicted in early Maṇipravāḷaṃ literature.
The primary sources for this study are Maṇipravāḷaṃ works- namely Vaiśikatantraṃ,
Uṇṇiyaccīcaritaṃ authored by Tēvaṉ Cirikumāraṉ, Uṇṇicirutēvicaritaṃ, Uṇṇiyāṭīcaritaṃ,
Uṇṇunīlisandēśaṃ, Kōkasandēśaṃ, Līlātilakaṃ and Candrōtsavaṃ; all composed between 13 th to 15 th centuries CE.

2025, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol.81

This study explores the idea of masculinity as represented in the Maṇipravāḷaṃ literature of medieval Kerala especially why certain ideas of ideal masculine body are created, what gendered roles were assigned to men and how the behaviour of men was regulated in the medieval Kerala society. Finally, the role of caste and class in defining masculinity will also be considered.

2025, Studia Rosenthaliana

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) played a significant role in commerce and economic innovation during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Beyond its economic pursuits, the VOC facilitated substantial cultural exchanges, exemplified by those undertaken by Leopold Immanuel Jacob van Dort, a Hebrew professor. Van Dort's activities included translating the Qur'ãn and the New Testament into Hebrew, printing Jewish prayer books for the Jews of Cochin, India, and led to the publication of the "Chronicles" of the Jews of Cochin in Europe. Van Dort's role as a cultural mediator is further underscored by his extension of Ezekiel Rahabi's network to Tobias Boas in The Hague, facilitating ongoing exchanges between Dutch and Cochin Jews. These initiatives aimed at fostering cultural understanding and strengthening diplomatic and strategic ties between the VOC, the Paradeśi Jews, and surrounding political forces, with the Jews serving as key intermediaries in these negotiations. His collaboration with Ezekiel Rahabi and support from the VOC facilitated these initiatives, illustrating a strategic alliance between the VOC and the Jews of Cochin that extended beyond mere economic transactions. This underscores the VOC's impact beyond economic influence, highlighting its role in cultural, political, and religious exchanges.

2025, Suprabhatham

Aurangzeb cannot be regarded as an iconoclast, as often described by imperial and Hindutva writers. Ruling for 50 years, he transformed India into a wealthy and prosperous state. Like every ruler in history, he had his flaws.

2025, Refugee Watch

Looks at the issues involved in and a guide to teaching literature of economic migration in a multicultural classroom.

2025, Journal of Religion & Society (JR&S)

This research explores the economic and cultural significance of religious tourism in Pakistan, particularly focusing on the role of shrines as key destinations for both spiritual and cultural engagement. Pakistan is home to nearly 5,000 shrines that attract millions of pilgrims and tourists annually, contributing significantly to local economies. Shrines, revered by both Sunni and Shia communities, are not just places of religious importance but also centers of vibrant cultural activities. These sacred sites play a pivotal role in community cohesion, social mobilization, and cultural preservation. The study also highlights the evolution of shrines in Pakistan from spiritual centers to economic assets, emphasizing their dual role in fostering both spiritual well-being and economic development. Religious tourism, including the visitation of shrines, has a profound economic impact, stimulating local economies through tourism-related activities such as accommodation, transport, food services, and artisan crafts. However, challenges like inadequate infrastructure, political instability, and commercialization threaten the sustainability of these religious tourism sites. The research proposes strategies for enhancing the infrastructure and marketing of religious tourism, ensuring its long-term viability while preserving the sanctity of these sacred spaces. The findings underscore the potential of religious tourism to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth, particularly in underdeveloped areas, while also promoting interfaith harmony and cultural understanding.

2025

This paper examines about the north and south regions of Malabar through the inland water way and configure the market system of interior parts by interconnecting with major ports near to Malabar. The hydrological elements used as an imperial policy in the west coast of Malabar in Madras presidency of British India. However, as an impact of the integration of the natural inlets like rivers, backwaters and estuaries it brings out an uninterrupted line of inland waterway. This study also analysis the reach ability of the canal to fulfill the imperial purpose and relocation of market system of west coast of south India, leads the market reorientation in early 20 th century. The canal policy of British was a prime motive of imperial power that took up the natural water bodies especially rivers, backwaters and estuaries to join with artificial ways.

2025, "Back to the Water: Early Modern Malabar and the Dutch Colonial Archive", iSHORE Working Papers Series, 1

In this explorative paper I aim, firstly, to give a brief historical overview of early modern Malabar that entirely derives from the existing historiography written in European languages. Although there are various excellent studies on specific polities or communities, on commercial or agricultural developments, on literature or architecture and on many other more specific topics, what seems to be lacking is an integrated account of these developments, at least in English, at least for the early modern period. To be clear, the latter is taken very roughly from the early fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, without necessarily suggesting a sharp break with the previous, so-called medieval period or with the later British colonial period. Obviously, my overview here cannot fill in that gap but merely aims to sketch in broad strokes the historical scenery in which the Dutch operated and which their extensive reports must tell us about. Hence, my second objective is to briefly explore the potentialities of Dutch sources for a better understanding of Malabar’s early modern history. So, I will start with a short discussion of Malabar’s political economy, after which I will highlight the remarkable and simultaneous occurrence of a series of cultural renaissances that were patronized by increasingly prosperous little kingdoms and triggered by Malabar’s intensifying interactions with the outside world. Only at the very end I will make a few closing remarks by looking through the Dutch archival window at these developments which are meant to help a new generation of historians working with the Dutch archive to set up a new research agenda.

2025, ചിന്ത വാരിക

Interpretative Analysis of Discoveries at the Pattanam Archaeological Site