1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
3.
States and union territories of India
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India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
4.
Kerala
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Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
5.
Thrissur
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It is also the headquarters of the Thrissur District. The City is built around a 65-acre hillock called the Thekkinkadu Maidan which seats the Vadakkumnathan temple, Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin. It is located 300 kilometres towards north-west of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur is also known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala because of its cultural, spiritual and religious leanings throughout history. It contains the Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy, Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, the city hosts the Thrissur Pooram festival, the most colourful and spectacular temple festival in Kerala. The festival is held at the Thekkinkadu Maidan in April or May, Thrissur has historically been a centre of Hindu scholarship. The city has one of the most important temples of Hindu Shaivism, the district is also home of one of the most holiest Hindu Vaishnava temples, the Guruvayur temple. Christianity, Islam and Judaism entered into the Indian subcontinent through the Thrissur District, the works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings claim Thomas the Apostle to have set foot in Muziris near Thrissur 2,000 years ago. The countrys first mosque, Cheraman Juma Masjid, opened in AD629, Thrissur has opened the gates for Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch and English. The city has served as an incubator for many Malayali entrepreneurs and it flexes its economic muscle in India as the headquarters of three major scheduled banks, South Indian Bank Ltd, Catholic Syrian Bank and Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd and a clutch of Chit funds. The city is also a big centre for shopping in Kerala for silks, Thrissur attracts the largest number of domestic tourists in Kerala. The name Thrissur is a form of Thiru-Shiva-Per-Ur literally translates to The City or Town with the name of the Lord Shiva. The name owes itself to the most prominent feature of the city, that is the Vadakkumnathan Temple, Thrissur was also known as Vrishabhadripuram Kailasam of the South) in ancient days. The Ramavarmapuram monument is in granite and is of the menhir type, the monument in Ramavarmapuram is 15 feet in height and 12 feet 4 inches wide. Since 1944, it has been protected by the Department of Archaeology, the monument is locally known as Padakkallu or Pulachikkallu. These menhirs are memorials put up at sites for the departed souls. They belong to the Megalithic Age of Kerala, which is estimated between 1000 BCE and 500 CE. All such monuments have not been dated exactly, some experts are of the view that these are the remnants of the Neolithic Age in the development of human technology. The Ramavarmapuram menhir is also believed to be a monument belonging to the Sangam period in the South Indian history, another monolithic monuments like Dolmens and rock-cut caves are at Porkulam, Chiramanengad, Eyyal, Kattakambal and Kakkad
6.
Malayalam
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Malayalam /mʌləˈjɑːləm/ is a language spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated as a Classical Language in India in 2013 and it was developed to the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century. Malayalam has official status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by some 38 million people, according to one theory, Malayalam originated from Middle Tamil in the 7th century. However, the current understanding proposes the separation of Malayalam from Proto-Dravidian in the pre-historic era, Malayalam incorporated many elements from Sanskrit through the ages. Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, including present day Kerala state, silappatikaramit was written by Chera prince Ilango Adigal from Chunkaparra, and is considered a classic in Sangam literature. Modern Malayalam still preserves many words from the ancient Tamil vocabulary of Sangam literature, the earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet, and later the Kolezhuttu, which derived from it. As Malayalam began to borrow words as well as the rules of grammar from Sanskrit. This developed into the modern Malayalam script, many medieval liturgical texts were written in an admixture of Sanskrit and early Malayalam, called Manipravalam. The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries, the first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Due to its lineage deriving from both Tamil and Sanskrit, the Malayalam script has the largest number of letters among the Indian language orthographies, the Malayalam script includes letters capable of representing almost all the sounds of all Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Malayalam serves as a language on the islands including the Mahl-dominated Minicoy Island. The word Malayalam originated from the Sanskrit resp, Malayalam words malai or mala, meaning hill, and elam, meaning region. Malayalam thus translates as hill region and used to refer to the land of the Chera dynasty, the language Malayalam is alternatively called Alealum, Malayalani, Malayali, Malean, Maliyad, and Mallealle. The word Malayalam originally meant only for the name of the region, Malayanma or Malayayma represented the language. With the emergence of modern Malayalam language, the name of the language started to be known by the name of the region, hence now, the word Malayanma is considered by some to represent the olden Malayalam language. The language got the name Malayalam during the mid 19th century, the origin of Malayalam, an independent offshoot of the proto-Dravidian language, has been and continues to be an engaging pursuit among comparative historical linguists. Together with Tamil, Toda, Kannada and Tulu, Malayalam belongs to the group of Dravidian languages
7.
Palakkad district
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Palakkad District is one of the 14 districts of the Indian state of Kerala. The city of Palakkad is the district headquarters, the district is 24. 4% urbanised according to the census of 2011. The district is nicknamed the granary of Kerala and Rice bowl of Kerala, in earlier times, Palakkad was also known as Palakkattussery. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap, the total area of the district is 4,480 km2 which is 11. 5% of the states area which makes it the largest district of Kerala. Out of the area of 4,480 km2, about 1,360 km2 of land is covered by forests. The climate is pleasant for most part of the year, exception is on the summer months, there is sufficient rainfall and it receives more rainfall than the extreme southern districts of kerala. The district is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River, a number of dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being Malampuzha dam. The largest in capacity is the Parambikulam Dam Taluks, Alathur, Chittur, Mannarkkad, Ottappalam, Palakkad. Members of Parliament, Palakkad - MB Rajesh Alathur – PK Biju Under the amended Indian Constitution, the headquarters of the District Panchayat is at Palakkad Municipal town. The District Panchayat office building is near the Civil Station, IIT Palakkad for Kerala started operations in its temporary campus at Kanjikode, Palakkad from 3 August 2015. There are various industries in the district, the Public Sector companies and Instrumentation Limited have plants in Kanjikode,12 kilometres from Palakkad town. Other large companies are the BPL group, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, there is an Industrial Area in Kanjikode with a number of medium industries. Palakkad is the one of the most agrarian districts in Kerala, Palakkad is particularly known for paddy cultivation. Paddy is cultivated in around 83,998 Hectares in the district, Palakkad also occupies the first position in the state for the production of groundnut, tamarind, turmeric, tuber, vegetables, pulses, mango, banana, plantain and cotton. Rubber, coconut, areca nut, black pepper, etc. are also cultivated extensively like other parts of Kerala. According to the 2011 census Palakkad district has a population of 2,810,892 and this gives it a ranking of 138th in India. The district has a density of 627 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 7. 39%, Palakkad has a sex ratio of 1067 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 89. 32%
8.
Malappuram district
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Malappuram district, First e-literate district in India, with its headquarters at Malappuram, is a district in the state of Kerala, India. The district was formed on 16 June 1969, the ancient Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics though mainly centred in Thrissur also had namboodiri and nair scholars coming from malappuram. Today the district includes Thirunavaya, the medieval centre of Vedic learning, Kottakkal. Islam came to Malappuram early in prophet Mohammeds era itself, as a religion Islam spread in Malappuram district and slowly it became the major religion in the region. The caste system present on those days was the factor which made people to think about Islam. Ponnani, one of the oldest centres of Islamic education in the region is located here, in 1921 the present-day Malappuram district was part of the Moplah rebellions, followed by decades of stagnant economic, social and political development. In the early years of Communist rule in Kerala, Malappuram experienced land reform under the Land Reform Ordinance, during the 1970s Persian Gulf oil reserves were opened to commercial extraction, and thousands of unskilled workers migrated to the Gulf. They sent money home, supporting the economy, and by the late 20th century the region had First World health standards. Malappuram is one of two Muslim-majority districts in south India, the Hindu temples and Moplah mosques of the region are known for their colorful festivals, and it is the most populous district in Kerala. Religions practised in the district include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Malappuram, meaning terraced place atop the hills, derives from the geography of the district headquarters. Before the districts formation, the region was known as Eranad, Valluvanad, Vettathunad etc, the district has a rich cultural and political heritage. The port of Ponnani was a centre of trade with Ancient Rome, after the Chera Dynasty a number of dynasties controlled the area, and by the ninth century the region was ruled by the Kulasekharas of Mahodayapuram. After the disintegration of the Kulasekhara kingdom a number of Nair city-states emerged, including Valluvanad, Vettattunadu, Parappanad, during the 13th century, the Samoothiri of Calicut expanded their territories to Malabar. Thirunavaya, the seat of Mamankam, was in Malappuram district, european colonial powers first landed in Malabar during the 15th century, and the Samoothiris often allied with foreign powers. During the 18th century, the de facto Mysore kingdom rulers Hyder Ali, Malappuram has been part of movements such as Khilafat Movement and Moplah Rebellion in the early 20th century. Before Indian independence in 1947, Malappuram was part of Malabar District in the Madras Presidency of British India, the present district was administered as parts of Kozhikode, Eranad taluk, Valluvanad Taluk and Ponnani taluk. Malabar District remained part of Madras state for some time after independence, large-scale changes in the territorial jurisdiction of the region took place in 1957 and 1969. On 1 January 1957, Tirur taluk was formed from portions of Eranad taluk, another portion of Ponnani taluk was transferred to the new Chavakkad taluk, and the remainder is present-day Ponnani taluk
9.
Ernakulam district
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Ernakulam is a district of Kerala, India situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,068 km2, Ernakulam district is home to over 12% of Kerala’s population and its headquarters is located at Kakkanad, a suburb of Kochi city. Ernakulam is known as the capital of Kerala. The district is famous for its ancient temples, churches, the district includes the largest metropolitan region of the state, Greater Cochin. Ernakulam district is the highest revenue yielding district in the state and it is the third most populous district in Kerala, after Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram. Ernakulam district also hosts the highest number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala state, the language spoken in Ernakulam is Malayalam which is the mother-tongue of Kerala. English is widely used, especially in business circles, Ernakulam became Indias first district having 100 percent banking or full meaningful financial inclusion in 2012. The name Ernakulam is derived from Erayanarkulam which means the abode of Lord Shiva, Ernakulam was also known as Rishinagakulam in ancient days. From ancient times Ernakulam district has played a part in the history of south India. The Jews, Syrians, Arabs, Chinese, Dutch, British and Portuguese seafarers followed the sea route to Kingdom of Cochin, in 1896, the Maharaja of Cochin initiated local administration by forming a town council in Ernakulam. Initially Ernakulam districts headquarters was at Ernakulam, which gave the district its name, according to the 2011 census Ernakulam district has a population of 3,282,388, roughly equal to the nation of Mauritania or the US state of Iowa. This gives it a ranking of 104th in India, the district has a population density of 1,069 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 5. 6%, Ernakulam has a sex ratio of 1028 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 95. 68%. This district is listed as the most advanced district in Kerala and it had a resident population of 3,105,798 as of 2001, excluding the huge commuter traffic from neighbouring districts. Hindus accounts for the largest community followed by Christians and Muslims, a small population of Jains, Jews and Sikhs are also residing in Kochi. Also, Ernakulam district has the highest number of Christian population in India, in addition to the major communities the Buddhists, the Jains, the Sikhs, and the Jews also form part of the cosmopolitan population. The ancestors of the Jews migrated from Jerusalem in 70 A. D. to India, now there are very few Jewish families in Cochin as most of them were converted to Syrian Christians, and the rest migrated to Israel in the 20th century. The 15. 7% of the population are Malayalam speaking Sunni Shafii Muslims, Ernakulam district covers an area of 3,068 km2 located on the Western Coastal Plains of India
10.
Idukki district
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Idukki is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state, India, created on 26 January 1972. At that time, the headquarters was at Kottayam. In June 1976 it was moved to Painavu, Idukki which lies in the Western Ghats of Kerala. Idukki is the second largest district in area but has the lowest population density, Idukki has a vast forest reserve area, more than a half of the district is covered by forests. The urban areas are densely populated villages are sparsely populated. The name of the district is derived from the Malayalam word Idukku, Idukki has an area of 4,358 km2 and is the second largest District of Kerala. Rugged mountains and forests cover about 97 percent of the area of the District. The district is only by road. Rail and airlink is not available, National Highway NH49 and State highways 13 and 33 passes through the district. Anamudi, the highest peak in India south of the Himalayas, is in the Kuttampuzha Panchayat of Adimali Block, thirteen other peaks in the district exceed a height of 2,000 m. The Periyar, Thodupuzhayar and Thalayar are the important rivers of the district, Idukki Dam, Asias largest Arch Dam is located at Idukki Township of Idukki Taluk. The point where the Periyar flows through the gorge formed between two massive rocks known as Kuravan and Kurathi is the site of the Idukki arch dam. The Idukki Hydroelectic project caters for more than 60% of the requirements of the state of Kerala. According to the 2011 census Idukki district has a population of 1,107,453 and this ranks it as 416th among the 640 districts of India. The district has a density of 254 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was −1. 93%, Idukki has a sex ratio of 1006 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 92.2 per cent. According to the 2011 census, Hindus make up 48, 86% of the population, Christians 43. 42%, Muslims 7. 41%. Idukki district is the first district in India to get connected with super-fast broad band system as a part of Digital India Munnar was the resort of the British Government in the south
11.
Arabian Sea
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The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by northeastern Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, and on the east by India. Historically the sea has been known by names including the Erythraean Sea. Its total area is 3,862,000 km2 and its depth is 4,652 metres. The Gulf of Aden is in the southwest, connecting the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Arabian Sea has been crossed by important marine trade routes since the third or second millennium BCE. Major seaports include Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, the Port of Karachi and the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, other important ports include in India, Kandla Port, and Mormugao in Goa. The largest islands in the Arabian Sea include Socotra, Masirah Island, Astola Island, the Arabian Seas surface area is about 3,862,000 km2. The maximum width of the Sea is approximately 2,400 km, the biggest river flowing into the Sea is the Indus River. There are also the gulfs of Khambhat and Kutch on the Indian coast, the countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan, India and the Maldives. There are several cities on the seas coast including Mumbai, Surat, Karachi, Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, Aden, Muscat, Keti Bandar, Salalah, Duqm. International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Arabian Sea as follows, the Eastern limit of the Gulf of Aden. A line joining Ràs al Hadd, East point of Arabia, a line running from the South extremity of Addu Atoll, to the Eastern extreme of Ràs Hafun. The Western limit of the Laccadive Sea, by the time of Julius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon water transport through the Sea around the rough inland terrain features to its north. Each major route involved transhipping to pack animal caravan, travel through country and risk of bandits. Later the kingdom of Axum arose in Ethiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria, Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai is the largest port in the Arabian Sea, and the largest container port in India. The Port of Karachi is Pakistans largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nations cargo and it is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the places it in close proximity to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. The history of the port is intertwined with that of the city of Karachi, several ancient ports have been attributed in the area including Krokola, Morontobara, Barbarikon (the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, and Debal. It warns sailors about whirlpools and advises them to safety in Kaurashi harbour if they found themselves drifting dangerously
12.
Western Ghats
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Western Ghats மேற்கு தொடர்ச்சி மலை is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hot-spots of biological diversity in the world and it is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the edge of the Deccan Plateau. These hills cover 160,000 km2 and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India, the Western Ghats block southwest monsoon winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m, at least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are the mountainous faulted and eroded edge of the Deccan Plateau, geologic evidence indicates that they were formed during the break-up of the supercontinent of Gondwana some 150 million years ago. Geophysical evidence indicates that the west coast of India came into being somewhere around 100 to 80 mya after it broke away from Madagascar, after the break-up, the western coast of India would have appeared as an abrupt cliff some 1,000 m in elevation. Basalt is the predominant rock found in the reaching a thickness of 3 km. Other rock types found are charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, leptynites, metamorphic gneisses with detached occurrences of limestone, iron ore. Residual laterite and bauxite ores are found in the southern hills. The Western Ghats extend from the Satpura Range in the north and it traverses south past the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Major gaps in the range are the Goa Gap, between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections, and the Palghat Gap on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills. The mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly monsoon winds, and are consequently an area of high rainfall, particularly on their western side. The northern portion of the coastal plain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as the Konkan, the central portion is called Kanara. The foothill region east of the Ghats in Maharashtra is known as Desh, the range is known as Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Western Ghats meets the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris connects Biligiriranga Hills in southeastern Karnataka with the Shevaroys and Tirumala hills. In the southern part of the range is Anamudi, the highest peak in Western Ghats, following is a list of some of the highest peaks of the Western Ghats, The Western Ghats form one of the four watersheds of India, feeding the perennial rivers of India. The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Thamiraparani, majority of streams draining the Western Ghats join these rivers and carry large volume of water during the monsoon months
13.
Pooram
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Harimattom pooram is the one of the famous pooram in Ernakulam. The most famous pooram in whole world is Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram which has a participation of 11 Lack people across the country. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession out of the temple precincts. Vela is also a festival like pooram, thrissur Pooram is the most famous of all poorams. The second best known Pooram in Kerala is Uthralikavu Pooram. A melam is a performance of different kind of musical instruments that are unique to Kerala and is something akin to the jazz. The most traditional of all melams is called Pandi Melam which is performed outside the temple. Another kind of melam is called Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi Melam going by the kind of instruments, panchavadyam is another classical musical ensemble performed in Kerala. Here, five different kinds of instruments create a breathtaking and fastmoving percussion performance, the five instruments are Madhalam, Kombu, Edakka, Elathalam and Timila. Interesting attractions of Pooram can be seen in the Valluvanad and Talappilly region, there is the Harijan Vela or Parayar Vela as well as the Tholpavakoothu, a traditional shadow puppetry show. Harimattom Temple is situated near Tripunithura, the temple festival is started on malayalm month medam star UTTRAM. The main highlight of the festival is harimattom pooram which is on the 7th day of the festival, the main attraction of this pooram is kudamattam and famous pandimellam with the presents of most the famous 10 elephants from Kerala. The one of the most important things is the Harimattom pooram and festival is conducting as per keeping the Kerala tradition, beliefs and culture
14.
Temple
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A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. It is typically used for such buildings belonging to all faiths where a specific term such as church. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism among religions with many modern followers, the form and function of temples is thus very variable, though they are often considered by believers to be in some sense the house of one or more deities. Typically offerings of some sort are made to the deity, and other rituals enacted, the degree to which the whole population of believers can access the building varies significantly, often parts or even the whole main building can only be accessed by the clergy. Temples typically have a building and a larger precinct, which may contain many other buildings. The word comes from Ancient Rome, where a templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest and it has the same root as the word template, a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Templa also became associated with the places of a god or gods. Hindu temples are large and magnificent with a rich history, there is evidence of use of sacred ground as far back as the Bronze Age and later the Indus Valley Civilization. Hindu temples have been built in countries around the world, including Cambodia, Nepal, Mauritius, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Great Britain. They include the structures called stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions, Temples in Buddhism represent the pure land or pure environment of a Buddha. Traditional Buddhist temples are designed to inspire inner and outer peace, a Jain temple is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Some famous Jain temples are Shikharji, Palitana Jain Temples, Ranakpur Jain Temple, Shravan Belgola, Dilwara Temples, Jain temples are built with various architectural designs. Jain temples in North India are completely different from the Jain temples in South India, additionally, a Manastambha is a pillar that is often constructed in front of Jain temples. The temple of Mesopotamia derived from the cult of gods and deities in the Mesopotamian religion and it spanned several civilizations, from Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian. Ancient Egyptian temples were meant as places for the deities to reside on earth, indeed, the term the Egyptians most commonly used to describe the temple building, ḥwt-nṯr, means mansion of a god. A gods presence in the temple linked the human and divine realms and these rituals, it was believed, sustained the god and allowed it to continue to play its proper role in nature. They were therefore a key part of the maintenance of maat, maintaining maat was the entire purpose of Egyptian religion, and thus it was the purpose of a temple as well. Ancient Egyptian temples were also of significance to Egyptian society
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Church (building)
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A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle, towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. The earliest identified Christian church was a church founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, a cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. In standard Greek usage, the word ecclesia was retained to signify both a specific edifice of Christian worship, and the overall community of the faithful. This usage was retained in Latin and the languages derived from Latin, as well as in the Celtic languages. In the Germanic and some Slavic languages, the word kyriak-ós/-ē/-ón was adopted instead, in Old English the sequence of derivation started as cirice, then churche, and eventually church in its current pronunciation. German Kirche, Scottish kirk, Russian церковь, etc. are all similarly derived, according to the New Testament, the earliest Christians did not build church buildings. Instead, they gathered in homes or in Jewish worship places like the Second Temple or synagogues, the earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church, the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, in addition to being a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was used by the community in other ways. It could serve as a place for guilds or a hall for banquets. Mystery plays were performed in cathedrals, and cathedrals might also be used for fairs. The church could be used as a place to thresh and store grain, a common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross. These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the west end of the church or over the crossing. The Latin word basilica was used to describe a Roman public building
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Mosque
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A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. There are strict and detailed requirements in Sunni jurisprudence for a place of worship to be considered a mosque, many mosques have elaborate domes, minarets, and prayer halls, in varying styles of architecture. Mosques originated on the Arabian Peninsula, but are now found in all inhabited continents, the mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for salat as well as a center for information, education, social welfare, and dispute settlement. The imam leads the congregation in prayer, the first mosque in the world is often considered to be the area around the Kaaba in Mecca now known as the Masjid al-Haram. Others regard the first mosque in history to be the Quba Mosque in present-day Medina since it was the first structure built by Muhammad upon his emigration from Mecca in 622. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad went on to another mosque in Medina. Built on the site of his home, Muhammad participated in the construction of the mosque himself and helped pioneer the concept of the mosque as the focal point of the Islamic city. The Masjid al-Nabawi introduced some of the still common in todays mosques, including the niche at the front of the prayer space known as the mihrab. The Masjid al-Nabawi was also constructed with a courtyard, a motif common among mosques built since then. Mosques had been built in Iraq and North Africa by the end of the 7th century, the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala is reportedly one of the oldest mosques in Iraq, although its present form – typical of Persian architecture – only goes back to the 11th century. The shrine, while operating as a mosque, remains one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims, as it honors the death of the third Shia imam. The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As was reportedly the first mosque in Egypt, serving as a religious, like the Imam Husayn Shrine, though, nothing of its original structure remains. With the later Shia Fatimid Caliphate, mosques throughout Egypt evolved to include schools, hospitals and it was the first to incorporate a square minaret and includes naves akin to a basilica. Those features can also be found in Andalusian mosques, including the Grand Mosque of Cordoba, still, some elements of Visigothic architecture, like horseshoe arches, were infused into the mosque architecture of Spain and the Maghreb. The first mosque in East Asia was reportedly established in the 8th century in Xian, however, the Great Mosque of Xian, whose current building dates from the 18th century, does not replicate the features often associated with mosques elsewhere. Indeed, minarets were initially prohibited by the state, mosques in western China were more likely to incorporate elements, like domes and minarets, traditionally seen in mosques elsewhere. In turn, the Javanese style influenced the styles of mosques in Indonesias Austronesian neighbors—Malaysia, Brunei, Muslim empires were instrumental in the evolution and spread of mosques. Although mosques were first established in India during the 7th century, reflecting their Timurid origins, Mughal-style mosques included onion domes, pointed arches, and elaborate circular minarets, features common in the Persian and Central Asian styles
17.
Thrissur Pooram
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Thrissur Pooram is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Kerala, India. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every year on the Pooram day - the day when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam Calendar month of Medam and it is the largest and most famous of all Poorams. Thrissur Pooram was the child of Raja Rama Varma or famously known as Sakthan Thampuran. Before the start of Thrissur Pooram, the largest temple festival in Kerala was the festival held at Aarattupuzha knows as Arattupuzha Pooram. Temples in and around City of Thrissur were regular participants, one day because of incessant rains, they were late for the Arattupuzha Pooram and were denied access to the Pooram procession. Felt embarrassed by the denial, the temples went to the Sakthan Thampuran, so in 1798, he unified the 10 temples situated around Vadakkunnathan Temple and organised the celebration of Thrissur Pooram as a mass festival. He invited temples with their deities to City of Thrissur to pay obeisance to Lord Vadakkunnathan, Sakthan Thampuran ordained the temples into two groups, namely Paramekkavu side and Thiruvambady side. These are headed by the participants, Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple at Thrissur Swaraj Round. The two temples are hardly 500 metres apart, the Thampuran is believed to have chalked out the program and the main events of the Thrissur Pooram festival. The first round of pyrotechnics, known as Sample Vedikettu, happens on the day after the flag hoisting of the Pooram. It is a show presented by Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu Devawsoms. Swaraj Round is venue for this fireworks and starts at 7,15 PM in the evening, the display usually have innovative patterns and varieties of fireworks display. One of the event in Thrissur pooram is “Madathil varavu”- is a panchavadhyam melam, participating more than 200 artists, consists of Thimila, Madhalam, Trumpet, Cymbal. At 2’ O clock, inside the temple starts the famous Ilanjithara melam – a type of melam consists of drum, trumpets, pipe. The two groups in the presence of melam, exchange colourful and crafted umbrellas competitively at the top of the elephants – called Kudamattom, later all Poorams conclude at Nilapaduthara near western goupuram of Vadakkunnathan Temple The notable feature of the pooram is its secular nature. All other communities actively participate and make their prominent role in each, most of the pandal works are crafted by Muslim community. The materials for the umbrellas for ‘Kudamattom’ are offered by the churches and it is a good sign of secularism which is disintegrating nowadays. Both Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu temples compete with other to provide the crowd with the best
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Vadakkunnathan Temple
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Vadakkunnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India. This temple is an example of the architectural style of Kerala and has monumental towers on all four sides. Mural paintings depicting episodes from Mahabharata can be seen inside the temple. The shrines and the Kuttambalam display vignettes carved in wood, the temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act. According to popular lore, this is the first temple built by Parasurama. Tekkinkadu Ground, encircling the Vadakkunnathan Temple, is the venue of the Thrissur Pooram. Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter into the temple, in the year 2012 Archaeological Survey of India has recommended 14 sites, including Vadakkumnathan Temple and palaces, from Kerala to include in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The story of the origin of the Vadakkunnathan Temple is briefly narrated in Brahmanda Purana, though there are differences between these accounts on the details, all agree on the central fact, namely, that the temple was founded by Parashurama. Parashurama exterminated Kshatriyas twenty one times, in order to expiate the sin, he performed a yajna at the end of which he gave away all the land to Brahmins as dakshina. He wanted to retire to some new land to do tapasya, according to another version, some sages approached him at the end of the yajna and requested him to give them some secluded land. Parashurama then made the request to Varuna for their sake. Varuna gave him a winnow and asked him to hurl it into the sea, as he did a large territory of land was at once thrown up by the sea and it was then known by the name Surparaka, from the word, Surpa meaning winnow. According to some accounts, Varuna asked Parashurama to hurl his axe into the sea. Parashurama now wanted to consecrate this new land, so he went to Mount Kailash to his guru, the God Shiva and requested him to take abode in Kerala and thereby bless the region. Shiva accompanied by his wife Parvati, his sons Ganesha and Subrahmanya and his parashadas went along with Parashurama, to satisfy the desire of his disciple. Shiva stopped at a spot, now Thrissur, for his seat and later he and his party disappeared and Parashurama saw a bright and this place where Shiva first manifested his presence through the linga came to be called the Sri Mula Sthana. For sometime, the remained at Sri Mula Sthana at the foot of a huge banyan tree. The ruler of Cochin Kingdom then decided to shift the linga to a convenient place
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History of Thrissur
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Thrissur is the administrative capital of Thrissur District situated in the central part of Kerala state, India. Thrissur district was formed on 1 July 1949 and it is an important cultural centre, and is known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala. It is famous for the Thrissur Pooram festival, one of the most colourful, from ancient times, Thrissur has played a significant part in the political, economical and cultural history of Indian sub continent and South East Asia. It has opened the gates for Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch, Thrissur is where Christianity, Islam and Judaism entered the Indian sub continent, when Thomas the Apostle arrived in 52 CE and the location of country’s first Mosque in the 7th century. The name Thrissur is derived from Thiru-Shiva-Perur, which translates to The City with the name of the Lord Siva. Thrissur was also known as Vrishabhadripuram and Thenkailasam in ancient days, starting from the Stone Age, Thrissur must have been the site of human settlement. This is evidenced by the presence of a megalithic monuments at Ramavarmapuram, Kuttoor, Cherur, the Ramavarmapuram monument is in granite and is of Menhir type. The monument in Ramavarmapuram is 15 feet height and 12 feet 4 inches broad, from 1944, it is under the protection of Department of Archaeology. The monument is known as Padakkallu or Pulachikkallu. These menhirs are memorials for the departed souls put up at burial sites and they belong to the Megalithic Age of Kerala, which is roughly estimated between 1000 BCE and 500 CE. All such monuments have not been dated exactly, some experts are of the view that these are the remnants of the Neolithic Age in the development of human technology. The Ramavarmapuram Menhir is also believed to be a monument belonging to the Sangam period in the South Indian history, another monolithic monuments like Dolmens and rock-cut caves are at Porkulam, Chiramanengad, Eyyal, Kattakambal and Kakkad. According to historians, the Dolmens are burial sites, though most of the monuments were well protected, the dolmen at Porkulam was in a neglected condition. The monument excavated under eminent Archaeologist BK Thapar, between 1949–50, was under the Department of Archaeology, another megalithic monument is situated at Ariyannur in Thrissur. This place has unravelled monuments such as the Kudakkallu or Thoppikkallu, the laterite hillocks of Ariyannur rise to about 50 metres. Another reference in Ariyannur dates back to the early 15th century in the poem Chandrotsavam, the early political history of the Thrissur and Thrissur district is interlinked with that of the Chera Dynasty of the Sangam age, who ruled over vast portions of Kerala with their capital at Vanchi. Kodungallur was also the capital of Cheraman Perumal, the last Chera ruler in the 7th century, the legend is that he abdicated his throne and divided his kingdom among the local chieftains and left for Mecca to embrace Islam. This place was ruled by the Kingdom of Cochin
20.
Chera dynasty
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The Cheras were the principal ruling dynasty of the present-day state of Kerala and to a lesser extent, parts of Tamil Nadu in South India. Along with the Ay kingdom and the Ezhimala kingdom, they formed the kingdoms of Kerala in the early years of the Christian Era. The origins of the dynasty are unclear and it is understood that they were speakers of Proto-Tamil-Malayalam while some being practitioners of literary writing in Old Tamil. In fact, most of their history is reconstructed from the body of known as the Sangam literature written in Old Tamil around the 3rd century CE. While Pliny and Ptolemy refer to the Cheras as Calobotras, the Periplus refers to them as the Keprobotras, the earliest Sanskrit works which refer to the Cheras and Kerala is probably the Aitreya Aranyaka. It refers to the land as Chera-pada - and as one of the three peoples who did not follow some ancient injunctions, there are also brief references by Katyanana, Patanjali and Kautilya, however Panini does not mention of the land. The Tamil works collectively known as the Sangam literature form one of the most important sources for a detailed history of the Cheras. These works roughly span the period 300 BCE to 300 CE, among them, the most important sources for the Cheras are the Pattittupattu, the Agananuru, the Purananuru and the Silappatikaram. By the early centuries of the Common Era, civil society, the location of the Chera capital is generally assumed to be at modern Karur. The Cheras were in conflict with the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. The Cheras are said to have defeated the armies of the Pandyas. They also made battles with the Kadambās of Banavasi and the Yavanas on the Indian coast, after the 2nd century CE, the Cheras power decayed rapidly with the decline of the lucrative trade with the Romans. Sangam literature describes a line of Chera rulers dated to the first few centuries CE. It records the names of the kings, the princes, the internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the Chera kingdom owed its importance to trade with West Asia, Greece and Rome. The Later Cheras ruled from the 9th century, little is known about the Cheras between the two dynasties. The second dynasty, Kulasekharas ruled from a city on the banks of River Periyar called Mahodayapuram, the Chera rulers of Venad, based at the port Quilon in southern Kerala, trace their relations back to the later/second Cheras
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Kodungallur
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Kodungallur, is a municipality in the South Western border of Thrissur district of Kerala, India. Kodungallur is 29 kilometres northwest of Kochi and 38 kilometres southwest of Thrissur, the City is specially important in the history of South Asia. It is postulated that the ancient city of Muziris was devastated by natural calamities—a flood or an earth quake—in 1341, the name Kodungallur is derived from Kodi-linga-ur according to common belief. Kodungallur was perhaps the collection center of Kuda-kons for the goods coming to the nearby port, hence the name Kudakonallur. Kodungallur was a part of Mahodayapuram, the capital city of the Later Chera dynasty. The Roman empire had a continuous trading connection with this region, along with pepper, commodities such as pearls, muslin, ivory, diamond, silk and perfumes were exported using the maritime facilities of Kodungallur. Sulaiman, an Arab visitor to Mahodayapuram during this period, recorded the economic prosperity of the region, in the 11th century, Mahodayapuram was captured by Rajendra Chola I of Chola dynasty. Muziris is supposed to be destroyed by flooding of Periyar in the 14th century and consequently. According to one view, a Cochin Jew colony in Malabar Coast, probably established before the 6th century BC, attracted the Apostle to this region. The tradition holds that Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kodungallur, built in 629 AD by Mālik bin Dīnār, is the oldest mosque in India, constructed during the lifetime of Muhammad, the bodies of some of his original followers are said to be buried there. Unlike other mosques in the region that face westwards this mosque faces east, the legend has it that a group of Muhammads Ṣaḥāba visited Kodungallur. Soon after, the Chera ruler traveled to Makkah, where he embraced Islam, on his way back to India he died at Salalah in Oman. On his deathbed he is said to have authorised some of his Arab companions to go back to his kingdom to spread Islam. Accordingly, a group of Arabs led by Mālik bin Dīnār and Mālik bin Habib arrived in northern Chera kingdom, during Portuguese period, Kodungallur was a tributary state in the kingdom of Zamorin, the most powerful of independent rulers of Malabar region. Portuguese landed in Calicut in 1498 and soon they reached in an agreement with the Zamorin for establishing their trade with his subjects, the tussle between Zamorin and Portuguese, though started arising in 1500, broke into the form of a regional war in 1504. Portuguese forces extended their attack on Calicut to allied coastal states, the town was almost completely destroyed by the Portuguese on 1 September 1504. Kodungallur, being a city at the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, was a strategic entry point for Zamorins army. Hence, in October 1504 Zamorin dispatched a force to fortify Kodungallur, reading this movement as a preparation for a renewed attack on Kochi, the Portuguese commander, Lopo Soares, ordered a preemptive strike
22.
Malabar region
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Malabar region is an area of southern India lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The name is thought to be derived from the Malayalam words mala and pur, the Malabar Coast, in historical contexts, refers to Indias southwest coast, lying on the narrow coastal plain of Karnataka and Kerala states between the Western Ghats range and the Arabian Sea. The coast runs south of Goa to Cape Comorin on Indias southern tip. In ancient times the term Malabar was used to denote the entire south-western coast of the Indian peninsula, the region formed part of the ancient kingdom of Chera until the early 12th century. Following the breakup of the Chera Kingdom, the chieftains of the region proclaimed their independence, the Malabar Coast is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Cape Comorin. It is over 525 miles or 845 km long and it spans from the south-western coast of Maharashtra and goes along the coastal region of Goa, through the entire western coast of Karnataka and Kerala and reaches till Kanyakumari. It is flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east, the Southern part of this narrow coast is the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests. The Malabar Coast featured a number of port cities. Though the name is sometimes extended to the entire south-western coast of the peninsula, Malabar is also used by ecologists to refer to the tropical and subtropical moist broad-leaf forests of south-western India. Malabar District, a part of the ancient Malabar was a part of the British East India Company-controlled state and it included the northern half of the state of Kerala and some coastal regions of present-day Karnataka. The area is predominantly Hindu, but the majority of Keralas Muslim population also live in this area, Kozhikode is considered as the capital of Malabar. During the British rule, Malabars chief importance lay in producing pepper, the area was divided into two categories as North and South. North Malabar comprises present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady Taluk of Wayanad District and Vatakara, at the conclusion of the Anglo-Mysore wars, the region was organized into a district of Madras Presidency. The British district included the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram. The administrative headquarters was at Calicut, prior to that, Kasaragod was a part of South Canara district of Madras Presidency
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Christian
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A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
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Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
25.
Muslim
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A Muslim is someone who follows or practices Islam, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims consider the Quran, their book, to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet. They also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts, Muslim is an Arabic word meaning one who submits. Most Muslims will accept anyone who has publicly pronounced Shahadah as a Muslim, the shahadah states, There is no god but the God and Muhammad is the last messenger of the God. The testimony authorized by God in the Quran that can found in Surah 3,18 states, There is no god except God, which in Arabic, is the exact testimony which God Himself utters, as well as the angels and those who possess knowledge utter. The word muslim is the active participle of the verb of which islām is a verbal noun, based on the triliteral S-L-M to be whole. A female adherent is a muslima, the plural form in Arabic is muslimūn or muslimīn, and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt. The Arabic form muslimun is the stem IV participle of the triliteral S-L-M, the ordinary word in English is Muslim. It is sometimes transliterated as Moslem, which is an older spelling, the word Mosalman is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central Asia. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans, although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative, Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist, musulmán/Mosalmán is a synonym for Muslim and is modified from Arabic. In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage, the Muslim philosopher Ibn Arabi said, A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God. Islam means making ones religion and faith Gods alone. The Quran states that men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values. Thus, in Surah 3,52 of the Quran, Jesus disciples tell him, We believe in God, and you be our witness that we are Muslims. In Muslim belief, before the Quran, God had given the Tawrat to Moses, the Zabur to David and the Injil to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12. 7% of the worlds Muslims, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt. About 20% of the worlds Muslims lives in the Middle East and North Africa, Sizable minorities are found in India, China, Russia, Ethiopia. The country with the highest proportion of self-described Muslims as a proportion of its population is Morocco
26.
Sakthan Thampuran
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Rama Varma Kunhji Pillai Thampuran, or Rama Varma IX, popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin. He was the King of Cochin and his palace was in Thrissur City, City of Thrissur is the Cultural Capital of Kerala and Sakthan Thampuran is the very architect of City of Thrissur. Thrissur Pooram was also introduced by him, born on Karkidakom,926 at Vellarapally Palace to Anujan Namboodiripad of the Chennamangalam Mana and Ambika Thampuratti of the Cochin Royal Family. His mother died when he was three years old. The prince was brought up by his aunt, famously known as Chittamma Thampuratti. His early education took place under the tutelage of such as Kallenkara Pisharody. Sakthan Thampuran was a very powerful Maharaja as his name indicate and his first wife was a Nair lady from the reputed Vadakke Kuruppath family of Thrissur whom he married when he was 30 years old. He is said to have had a daughter from this first wife, however, this Nethyar Amma died soon after an unhappy marriage. Thereafter the Thampuran remained single for a few decades, marrying again at the age of 52, the second wife of the Thampuran was Chummukutty Nethyar Amma of the Karimpatta family and was a talented musician and dancer of Kaikottikalli. She was 17 at the time of her marriage with the Thampuran and this marriage was without issue and within 4 years the Thampuran died. In those days the widowed Nethyar Ammas did not have any special provisions from the state and hence Chummukutty, at the age of 21, after his 55th birthday Sakthan Thampuran fell ill and died in Kanni 11,980, at Thrissur City. He was buried in Shakthan Thampuran Palace, Thrissur and his palace in Thrissur City is preserved as a monument and he was responsible for developing the Thrissur City and also making it the Cultural Capital of Kerala. In 1762, ten taluks and two Edavagas were formed in Cochin Kingdom, but the feudal chieftains were enjoining the power as before. After Thampuran ascended the throne of Cochin, he crushed the power of the feudal chieftains and consolidated the royal power. At that time temples were controlled by Namboodiri community, called Yogiatiripppads, the Yogiatiripppads was elected from different temples in the Thrissur District. Thampuran wrested the control of the temples and banished the system of Yogiatiripppads, Thampuran was strict and merciless with criminals which earned his name, Sakthan. British authorities enjoyed a good relation with Thampuran and he was also a personal friend of Dharma Raja of Travancore. The modern day town of Thrissur owes its origin to Sakthan Thampuran, the reason for his love of the town arose from the fact that his two wives were both born here. They belonged to the Kuruppath and Karimpatta families of Thrissur, Sakthan Thampuran transferred his capital from Thrippunithura to Thrissur to found the modern city
27.
Kingdom of Cochin
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Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later princely state on the Malabar Coast, South India. Once controlling much of the territory between Ponnani and Thottappally, the Cochin kingdom shrank to its minimal extent as a result of invasions by the Zamorin of Calicut. When Portuguese armadas arrived in India, Cochin was in vassalage to Zamorin and was looking for an opportunity to break away, Cochin became a long-time Portuguese protectorate providing assistance against native overlords. After the Portuguese, the Dutch East India Company followed by the English East India Company, even today, the full official designation of the Raja of Cochin is “Perumpadappu Gangadhara Veera Kerala Thrikkovil Adhikarikal”. The Kingdom of Cochin, originally known as Perumpadappu Swarupam, was under the rule of the Later Cheras in the Middle Ages, after the fall of the Mahodayapuram Cheras in the 12th century, along with numerous other provinces Perumpadappu Swarupam became a free political entity. However, it was only after the arrival of Portuguese colonizers on the Malabar Coast did the Perumpadappu Swarupam acquire any political importance, Perumpadappu rulers had family relationships with the Nambudiri rulers of Edappally. After the transfer of Kochi and Vypin from Edappally rulers to the Perumpadappu rulers, ma Huan, the Muslim voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans, describes the king of Cochin as being a Buddhist. There is no extant written evidence about the emergence of the Kingdom of Cochin or of the Cochin Royal Family, all that is recorded are folk tales and stories, and a somewhat blurred historical picture about the origins of the ruling dynasty. The surviving manuscripts, such as Keralolpathi, Keralamahatmyam, and Perumpadapu Grandavari, are collections of myths and legends that are less than reliable as conventional historical sources. There is a legend that the last Perumal who ruled the Chera dynasty divided his kingdom between his nephews and his sons, converted to Islam and traveled to Mecca on a hajj. The Keralolpathi recounts the narrative in the following fashion, The last. He left for Mecca by ship with some Muslims who arrived at Kodungallur port, before leaving for Mecca, he divided his kingdom between his nephews and sons. The Perumpadapu Grandavari contains an account of the dynastic origins. Cheraman Perumal divided the land in half,17 amsa north of Neelaeswaram and 17 amsa south, totaling 34 amsa, thirty-four kingdoms between Kanyakumari and Gokarna were given to the thampuran who was the daughter of the last niece of Cheraman Perumal. Keralolpathi recorded the division of his kingdom in 345 AD, Perumpadapu Grandavari in 385 AD, historians, including Robin Jeffry, Faucett and Samuel Mateer, are of the opinion that as with all other Kings of Malabar, the Cochin Raja was also of Nair origin. Cochin kingdom ruled over a vast area in central Kerala before the Portuguese arrival and their state stretched up to Ponnani and Pukkaitha in the north, Anamalais in the east, and Cochin and Porakkad in the south, with capital at Perumpadappu on the northern border. Later, Calicut conquered large parts of Perumpadappu Kingdom, and made them a tributary state, Cochin was the scene of the first European settlement in India. In the year 1500, the Portuguese Admiral Pedro Álvares Cabral landed at Cochin after being repelled from Calicut, the king of Cochin welcomed the Portuguese and a treaty of friendship was signed
28.
English people
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The English are a nation and an ethnic group native to England, who speak the English language. The English identity is of medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Angelcynn. Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who migrated to Great Britain around the 5th century AD, England is one of the countries of the United Kingdom. Collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons, they founded what was to become England along with the later Danes, Normans, in the Acts of Union 1707, the Kingdom of England was succeeded by the Kingdom of Great Britain. Over the years, English customs and identity have become closely aligned with British customs. The English people are the source of the English language, the Westminster system and these and other English cultural characteristics have spread worldwide, in part as a result of the former British Empire. The concept of an English nation is far older than that of the British nation, many recent immigrants to England have assumed a solely British identity, while others have developed dual or mixed identities. Use of the word English to describe Britons from ethnic minorities in England is complicated by most non-white people in England identifying as British rather than English. In their 2004 Annual Population Survey, the Office for National Statistics compared the ethnic identities of British people with their national identity. They found that while 58% of white people in England described their nationality as English and it is unclear how many British people consider themselves English. Following complaints about this, the 2011 census was changed to allow respondents to record their English, Welsh, Scottish, another complication in defining the English is a common tendency for the words English and British to be used interchangeably, especially overseas. In his study of English identity, Krishan Kumar describes a common slip of the tongue in which people say English, I mean British. He notes that this slip is made only by the English themselves and by foreigners. Kumar suggests that although this blurring is a sign of Englands dominant position with the UK and it tells of the difficulty that most English people have of distinguishing themselves, in a collective way, from the other inhabitants of the British Isles. In 1965, the historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote, When the Oxford History of England was launched a generation ago and it meant indiscriminately England and Wales, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and even the British Empire. Foreigners used it as the name of a Great Power and indeed continue to do so, bonar Law, by origin a Scotch Canadian, was not ashamed to describe himself as Prime Minister of England Now terms have become more rigorous. The use of England except for a geographic area brings protests and this version of history is now regarded by many historians as incorrect, on the basis of more recent genetic and archaeological research. The 2016 study authored by Stephan Schiffels et al, the remaining portion of English DNA is primarily French, introduced in a migration after the end of the Ice Age
29.
Nambudiri
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The Nambudiri Brahmins, also transliterated Namboothiri, are Hindu Brahmins from the Indian state of Kerala. Nambudiri mythology associates their immigration to Kerala from the banks of Narmada, Krishna and Kaveri rivers with the creation of Kerala by Parasurama. At the time of their arrival the local population had been converted to Buddhism by missionaries who had come from the north of India. The Brahmins used their priestly and advisory relationship with the forces to assert their beliefs. Buddhist temples and monasteries were destroyed or taken over for use in Hindu practices. The origins of Malayalam as a language is attributed to the Nambudiri Brahamins mixing of Sanskrit. Their dominating influence was to be found in all matters, religion, politics, society, economics, the Nambudiri Brahmin tradition which limited the extent of marriage within their own caste led to the practice of hypergamy with the Nair community. The children resulting from such marriages always became Nairs, K. M. Panikkar argues that it is this type of relationship that resulted in the matrilineal and matrilocal system. Among the higher-ranking Nayars in contradistinction to the commoner Nayars, no two subdivisions admitted to equal status, thus the relations set up by the tall-rite and the sambandham union were always hypergamous. It was not a practice outside the higher subcaste groups. Traditionally, Nambudiri men wore a cloth around the waist called a mundu, when they had to travel, they wore a simple cloth around the waist called a thorthu. When they had to travel, they wore two sets of cloth in addition known as a vasthram, agnicayana, the Vedic ritual still observed by members of the Nambudiri priesthood List of Nambudiris Pushpaka Brahmin Smarthavicharam Namboothiri Websites Trust Yogakshema Sabha
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Guruvayur
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Guruvayur, also written as Guruvayoor or Gurupavanapuri, is a municipal town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It houses the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, the fourth largest temple in India in terms of the number of devotees visiting per day, Guruvayur, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayur temple idol is. There are no records to establish it. It is also believed that Lord Krishna, asked 2 sages to take the idol from his temple in Dwarka while the city was being destroyed, the idol of lord krishna was brought by Vayu deva and brhaspathi and was placed in guruvayur. The name guruvayur is a merge of both their names (guru brahaspathi and vayu deva, in the 14th century, Tamil literature Kokasandesam, references about a place called Kuruvayur is made. As early as the 16th century, many references are seen about Kuruvayur, in ancient Dravidic, Kuruvai means sea, hence the village on the coast may be called Kuruvayur. According to eminent historian Professor K. V. Krishna Iyer, Guruvayur was a subordinate shrine of Trikkunavay Shiva temple before the latter was destroyed by the Dutch in 1755. Trikkunavay in the Guruvayur documents is the same as Thrikkanamathilakam or Mathilakam mentioned in the Dutch, and this place was in between Guruvayur and Kodungallur. The story of Pandyan King building a shrine here may be a reference to the Azhavars and it was Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiris Narayaniyam through which the Guruvayur temple got famous all over India. As of the Indian census of 2001, Guruvayur had a population of 21,187, males constitute 46% of the population and females 54%. Guruvayur has an literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 86%. In Guruvayoor, 10% of the population is under 10 years of age, Guruvayoor Township was formed on January 26,1962 with four electoral wards with an area of 6.49 km2. Later the wards were increased to 10 and in 1994 to 20 when the township was upgraded to Municipality status with an area of 29.66 km2, in 2010, the electoral wards were increased to 43. The Municipality has a population of 20,216 with a population density of 31,14 per km2. Guruvayoor assembly constituency is part of Trichur, Ekadasi, the eleventh day of every lunar fortnight, is very auspicious to the Hindus. Of the 24 Ekadasis in a year, the Vrishchika Ekadasi has got special significance in Guruvayur temple, a memorial honour for Gajarajan Kesavan is conducted in Guruvayur. The Karanavar or head of the elephant family places a wreath at the statue of Kesavan in front of Sreevalsam guest house and all the other elephants stand around, on Ekadasi day, the Udayasthamana Pooja is conducted by the Devaswom itself. After the morning seeveli, on Ekadasi there is a grand elephant procession to the Parthasarathi temple since it is regarded as Geethopadesam Day also, on Ekadasi after night pooja, the famous Ekadasi Vilakku with elephant procession takes place and provides a fitting finale to the festival
31.
Demographics of India
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India is the second most populated country in the world with nearly a fifth of the worlds population. According to the United Nations in July 2016, the population stood at 1,326,801,576, India is projected to be the worlds most populous country by 2022, surpassing China, its population reaching 1.7 billion by 2050. Thus, India is expected to become the first political entity in history to be home to more than 1.5 billion people and its population growth rate is 1. 2%, ranking 94th in the world in 2013. The Indian population reached the mark in 1998. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan. India has more than two thousand ethnic groups, and every religion is represented, as are four major families of languages as well as two language isolates. Further complexity is lent by the variation that occurs across this population on social parameters such as income. Only the continent of Africa exceeds the linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity of the nation of India, the sex ratio is 944 females for 1000 males. It has been estimated that the population was about 100 million in 1600 and it reached 255 million according to the first census taken in 1881. Mortality rates fell in the period 1920–45, primarily due to biological immunisation, Other factors included rising incomes, better living conditions, improved nutrition, a safer and cleaner environment, and better official health policies and medical care. India occupies 2. 41% of the land area but supports over 18% of the worlds population. At the 2001 census 72. 2% of the lived in about 638,000 villages. Indias population has exceeded that of the continent of Africa by 200 million people. However, because Africas population growth is nearly double that of India, the table below summarises Indias demographics according to religion at the 2011 census in per cent. The data is unadjusted, the 1981 census was not conducted in Assam, the table below represents the infant mortality rate trends in India, based on gender, over the last 15 years. In the urban areas of India, average male infant mortality rates are higher than average female infant mortality rates. They are also similar to sex ratios below 900 girls to 1000 boys observed in mothers of different age groups
32.
Mongolia
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Mongolia /mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ is a landlocked unitary sovereign state in East Asia. Its area is equivalent with the historical territory of Outer Mongolia. It is sandwiched between China to the south and Russia to the north, while it does not share a border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia is separated from it by only 36.76 kilometers. At 1,564,116 square kilometers, Mongolia is the 18th largest and it is also the worlds second-largest landlocked country behind Kazakhstan and the largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea. The country contains very little land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the countrys population, approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic, horse culture is still integral. The majority of its population are Buddhists, the non-religious population is the second largest group. Islam is the dominant religion among ethnic Kazakhs, the majority of the states citizens are of Mongol ethnicity, although Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other minorities also live in the country, especially in the west. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and seeks to expand its participation in regional economic, the area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty, after the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict, except during the era of Dayan Khan and Tumen Zasagt Khan. In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia, being led by the Manchu-founded Qing dynasty. By the early 1900s, almost one-third of the male population were Buddhist monks. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty, shortly thereafter, the country came under the control of the Soviet Union, which had aided its independence from China. In 1924, the Mongolian Peoples Republic was declared as a Soviet satellite state, after the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, homo erectus inhabited Mongolia from 850,000 years ago. Modern humans reached Mongolia approximately 40,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic, the Khoit Tsenkher Cave in Khovd Province shows lively pink, brown, and red ochre paintings of mammoths, lynx, bactrian camels, and ostriches, earning it the nickname the Lascaux of Mongolia. The venus figurines of Malta testify to the level of Upper Paleolithic art in northern Mongolia, the wheeled vehicles found in the burials of the Afanasevans have been dated to before 2200 BC
33.
Iowa
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Iowa is a U. S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west. Surrounding states include Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, in colonial times, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana, its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, people laid the foundation for an economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa is the 26th most extensive in area and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city by population is Des Moines, Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states in which to live. Its nickname is the Hawkeye State, Iowa derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many Native American tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east, the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west, Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed entirely by rivers. Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 county seats because Lee County has two, the state capital, Des Moines, is in Polk County. Iowas bedrock geology generally increases in age from west to east, in northwest Iowa, Cretaceous bedrock can be 74 million years old, in eastern Iowa Cambrian bedrock dates to c.500 million years ago. Iowa is generally not flat, most of the consists of rolling hills. Iowa can be divided into eight landforms based on glaciation, soils, topography, Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River is part of the Driftless Zone, consisting of steep hills, several natural lakes exist, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa. To the east lies Clear Lake, man-made lakes include Lake Odessa, Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Coralville Lake, Lake MacBride, and Rathbun Lake. The states northwest area has remnants of the once common wetlands. Iowas natural vegetation is tallgrass prairie and savanna in areas, with dense forest and wetlands in flood plains and protected river valleys. Most of Iowa is used for agriculture, crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands cover 30%, as of 2005 Iowa ranked 49th of U. S. states in public land holdings. Endangered or threatened plants include western prairie fringed orchid, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Meads milkweed, prairie bush clover, the explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased rural water contamination and a decline in air quality. Iowa has a continental climate throughout the state
34.
Family planning in India
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Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. From 1965-2009, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved, India adds up to 1,000,000 people to its population every 20 days. Continuing at these rates, India is set to reach up to two billion people this century if drastic family planning changes are not made, women in India are not being fully educated on contraception usage and what they are putting in their bodies. From 2005-2006 data was collected to indicate only 15. 6% of women using contraception in India were informed of all their option, contraceptive usage has been rising gradually in India. In 1970, 13% of married women used modern contraceptive methods, according to Jin Rou New and colleagues research and data they were able to compile enough data to create the following table
35.
Women in India
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The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. With a decline in their status from the ancient to medieval times, to the promotion of rights by many reformers. In modern India, women have held high offices including that of the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Governors. Women’s rights are secured under the Constitution of India — mainly, equality, dignity, as of 2011, the President of India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha were women. However, women in India continue to face problems, including violent victimisation through rape, acid throwing, dowry killings, marital rape. In 2012, the Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked India as the worst G20 country in which to be a woman, Women during the early Vedic period enjoyed equal status with men in all aspects of life. Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period, rigvedic verses suggest that women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their own husbands in a practice called swayamvar or live-in relationship called Gandharva marriage. Scriptures such as the Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi, on the other hand, the Rig Veda also mentions women lack discipline and intellect, and have the heats of hyenas. For the Shatapatha Brahmana, women, Shudra, dogs and crows are all untruth, initially women were allowed to undergo initiation and study the Vedas. In the Dharmasutra of Harita, it is mentioned that, There are two types of women, those who become students of the Veda and those who marry immediately. Of these, the students of the Veda undergo initiation, kindle the fire, study the Veda. In the case of those who marry immediately, however, when the time for marriage comes, in medieval times, this was dismissed on the ground that this was only the case in a previous age. In approximately 500 B. C. the status of women began to decline, although reform movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to religious orders, by and large women in India faced confinement and restrictions. The practice of child marriages is believed to have started around the sixth century, a woman is not fit to act on her own. These were normative texts however, and descriptive statements do describe women participating independently and becoming vanaprastha, some kingdoms in ancient India had traditions such as nagarvadhu. Women competed to win the title of nagarvadhu. Amrapali is the most famous example of a nagarvadhu, Indian womens position in society further deteriorated during the medieval period, when child marriages and a ban on remarriage by widows became part of social life in some communities in India. The Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent brought purdah to Indian society, among the Rajputs of Rajasthan, the Jauhar was practised
36.
Literacy in India
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Literacy in India is a key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate has grown to 74. 04% from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than sixfold improvement, the level is well below the average literacy rate of 84%. The 2011 census, however, indicated a 2001–2011 decadal literacy growth of 9. 2%, there is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate in India, effective literacy rates in 2011 were 82. 14% for men and 65. 46% for women. The low female literacy rate has had a negative impact on family planning. Studies have indicated that female literacy is a predictor of the use of contraception among married Indian couples. The table below shows the adult and youth literacy rates for India, Adult literacy rate is based on the 15+ years age group, while the youth literacy rate is for the 15–24 years age group. Now of the factors contributing to this relatively low literacy rate is usefulness of education. There is a shortage of classrooms to accommodate all the students in 2006–2007, in addition, there is no proper sanitation in most schools. The study of 188 government-run primary schools in central and northern India revealed that 59% of the schools had no drinking water facility, in 600,000 villages and multiplying urban slum habitats, free and compulsory education is the basic literacy instruction dispensed by barely qualified para teachers. The average Pupil Teacher Ratio for All India is 42,1, such inadequacies resulted in a non-standardized school system where literacy rates may differ. Furthermore, the allocated to education was never above 4. 3% of the GDP from 1951 to 2002 despite the target of 6% by the Kothari Commission. This further complicates the problem in India. Discrimination of lower castes has resulted in high rates and low enrollment rates. On 21 February 2005, the Prime Minister of India said that he was pained to note that only 47 out of 100 children enrolled in class I reach class VIII, putting the dropout rate at 52.78 per cent. It is estimated that at least 35 million, and possibly as many as 60 million, absolute poverty in India has also deterred the pursuit of formal education as education is not deemed of as the highest priority among the poor as compared to other basic necessities. The MRP-based poverty estimates of about 22% of poverty in 2004–05 which translated to 22 out of per 100 people are not meeting their basic needs, the large proportion of illiterate females is another reason for the low literacy rate in India. Inequality based on gender differences resulted in female literacy rates being lower at 65. 46% than that of their counterparts at 82. 14%. Due to strong stereotyping of female and male roles, Sons are thought of to be more useful, females are pulled to help out on agricultural farms at home as they are increasingly replacing the males on such activities which require no formal education
37.
Census
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A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population, the term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses, other common censuses include agriculture, business, and traffic censuses. United Nations recommendations also cover census topics to be collected, official definitions, classifications, the word is of Latin origin, during the Roman Republic, the census was a list that kept track of all adult males fit for military service. Current administrative data systems allow for other approaches to enumeration with the level of detail but raise concerns about privacy. A census can be contrasted with sampling in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population, typically main population estimates are updated by such intercensal estimates. Modern census data are used for research, business marketing, and planning. Census counts are necessary to adjust samples to be representative of a population by weighting them as is common in opinion polling, similarly, stratification requires knowledge of the relative sizes of different population strata which can be derived from census enumerations. In some countries, the census provides the official used to apportion the number of elected representatives to regions. In many cases, a carefully chosen random sample can provide accurate information than attempts to get a population census. A census is often construed as the opposite of a sample as its intent is to count everyone in a rather than a fraction. However, population censuses rely on a frame to count the population. This is the way to be sure that everyone has been included as otherwise those not responding would not be followed up on. The fundamental premise of a census is that the population is not known, the use of a sampling frame is counterintuitive as it suggests that the population size is already known. However, a census is also used to collect data on the individuals in the nation. This process of sampling marks the difference between historical census, which was a house to house process or the product of a decree. The sampling frame used by census is almost always an address register, thus it is not known if there is anyone resident or how many people there are in each household. Depending on the mode of enumeration, a form is sent to the householder, as a preliminary to the dispatch of forms, census workers will check any address problems on the ground. While it may seem straightforward to use the postal service file for this purpose, a particular problem is what are termed communal establishments which category includes student residences, religious orders, homes for the elderly, people in prisons etc
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Hindu
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Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
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Nair
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The Nair /ˈnɑː. jər/, also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as not a unitary group but a named category of castes. The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the name Nair. These people lived, and continue to live, in the area which is now the Indian state of Kerala, historically, Nairs lived in large family units called tharavads that housed descendants of one common female ancestor. These family units along with their unusual marriage customs, which are no longer practiced, have been much studied, Some Nair women also practiced hypergamy with Nambudiri Brahmins from the Malabar region. The Nair were historically involved in conflicts in the region. Following hostilities between the Nair and the British in 1809, the British limited Nair participation in the British Indian Army, the serpent is worshipped by Nair families as a guardian of the clan. The worship of snakes, a Dravidian custom, is so prevalent in the area that one anthropologist notes, serpent groves were found in the southwestern corner of nearly every Nair compound. The origin of the Nair is disputed, christopher Fuller, an anthropologist, has said that it is likely that the first reference to the Nair community was made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, dating from 77 AD. That work describes what is probably the Malabar coast area wherein could be found the Nareae, who are shut in by the Capitalis range, Fuller believes it probable that the Nareae referred to the Nairs and the Capitalis range is the Western Ghats. There is no evidence of Nairs in the area during this period, certainly by the 13th-century, some Nairs were the rulers of small kingdoms and the Perumals had disappeared. Trade with China, which had declined for some time, began to once more in the 13th-century. Both of these — at Kolattunad and at Vernad — contained major seaports, although trade with China once more went into decline in the 14th-century, it was replaced by trade with Muslim Arabs. These traders had been visiting the area for several hundred years but their activities increased to the point that a third Nair kingdom, based on the port of Calicut, there were also small kingdoms at Walluvanad and Palghat, away from the coastline. The Portuguese arrived in the area from 1498, by time the Zamorin of Calicut had come to the fore. Arab traders had established themselves at his port and although trade still went to the ports of the other two small kingdoms it was in relatively small amounts. Indeed, the kingdom based at Kolattunad had split into three smaller kingdoms, and the ruler of Vernad had conceded considerable powers to local chiefs within his kingdom. In this they followed the Muslim Arabs, whom they eventually marginalised, the British and French were also active in the region now known as Kerala, the former from 1615 and the latter from 1725. These various European powers combined with one or another of the Nair rulers, one notable alliance was that of the Portuguese with the Kingdom of Cochin, with whom they sided in order to work against the power of the Zamorins of Calicut
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Ezhava
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The Ezhavas are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala. They are also known as Ilhava, Irava, Izhava and Erava in the south of the region, as Chovas, Chokons and Chogons in Central Travancore, and as Thiyyas, Tiyyas and Theeyas in the Malabar region. Some are also known as Thandan, which has caused administrative difficulties due to the presence of a caste of Thandan in the same region. As well as being agricultural laborers, small cultivators, toddy tappers and liquor businessmen, some Ezhavas were also involved in weaving, Ezhava dynasties such as the Izhathu Mannanars also existed in Kerala. The Chekavar, a section within the community, were part of the militias of local chieftains. There were also renowned kalaripayattu experts among Chekavars and these men were sent, ostensibly, to set up coconut farming in Kerala. Another version of the story says that the Sri Lankan king sent eight martial families to Kerala at the request of a Chera king to quell a civil war that had erupted in Kerala against him. It has been suggested that the Ezhavas may share a common heritage with the Nair caste, cyriac Pullapilly has said that only a common parentage can explain some of these issues. A theory has been proposed for the origins of the system in the Kerala region based on the actions of the Aryan Jains introducing such distinctions prior to the 8th-century AD. This argues that the Jains needed protection when they arrived in the area and these people were then distinguished from others in the local population by their occupation as protectors, with the others all being classed as out-caste. Pullapilly describes that this meant they, were given kshatriya functions, but only shudra status. The Ezhavas, not being among the group protecting the Jains, an alternate theory states that the system was introduced by the Nambudiri Brahmins. At the time of their arrival the local population had been converted to Buddhism by missionaries who had come from the north of India. The Brahmins used their symbiotic relationship with the forces to assert their beliefs. Buddhist temples and monasteries were destroyed or taken over for use in Hindu practices. The Buddhist tradition of the Ezhavas, and the refusal to give it up and this tradition is still evident as Ezhavas show greater interest in the moral, non-ritualistic, and non-dogmatic aspects of the religion rather than the theological. The social anthropologists Filippo and Caroline Osella say that the Ezhavas, a. Aiyappan, another social anthropologist and himself a member of the caste, noted the mythical belief that the Ezhava brought coconut palms to Kerala when they moved from Sri Lanka. Their traditional occupation, or avakasam, was tending to and tapping the sap of such palms and this activity is sometimes erroneously referred to as toddy tapping, toddy being a liquor manufactured from the sap
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Brahmin
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Brahmin is a varna in Hinduism specialising as priests of sacred learning across generations. However, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were often agriculturalists in medieval India, the Gautama Dharmasutra states in verse 10.3 that it is obligatory on a Brahmin to learn and teach the Vedas. The text forbids a Brahmin from engaging in the trade of animals for slaughter, meat, medicines, the Apastamba Dharmasutra asserts in verse 1.20.10 that trade is generally not sanctioned for Brahmins, but in the times of adversity he may do so. The chapter 1.20 of Apastamba, states Olivelle, forbids the trade of the following under any circumstances, human beings, meat, skins, weapons, barren cows, sesame seeds, pepper, and merits. The 1st millennium CE Dharmasastras, that followed the Dharmasutras contain similar recommendations on occupations for a Brahmin, both in prosperous or normal times, and in the times of adversity. The widely studied Manusmriti, for example, states, Except during a time of adversity and he should gather wealth just sufficient for his subsistence through irreproachable activities that are specific to him, without fatiguing his body. –4. 2–4.3 He must never follow a worldly occupation for the sake of livelihood, one who seeks happiness should become supremely content and self controlled, for happiness is rooted in contentment and its opposite is the root of unhappiness. –4. 11–4.12 The Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmins occupation must never involve forbidden activities such as producing or trading poison, weapons, meat, trapping birds and others. It also lists six occupations that it deems proper for a Brahmin, teaching, studying, offering yajna, officiating at yajna, giving gifts, of these, states Manusmriti, three which provide a Brahmin with a livelihood are teaching, officiating at yajna, and accepting gifts. The text states that teaching is best, and ranks the accepting of gifts as the lowest of the six, in the times of adversity, Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmin may live by engaging in the occupations of the warrior class, or agriculture or cattle herding or trade. Of these, Manusmriti in verses 10. 83–10, the term Brahmin in Indian texts has signified someone who is good and virtuous, not just someone of priestly class. Both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, states Patrick Olivelle, repeatedly define Brahmin not in terms of family of birth and these virtues and characteristics mirror the values cherished in Hinduism during the Sannyasa stage of life, or the life of renunciation for spiritual pursuits. Brahmins, states Olivelle, were the class from which most ascetics came. The earliest inferred reference to Brahmin as a social class is in the Rigveda, occurs once. Ancient texts describing community-oriented Vedic yajna rituals mention four to five priests, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar, the functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations and litanies drawn from the Rigveda. The Adhvaryu is the assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin recites from the Atharvaveda, the Ritvij is the chief operating priest
India
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Thrissur district
