History of Grama Panchayat
History of Grama Panchayat
History Local Development History Kathiroor Grama Panchayat is located in Thalassery Taluk of Kannur district. It is said that this place was known as Kathiravante Uur because of the famous Sree Suryanarayana Temple located here and the place name Kathiroor was derived from this. However, there is another legend that this place was known as Kathiroor because it was an area with a lot of vast paddy fields and there were paddy stalks growing abundantly everywhere. The Thalassery-Coorg Road (TC Road), which passes through the middle of Kathiroor Grama Panchayat, is one of the most important roads in Kannur district. During the British era, coffee, pepper, sandalwood, cardamom and cloves were exported from Wayanad, Kodagu and Mysore to the Thalassery port via TC Road. This road, which starts from the Thalassery seaport, ends 10 meters away from the Kootupuzha bridge on the Kerala border. This road was developed by the British after the fall of Tipu and Pazhassi. The Thalassery-Kurgya road, which connects the eastern hills with Thalassery, is the lifeblood of Kathiroor Grama Panchayat. Kathiroor Government Higher Secondary School, established in 1922, has a great tradition. Students from all over the old Kottayam taluk received their high school education from Kathiroor. Students from Wayanad and the eastern hills used to study by renting vacant houses and the upper floors of the school in Kathiroor. This school was always noted as the center of progressive changes in the socio-political and cultural sectors of a very vast area. The social renaissance led by Sree Narayana Guru was also reflected in Kathiroor. The incident of a few people bathing in the Sri Suryanarayana temple under the leadership of Y.A. Chathukutty Master, despite the threats of the upper castes, created a stir in this country. As part of the liquor abstinence program held as per Gandhiji's call, toddy shops were picketed. A fierce picketing strike took place under the Poopvam near Kathiroor High School and in front of the toddy shops in Vettummal. The picketing of the toddy shops under the Poopvam was directly led by A.K.G. K.N. Chathukutty Nair of Kathiroor was also a member of the hunger march that went to Madras under the leadership of A.K.G. in July 1936. A.K.G. recalls in his autobiography that K.N. was in charge of distributing pamphlets and promoting books during the procession. In the 1930s, politics in Kathiroor became dynamic due to the constant visits and contacts of leaders like EMS, A.K.G., Krishna Pillai, L.S.Prabhu. Vishnu Bharathiyan, C.H.Kanaran, K.A.Keraliyayan, Moyarat Sankaran, Anandatheerthan and others also took the helm of the activities in Kathiroor. In 1934, Dr. Rajendra Prasad visited Kathiroor. The speech he delivered at Kathiroor Maiyani that day was translated by C.R. Ramakurup. In 1936, the Kottayam Taluk Congress session was held in Kathiroor Vayal. K.K. Kunhikrishnan Adiyodi, K.V. Mandan Mestri, Manakkadan Damu Master and K.N. Chathukutty Nair were prominent leaders in Kathiroor. The then Congress leadership in Kathiroor was able to build a strong foundation for the national movement not only in Kathiroor but also in the entire Kottayam taluk.
Social and Cultural History The Thamprakas of Ponnuyathakathoottu Mana were the great lords of the Kathiroor area. The entire land in the Kathiroor area was once under the control of a few landlords. They collected rent and rent as much as they wanted from the tenants and made many unjust collections. Before 1930, there were only agricultural-based jobs in Kathiroor. The daily wage for female workers was one anna and for men two anna. (16 annas=1 ka) The fields in Kathiroor were mainly paddy fields. The sight of the Njaru walking along the couplets of the northern song rising from all sides of the vast fields was very inspiring. Uchampally Shankaran Gurus practiced cigar making from Vadakara and spread it in Kathiroor. The Gurus had attracted many unemployed youths to this area. Several workshops sprang up in the areas from Ponnyam Srambi to 5th Mile and Kathiroor grew into a major cigar manufacturing center. The legendary 29-day stay-in-strike against the conversion of Bhaskar Cigar Company into small units, which was overturned by the new cigar law, became a milestone in the history of labor struggles. Pothan Govindan, who settled here from Chirakkal, brought 5 handloom looms to Tharuvanam Theru. Till then, weaving was done on dugout looms. Since 1936, beedi weaving had been done in many places in the unorganized sector. Another important place of worship in Kathiroor Panchayat is Pullyot Sree Kurumbakkavu. Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy is the main deity of the Kavu. Some say that the Bhagavathy, who was worshipped by the Kurumars in ancient times, was known as Kurumba Bhagavathy in later times. The main communities that practice Theyyam are Anhoottamayars, Munhoottamadars, Peruvannanmars and Malayars. It was said that the Kathiroor Gurus were the famous Kalari Acharyas who invited the family members of the Kottayam Thampuran from other countries to teach them martial arts and settled in Kathiroor. The Kottayam Thampuran gave him four farmsteads in eastern Kathiroor as his own. Gurus established Kalaris all over the country and provided advanced training in martial arts to many young men. The remains of one Kalari of the Kathiroor Gurus, the chief of 42 Kalaris and the teacher of about ten thousand warriors, are still visible in eastern Kathiroor. (Now in Patyam Panchayat.) Ancient rock-cut caves are found in some parts of Kathiroor. Several years ago, there was a deep pit called Kannamkuzhi in Kathiroor Panchayat. At the bottom of this pit, which was cut out of red stone, there was a large cave carved out of the rock in a semicircular shape on the south side. A rock-cut cave is still present in the panchayat at a place called Champlontavida in the seventh ward of the panchayat. This is near the Devi temple where Shakteya is worshipped. When viewed from the outside, the depth of the cave carved out of red stone can be seen up to about 4 meters. K.V. Manan, who shone with unique brilliance in the world of literature, is a native of Kathiroor. Manan Gurukkal, who studied Sanskrit under Punnassery Nambi Neelakanta Sharmamala and later became a great scholar, has written works such as Bhakta Pralapam, Divakara Chinta, Nalini-Sanskrit Vivarthanam, and Samiksha Saudham. The scholarly world respects him as an excellent prose writer, a brilliant poet, a distinguished critic, and a brilliant orator.