Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

Vilakkiri families acted as the karyasthas of Muthedath Nambuthiri, Pothayi nayar family
acted as the karyasthas of Ayyayiraprabhu karthav, and Athikkal achhu ( than?) the
karyasthan of Thottassiri Panikkar comes to play a major role in the Muttyara incident
that will be discussed later. Absentee landlords, like Nilambur Raja, Samuthiri, Vettath
Raja and Alvancheri Thamprakkal carried out their operations entirely through their
karyasthas. Though not directly mentioned in any records, several landlords also
employed armed gangs to force the tenants to pay up their dues. Kaprat family apparently
maintained such a gang, which included Charmer and Muslims.
Thus the customary relations were replaced by another set of rules, maintained by the
accounts of the Adhockery and Menno, and those maintained in the catcheries as well as
the Karyasthas of the large landowners. The customary legal system was abolished, and
was replaced by the judicial system of the British. While Tirurangadi became the
catchery, a local court was established at Parappanangadi and they became the legal
centers of the region. Moreover, there was the political establishment at Calicut, ready to
act whenever the need arose. Thus the medieval milieu was totally destroyed. The old
landlords and tenants remained, but the landlord-tenant relations came to be defined
under the new system.
The impact that the new political and legal system had over the processes of production
and exchange are significant in understanding the nature of the social and economic
change. Paddy cultivation, of the kadalundi riverside areas, and in the various large
patams found in the low-lying areas, continued in the old form. They were basically
conceived in the revenue system as areas that yielded steady revenue, and as long as the
yield was calculated and the revenue fixed, there was nothing more to be done about
them. The effort of the landlord was to maximize the collection of so that he will be able
to pay the share to the Government and to keep his own share. Maximization of the share