Banana, pineapple, mango and jackfruit are major fruit crops. Rice and tapioca are important food crops. Tapioca is generally consumed locally but some of it goes to feed the starch factories and mills manufacturing tapioca flour. Kerala is not self-sufficient in food. The total area under cultivation has increased in respect of coconut, rubber, pepper and turmeric. However, crops like cashewnut, banana, groundnut and sesamum have lost their coverage in area.
The state has a very good industrial potential because of good infrastructural facilities like hydro-power, transport system and availability of forest-based and mine-based rare minerals. Traditional industries are handloom, cashew, coir and handicrafts. Other important industries are rubber, tea, ceramics, electric and electronic appliances, telephone cables, transformers, bricks and tiles, drugs and chemicals, general engineering, plywood splints and veneers, Beedi and cigar, soaps, oils, fertilizers and Khadi and village industry products.
A number of manufacturing units have also sprung-up for production of precision instruments, machine tools, petroleum and petroleum products, paints, pulp paper, newsprint, glass and non-ferrous metals.
Principal export products are cashewnut, tea, coffee, spices, lemongrass oil, sea foods, rose wood and coir. The State has an abundance of important minerals like ilmenite, rutile, monazite, zircon, sillimanite, clay and quartz sand. The irrigation system in Kerala is serviced through major, medium and minor irrigation as well as ground water and command area development programmes. Several other irrigation schemes have been commissioned Construction works of seven major irrigation projects - Kallada, Pazhassi, Muvattupuzha, Idamalayar, Karappara- Kuriarkutty, Chaliar and Kanjirappuzha are in progress.
Kerala's power projects are mostly hydro-based because of heavy rainfall and a large number of swift flowing rivers. To meet the fast growing energy requirements, the Government has decided to introduce alternative power generating systems. Peppara hydel power project with a capacity of three MW has commissioned. The work of first stage of diesel power station, Brahmapuram is nearing completion. The Kerala State Electricity Board wholly controls the power generation and distribution in the State.
Adequate transport facilities exist in Kerala lowlands. In all other areas network of transport is thin due to several bottlenecks like absence of bridges, weak culverts, narrow width and tortuous alignments etc. There are three airports, viz. Among 18 ports, Kochi is the only major port in the state.
There are three intermediate ports and 14 minor ports. Kerala is an important tourist destination: attractive wildlife sanctuaries at Thekkady on the banks of river Periyar, at Parambikulam in Palakkad district and at Mananthavady, Sulthan Batheri and at Wayanad, seaside resort at Kovalam.
Padmanabhaswami temple in Thiruvananthapuram is an exquisite specimen of South Indian architecture. Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa is a famous pilgrim tourist centre in Pathanamthitta district. Thiruvananthapuram, the capital, is an abode of temples, mosques and churches.
Veli lagoon, Neyyardam and Ponmudi the famous hill stations are the other tourist centres in and around Thiruvananthapuram. Veli provides boat ride facilities. November 1, marks the date when language came to be officially accepted as the basis for marking borders of states in India. The Nagpur Congress of had accepted linguistic provinces and submitted to the British government of India a memoranda for the recognition of nationalities of Kannada, Odiyas, Andhras, Tamils, Bengalis and Jharkhandis along linguistic lines.
The report submitted said the following:. The appeal to linguistic identities was a crucial factor in creating national consciousness during the freedom struggle. Gandhi had in fact advocated the reorganisation of the Indian National Congress along linguistic lines rather than along the lines drawn by the British administration. When a few provinces were created by dividing the Bengal Presidency in early twentieth century, it was just one among many such instances of territorial reorganisation along linguistic lines which came to follow decades latter.
The agitation for recognition of linguistic identities intensified after the Constitution of India came into effect in Under constant pressure to reformulate the territories of states in India, the States Reorganisation Commission SRC came into existence in After two years of examination, the SRC recommended the rebordering of 16 several states and 3 union territories along linguistic lines.
A newly formed unified territory of Malayalam speakers was a result of this institutional reorganisation. The desire for a united Kerala, or Aikya Kerala, consisting of all Malayalam speaking territories was a long cherished desire for the people of this region.
This was later followed by the Dutch and the British. A number of battles were fought between the provincial rulers against each other and against the Portuguese. Kochi and Kozhikode were the main provinces of the time. Zamorins, the rulers of Kozhikode, fought a number of battles against the Portuguese. Following the Portuguese, the Dutch reached Kerala. They began by the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in the year In , the Dutch army arrived at the Malabar coast.
They entered the arena of Kerala politics by making use of the rivalry between Kochi and Kozhikode. Their arrival marked the beginning of another phase of European domination. The Portuguese slowly began to loose control over to the Dutch. Dutch established their base at various parts of Kerala and made a number of treaties with local rulers. These treaties bestowed them with more powers. The Dutch supremacy lasted only for a short period before the British entry into Kerala.
In , the French established their base at Mahe. But unlike in the African continent, they were unable to make a move in on. Even while the Europeans emerged as great powers, war continued between the provinces. Marthanda Varma - ,the ruler of Travancore, was one of the strongest rulers of the time. With the arrival of the British begins another chapter of Kerala history. Like any other Europeans, British also had great interest in Kerala. They too were attracted by the spices and other natural treasures of the land.
British supremacy in Kerala started by the mid seventeenth century and lasted for the next years until independence.
Though a number of wars and revolts were made against them, the British were able to suppress them quickly. This was mainly because of the lack of unity among the provinces. Kochi and Travancore were the prominent kingdoms. The rule of the British saw many changes in the social and cultural life of Kerala. Slavery was slowly abolished. English missionaries played an important role in improving the living standard of the people. During this period a number of educational institutions and hospitals were opened.
Many railway lines , roads and bridges were constructed by the British. In a way, Kerala is indebted to the British for its modernization. This period also saw the emergence of a number of social reformation movements. Many reformers like Chattambi Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali played a vital role in the upliftment of the downtrodden and the emancipation of the women folks.
Though there were a number uprisings against the foreign rule right from the beginning, its intensity and frequency increased by the early 's. The early revolts and battles against the rule like the Pazhassi and Mappilai revolts were suppressed with iron fist by the British. The World Wars weakened the colonial powers and this gave a boost to the nationalist movements in the colonies.
In India, nationalist movements gained momentum under the strong leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. These movements had their effect on Kerala as well.
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