1 CHAPTER 1: KERALA IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe the political structure of the princely state of Travancore in the early 19th century

• Identify the major social groups and their relationships within Kerala society

• Explain the state of education and literacy before the arrival of missionary presses

• Understand the religious landscape into which the Church Missionary Society entered

1.1 The Princely State of Travancore

When Benjamin Bailey landed on the shores of Travancore in 1816, he entered a kingdom that was both ancient and in the midst of significant transformation. Travancore occupied the southern portion of what is today the state of Kerala, stretching from Kanyakumari in the south to Cochin in the north, bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghat mountains to the east.

The kingdom was ruled by the royal family of Venad, who traced their lineage back centuries. At the time of Bailey’s arrival, the throne was held by Rani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, a capable and reform-minded queen who ruled as regent for her young nephew, Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. The young Maharaja would come of age during Bailey’s early years in Travancore and would himself become renowned as a patron of the arts, a composer of Carnatic music, and a monarch open to selective modernisation.

Travancore had long maintained a relationship with European powers, but unlike many other Indian states, it had never been formally colonised. The kingdom had signed a subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company in 1795, which placed a British Resident at the court and gave the Company authority over external affairs while leaving internal administration in the hands of the Maharaja. This arrangement created a space in which British missionaries could operate with official tolerance, though not always with enthusiastic support.

The early decades of the 19th century were a period of administrative reform in Travancore. Under the guidance of capable Dewans (prime ministers), particularly Colonel John Munro who served from 1811 to 1819, the kingdom modernised its revenue systems, established courts, and began investing in infrastructure. Munro, a devout Christian who would later become a strong supporter of the CMS mission, played a crucial role in creating conditions favourable to missionary educational work.

1.2 Social Structure and Caste Hierarchies

Kerala society in the early 19th century was structured around a complex and rigid caste hierarchy that shaped every aspect of daily life. Understanding this social order is essential for grasping the revolutionary nature of Bailey’s educational and social work.

At the apex of the hierarchy stood the Nambudiri Brahmins, who wielded spiritual authority and substantial economic power as major landowners. Their lives were governed by elaborate purity regulations, and they maintained strict distance from those they considered polluting. Below them in ritual status but often surpassing them in political power were the Nairs, a martial caste who served as administrators, soldiers, and landowners. Nair society was organised around matrilineal joint families known as tharavadus, a distinctive social form that gave women considerable authority in domestic matters.

The Syrian Christians, with whom Bailey would develop his most significant relationships, occupied an ambiguous position in the caste hierarchy. They claimed descent from converts made by the Apostle Thomas in the first century CE, and their presence in Kerala predated the arrival of European Christianity by well over a millennium. Economically prosperous and claiming status comparable to the Nairs, they had carved out a respected place in Kerala society while maintaining their distinct religious identity.

Below these groups existed a vast population of cultivators, artisans, and labourers, including the Ezhavas (traditionally toddy-tappers and cultivators) and various communities designated as “untouchable” under Brahminical norms, including the Pulayas and Paraiyars. These communities faced severe restrictions on movement, dress, worship, and access to public spaces. The very proximity of their bodies was considered polluting to upper-caste Hindus.

It was into this deeply stratified world that Bailey brought a message of spiritual equality and a technology—the printing press—that would eventually help undermine the knowledge monopolies that sustained caste hierarchy.

1.3 The State of Education and Literacy

The popular image of modern Kerala as India’s most literate state might lead one to assume a long tradition of widespread education. The reality in Bailey’s time was quite different. Literacy was confined almost entirely to elite males, and formal education beyond basic instruction was rare.

Traditional education in Kerala took several forms. Brahmin boys studied Sanskrit texts in the gurukula system, living with their teachers and mastering religious and philosophical works through years of intensive memorisation. Nair youths might attend kalaris, where they received training in martial arts alongside basic literacy. The Syrian Christians maintained a network of village schools attached to churches, where children learned to read Syriac and, increasingly, Malayalam.

What did not exist was anything resembling a system of universal education. The vast majority of the population, including virtually all women and all members of lower castes, received no formal instruction whatsoever. Knowledge was transmitted orally within communities, and occupational skills were learned through apprenticeship.

The medium of instruction varied by community. Sanskrit served as the language of high culture and Hindu religious learning. Malayalam, the spoken language of the region, had a rich oral tradition but only a limited written corpus, primarily consisting of pattukal (songs) and kathakali scripts. Syriac functioned as the liturgical language of the Syrian Christian community, though most believers did not understand it.

It was this educational landscape that Bailey and his colleagues would transform, not by imposing an alien system but by building on existing foundations—particularly the Syrian Christian school network—and extending educational access to previously excluded populations.

1.4 Religious Landscape

The Travancore that Bailey encountered was one of the most religiously diverse regions in India, a characteristic that continues to define Kerala today.

Hinduism, as practiced across the region, encompassed an enormous range of traditions, from the highly philosophical Vedanta of the Nambudiri Brahmins to the devotional bhakti movements to the local worship of theyyams and other village deities. Temple complexes dominated the social and economic life of many communities, and the great temple at Padmanabhaswamy in Thiruvananthapuram served as the symbolic heart of the kingdom’s ritual order.

The Syrian Christians, Bailey’s initial focus of engagement, represented one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. Their traditions held that St. Thomas the Apostle had arrived in Kerala in 52 CE and established seven churches. Historical evidence confirms the presence of Christian communities in Kerala from at least the 4th century CE, with sustained contact with the Church of the East in Persia. Over the centuries, the community had developed distinctive practices that blended Christian theology with Hindu social customs, including observance of caste distinctions and the use of the thali (a marriage pendant) in wedding ceremonies.

A significant rupture had occurred in the 16th century with the arrival of the Portuguese, who attempted to bring the Syrian Christians under Roman Catholic authority. The Synod of Diamper (1599) forcibly Latinised many church practices, generating deep resentment. This culminated in the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653, when a faction of Syrian Christians swore to reject Portuguese authority, leading to a permanent split in the community.

Smaller communities added to the religious tapestry. Muslims, concentrated in coastal trading towns, had been present since the earliest days of Islam, Kerala being one of the first regions outside Arabia to receive the faith through Arab traders. A small but ancient Jewish community maintained synagogues in Cochin. The arrival of the British had brought Anglican chaplains and a handful of other Protestant Europeans.

1.5 Early European Contact

European engagement with Kerala predated Bailey’s arrival by more than three centuries. Vasco da Gama’s landing at Calicut in 1498 initiated a Portuguese presence that lasted until the Dutch supplanted them in the 17th century. The Dutch, in turn, were displaced by the British East India Company, which had established its dominance over the Malabar Coast by the end of the 18th century.

Each European power left its mark. The Portuguese introduced printing to India, though not to Kerala itself. The Dutch brought reformed Protestantism and maintained a printing press at Cochin that produced some Malayalam materials. The British established the political framework within which the CMS mission would operate.

By Bailey’s time, European influence was a fact of life in Travancore, but it was not yet overwhelming. The British Resident held considerable power, but the Maharaja’s government continued to function, and the East India Company’s policy of non-interference in religious matters meant that missionaries had to tread carefully. This complex political environment—neither fully colonial nor fully independent—shaped the opportunities and constraints that Bailey would navigate throughout his career.

Key Takeaways

• Travancore in the early 19th century was an independent princely state under British paramountcy, ruled by a reforming monarchy.

• Society was structured by a rigid caste hierarchy that severely limited social mobility and access to knowledge.

• Literacy was confined to elite males; no system of universal education existed.

• The religious landscape was diverse, with the ancient Syrian Christian community being of particular importance to Bailey’s work.

• European influence was established but not total, creating a complex political environment for missionary activity.

Discussion Questions

1. How might Travancore’s status as an independent princely state, rather than a directly ruled British territory, have shaped missionary work?

2. In what ways did the existing Syrian Christian school network provide a foundation that Bailey could build upon?

3. Why might printing technology have particularly revolutionary implications in a caste-stratified society?

4. Compare the educational landscape of early 19th century Kerala with your own context. What has changed, and what challenges persist?

Further Reading

Jeffrey, Robin. (1992). Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala Became a ‘Model’. Palgrave Macmillan.

Kawashima, Koji. (1998). Missionaries and a Hindu State: Travancore, 1858-1936. Oxford University Press.

Menon, A. Sreedhara. (1967). A Survey of Kerala History. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.