Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the
Malabar Coast in the state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224
and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Kerala and the
19th largest in India. Kozhikode is classified as a Tier 2 city by the Government of India.
It is the largest city in the region known as the
Malabar and was the capital of the British-era
Malabar district
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...
. In antiquity and the medieval period, Kozhikode was dubbed the ''City of Spices'' for its role as the major trading point for
Indian spices
Indian spices include a variety of spices grown across the Indian subcontinent (a sub-region of South Asia). With different climates in different parts of the country, India produces a variety of spices, many of which are native to the subconti ...
.
It was the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the
Samoothiris (Zamorins). The port at Kozhikode acted as the gateway to medieval
South Indian coast for the
Chinese, the
Persians, the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
s and finally the
Europeans.
According to data compiled by economics research firm
Indicus Analytics in 2009 on residences, earnings and investments, Kozhikode was ranked the second best city in India to live in.
Etymology
The exact origin of the name Kozhikode is uncertain. According to many sources, the name Kozhikode is derived from ''Koyil-kota'' (fort), meaning ''fortified palace''. The name also got corrupted into ''Kolikod'', or its Arab version ''Qāliqūṭ'' and later its anglicized version Calicut.
The
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
merchants called it ''Qāliqūṭ'' (
IPA: qˠaːliqˠːuːtˤ).
Chinese merchants called it ''Kūlifo''.
Although the city's official name is Kozhikode, in English it is sometimes known by its anglicised version, ''Calicut''.
[M.G.S. Narayanan, ''Calicut: The City of Truth'' (2006) Calicut University Press, Kozhikode.]
The word ''
calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
'', a fine variety of hand-woven cotton cloth that was exported from the port of Kozhikode, is thought to have been derived from ''Calicut''.
[Encyclopædia Britannica (2008). ''calico''] It is the historical capital of Kerala as the history dates back to 1498 AD when Vasco da Gama landed in
Kappad
Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is a beach and village near Koyilandy, in the district Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
A stone monument installed by government commemorates the "landing" by Vasco da Gama with the inscription, Vasco da Gama landed he ...
, near Calicut.
History
The ancient port of
Tyndis which was located on the northern side of
Muziris, as mentioned in the ''
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', was somewhere around Kozhikode.
Its exact location is a matter of dispute.
The suggested locations are
Ponnani,
Tanur,
Beypore
Beypore or Beypur (formerly Beypoor) is an ancient port town and a locality town in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. It is located opposite to Chaliyam, the estuary where the river Chaliyar empties into Arabian Sea. Beypore is ...
-
Chaliyam-
Kadalundi
Kadalundi is a village in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. It is a coastal village close to the Arabian Sea. Kadalundi is famous for its bird sanctuary, which is home to various migratory birds during certain seasons and has been recently decla ...
-
Vallikkunnu, and
Koyilandy.
Tyndis was a major center of trade, second only to
Muziris, between the Cheras and the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
.
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
(1st century CE) states that the port of ''
Tyndis'' was located at the northwestern border of ''Keprobotos'' (
Chera dynasty).
[Gurukkal, R., & Whittaker, D. (2001). In search of Muziris. ''Journal of Roman Archaeology,'' ''14'', 334-350.] The
North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at ''
Tyndis'', was ruled by the kingdom of
Ezhimala during
Sangam period.
According to the ''
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', a region known as ''
Limyrike
Limyrikê is a historical region of present-day India, mentioned in the ancient Greco-Roman texts. It generally corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast of Kerala.
Extent
According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (53:17:15-27), ...
'' began at ''
Naura'' and ''
Tyndis''. However
Ptolemy mentions only ''
Tyndis'' as ''
Limyrike
Limyrikê is a historical region of present-day India, mentioned in the ancient Greco-Roman texts. It generally corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast of Kerala.
Extent
According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (53:17:15-27), ...
s starting point. The region probably ended at
Kanyakumari
Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...
; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day
Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000
sesterces.
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
mentioned that ''
Limyrike
Limyrikê is a historical region of present-day India, mentioned in the ancient Greco-Roman texts. It generally corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast of Kerala.
Extent
According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (53:17:15-27), ...
'' was prone by pirates. The
Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the ''
Limyrike
Limyrikê is a historical region of present-day India, mentioned in the ancient Greco-Roman texts. It generally corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast of Kerala.
Extent
According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (53:17:15-27), ...
'' was a source of peppers.
In the 14th century, Kozhikode conquered larger parts of central Kerala after the seize of
Tirunavaya
Tirunavaya, also spelled as Thirunavaya, is a town in Malappuram, Kerala. Situated on the northern bank of Bharatappuzha (River Ponnani/Nila or Perar), it is one of major Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala. Tirunavaya, home to Tirunavaya Temple ...
region from
Valluvanad, which were under the control of the king of
''Perumbadappu Swaroopam'' (Cochin). The ruler of
Perumpadappu was forced to shift his capital (c. CE 1405) further south from
Kodungallur to
Kochi. In the 15th century, the status of Cochin was reduced to a vassal state of Kozhikode, thus leading to the emergence of Kozhikode as the most powerful kingdom in medieval
Malabar Coast.
During the 15th century Kalaripayat was important in the history of
Malabar, some warriors lived, most notably ''puthooram veettil''
Aromal Chekavar Aromal Chekavar, also known as Puthooram Veettil Aromal Chekavar, was a legendary warrior who is believed to have lived during the 16th century in the North Malabar region of Kerala, India. He was a warrior from a Thiyyar community and a paramou ...
and his sister
Unniyarcha who were chieftains of martial arts.
The port at Kozhikode held the superior economic and political position in medieval Kerala coast, while Kannur,
Kollam, and
Kochi, were commercially important secondary ports, where the traders from various parts of the world would gather.
[''The Portuguese, Indian Ocean and European Bridgeheads 1500–1800''. Festschrift in Honour of Prof. K. S. Mathew (2001). Edited by: Pius Malekandathil and T. Jamal Mohammed. Fundacoa Oriente. Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities of MESHAR (Kerala)] Kozhikode was the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the
samoothiris (Zamorins) in the Middle Ages and later of the erstwhile
Malabar District
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...
under British rule.
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
merchants traded with the region as early as 7th century, and Portuguese explorer
Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, thus opening a trade route between Europe and India. A Portuguese
factory and the fort was intact in Kozhikode for short period (1511–1525, until the
Fall of Calicut). The
English landed in 1615 (constructing a trading post in 1665), followed by the
French (1698) and the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
(1752). In 1765,
Mysore captured Kozhikode as part of its occupation of the Malabar Coast. Kozhikode, once a famous cotton-weaving centre, gave its name to the
Calico cloth.
["Kozhikode." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 18 November 2011.]
It was ranked eleventh among Tier-II Indian cities in job creation by a study conducted by
ASSOCHAM in 2007.
Early Kozhikode in foreign accounts
Accounts of the city and the conditions prevailing then can be gleaned from the chronicles of travellers who visited the port city.
Ibn Battuta (1342–1347), who visited six times, gives the earliest glimpses of life in the city. He describes Kozhikode as "one of the great ports of the district of Malabar" where "merchants of all parts of the world are found here". The king of this place, he says, "shaves his chin just as the Haidari Fakeers of Rome do... The greater part of the Muslim merchants of this place are so wealthy that one of them can purchase the whole freightage of such vessels put here and fit out others like them".
Ma Huan
Ma Huan (, Xiao'erjing: ) (c. 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma ...
(1403 AD), the Chinese sailor part of the Imperial Chinese fleet under Cheng Ho (
Zheng He) lauds the city as a great emporium of trade frequented by merchants from around the world. He makes note of the 20 or 30 mosques built to cater to the religious needs of the Muslims, the unique system of calculation by the merchants using their fingers and toes (followed to this day) and the matrilineal system of succession.
Abdur Razzak
ʻAbd al-Razzāq (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الرزاق) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Razzāq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to ...
(1442–43) the ambassador of Persian Emperor Sha-Rohk finds the city harbour perfectly secured and notices precious articles from several maritime countries especially from
Abyssinia, Zirbad and
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
.
The Italian
Niccolò de' Conti (1445), perhaps the first Christian traveller who noticed Kozhikode, describes the city as abounding in pepper, lac, ginger, a larger kind of cinnamon, myrobalans and zedoary. He calls it a noble emporium for all India, with a
circumference of .
The Russian traveller Athanasius Nikitin or
Afanasy Nikitin Afanasy Nikitin (russian: Афана́сий Ники́тин; died 1472) was a Russian merchant from Tver and one of the first Europeans (after Niccolò de' Conti) to travel to and document his visit to India. He described his trip in a narrat ...
(1468–74) calls 'Calecut' a port for the whole Indian sea and describes it as having a "big bazaar."
Other travellers who visited Kozhikode include the Italian
Ludovico di Varthema
Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 – 1517), was an Italian traveller, diarist and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a pilgrim. Nearly everything that is known ...
(1503–1508) and
Duarte Barbosa
Duarte Barbosa (c. 14801 May 1521) was a Portuguese writer and officer from Portuguese India (between 1500 and 1516). He was a Christian pastor and scrivener in a '' feitoria'' in Kochi, and an interpreter of the local language, Malayalam. Barbo ...
.
The Samoothiri
Kozhikode and its suburbs formed part of the ''Polanad'' kingdom, which was a vassal state to the ''
Kolathunadu'' of
North Malabar, ruled by the ''Porlatiri''. The
Eradi
Eradi is a subgroup of the Samanthan Kshatriya caste from the Indian state of Kerala. The Samoothiri (Zamorins), the monarchs and hereditary rulers of the kingdom of Kozhikode, belong to this subcaste.
See also
*Justice V. Balakrishna Eradi
*Nai ...
s of
Nediyiruppu at
Kondotty
Kondotty is a developing town, municipality, and aerotropolis in the Malappuram district state of Kerala, India which is located near Calicut International Airport, 24 km from Malappuram. It is the headquarters of Kondotty Taluk, which was ...
in
Eranad (
Malappuram district) wanted an outlet to the sea, to initiate trade and commerce with the distant lands. and after fighting with the king Polatthiri for 48 years conquered the area around
Panniankara. After this,
Menokki became the ruler of ''Polanad'' and came to terms with the troops and people. After this, the town of Kozhikode was founded close to the palace at Tali. Then, the Eradis shifted their headquarters from Nediyiruppu to Kozhikode. The Governor of Ernad built a fort at a place called Velapuram to safeguard his new interests. The fort most likely lent its name to ''Koyil Kotta'' the precursor to Kozhikode. Thus the city came into existence sometime in the 13th century CE. The status of Udaiyavar increased and he became known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, and eventually Samuri or Samoothiri. Europeans called him in a corrupt form as
Zamorin.
At the peak of their reign, the Zamorins ruled over a region from Kollam (
Quilon
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...
) to Panthalayini Kollam (
Koyilandy).
[Varier, M. R. Raghava. "Documents of Investiture Ceremonies" in K. K. N. Kurup, Edit., "India's Naval Traditions". Northern Book Centre, New Delhi, 1997] Following the discovery of sea route from
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
to Kozhikode in 1498, the Portuguese began to expand their territories and ruled the seas between
Ormus
The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz; fa, هرمز; pt, Ormuz) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in 11th century initially as a dep ...
and the
Malabar Coast and south to
Ceylon.
Kallingal Madathil Rarichan Moopan and Pullambil Moopan and Vamala Moopan families were very prominent among those who said that two centuries ago, some
Jenmi
Jenmi is the term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala. They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region during Medieval times, and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this ...
s in Kozhikode were engaged in
sea trade and
shipping.
According to K.V. Krishna Iyer, the rise of Kozhikode is at once a cause and a consequence of Samoothiri's ascendancy in Kerala. By the end of the century, Samoothiri was at the zenith of his powers with all princes and chieftains of Kerala north of Kochi acknowledging his suzerainty.
The
Sweetmeat Street (''Mittayi Theruvu'') was an important trading street under Zamorin's rule.
The
First Battle of Cannanore that occurred in January 1502 between the
Third Portuguese Armada and
Kingdom of Cochin under
João da Nova
João da Nova ( gl, Xoán de Novoa, Joam de Nôvoa; es, Juan de Nova; ; born c. 1460 in Maceda, Ourense, Galicia; died July 16, 1509 in Kochi, India) was a Portuguese-Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portuga ...
and
Zamorin of
Calicut's navy marks the beginning of Portuguese conflicts in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
.
The defeat of joint fleet of the
Sultan of Gujarat
The Gujarat Sultanate (or the Sultanate of Guzerat), was a Medieval Indian kingdom established in the early 15th century in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat, India. The dynasty was founded by Sultan Zafar Khan Muza ...
, the
Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut with support of the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in
Battle of Diu in February 1509 marks the beginning of
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
dominance of the
Spice trade and the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
.
The continuous wars between
Zamorin navy under
Kunjali Marakkar
Kunjali Marakkar (alternatively spelled Kunhali Marakkar) was the title inherited by the Admiral of the fleet of the Samoothiri / Zamorin, the king of Kozhikode / Calicut, in present-day Kerala, India. There were four Marakkars whose war tacti ...
s and Portuguese in the
16th century CE reduced the importance of Kozhikode as a centre of trade. The Kunjali Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defense of the Indian coast.
The Zamorin in the beginning of next century expelled Portuguese with the help of
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
. and In 1602, the
Zamorin sent messages to
Aceh promising the Dutch a fort at Kozhikode if they would come and trade there. Two factors, Hans de Wolff and Lafer, were sent on an Asian ship from Aceh, but the two were captured by the chief of
Tanur, and handed over to the Portuguese.
[Sanjay Subrahmanyam. "The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500–1650". Cambridge University Press, 2002] A Dutch fleet under Admiral
Steven van der Hagen
Steven van der Hagen (Amersfoort, 1563 – 1621) was the first admiral of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He made three visits to the East Indies, spending six years in all there. He was appointed to the Raad van Indië. Van der Hage ...
arrived at Kozhikode in November 1604. It marked the beginning of the Dutch presence in Kerala and they concluded a treaty with Kozhikode on 11 November 1604, which was also the first treaty that the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
made with an Indian ruler.
By this time the kingdom and the port of Kozhikode was much reduced in importance.
The treaty provided for a mutual alliance between the two to expel the Portuguese from Malabar. In return the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
was given facilities for trade at Kozhikode and
Ponnani, including spacious storehouses.
British Rule
The arrival of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
can be traced back to the year 1615, when a group under the leadership of Captain
William Keeling arrived at Kozhikode, using three ships.
It was in these ships that Sir
Thomas Roe
Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire ...
went to visit
Jahangir, the fourth
Mughal emperor, as
British envoy.
Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the
Zamorin of
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...
in the battle of
Purakkad
Purakkad is a village in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the beach which is described in Thakazhi's novel "Chemeen".
History
There was an ancient port at Purakkad. Purakkad was known as ''Burkkare'' in ancient time. ...
in 1755.
Kozhikode came under British Rule after the
Mysorean conquest of Malabar in the late 18th century CE.
The British later also formed a regiment called the
Thiyyar Regiment to meet their military operations in
Malabar.
Kozhikode was the capital city of
Malabar District
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...
, one of the two districts in the western coast (
Malabar Coast) of
Madras presidency. During the
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
, Malabar's chief importance lay in producing
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
,
coconut,
tiles, and
teak. Kozhikode municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850)
of the
British Indian Empire
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himse ...
, making it the first modern municipality in the state.
Post Independence
Kozhikode Municipality was upgraded into
Kozhikode Municipal Corporation in the year 1962, making it the second-oldest Municipal Corporation in the state.
Climate
Kozhikode has a
tropical monsoon climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Am''). A brief spell of pre-monsoon
Mango showers hits the city sometime during April. However, the primary source of rain is the
South-west monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
that sets in the first week of June and continues until September. The city receives significant precipitation from the
North-East Monsoon that sets in from the second half of October through November.
Demographics
Total Population under Municipal Corporation limits is 550,440.
Males form 47.7% and females 52.3%.
Kozhikode has been a multi-ethnic and multi-religious town since the early
medieval period. The
Hindus form the largest religious group, followed by
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
.
Hindus form the majority at 57.37% of the population with 315807 members.
Muslims form 37.6% of the population with 207298 members.
The corporation of Kozhikode has an average
literacy rate of 96.8%
(
national average is 74.85%). The male literacy rate is 97.93% and female literacy rate is 95.78%.
Pre-modern Kozhikode was already teeming with people of several communities and regional groups. Most of these communities continued to follow their traditional occupations and customs till the 20th century. Brahmins, too, lived in the city mostly around the Hindu temples. Regional groups like the
Tamil Brahmins
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
, Gujaratis and
Marwari Jains became part of the city and lived around their shrines.
The
Nairs
The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu 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 histo ...
formed the rulers, warriors and landed gentry of Kozhikode.The
Thiyyas formed the ''vaidyars'' (
Ayurveda Physicians), local militia and traders of Kozhikode. The Thiyyas were also heavily recruited into the Zamorin's army.
Samoothiri army was called as Lokar,which constituted of warriors of Thiyyar and Nair caste soldiers.Zamorin also had an army called the 'Thiyyarpada' (Thiyya Army),which is formed by Thiyyar warriors. The
Samoothiri had a ten thousand strong Nair bodyguard called the Kozhikkottu pathinaayiram (The 10,000 of Kozhikode) who defended the capital and supported the administration within the city. He had a larger force of 30,000 Nairs in his capacity as the Prince of Eranadu, called the Kozhikkottu Muppatinaayiram (The 30,000 of Kozhikode).
The Nairs also formed the members of the suicide squad (
chaver).
The Muslims of Kozhikode are known as
Mappila
Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same n ...
s, and according to the official Kozhikode website "the great majority of them are
Sunnis following the
Shafi school of thought.
There are some smaller communities among the Muslims such as
Dawoodi Bohra
The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, South ...
s of Gujarati origin. Many of the Muslims living in the historic part of the city follow
matrilineality and are noted for their piety.
Though
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
is believed to have been introduced in Kerala in the 1st century CE, the size of community in
Malabar (northern Kerala) began to rise only after the arrival of the Portuguese missionaries towards the close of the 15th century. A few Christians of
Thiruvitankoor and
Kochi have lately migrated to the hilly regions of the district and are settled there.
The
Tamil Brahmins
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
are primarily settled around the Tali Siva temple. They arrived in Kozhikode as dependants of chieftains, working as cooks, cloth merchants and moneylenders.
[Narayanan.M.G.S., Calicut: The City of Truth(2006) ]Calicut University
The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in nor ...
Publications They have retained their
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of P ...
and dialects as well as caste rituals. The
Gujarati community is settled mostly around the
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
temple in and around the Valliyangadi. They owned many establishments, especially textile and sweet shops. They must have arrived in Kozhikode at least from the beginning of the 14th century. They belong to either the Hindu or the Jain community. A few
Marwari families are also found in Kozhikode who was basically moneylenders.
Civic administration
The city is administered by the Kozhikode Corporation, headed by a mayor. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into 75
wards,
[ ] from which the members of the corporation council are elected for five years. Recently neighbouring suburbs
Beypore
Beypore or Beypur (formerly Beypoor) is an ancient port town and a locality town in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. It is located opposite to Chaliyam, the estuary where the river Chaliyar empties into Arabian Sea. Beypore is ...
,
Elathur,
Cheruvannur and Nallalam were merged within the municipal corporation.
Kozhikode Corporation is the first City Corporation in Kerala after the creation of the state. Established in 1962, Kozhikode Corporation's first mayor was H Manjunatha Rao. Kozhikode corporation has four assembly constituencies – Kozhikode North, Kozhikode South, Beypore and Elathur – all of which are part of
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...
.
Kozhikode Municipal Corporation Election 2020
Law and order
The
Kozhikode City Police
The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Tempera ...
is headed by a commissioner, an
Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The city is divided into six zones each under a circle officer. Apart from regular law and order, the city police comprise the traffic police, bomb squad, dog squad, fingerprint bureau, women's cell, juvenile wing, narcotics cell, riot force, armed reserve camps, district crime records bureau and a women's station.
[
] It operates 16 police stations functioning under the Home Ministry of
Government of Kerala.
Transport
Road
National highways
National Highway 66 connects Kozhikode to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
via
Mangaluru
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
,
Udupi and
Goa to the north and
Kochi and
Kanyakumari
Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...
near
Thiruvananthapuram to the south along the west coast of India. This highway connects the city with the other important towns like,
Kasaragod,
Kanhangad,
Kannur,
Thalassery,
Mahe,
Vadakara,
Koyilandy
Ramanattukara
Ramanattukara is a municipality census town in Kozhikode district in the Indian state of Kerala. This town was formerly called Kadungan Chira village. Ramanattukara is located 14 km away from Kozhikode city.
Developing as a suburb of K ...
,
Kottakkal
Kottakkal (literally-''Land of the Fort'') is a municipal town in Malappuram district in Kerala, southern India having 32 wards. it is a part of Malappuram metropolitan area and a growing city in Kerala. The town is best known for the Arya V ...
,
Kuttippuram
Kuttippuram is a town and a block headquarters, which is situated in the Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district of Kerala state, India. The town is located 34 kilometres south-west of Malappuram. The Bharathappuzha river flows through Kuttippuram. A ...
,
Ponnani,
Kodungallur,
North Paravur,
Ernakulam,
Edapally
Edappally or Idappalli is a region in the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is a major commercial centre as well as a prominent residential region. Edappally junction is one of the busiest junctions in the city.
History
Edappally in Englis ...
and proceeds to
Alappuzha,
Thiruvananthapuram and terminates at the southern tip of India,
Kanyakumari
Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...
.
National Highway 766 connects Kozhikode to
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
through
Kollegal in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
via
Tirumakudal Narsipur
Tirumakudalu Narasipura (''Tirumakūḍalu Narasīpura'') the temple city of Karnataka, commonly known as T. Narasipura or T.N. Pura, is a town in Mysore district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The first name refers to the land at the conf ...
,
Mysore,
Nanjangud,
Gundlupet,
Sulthan Bathery
Sultan Bathery is a town and municipality in Wayanad district of Kerala, India, near the borders with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states. The largest town in Wayanad district, it is the headquarters of Sultan Bathery taluk.
The place came to ...
,
Kalpetta
Kalpetta is a major town and municipality in the Wayanad district, state of Kerala, India. Kalpetta is the headquarters of Wayanad district, as well as the headquarters of Vythiri taluk. It is a bustling town surrounded by dense coffee and te ...
and
Thamarassery
Thamarassery, formerly known as Thazhmalachery, it is one of the taluk in Kozhikode district and major hill town in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India, 30 km north-east of Kozhikode (Calicut) City and 29 km east of Koyilandy. It li ...
.
National Highway 966 connects Kozhikode to
Palakkad through
Malappuram,
Perinthalmanna. It covers a distance of . At Ramanattukara, a suburb of Kozhikode, it joins NH 66. It passes through major towns like
Kondotty
Kondotty is a developing town, municipality, and aerotropolis in the Malappuram district state of Kerala, India which is located near Calicut International Airport, 24 km from Malappuram. It is the headquarters of Kondotty Taluk, which was ...
,
Perinthalmanna, and
Mannarkkad
Mannarkkad, formerly known as Mannarghat, is a municipal town in Palakkad district of the Indian state of Kerala. The Silent Valley National Park and the Attappadi Reserve Forest are located in Mannarkkad Taluk. Mannarkkad is situated 36 km ...
and
Malappuram. This stretch connects the city and
Calicut International Airport.
State Highways
SH 29 passes through the city. It connects NH 212, Malabar Christian College, civil station,
Kunnamangalam, Thamarassery, Chellot, Chitragiri and Road to Gudallor from Kerala border.
State highway 38 starts from
Pavangad near passes through
Ulliyeri
Ulliyeri is a village in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. Ulliyeri is a town between Koyilandy and Balussery and also between Kuttiyadi and Kozhikode.
Geography
Ulliyeri is located at 11°26′0″N 75°47′0″E
Dem ...
,
Perambra,
Kuttiady,
Nadapuram,
Panoor &
Koothuparamba and ends at
Chovva in
Kannur. The highway is107;km long. It is one of the busiest route in the district.
SH 54 connects the city to
Kalpetta
Kalpetta is a major town and municipality in the Wayanad district, state of Kerala, India. Kalpetta is the headquarters of Wayanad district, as well as the headquarters of Vythiri taluk. It is a bustling town surrounded by dense coffee and te ...
. The highway is long. The highway passes through
Pavangad, Kozhikode
Pavangad is a suburb included in Kozhikode corporation in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India. It is located about 6.5 km north of Calicut on the Calicut-Kannur National Highway 66 (India) and is bounded by the Arabian Sea at the west, C ...
, Ulliyeri,
Perambra, Poozhithodu,
Peruvannamuzhi and Padinjarethara.
SH 68 starts from
Kappad
Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is a beach and village near Koyilandy, in the district Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
A stone monument installed by government commemorates the "landing" by Vasco da Gama with the inscription, Vasco da Gama landed he ...
and ends in Adivaram. The highway is long.
SH 34 starts from
Koyilandy and ends in
Edavanna
Edavanna (എടവണ്ണ ) is a town situated in Kerala, near Manjeri Town South India. The town is situated on Calicut–Nilambur– Gudalur state highway and near the banks of the Chaliyar River. The Koyilandy
A Survey of Kerala Histo ...
which is 44.0 km long. This highway passes through
Koyilandi,
Ulliyeri
Ulliyeri is a village in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. Ulliyeri is a town between Koyilandy and Balussery and also between Kuttiyadi and Kozhikode.
Geography
Ulliyeri is located at 11°26′0″N 75°47′0″E
Dem ...
,
Balussery
Balussery is a major developing town located about 25 km northeast of Kozhikode city and lies on the sides of State Highway 34. It is one of the largest 140 assembly constituencies in Kerala and one of the 12 block Panchayats in Kozhikode dist ...
,
Thamarassery
Thamarassery, formerly known as Thazhmalachery, it is one of the taluk in Kozhikode district and major hill town in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India, 30 km north-east of Kozhikode (Calicut) City and 29 km east of Koyilandy. It li ...
,
Omassery,
Mukkam
Mukkam is a major municipality town in Kozhikode, state of Kerala, India. Mukkam is one of the major regional suburb of the Kozhikode district. Mukkam is located about 27 km east of Calicut city on the bank of river Iruvanjippuzha, one of th ...
.
Buses
Buses, predominantly run by individual owners, ply on the routes within the city and to nearby locations. City buses are painted green.
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs regular services to many destinations in the state and to the neighboring states. The city has three bus stands. All private buses to the suburban and nearby towns ply from the Palayam Bus Stand. Private buses to adjoining districts start from the Mofussil Bus Stand on Indira Gandhi Road (Mavoor Road). Buses operated by the KSRTC drive from the KSRTC bus stand on Indira Gandhi Road. KSRTC Bus Stand Kozhikode is the largest bus stand in Kerala having a size of 36,036.47 meter square. There are also KSRTC depots in
Thamarassery
Thamarassery, formerly known as Thazhmalachery, it is one of the taluk in Kozhikode district and major hill town in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India, 30 km north-east of Kozhikode (Calicut) City and 29 km east of Koyilandy. It li ...
,
Thottilpalam,
Thiruvambady and
Vatakara
Vatakara, also spelled Vadakara (formerly Badagara), , french: Bargaret, is a Municipality in the state of Kerala, India. Vatakara is located between Kannur and Kozhikode. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by ...
.
There are three routes available to Bangalore. Kozhikode–
Sulthan Bathery
Sultan Bathery is a town and municipality in Wayanad district of Kerala, India, near the borders with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states. The largest town in Wayanad district, it is the headquarters of Sultan Bathery taluk.
The place came to ...
-
Gundlupet–
Mysore–
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
is the preferred one and is very busy. Another route, is Kozhikode-
Manathavady-
Kutta-Mysore-Bangalore. The third one, less used, is Kozhikode–Gundlupet–
Chamarajanagar–
Kollegal–Bangalore.
Private tour operators maintain regular luxury bus services to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
,
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
,
Coimbatore,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Vellore,
Ernakulam,
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...
,
Ooty,
Mysore. etc. and mainly operate from the Palayam area. These are usually night services.
Rail
The history of railways in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
dates to 1861 when the first tracks were laid between
Tirur and
Beypore
Beypore or Beypur (formerly Beypoor) is an ancient port town and a locality town in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. It is located opposite to Chaliyam, the estuary where the river Chaliyar empties into Arabian Sea. Beypore is ...
.
Air
Calicut International Airport is from the city at
Karipur
Karipur (also spelt Karippur) is a locality in the Kondotty taluk of the Malappuram district of Kerala, India, 25 km (16 mi) from the city of Malappuram. It is best known as the site of Karipur International Airport, serving travellers ...
in
Kondotty
Kondotty is a developing town, municipality, and aerotropolis in the Malappuram district state of Kerala, India which is located near Calicut International Airport, 24 km from Malappuram. It is the headquarters of Kondotty Taluk, which was ...
, which is in the
Malappuram district. It began operations in 1988. Domestic services are operated to major Indian cities. It received the status of an international airport in 2006.
Economy
Calicut is one of the biggest economic hubs in Kerala. Service sector dominates the economy followed by industries. Nedungadi Bank, the first and oldest bank in the modern state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, was established by
Appu Nedungadi at Kozhikode in the year 1899.
Cyberpark
Cyberpark Kozhikode is a Government of Kerala owned IT and technology park for the promotion and development of investment in IT and ITES industries in the Malabar region of Kerala. It was registered under the Societies Act 1860 on 28 January ...
, a Government of Kerala organisation, plans to build, operate and manage IT parks for the promotion and development of investment in IT and ITES industries in the Malabar region of Kerala. It would be the third IT hub in the state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. The two IT parks might create a total 100,000 direct job opportunities. The first project is the development of Cyberpark hub in Kozhikode with its spokes at Kannur and Kazargode IT parks.
Other planned projects include the Birla IT park (at Mavoor) and Malaysian satellite city (at Kinaloor) where KINFRA has plans to set up a industrial park. In 2012, Kozhikode was given the tag of "City of Sculptures" (Shilpa Nagaram) because of the architectural sculptures around the city. Currently there are many IT companies running in UL
Cyberpark
Cyberpark Kozhikode is a Government of Kerala owned IT and technology park for the promotion and development of investment in IT and ITES industries in the Malabar region of Kerala. It was registered under the Societies Act 1860 on 28 January ...
, Government
Cyberpark
Cyberpark Kozhikode is a Government of Kerala owned IT and technology park for the promotion and development of investment in IT and ITES industries in the Malabar region of Kerala. It was registered under the Societies Act 1860 on 28 January ...
and Hilite Business Park.
Shopping
The city has a strong mercantile aspect. The main area of business was once ''Valiyangadi'' (Big Bazaar) near the railway station. As time progressed, it shifted to other parts of the city. The commercial heart has moved to
''Mittai Theruvu'' (Sweetmeat Street or S. M. Street), a long street crammed with shops that sell everything from
saris to cosmetics. It also houses restaurants and sweetmeat shops. Today, the city has multiple shopping malls. Focus Mall (First mall of Kerala ),
HiLITE Mall, Gokulam Mall, Address Mall and RP Mall are a few among them.
LuLu Group International's Lulu Mall is under construction in the areas of Mankavu.
Music
In addition to the Malabar Mahotsavam, the annual cultural fest of Kozhikode, every year since 1981 the Tyagaraja Aradhana Trust has been conducting a five-day music festival in honour of
Tyagaraja. The festival is complete with the Uncchavritti, rendering of Divyanama kritis,
Pancharatna Kriti
The ''Pancharatna kritis'' (transliterated as ''Pañcaratna kṛti'') (Sanskrit: ''pancha'' "five" + ''ratna'' "gems") are a set of five '' kritis'' (songs) in Carnatic classical music, composed by the 18th-century Indian composer Tyagaraja. Al ...
s, concerts by professional artistes and students of music from morning to late in the evening.
Kozhikode has a tradition of
Ghazal and
Hindustani music appreciation. There are many Malayalam Ghazals. The late film director and play back singer
M. S. Baburaj, from Kozhikode was influenced by
Ghazal and Hindustani.
Media
Radio
The Kozhikode radio station of
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All ...
has two transmitters: Kozhikode AM (100 kilowatts) and Kozhikode FM
ividh Bharathi(10 kilowatts). Private FM radio stations are
Radio Mango 91.9 operated by Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd.
Radio Mirchi
Radio Mirchi (also known as 98.3 Mirchi) is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiaries of The Times Group. ''Mirchi'' is Hindi for re ...
operated by Entertainment Network India Ltd. and
Club FM 104.8 operated by Mathrubhumi group and
Red FM 93.5 of the SUN Network. AIR FM radio stations are Kozhikode – 103.6 MHz; AIR MW radio station is Kozhikode – 684 kHz.
Television
A television transmitter has been functioning in Kozhikode since 3 July 1984, relaying programmes from
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
and
Thiruvananthapuram Doordarshan. Doordarshan has its broadcasting centre in Kozhikode at Medical College. The Malayalam channels based on Kozhikode are the
Shalom Television, Darshana TV and
Media One TV. All major channels in Malayalam viz.
Manorama News,
Asianet,
Surya TV,
Kairali TV
Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment television channel owned by Kairali TV Network (Malayalam Communications Limited). It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. The channel is ...
,
Amrita TV
Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam Language general Entertainment television channel owned by Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It was launched in 2005.
Theme song
The theme song, "Lokasamastha," was composed by Rahulraj for Mata Amritanandamayi's 50t ...
,
Jeevan TV, and
Jaihind have their studios and news bureaus in the city.
Satellite television services are available through
DD Direct+
DD Free Dish (previously known as DD Direct Plus) is an Indian free-to-air satellite television provider. DD Free Dish DTH service is owned and operated by Public Service Broadcaster Prasar Bharati. It was launched in December, 2004. In March 2 ...
,
Dish TV
Dish, dishes or DISH may refer to:
Culinary
* Dish (food), something prepared to be eaten
* Dishware, plates and bowls for eating, cutting boards, silverware
Communications
* Dish antenna a type of antenna
* Dish Network, a satellite televisio ...
,
Sun Direct DTH and
Tata Sky
Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; i ...
.
Asianet Digital TV is popularly known as ACV telecasts daily city news. Spidernet is another local channel. Other local operators include KCL and Citinet.
The Calicut Press Club came into existence in 1970. It is the nerve centre of all media activities, both print and electronic. Begun with around 70 members in the roll, this Press Club, became a prestigious and alert media centre in the state with a present membership of over 280.
Education
There are 1,237 schools in Kozhikode district including 191 highschools.
Kozhikode is home to two premier educational institutions of national importance: the
Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode
Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM Kozhikode or IIMK) is an autonomous public business school located in Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala. The institute, set up in 1996 by the Government of India in collaboration with the State Governmen ...
(IIMK), and the
National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC). Other institutions include
National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH),
Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), and National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) are also based in Calicut.
The
University of Calicut
The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in n ...
is the largest university in Kerala and is located in
Thenjipalam, about south of Calicut. This university was established in 1968 and was the second university set up in Kerala. Most of the colleges offering tertiary education in the region are affiliated to this university. The
Calicut Medical College was established in 1957 as the second medical college in Kerala. Since then, the institution has grown into a premier centre of medical education in the state. Presently it is the largest medical institute in the state with a yearly intake of 250 candidates for the undergraduate programme.
The
Government Law College, Kozhikode
The Government Law College, Kozhikode or Kozhikode Law College situated on the outskirts of Kozhikode, India, is owned by the Government of Kerala and affiliated to the University of Calicut. The college caters to the needs of the north Malab ...
situated in
Vellimadukunnu on the out skirts of kozhikode town, is owned by the Government of Kerala and affiliated to the University of Calicut. The college caters to the needs of the north Malabar region of Kerala it is the third law college in kerala state founded in 1970.
Main colleges in calicut city:
Zamurians Guruvayoorappan College, Malabar Christian college, Farook College, Devagiri College, Providence college for women, Govt. Arts & science college, Meenchantha, West Hill
Government Engineering College, Kozhikode,
Kerala Government Polytechnic College, Kozhikode.
In 1876, a school for young Rajas was started in Kozhikode. This was later thrown open to all caste Hindu boys. In 1879, it was affiliated to the University of Madras as a second-grade college and with this, collegiate education in the district received a fillip. Secondary education recorded appreciable progress since 1915. The erstwhile Malabar district, of which the present Kozhikode district formed a part, holds a high rank among the districts of Madras Presidency in secondary education.
Twin/sister cities
Calicut's sister city or twin city is
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Tver, Russia
See also
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North Malabar
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South Malabar
South Malabar refers to a geographical area of the southwestern coast of India covering some parts of the present-day Kerala. South Malabar covers the regions included in present-day Kozhikode taluk of Kozhikode district, the whole area of Malap ...
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Kozhikode East
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Kozhikode North
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Kozhikode South
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List of people from Kozhikode
References
Sources
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Further reading
* (English translation of the original Arabic version written by Zainudheen Makhdoom in sixteenth century CE)
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External links
Kozhikode District official website
{{Authority control
Metropolitan cities in India
Cities and towns in Kozhikode district