Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, situated in the northwest of

Kottayam district Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the A ...

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 ...

, India. The town is also noted for its role in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

for being the venue of

Vaikom Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...

m, a civil rights movement aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Vaikom Shiva Temple.

Location

Vaikom town is situated at the northwestern end of Kottayam district, close to

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part ...

border. Vaikom is a lakeside town situated in the banks of the

Vembanad lake Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...

similar to other lakeside towns like

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

and Changanassery. Its western borders are bound by the Vembanad lake. The

Muvattupuzha river Muvattupuzha () is a town in the midlands directly to the east of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is located about from downtown Kochi, and is a growing urban centre in central Kerala. The town is also the starting poin ...

has its mouth near Vaikom where it empties into the Vembanad lake, many

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the Muvattupuzha river pass through Vaikom. It is also close to the tourism destination

Kumarakom Kumarakom is a popular tourism destination located near the city of Kottayam (), in Kerala, India, famous for its backwater tourism. It is set in the backdrop of the Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in the state of Kerala. History Kuma ...

and the city of

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. Vaikom is 32 km from Ernakulam, 32 km from

via kumarakom, 33 km from Alappuzha and about from

Kochi International Airport Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is first of its kind which is develo ...

Vaikom Temple

The Vaikom Shiva Temple, known as ''Thekkan Kashi'' (Southern Kashi), is the centre of the town, and is the site of the ''Vaikom Ashtami'' celebrations during November. It is notable as the venue of the Vaikom Agitation for achieving for the lower castes the right to walk on the roads surrounding the temple. One of the most popular temples in Kerala dedicated to

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, it was built in 1594.

Administration

Vaikom is administered by a municipality and is the seat of a munsiff's court (among the oldest to be established in the

Kingdom of Travancore The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, 100 years old). Vaikom assembly constituency is part of Kottayam parliamentary constituency.

History

Vaikom was believed to be a part of a kingdom called Venmalanadu in the past. When Venmalanadu was split into Vadakkumkoor and Thekkumkoor, it became part of Vadakkumkoor dynasty. Vadakkumkoor kingdom spread along the path of

Muvattupuzha Muvattupuzha () is a town in the midlands directly to the east of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is located about from downtown Kochi, and is a growing urban centre in central Kerala. The town is also the starting po ...

river towards the north east side from Kaduthuruthy, Vaikom,

Piravom Piravom is a municipality in Ernakulam district and a suburb of Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located with in 31 km southeast of Kochi city center, at the boundary of the Ernakulam and Kottayam districts. Piravom is famous for ...

Kothamangalam Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency. The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...

and

Thodupuzha Thodupuzha (തൊടുപുഴ) is a municipal town located in Idukki district, Kerala, India, that covers an area of . It lies on the banks of Thodupuzha river, which merges with the Kaliyar and Kothamangalam rivers at Muvattupuzha to f ...

. There was an important port at Chemmanakary, near Vaikom during the Vadakkumkoor era. Later in 1742, it became part of Travancore when the then

Maharajah of Travancore The Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, India. The Maharaja of Travancore was the topmost ruler of Travancore until 1949, when Travancore was annexed into Ind ...

Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahmany ...

, annexed Vadakkumkoor to his kingdom. Vaikom gained its fame on a national level during

Economy

The traditional economy has been based on coconut and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

crops, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

; more recently, crops like

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

, and

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

have been introduced. Tourism and software are also pursued as a means to livelihood. Hindustan Newsprint Limited is situated in

Velloor Velloor (also known as Mevelloor) is a village in the Vaikom Taluk of the Kottayam district in Kerala, India. Location Regular bus services are available to the towns Vaikom, Piravom, Ernakulam and Kottayam. Velloor - Thonnalloor Cherukara ...

near Vaikom.

Demographics

As per the 2001 census, Vaikom has a population of about 22637 (male: 10955; female: 11682). This region has a literacy rate of 92% (male: 97%; female: 90%). Population density of the region is 2496 per square km. As per the 2011 census, The Vaikom municipality has a population of 23,234 of which 11,304 are males while 11,930 are females. The population of children under age 6 is 1807, which is 7.78% of the total population of Vaikom (M). In Vaikom municipality, the female sex ratio is of 1055 against the state average of 1084. The male child sex ratio in Vaikom is around 960, compared to the Kerala state average of 964. The literacy rate of Vaikom city is 96.84%, higher than the state average of 94.00%. In Vaikom, male literacy is around 98.30% while female literacy rate is 95.47%. Hindus are the largest religious community in Vaikom, accounting for 85% of the population. Christians represent 12%, and Muslims 3%.

Notable people

* Mar Sebastian Adayantharath *

Chempil Arayan The Chempil Thailamparambil Anantha Padmanabhan Valiya Arayan Kankumaran, known as Chempil Arayan, was the Admiral of the Travancore Navy in the service of Avittam Thirunal Balarama Varma, King of Travancore. He was born at Chempu, near Va ...

- Admiral of the fleet of the Kingdom of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

* Chembil Ashokan - actorhttp://beta.mangalam.com/women/personality/287480 *Justice

K. G. Balakrishnan Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (born 12 May 1945) is an Indian judge who has been the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He is a former Chief Justice of India. He was the first judge from Kerala to become the C ...

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...

* P. K. Biju * Cherian K. Cherian * V. N. Janaki * Janardhanan - actor * A. J. John *

Monce Joseph Mons Joseph (born 30 May 1964) is an Indian politician and lawyer. He belongs to Kerala Congress led by P. J. Joseph. He had been the Minister for Public Works from 18 October 2007 till his resignation for his party chairman P. J. Joseph to ...

* M. K. Kamalam * Abraham Kattumana *

Kalaikkal Kumaran Kalaikkal Kumaran (1919 - 8 August 1998) was a noted Malayalam film and very popular drama actor. He was well known for his comedy roles in dramas by Kalidasa Kalakendram. He acted in 65 films and more than 150 dramas. He appeared more than 15000 ...

- actor * Mammootty - actor * Mathew Ulakamthara, Indian Malayalam language poet and literary critic. * N. Mohanan * Vaikom Chandrasekharan Nair * N. N. Pillai * P. Krishna Pillai- leader of the first communist movement in

* Vaikom Padmanabha Pillai- Military officer of the Kingdom of

* Vaikom Ramachandran - poet *

Thomas Unniyadan Thomas Unniyadan is a politician, former MLA and former Government Chief Whip of the Govt. of Kerala. He is at present the Deputy Chairman of Kerala Congress. He was a member of Kerala legislative assembly from Irinjalakuda from 2001 to 2016 ...

Vaikom Vijayalakshmi Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (born 7 October 1981) is an Indian playback singer from Kerala, India. She is an expert in a rare musical instrument called Gayatriveena. She won special jury mention for her much appreciated work in the 2013 film '' Cellul ...

* Vaikom Viswan * S. Ramesan, Malayalam language poet and orator Vaikom Beach Panorama

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kottayam district Kingdom of Travancore