Kozhikode

District Profiles

District Name	Kozhikode (Calicut)
State	KERALA
Country	INDIA
Area	2344 sq km
Population	4,20,600 (Approx)
Rain Fall	254 cm (annual)
Temperature	Max 35 °C Min 22 °C
Geographical location
	North latitudes 11⁰08’ and 11⁰50’
	East longitudes 75⁰30’ and 76⁰08’.
Tourist Seasons	September to May
STD Code	0495

The lush green district teems with serene beaches, verdant hills, wildlife sanctuaries and historic sites. It occupies an important position in Indian history, as Vasco Da Gama landed at Kappad (16 km north of Kozhikode) in 1498, and discovered the sea route to India. This marked the advent of European powers in India.

Kozhikode is an industrially developed district. It is well known for the timber industry. The traditional industries the district include handloom, coir, cashew, bricks, tiles and handicrafts. The tiles from Kozhikode district are famous all over the country and are also exported. Agriculture is the mainstay of districts economy. The main crops grown are coffee, tea, rubber, pepper, coconut, arecanut, tapioca, sugar cane etc. An agricultural research station at Koothali and the coconut nursery at Thikkodi are the important institutions of their kind.

Boundaries

The district is bounded on the north by Kannur district, on the east by Wayanad district, on the south by Malappuram district and on the west by the Arabian Sea.

Name

The word Calicut is a corruption (the total inability of non-Malayali to pronounce the sound "zha" as in mazha for rain or pazham for banana, the ability to pronounce the sound is acquired by native speakers and children and it allows Keralites to recognize native speakers from others). Tipu Sultan also tried to change the name of city to Ferzobad during the conquest of Malabar but didn't succeded.

The term Calico is derived from the name of the city of Calicut. It is a type of cotton that is used a lot in soft furnishing. It was one of the first export commodities to Europe. Calico was made by the traditional weavers of Calicut called chaliyans.

History

Malabar Coast have participated in the Indian Ocean trade in spices, silk, and other goods for over two millennia. There are documented visits in as early as the 14th century, by Chinese travellers such as Zheng He. Kozhikode had emerged as the centre of an independent kingdom by the 14th century, whose ruler was known as the Samoothirippadu (often anglicised as Zamorin). Thus Calicut came to be called the City of Zamorins.

In the year 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed at 'Kappad', about 25 km from Calicut city.

During the 16th century, the Portuguese set up trading posts to the north in Kannur and to the south in Kochi, but the Zamorin resisted the establishment of a permanent Portuguese presence in the city. In 1509 though, the kingdom was forced to accept a Portuguese trading post in Chaliyar. The Samoothirippadu later allied with Portuguese's rivals, the Dutch, and by the mid-17th century the Dutch had captured the Malabar Coast spice trade from the Portuguese. In 1766 Hyder Ali of Mysore captured Kozhikode and much of the northern Malabar coast and came into conflict with the British based in Madras, which resulted in four Anglo-Mysore wars. Kozhikode and the surrounding districts were among the territories ceded to the British by Tipu Sultan of Mysore at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Mysore war in 1792. The newly acquired possessions on the Malabar Coast were organized into the Malabar District of Madras Presidency, and Calicut became the district capital.

After Indian Independence in 1947, Madras Presidency became the Madras state. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines. Malabar District was combined with the state of Travancore-Cochin to form the new state of Kerala on November 1, 1956. Malabar District was split into the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad on January 1, 1957.

Climate

The district has a humid climate with a very hot season extending from March to May. The most important rainy season is during the South – West Monsoon which sets in the first week of June and extends up to September. The North-East Monsoon extends from the second half of October through November. The average annual rainfall is 3266 mm.

During December to March, practically no rain is received and from October onwards, the temperature gradually increase to reach the maximum in May, which is the hottest month of the year. The maximum temperature in the month of May comes to 36 °C. The highest maximum temperature recorded at Kozhikode was 39.4 °C during the month of March 1975 and the lowest temperature was 14 °C recorded on 26th December 1975. Humidity is very high in the coastal region.

Administration

The Kozhikode district came into existence on 1st January 1957. The Kozhikode district now consists of one revenue division, three taluks, 12 blocks, 77 Panchayats and 117 villages.

How to Reach

Air : The Kozhikode airport is at Karipur, 23 km from the city.
Road : The district has extensive network of roads.
Rail : Kozhikode city is well connected by rail.