THE HISTORY OF GUJARATHI'S SETTLEMENT IN KERALA
The migration of the Gujaratis to the three port cities
of Kerala occurred at different stages of time. The fact
that it was a Gujarati who showed the Portuguese the way
to Calicut is sufficient proof to say that they had earlier
contacts with Calicut than the European Traders. When Muhammed
Ghazni attacked Gujarat the merchants fled to different
parts of the country and some of them reached Kerala. But
due to the climatic conditions prevailing in Kerala none
of them wanted to settle down there. They stayed there only
during the business seasons. However, none of the present
Gujarati settlements in Kerala traced their origin beyond
1800 A.D.
According to the existing tradition the Gujaratis have
a long-standing relationship with the coastal areas of Kerala.
When Muhammed Gazani attacked Gujarat some groups of Vanias
were compelled to leave their homelands. The terror of Muhammed
Gaazni was so dreadful in their minds that they wanted to
settle down in a place where the arms of the Muslim invaders
could not reach them. They considered the land Cochin as
their choicest abode as it provided both peaceful atmosphere
and plenty of opportunity for trade. In the year 1295 A.
D. they started the migration and traveling southward they
came to the territory of his Highness the Raja of Cochin.
They obtained grants of land from his Highness and along
with it all the security was assured to them for whatever
trade they conducted there. They settled themselves in Cochin
as a community keeping in tact all their religions and social
customs and traditions.
Calicut was a free port and hence Gujarati traders used
to visit it even before Gazni's conquest. Apart from the
attraction of trade there was another factor, which paved
the way for their early contacts. Between 6th and 8th century
B. C. Kerala was a center of Jainism. The present Jain temple
found in Calicut is 2500 years olds. Jain monks from western
India used to visit this temple. The deity of the temple
was Kalicund Paraswnath. When due to the reformist activities
of Shri Sankarachariya of Kalady, Jainism was thrown out
completely and the temple was occupied by the Hindus. When
the Jain merchants from Gujarat reached Calicut they wanted
to recover the temple from the Hindus. They represented
the matter to the Zamorin stating that the ancient Jain
temple should be given back to them. The Zamorin who had
high opinion about the sincerity and devotion of the Jain
merchants and the prosperity, which they could bring to
his Kingdom, handed over the temple to them. Thus the Gujarati
Jains once again became the masters of the temple. The court
of Zamorin included more than 1500 foreigners and among
them there were some Gujarati businessmen.
There were relationships between the rulers of Gujarat
and Kerala. "Gujarati Manga" was a favourite word
among the royal princes. When a Gujarati princess was married
and brought to Travancore kingdom she was accompanied by
a number of "Dasies". The Dasies who had to remain
along with the princess. In due course, got married to local
Nairs employed in the palace. The offsprings of this union
gave berth to a community known as "Saurastras".
There were a few Saurastra families around the Sri Padmanabha
Swami Temple. In appearance and life style they cannot be
called Gujaraties since they got freely mixed up with the
local population and never cared to preserve the Gujarati
culture. But during the Navaratri Celebration the women
of this community performed "Garbha" dance which
is a mixture of "Thiruvatirakali" of Kerala and
Garbha of Gujarat. None of the members of the Saurasatra
family could claim their descent to Gujarat and they appeared
to be less bothered about it. They could not speak Gujarati
even though they remember their grandfathers having spoken
the language.
Gujarati migration in large scale and in a systematic way
started only during the beginning of the 19th century. By
the time waves of Gujarati migrants arrived, the early settlers
formed a resources group on which they could draw for support
especially to tide over the initial difficulties. They conducted
their trade with the Malabar coast in the beginning depending
upon the movements of the ships. The movement of the ships
was entirely dependent upon the monsoon. The monsoons thus
produced a movement of ships between Cochin and Calicut
port and Surat and Bombay. The dependence on seasonal monsoon
compelled them to stay there for a pretty long time. More
than that they had to keep their goods safely. The only
solution was creating some arrangements for settlement.
Though begun with the intention of temporary settlement,
their interests in Kerala were becoming more and more permanent
by nature.
The early connections of the Gujarati merchants with the
coastal towns of kerala give an entirely different picture.
The boats from Gujarat used to come to Malabar Coast sometime
in July or August depending on the weather conditions. They
returned in December and January. Though they had to be
away from home for many days they did not have the idea
of settling themselves there. We cannot find a single instance
of Gujarati merchant entering into material union with a
local woman. This trait is in Gujaratis alone among the
early merchants who came into contact with Kerala. There
were many instances in which the Arabs, the Portuguese,
the French and the British having entered into matrimonial
alliances with the local women at least on a temporary basis.
The birth of Mappilas of Malabar and Anglo-Indian community
gives amply evidence of this aspect. The Gujaratis confined
themselves to their business activities through out the
days of their early settlements in Kerala. They stayed in
the warehouses where their goods were stored. This isolated
life continued till they began to bring their families and
settle down when they were convinced that the conditions
were favourable for it. When Raja Kesavadas requested a
Gujarati to conduct his trade in Alleppey the latter demanded
an exclusive place of live in where he could carry on his
religious duties without any hindrance from the local people.
Very soon the Gujarathi merchants needed more warehouses
for their goods. They had to depend upon the ware housing
facilities provided by the authorities for a long time.
In the early stages they were satisfied with these facilities,
but as the quantum of their trade increased they needed
more accommodation. Safety and privacy were two basic requirements,
which they needed for the progress of their trade. They
had their own ways of keeping their goods, which they could
not do, in the presence or under the supervision of non-Gujarati
people. They wanted to have their own warehoused unhindered
by the interference of the local authorities. The Raja of
Cochin in 1841 granted them a piece of land in Mattancherry
for this purpose.
In Calicut they were given permission to construct a number
of warehouses. The area now known, as "Bench Road"
in Calicut was later developed into a Gujarati colony. In
Alleppey due to the encouragement of Raja Kesavadas the
Gujarati merchants were given all the facilities to store
their goods. They were given an acre of land for a nominal
price for the construction of warehouses.
The merchants who arrived left the scene immediately after
conducting their deals. Their agents and employees were
asked to remain to collect and store the goods from different
centers. This was possible when the business was at low
ebb. But by 1850's with the expansion of British trade throughout
the world the export of Indian goods was a decisive factor.
Since the Gujarati traders were the Chief exporting agents
their quantum of trade had to be increased beyond all their
expectations. Cochin became the center of activities where
adequate facilities were available for the storage of goods
and their exportation. The number of Gujarati merchants
who came to the Malabar Coast increased due to the new opportunities.
Their business reached such a phase, that it become more
and more difficult to manage as a temporary phenomenon,
and it needed the constant and direct attention of the traders.
The agents and other employees appointed by them could not
look after the vast areas of business activities. These
circumstances compelled them to establish permanent settlements
there. As a logical sequence the first signs of Gujarati
settlements were to be seen in places, which were used,
as enter ports of trade.
The earliest official records available which give evidence
towards their attempts to form a permanent settlement is
a deed executed at the instance of Raja Kesavadas, the Diwan
to Travancore granting an area in Alleppey for their exclusive
use. They obtained a place in Alleppey where the merchants
could construct their houses to live with their families
and also negotiated a special arrangement with regards to
the custom duties and port duties. They were permitted to
retain jurisdiction over their own nationals as well as
the local labourers they employed. Gradually they could
modify the terms of the convention to suit their needs.
Though the Gujarati connections with the coastal areas
of Kerala during the Sangam period also cannot be ruled
out, no sources speak about their settlements in Cochin
before the 19th century. A copper plate issued by the Raja
of Cochin Veera Kerala Varma in the year 1929 speaks about
the special favours granted to them. The "Thittooram"
enumerates certain rights and privileges granted to them
as a special favour. The Gujaratis found in Cochin were
mostely found in three categories. First there were few
firms who were exporters and importers. Secondly, there
were firms who dealt primarly on the speculative markets
for gold and silver. Finally there were the moneylenders
and Hundi merchants. The Gujarati settlements in Cochin
started in isolation even though their general nature was
to live in groups. Groups of families began to arrive when
Acharya Samrakashana Company was formed by Devji Bhimji
to solve their accommodation problem. In the year 1887 there
was a flow of Gujarati families to Cochin. 72 families reached
Cochin during the year. They were provided with necessary
facilities for settlement and they could live in exclusive
area where they could preserve all their traditions and
practices without any local interference.