History OF CHERAI,CHERAI BEACH KERAlA, INDIA

Histiory of Cherai

Formation of land:-
In 1341, Due to the unpredicted flood in Periyar river caused the formation of the Vypin Island. Cherai is situated in the Pallippuram Panchayath, which is the north end of Vypin Island. The Island is 25 Kilometer long and has an average width of 3 kilometers. Cherai and Munambam are the two parts of Pallipuram Village.Kuzhupilly is the south end of Pallipuram panchayath.

Colonial time:-
Ancient port Musseries and Palliport was brought up by the Portuguese as twin cities. The hexagonal fort built by the Portuguese in 1503 &Church built by Dutch are still stands as one of the oldest European Monuments in India. A little South of this fort, by the lakeside, the Portuguese had built a theological school called “Vypikotta Seminary”. The printing press built at this School in 1577 is claimed to be the first printing press in Kerala by some historians. In 1661 the Dutch defeated Portuguese and took possession of this place, as a result of which the Seminary, which was under Jesuit priests, was transferred along with the press to Chendamangalam. The Dutch converted the Seminary to a Leprosy centre in 1728; the seminary was changed to leprosy asylum. In 1789 the Dutch sold this place to Thiruvathamkoor Maharaja. In 1728, the Dutch sold Pallipuram to the King of Travancore. However, the Leprosy Centre and some adjoining buildings were excluded from this sale and continued to be with the Dutch.These properties came under British authority, eventually, when the British defeated the Dutch in 1795. Till recently, this area was known as “British”. As per the agreement between the Dutch and British, the Leprosy Centre continued to be run till 1921. Afterwards, they were handed over to missionaries to establish a Nunnery and School, which are still functioning . In 1795 this place came under the possession of the British East India Company. Till the independence it was under the British rule.

After the independence:-
After India’s Independence and formation of the Kerala State by merger of the three princely states Travancore, Cochin and Malabar, Pallipuram Panchayat was formed. Originally, it was a Group Panchayat consisting of Kuzhupilly and Pallipuram (consisting of Cherai area). Munambam was part of Vadakkekkara Panchayat. On 19 December 1963, Pallipuram Panchayat was reconstituted by separating Kuzhupilly into an independent Panchayat and merging Munambam.

Eminent Personalities:-
Sahodaran Ayyappan --- was a Social reformer, thinker, journalist, and Politician of Kerala, India.
K C Abraham Master --- Politician, Former Governor in Andra Pardeesh
Dr. K.A Sreedharan----- Famouse Homeopathic Doctor, who won Dr. Hahnemann award
Mathai Manjooran------ Was an Indian independence activist ,Politician,
P.K. Balakrishnan------- Malayalam Author, Literary Critic, Journalist, Historian

Cherai has played an important role in the history of modern Kerala by becoming the birth place of two prominent political personsages of modern Kerala - Mathai Manjooran and Sahodaran Ayyappan.

Renaissance movement under Sahodaran Ayyappan
A significant change in the social system of Kerala happened in the late 19th century. Messages of Sree Narayana Guru, whose emergence as one of the greatest ideological leaders of Kerala reached Cherai too and were propagated further by the philanthropist Sahodaran Ayyappan, a native of Cherai. Majority of Cherai natives were from the lower castes and Ayyappan, coming from Ezhava community, a lower caste, helped create a mass movement. On 29 May 1917, Sahodaran Ayyappan organised "Misrabhojanam", an event in which people from all castes of Hindu community sat together and participated in a feast. This event caught the attention of Kerala and was staged at many other places as a renaissance movement.

Sahodaran Ayyappan could proudly be presented as the greatest gem donated by Cherai to Kerala's political and social revolution. He founded the "Sahodara Sangham", which helped spread the message of Sree Narayana Guru and SNDP all over Kerala. Along with this organisation, a ladies' wing called "Sthree Samajam" also used to function, at a time when Keralites had not even thought about an organisation for women!

In 1926, much before the Trade Union Act came into force, Sahodaran Ayyappan organised a union called "Aadi Vypin Thozhilaali Sangham" (Vypin Workers' Primary Union), which is one of the first trade unions in Kerala. A paper called "Velakkaran" (Worker) was also published thrice a week by this Union. During the annual meetings, national leaders like E.V.Ramaswami Naykar (Periyor), founder of Dravida Munnetta Kazhakam had attended.No doubt, people from Cherai proudly identify themselves anywhere in the world as coming from the birthplace of Sahodaran Ayyappan!( Read More /know more )

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