South Kanara- A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response (1799-1860)

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Dr. N. Shyam Bhat, born in 1957, he hails from the Peradala village of Kasaragoda Talk, Kerala State, He took his BA Degree from the University of Mysore (1979) and MA in History from Mangalore University in 1983, where he secured First Class, First Rank and won the late Dr. P. Gunaja Bhatt Memorial cash prize. Later in 1988 he took his Ph.D. Degree from Mangalore University.

Dr. Bhat has taught both undergraduate and post-graduate students. After serving as Lecturer in Mangalore University for about two years, he joined the Department of History, Goa University, where he is working since November 1988. At present he is a Reader there.

Dr. Bhat has attended several regional and national seminar and has published more than half a dozen research papers. He has completed a research project on Judiciary and Police in Early Colonial South Kanara 1799-1862 funded by the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi. He visited Lisbon from May to August 1996 on a Research Fellowship sanctioned by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. At present he is working on a Research Project on History of Trade and Commerce in Goa 1840-1875 funded by Goa University.

It is gratifying to note that Indian scholars are now turning their attention from macro studies to micro studies, from political aspects to socio-economic aspects, and from the administrative structure of the Centre to the provincial, regional and local structures. This study is a good example of the new trend. It is again a happy feature that our historiography is being decolonised, and that much of the subjective approach deliberately injected by: our colonial historians is being rectified by a penetrating study of original sources to present our past in an objective manner. Here we run the risk of the pendulum swinging to the other extreme. Fortunately, that is not the case in respect of this study, which has retained a balance. Thirdly, our young scholars are now being exposed to the latest techniques of putting into Clio the quantifications In terms of acceleration or retardation of the progress made in each sector of man's life, so as to give precision to historical events. The emphasis is now more on causes, conditions and processes than merely on a narrative catalogue of events and personalities. From this stand point well this study deserves very favourable notice. This study focusses our attention on a precious region of our land which is at present a picture of Mona Lisa on national canvas in terms of education and learning, Initiative and enterprise, Industry and integrity, and culture and commitment to good life. Although its past is not glorious, its potential had attracted the attention of many political overlords, the last of them being the British colonials. The theme of the study is their role for over half a century (1799-1860), when they sucked blood white of the people. Neither during the long rule of Vijayanagar Rayas, nor of Ikkeri Nayaks, nor of Mysore Nawabs, did the people of South Kanara rise in revolt so many times as they did under the British rule. While people's revolt was almost unheard of prior to the advent of the colonials, it become a common feature with their supremacy the very grit to industrial revolution in England was fed by resources from India. It yet remains to put on records the exact level of economic prosperity of the coastal region which was so rich in spices and commercial crops, in arts and crafts, in business and commerce, and in unexcelled mental and physical labour. With these inputs the productivity of the region prior to colonials must have been very high indeed. A deliberate policy of exploitation sucked all resources to serve colonial interests, which suppressed all local talents and reduced them to utter misery. All accounts agree that the British found fabulous wealth in India when they established their power, but by the time they left the country, the masses had touched the nadir of poverty.

The contents of this work, substantially based on my doctoral research seek to understand certain aspects of the history of South Kanara under the colonial dispensation. The region, during the period under study, included the Southern Division of the Province of Kanara and Soonda of the Madras Presidency, the Kasaragod Taluk, which is at present a part of the Kerala State, and also the Southern group of the Amindivi Islands. This study deals with the early colonial administration, particularly the revenue aspect of it and the regional response. It is mostly based on the original source materials like the Proceedings of the Board of Revenue, Proceedings of the Revenue Department, Proceedings of the Judicial Department, letters of the Collectors and other administrative documents of the British Government in Madras Presidency. Though the theme of the study is regional it lays bare many nuances of colonial policies and dynamics.

This work would not have taken this shape without the active support of many individuals and institutions. First and foremost, I express my deep sense of gratitude to Professor B. Sheik Ali, an eminent historian, founder and former Vice-Chancellor of Mangalore and Goa Universities for his kind words in the form of a foreword. I am indebted to Professor B. Surendra Rao, Department of History, Mangalore University, with whose supervision I was privileged to submit this work for my Doctoral Degree. I am also grateful to Professor H. V. Sreenivasamurthy, former Professor of History, Mangalore University, and Dr. Kesavan Veluthat of the same University and Professor K. M. Mathew, Department of History, Goa University, for their valuable suggestions and encouragement.

**Contents and Sample Pages**