The geographical location and ecological factors
play a significant role in shaping the
society as a whole. This had a great
influence on women’s education in
Tirunelveli district. Tirunelveli district was one of the twenty one
districts of the Madras Presidency in the early 19th century, where
education was most advanced.
TIRUNEVELI –
MEANING
Tiuneveli is the Southernmost District in
the Madras Presidency. It is properly
named as “Tirunelveli” purporting to mean the land surrounded by beautiful
paddy fields. The Tirunelveli Sthalapurana prescribes a
tradition for the origin of the Tirunelveli. One Vedasarma, a staunch devotee of Lord Siva, on his pilgrimage from the North
to the South. Lord was invited by the Siva, in his dream, to His abode on the
banks of the sacred river
Tamiraparani.
In deference, the delighted devotee came to the place, bathed at
‘Sindupoondhurai’ and worshipped the Lord. He stayed there with his family and
did his daily prayer by offering the rice cooked out of the freshly harvested
paddy; once, there was famine which forced the devotee to collect paddy by way
of begging and carried on his routine prayer.
One day he spread out the paddy to dry under the Sun before the Lord,
and went for his ablutions in Tamiraparani.
He prayed to the Lord for rain which he thought could be a remedy for
the famine. His prayer was answered and
when he was bathing, a thunder storm broke-out and it rained heavily. Vedasarma
rushed to the place where he had spread the paddy. He witnessed a wonderous miracle. Despite rain around the area, the paddy that
he spread did not get even a single drop of rain and the paddy did not get
soaked. The area spreading the paddy was
well under the bright sunlight. Since
that day, according to the Purana, the town was called Tirunelveli (Thiru +
Nel+ Velli) as the Lord of the town hedged by the paddy for Tirunelveli means “Sacred hedged paddy’. Though, as said in the Purana, the paddy was
hedged by rain, in course of time, it was called as ‘Sacred Paddy Hedge’. Venuvanam was the earlier name of
Tirunelveli. Other names of Tirunelveli, according to the Sthalapurana are Thirumoorthipuram,
Ibapuri, Tharanisaram and Sakalasithi. Other shortened names to refer
Tirunelveli are Nellai,
Nellaiyampathy and Nellaiyambalam.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
Tirunelveli district occupies the extreme
southern and eastern part of the Indian peninsula. It lies between 8½ 9’ and 9 ½
56’ north latitude (122miles)and between 77 ½ 16’ and 78 ½
27’ east longitude (74 miles). Tirunelveli district is a large plain which
covers 5,381 square miles. The greater portion of Tirunelveli district
bounds it on the north and north-east;
on the south-east and south the Gulf of
Manaar; and on the west the Southern Ghats form natural boundaries. The Ghats divided it from the native state
of Travancore.
The coast-line extends from Vembaur to
almost Kanyakumari (the most southern point of India) 95 miles. The coast has always been open to
the extensive trade across the Indian ocean and most importantly with the
nearby island of Sri Lanka
BOUNDARIES
North by Ramnad district; South and East
by Gulf of Mannar; West by Western Ghats and Travancore territory, which include
the cities of Srivilliputur, Virudhunagar, Sattur and
Sivakasi
(till the formation of separation of
Ramnad district from Tirunelveli district in1910). The Western Ghats lies between Travancore and
Tiruneveli.
POPULATION
According to the census in 1921, the whole population of the
district was 19,07,314. As per the census of 1931 the total population of this district was 20,46,204.
The number of female was 10,58,592, whereas the number of males was 9,87,612. Since this study refers women’s education of
Tiruneveli district, it is essential to refer about its population ratio on the basis of sex. It
is clear that the females number exceed the number of males in these areas must
be one of the reason for the establishment of formal schools for women it is
this reason which is responsible for the mission activities in this district by the Christian missionaries.
OCCUPATION
Agriculture, is
the main industry of the district. It
forms almost the sole occupation of the masses and is a source of food supply. On the South-East coast between the Tiruchendur
taluks and Nanguneri area covered with
Teris, which is suitable to the growth
of
palmyrahs . Many people depended only
upon the palmyrah trees for their livelihood.
The
total number of palmyrahs in the district is about 881/2 lakhs. Palmyra is a notable factor in the economic condition
of Tiruneveli district. Every part of
the tree is turned to account in some way or the other. This trees, coupled
with the protection for sugar industry granted by the Government is sure to
afford great scope for the development of sugar industry. The black soil of the
district which is best suited for the growth of the cotton plant also plays an
important role in growing cotton. The Tiruneveli cotton goes by the name of
“Tinnies” in the commercial market.
Tinnies in the Liverpool market is
usually valued second or sometimes highest of the Indian cotton. The chief
commercial centre which exports cotton to foreign countries is Tuticorin, which
is known as the principal Emporium of
South India. However, Agriculturists are suffering enormously by the fall in the prices of
agricultural produce. The return which
the ryots get for their produce is becoming smaller and smaller. The natural calamities also economically hit
bad; and this gave the missionaries an opportunity to proselytize the natives
and supporting them economically. It
also led to imparting of education by establishing formal girls schools in this district.
CLIMATE
AND RAINFALL
The principal characteristics of the climate
of Tirunelveli are light rainfall and an equable temperature. In the hot months, from March to June,
mercury rarely rises above 95 ½ F in the shade; in the coolest months of December
and January, it seldom falls below771/2
The mean temperature of Tirunelveli town is 85
½ F , which, incidentally, is the highest in the presidency. From June onwards, with the onset of the
south-west monsoon the heat in the tract lying at the foot of the Ghats is sensibly diminished by the cool winds and slight
moderate showers which find their way through the various gaps and passes in
that range, and the same condition prevails until the end of the monsoon. The district also receives considerable rainfall
in the north-west monsoon between November and early January.
The rainfall is the greatest near the hills and the lowest on
the eastern side of the district. In
Tenkasi and Ambasamudrum Taluks the maximum rainfall is nearly 60 inches, while
the minimum is about 20 inches. In other
parts of the district the fall varies from between 40 and 50 inches as a
maximum to between 10 and 15 inches as a minimum. The average annual amount received in the
district as a whole is about 25 inches,
which is one of the lowest figures in the Madras Presidency. But though its rainfall is scanty,
Tirunelveli gets the benefit of the two monsoons, in as much as both cause
freshes in the Tambraparni, which passes through the district. These indeed, occasionally rise very high and
do considerable damage.
RIVERS AND STREAMS
The rivers of the Tirunelveli district, have their sources in the Ghats and
run eastwards to the sea. The
Tambraparni, the most important of them, rises on the southern slope of the
Agastyamalai peak and after a south easterly course of 70 miles, empties itself
into the Gulf of Manaar
AGRICULTURE
The district contains two types of soils i.e. red sandy soil
in the southern part and the black cotton soil in the northern part. The paddy in the wet Taluks, cumboo or
spiked millet, cotton, tobacco, gingelly and other oil seeds, chillies in the
dry Taluks are cultivated. The cultivation
of palmyra palm, gathering and processing of its products, especially toddy,
form one of the most important economic activities in the district, thousands of the people are entirely
dependent on these trees for their livelihood. Tirunelveli
district is divided into nine Taluks for administrative and revenue collection
convenience. Here, it is important to know about the land revenue systems
followed in this district to understand the economic reason influence the
growth of women’s education.
During pre –British period the Nayak
Rajahs had levied one-sixth of the gross produce as Land Revenue. Assesssments were lighter with those of
Mussalmans. The Hindu Government was
subverted by the Mussalmans between 1736 and 1739. From 1739 to 1801, when the East India Company
finally assumed control over the country including Tiruneveli, a succession of
managers were deputed to administer the Revenue of Tiruneveli. Of these 15 were Mussalmans, 9 were Hindus, 2
were officers of the Company. From 1739
to 1770, assessments were paid in kind. There were also additional cesses
collected in money. In 1770, division of
crops between the cultivator and the Government was introduced. The Government took 60 per cent after first
deducting some cultivation expenses of the gross outturn. This share was reduced to 50 per cent in 1780
and continued at that rate till 1800.
LAND
REVENUE OF WET LAND
From
1800 to 1822, different systems were in force in the wet villages viz. division
of crops, three years village lease system,
and Decennial lease system. Between 1822-1859, the Olungu system was in force in respect of wet villages. The Olungu
system consisted in the payment to Government of an estimated share of the
produce, the value of which was commuted at a standard price modified by the
current prices of the day. The Mothafysal system was adopted between
1859 and 1867. The Mothafysal system was
modification of the Olungu method, the variation in the conversion rate
according to current prices being abandoned and a standard price adopted once
for all, as a permanent conversion rate.
LAND
REVENUE ON DRY LAND
The
Land Revenue history of dry villages was different. In 1802, Mr. Lushington fixed the rates on
the dry on punja land on an average collection of former years as his
standard. For some years the assessment
underwent alteration, reduction and enhancement. In 1808, they were permanently reduced to
rates which varied according to the soil from Rs. 2-5-0 to 10 annas per acre
and they remained the same with a few unimportant alterations till 1865.
RYOTWARI
RE-SETTLEMENT AND CURRENCY OF SETTLEMENT
After 1865, the Government had
decided to resettle the land revenue on the ryotwari principle. By the ryotwari system each cultivator holds
a patta and directly pays the revenue to Government. This Ryotwari re-settlement was begun in
1865 and completed in 1878 and was ordered to continue for 30 years. The re-settlement was preceded by a complete
survey of all the lands in the district which lasted up to 1872.
Second Resettlement and Re-survey
Before the second re-settlement
operations had begun, there was a complete resurvey of the fields in the year
1908 and 1909. The triangulation and
offset system of survey was adopted during this re-survey. The maintenance work is in charge of a survey-trained Inspecting Tahsildar for
the district.The last Re-settlement introduction reports for the district were
made as under:
1910
–Tirunevelly Taluq, Tenkasi Taluq, Ambasamudram Taluq and Srivaikuntam
Taluq[including Tiruchendur]
1911-
Nanguneri Taluq
1912– Koilpati and Sankaranainarkoil
Taluqs.
ABOLITION
OF DOUBLE PATTA SYSTEM
A
noteworthy feature of this re-settlement was that the existence of the double
patta system for land and palmyrah trees to different individuals in the same
plot of land was done away with by arranging an informal negotiation and
settlement between the land and tree pattadars concerned. By this arrangement either the land owner
purchased the trees on the land from the owner of the trees thereon or the tree
owner purchased the land from its owner.
At the time of the settlement of 1877, palmyrahs were classed as under.
.
a.
Paruvam charged at one anna each.
b. Kattu
and
c. Kai
at six pies each and
d. Olaivettu
charged at three pies each
While during the Resettlement of 1912, there were only two
classifications of palmyrahs viz. Rough and Smooth which have been assessed at
rates at two pies and four pies a tree respectively. The permanent tree assessment was merged with
land revenue under the principle of composition of tree tax with land
assessment. There are still some cases
of ‘Other item pattahs’ for palmyrahs on the lands acquired for public purposes
by the Government or on behalf of the Local Bodies.
SWAMI
BHOGAM LANDS
In certain villages of the district, there is a peculiar class
of lands known as Company Pannai Swami Bhogam lands. They are popularly known in Tamil as ‘
Kumbini Pannai Nilam’. These are
apparently the Home Farm Lands of the Panchalankurichi etc. Polygars seized by the East India Company
afterwards. His Majesty’s Government
were the pattadars of these lands during the old settlement. Subsequently they were made over to the
respective cultivators who were, in addition to the land revenue, asked to pay
one anna and four and a half pies swami bhogam on an acre subject also to
cesses. These lands still exist in the
taluqs of Koilpatti, Srivaikuntam and some other taluqs. These special assessments were directly
brought to village account No. 7 and then to village account No.9.
POROMBOKE
Poramboke lands are those reserved for State or communal
purposes. Irrespective of the class to
which they are registered in the village accounts, porombokes of all
description are at the disposal of Government.
The only difference in respect of Temple Porambokes Temple porombokes
NATHAM
POROMBOKE
Natham has two main cases namely Private attached and detached
natham and Grama natham [Village natham].
Private nathams are divided into Natham backyards within privilege
limits and Natham backyards outside privilege limits. About 1892-93, a natham register showing
private nathams was prepared and kept up in the Taluq offices. This was only used for reference in settling
disputes. As natham register is
unauthorized, it has since been destroyed.
INAMS
Inams are entirely or
partially tax free lands. Most of the Inams
had their origin prior to the 17th century, and some during the 17th
century of the Muhammadan supremacy over India India
Yeomiahs, though treated as pensions, are in fact imams
granted by former governments. They are
of two kinds viz. those granted for service and those for subsistence. The former have been granted for services
such as performing worship in a mosque, lighting tombs, imparting instructions
in the Koran or the Persian language etc and the latter for the maintenance of
the grantees and their families either as an act of charity or on account of
faithful services rendered by them to the Government.
ZAMINDARIS
Zamindary or Permanently Settled
Estates:- By Zamindary system large
tracts of lands are entrusted to Zamindars or proprietors of the soil who were
made directly responsible for a fixed permanent revenue to Government known as Paishkish. Of the whole district,
one-third is Zamindary and mitta tract.
The remaining two-thirds are of ryotwari tenure. The zamindars
hold their zamins under a Sanad known as the Istimirar Sanad (Sanad mikliut Istimirar) issued at the
time of the Governor- General, Lord Cornwallis, in 1803. Mittahs are
dismembered portions of ancient zamindaris sold for debts and purchased by some
rich Vellalahs and others. To give one
instance, the ancient zamindary of Chockempatti with a Paishkish of Rs. 25,550
fell in 18 lots to various persons who are now known as Mittadars.
The ancient zamindaris in the district who
had Impartible Estates in Tirunelveli district as follows:
1. Ambasamudram
Taluqs - Singampatti and Urkad Zamin.
2. Koilpatti Taluqs _
Ettayapuram, Attankarai, Maniyachi, and Kadambur Zamin.
3. Sankaranayanarkoil
Taluqs - Sivagiri, Thalavankottai and
Alagapuri Zamin.
4. Tenkasi
Taluq -
Uthumalai Zamin
The
first collector of Tiruneveli Mr. Lushington calls Tiruneveli as the
fairest province of the Carnatic. He
commenced operations of measurements of all lands both wet and dry. The Southern Taluqs of Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Nangunery, Ambasamudram,
Ottapidaram, Srivaikuntam are the wet Taluqs
whereas the Northern Taluqs of Srivilliputtur, Sankarankoil and Sattur
are the dry Taluqs. The nature of soils, cultivation practices and cropping pattern are the factors
which led to this division of the district into dry and wet taluqs a relatively
lesser level of prosperity prevails in the dry taluqs. The economic prosperity in turn influenced
women’s education in the Tirunelveli district.
Mr.
R.K. Puckle, a former famous Collector of the District, whose name is still a
house-hold in Tiruneveli observed in 1868, that the irrigation works already
existing had made Tiruneveli a prosperous district and have enabled it to rank
next to Tanjore and Godavari
from
a revenue point of view. The irrigation
works were greatly improved during Mr. Puckle’s administration of the
district. In memory of Mr. Puckle, there
is the Puckle’s caste girls school in Tirunevelly and the Puckle’s channel at
Tuticorin. This district has more towns (28 towns) than
any other district and larger population.
There are three Municipalities viz., Tinnevelly, Palamcottah and
Tuticorin in 1931.
HISTORY
In ancient period Tirunelveli district had no separate
existence, but formed merely the southern portion of the Pandya country and
continued to be so under the rule of the Cholas, the early Muslims and the
Nayaks as well as the Pandyas themselves. There are literary references which show that
when the Pandya country came under the Imperial Cholas, it was known as
Rajaraja Valanadu since 991 A.D. It
became Rajaraja Mandalam in A.D. 1012. The country was a subdivided into Valanadus and the areas now Tirunelveli district
comprised the Mudikonda Cholavalanadu.
The Valanadu was divided into many nadus and Kurrams. The Nadus and Kurrams as evidenced from the
inscriptions of the district are Kilvembu nadu (Tirunelveli and sevalapperi),
Melvembunadu (Cheranmadevi and Suttamalli, Thiruvazhuthi Valanadu
(Karukkurichi), Mulli nadu, (Ambasamudram and Kallidaikurichi), Anma nadu
(Cholapuram), Vanavan nadu (Kalakadu), Thannari nadu and Vadavari nadu
(Sankarankoil and Vasudevanallur), and Arasur nadu (Kayathar). The Kurrams, mentioned are Tirukkanaper
Kurram and Milali Kurram. The administrative sub divisions ceased to exist gradually after the rule of
the Kulottunga –I. Taking advantage of the civil war in the
Pandya Kingdom, Malik Kafur invaded and established the Mohammedan rule in
Madurai which collaped along with the Khilji Sultanate at Delhi. After a
precarious existence for nearly half a century it fell to the onslaught of the
local powers led by Kumara Kampana, a Vijayanagar ruler. thus, from the period of the Second Pandya empire
to the Vijayanagar regime, there were frequent changes in the administrative
divisions and the governing system.
According
to the Tamil tradition, the Cheras, Cholas,and Pandyas were the three royal brothers, who lived
together at Korkai on Tambraparni river.
Eventually, a separation took place and the pandya remained at korkai
whereas the Chera in the west and the Chola in the north established their own
kingdoms. Pandya’s capital was Korkai
and the district remained in the hands of the Pandya till about A.D. 1064, when
it was conquered by Rajendra Chola who assumed the name Sundara Pandya. But the Aryan settlements under the Chief
Rishi Agastya on the Agastya Hills led to the decline of Pandya Kingdom
It is necessary to say about the
occupation of Portuguese and Dutch settlements in Tiruneveli and how it merge
with this district and its significance. Before the occupation of Tiruneveli by
the British, the Portuguese occupied , in A.D. 1532,Tuticorin, the most
important seaport town – next in rank to the port of Madras, and subsequently
the minor ports of Punnaikayal (Srivaikuntam taluq), Vembar (Koilpati taluq)
and Manapad (Tiruchendur taluq).After the decline of the Portuguese power in
Tiruneveli, the Dutch, occupied Tuticorin
in 1658. The Dutch power declined
in A.D. 1736. The Dutch Fort at Tangacherry, west of Quilon, jutting into
sea, which dates its origin in A.D. 1781, is now the British settlement of
Tangacherry attached to the Tinnevelly Collectorate. Another early Portuguese settlement of the
Travancore coast, Anjengo, (the birth place of the famous historian Robert
Ormes) came under the British control, is also attached to the Tinnevelly
district along with Tangacherry. At this juncture, the poligars obtained the possession of pearl
fishery and established profitable trade and they were soon again in open
rebellion. In the early 14th
century Alauddin Khilji occupied this
district and within a short period it
was restored by the Pandya King. In A.D.
1559 Tirunelveli fell into the hands of the Nayaks of Madurai.Visvanatha Nayak
ruled the Madura kingdom from A.D. 1559
to A.D. 1563 The Lady ruler of the Nayak Dynasty was
the famous Mangammal, who ruled over Madura from A.D. 1689
to A.D. 1704. In A.D. 1736, when the Nizam-ul-Mulk, the Subadar of
deccan expelled the Marathas from southern India, Tirunelveli passed under the
nominal rule of the Nawab of Arcot. When
the country passed from the Madurai nayaks to the Nawabs of Arcot in 1736, the
Palayams continued and the area collectively came to be known as Tirunelveli
Province. Tinnevelly became independent of Madura in A.D. 1744. However, actual authority lay in the
hands of a number of independent chiefs of the district called Poligars who
were originally feudal barons appointed by the Nayak deputies who had after the
fall of the dynasty assumed wider powers.
They had forts in the hills and in the dense jungle with which the
district was covered and maintained about 30,000 troops and were continuously
fighting with each other or in revolt against the paramount power. On account
of the then disorder in the country, the British first interfered in A.D. 1755,
at the request of the Nawab. A British
expedition under Major Harren and Mahfuzukhan in 1757 brought some sort of
order in Tirunelveli and the country was rented to the latter. The inability of Mahfuzukhan to control the poligars, induced the Madras
government to send an expedition under Mohamed Yusuf Khan their sepoy
commandant to help him. This man
eventually became the renter of Tirunelveli and rebelled in 1763 and had taken
and hanged. From then onwards the troops
were commanded by the British officers where the country was administered on
behalf of the Nawab by the native officials.
As this system of divided responsibility created administrative
problems, in 1781 the Nawab assigned the revenue duties to the East India Company
Civil Officers known as the superintendents of Assigned Revenue. The first Receiver of the Assigned Revenue
appointed in the year 1781 to the then Tirunelveli province, virtually the
first Collector, was George Proctor who was succeeded by Irwin in 1783. During this system of running the country, the Poligars were a source of
hindrance to the British administration. At that time the British were too busy in wars with Hyder Ali and the poligars
continued to be troublesome. These
poligars with one or two exceptions joined together and gave a lot of trouble
under the leadership of Puli Thevar, the first poligar who fought against the
British from 1751to1765. This poligar
war was considered as the First Poligar War, which was followed
by, the Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga royal families. The First Tamil Royal Woman Velunachiaar and
her captain Quilli, who fought against the British and retain her throne. This
war must be the first victorious war against the British in India. In 1783, Colonel Fullerton reduced one of the
poligars at Panchalumkurichi near Ottapidaram of Kattabomman Nayak. At this
juncture, the East India Company Government at
Madras Madurai Jackson
Panchalumkurichi was taken and its poligar was
hanged and estates of his allies were confiscated. Some of the poligars notably the chief of
Ettaiyapuram, helped the British. Two
years later, some dangerous characters who had been confined in the fort of
Palayamcottah broke loose and the poligar war brokeout. Panchalumkurichi fell after a Nawab to his
principal Amildar in Tirunelveli to transfer all his powers to the Company’s representative. At this juncture Jackson
East
India Company. He moved
his headquarters to Tirunelveli which had been hitherto in Ramanathapuram. A week later he reported to Madras
that the province
of Tirunelveli Madurai
TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT BY 1800
When
the British assumed the administration of the district, it was divided in to 19
taluks and 15 palayams that came to be
called as Zamins and the smaller Zamins as Mittahs. In the year 1838 the Taluqs were reconstituted by which the total number of taluqs were13. Once again in the year 1860, the
13 taluqs were reduced to nine by territorial redistribution. Later, in the year 1893, Tenkarai taluq alone was renamed as
Srivaikundam taluk. In the year 1910
when Ramanathapuram district was carved out of the composite districts of
Madurai and Tirunelveli, the taluqs of Sattur and Srivilliputhur were
transferred to the newly created district.
In the same year, the Ottapidaram taluk came to be known as Koilpatti
taluq and the headquarters also was shifted from Ottapidaram to Koilpatti. The Srivaikundam taluq was bifurcated into
two as Tiruchendur and Srivaikundam. The
Sankarankoil, Nanguneri, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Ambasamudram taluks continued
to function as before. By the year 1933,
along with eight Taluqs , two sub taluqs were created at Sivagiri and Sattankulam. Till 1956, Shengottai Taluq remain under the
control of Travancore State.
Thus the above description help to
understand the geographical location and its influence on the growth and
development of women’s education in Tirunelveli district between 1800 to
1947. Prosperity of the district on one
side and drought on the other side motivated the people to send their daughters
to acquire education from mission schools. The dry part of the district, led to the
parent to send their daughters to vocational institutions started by the
missionaries and to make the women self
reliant and economically independent with the available materials obtained from
palm trees.
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