Dharmadom

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Dharmadom
Town
Jackfruit from Dharmadam
Jackfruit from Dharmadam
Coordinates: 11°47′37″N 75°28′15″E / 11.793550°N 75.4709320°E / 11.793550; 75.4709320Coordinates: 11°47′37″N 75°28′15″E / 11.793550°N 75.4709320°E / 11.793550; 75.4709320
Country India
StateKerala
DistrictKannur
Area
 • Total10.68 km2 (4.12 sq mi)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total29,169
 • Density2,731/km2 (7,070/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalam, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
670106
Telephone code91 (0)490
ISO 3166 codeIN-KL
Vehicle registrationKL 58-
Nearest cityThalassery
Sex ratio1000:1120 ♂/♀
Lok Sabha constituencyKannur
Vidhan Sabha constituencyDharmadam
Websitedharmadam.info
Approaching Dharmadam island
Dharmadam Island

Dharmadom or Dharmadam is a census town in Thalassery taluk of Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India. This town is located in between Anjarakandi River and Ummanchira river, and Palayad town and Arabian sea. It is known for the 100-year-old Government Brennen College and Dharmadam Island. Dharmadam is also home to famous Andaloor Kavu. The annual festival here draws thousands of devotees. A variety of theyyams are performed during the week-long fest in February. During the festive season the entire village follows vegetarian diet and offers rice flakes, jaggery and plantains to all guests. India's premier circus Academy, Circus Academy Thalassery is also located at Dharmadam. There is a small railway station in Dharmadam where only the local passenger trains stop.

Dharmadam was earlier known as Dharmapattanam and was previously a Buddhist stronghold.

The Dharmadam Island is located 100 metres away from the mainland at Dharmadam. Geographically, Dharmadam is an island, en route Thalassery and Kannur. It is surrounded by the Anjarakandi River on three sides and by the Arabian sea on the fourth side. The Jews and the Arabs have named this place Dahfattan in their records in the 12th century, the British named it Darmapatam and the Portuguese called it Darmapatao.

History[]

The Kolathunadu emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor, Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions.[1] The Nileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part of Kolathiri dominion, were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as the Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.[2]

The Dharmadam region was also called Poyanadu due to the belief that Dharmadam was the place from where the last Cheraman Perumal king of Kerala took his final departure on the journey to Mecca and sailed to Mecca.[3][1] It was originally a part of Kolathunadu earlier.[1] According to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 AD at Kodungallur with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of Chera dynasty, who converted to Islam during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632).[4][5][6][7] According to Qissat Shakarwati Farmad, the Masjids at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayini, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest Masjids in Indian Subcontinent.[8] The 16th century Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen also states about the Masjid at Dharmapattanam (Dharmadam).[3]

The island of Dharmapattanam was claimed by all of the Kolattu Rajas, Kottayam Rajas, and Arakkal Bibi in the late medieval period.[1] The island of Dharmadam was ceded to East India Company in 1734, along with Thalassery.[3]

Demographics[]

As of 2001 India census,[9] Dharmadam had a population of 29,169. Males constitute 47% of the population and females 53%. Dharmadam has an average literacy rate of 87%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 88% and, female literacy is 86%. In Dharmadam, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Education[]

  • Govt. Brennen College, Dharmadam
  • Kannur University Thalassery Campus, Palayad
  • District Institute of Education Training, Palayad
  • Govt. Higher Secondary School, Palayad
  • Jeycee Special School, Dharmadam
  • Rotary Special School, Dharmadam

Notable citizens[]

  • Pinarayi Vijayan- Chief Minister of Kerala 2016 to present
  • M.N. Vijayan - Critic, writer and orator
  • N Prabhakaran - Writer
  • Valsalan Vathussery - Writer
  • M.P. Kumarn - Historian, translator.
  • Moorkoth Ramunni - First malayalee fighter pilot

Access[]

  • Road :Kanyakumari-Mumbai NH 66 (previously NH 17) passes through Dharmadam. Dharmadam is 3.5 km away from the nearest city Thalassery. Frequent bus services from Thalassery to Andaloor, Meloor, Parapram and Kannur criss cross Dharmadam. Fast Passenger and Town to Town buses stop at Meethalepeetika in Dharmadam.
  • Railway: Dharmadam has a railway station where local passenger trains stop. Nearest major station is in Thalassery 3.5 km from Dharmadam. Kannur railway station is 18 km away.
  • Nearest airport -The Kannur International Airport is 25 km from Dharmadam.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Logan, William (2010). Malabar Manual (Volume-I). New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 631–666. ISBN 9788120604476.
  2. ^ The Hindu staff reporter (21 November 2011). "Neeleswaram fete to showcase its heritage". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Charles Alexander Innes (1908). Madras District Gazetteers Malabar (Volume-I). Madras Government Press. p. 451.
  4. ^ Jonathan Goldstein (1999). The Jews of China. M. E. Sharpe. p. 123. ISBN 9780765601049.
  5. ^ Edward Simpson; Kai Kresse (2008). Struggling with History: Islam and Cosmopolitanism in the Western Indian Ocean. Columbia University Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-231-70024-5. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  6. ^ Uri M. Kupferschmidt (1987). The Supreme Muslim Council: Islam Under the British Mandate for Palestine. Brill. pp. 458–459. ISBN 978-90-04-07929-8. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  7. ^ Husain Raṇṭattāṇi (2007). Mappila Muslims: A Study on Society and Anti Colonial Struggles. Other Books. pp. 179–. ISBN 978-81-903887-8-8. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  8. ^ Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 98.
  9. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
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