Kozhikode
| Kozhikode കോഴിക്കോട് |
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| State : |
 India
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| State : | Kerala | ||
| District : | Kozhikode | ||
| Location : | 11 ° 15 ' N , 75 ° 47' E | ||
| Height : | 14 m | ||
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Inhabitants : - Agglomeration : |
432,097 (2011) 2,030,519 (2011) |
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| Website : |
kozhikodecorporation. lsgkerala.gov.in |
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Kozhikode ( Malayalam : കോഴിക്കോട് , Kōḻikkōṭ [ ˈkoːɻikːoːɖ ] ), Hindi : कोझिकोड , formerly Calicut (German also Kalikut ), is a city on the Malabar coast in the Indian state of Kerala with around 430,000 inhabitants (2011 census). It is the administrative seat of the Kozhikode District .
geography
Geographical location
Kozhikode is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea in northern Kerala. The distance to Kochi is 147 kilometers, to Bangalore 274 kilometers and to Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram 336 kilometers.
climate
Kozhikode has a tropical climate. Because of the ocean location, temperatures fluctuate only slightly over the course of the year between 25.9 degrees Celsius in August and 29.6 degrees Celsius in April. The temperatures are mainly influenced by the amount of precipitation. The annual average is 27.5 degrees Celsius. The rainy season is during the summer monsoons from early June to August. In contrast to many other regions of India, in Kozhikode, as everywhere on the Malabar Coast, there is even greater rainfall until November. The average annual total rainfall is 3,063 mm.
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Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Kozhikode
Source: WMO ; wetterkontor.de
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history
The name Kozhikode originated in the 13th century and, according to historians, should be derived from the Malayalam words "koyil" ("palace") and "kodu" ("fortified"). Arab traders, who called the city much earlier, called it Kalikat, later Anglicised to Calicut by the English. This name in turn comes from Kallikkottai, the ancient Tamil name of the port.
Kozhikode already existed as Kallikkottai during the Sangam era. However, the real story did not begin until the 13th century when the place became part of the kingdom of Nediyirippu Swarupam with the conquest of the Udaiyavars of Ernad. The rulers of the empire, later known as Zamorine , moved their seat of power to Kozhikode and expanded the place into a magnificent capital.
In the 14th century, the Arab navigator Ibn Battuta visited the city several times. Thereafter, Kozhikode was one of the main targets of the most important Chinese navigator Zheng He on all voyages between 1405 and 1433 with his huge treasure fleet. As an important intersection between China and Arabia, the cosmopolitan city steadily gained in importance and grew into an important center of trade and power until the arrival of the first Europeans.
Kozhikode went down in world history in 1498, when the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama landed on Kappad beach north of the city after circumnavigating Africa . At that time the city was the undisputed center of power in Malabar, in the north of today's Kerala. A war between the Portuguese and the Arabs, who now held the spice trade monopoly of the Indian trade in the city, also made the Zamorin an enemy of the Europeans. At first the Portuguese succeeded in holding back, but two defeats in 1528 and 1538 led to the decline of the Zamorin's power. The Portuguese built a fortress in Kozhikode and in 1540 the Zamorin finally granted them a monopoly over the city's spice trade. The peace was only temporary, however, as a new war broke out soon after, in which the Zamorin destroyed the Portuguese fortress in 1571. In 1588, the Portuguese regained the upper hand and were given permission to resettle in the city. The Kunjali (admiral) of the Zamorin then rebelled against his master, but was defeated in 1600 by Portuguese troops loyal to the Zamorin.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch also began to trade in Kozhikode. Due to their competition and the weakness of their own motherland, the Portuguese influence began to wane. With the final victory of the allied Dutch over the Portuguese in Kerala (1663/64) Kozhikode was able to free itself from colonial rule. In 1664 the English set up a trading post, and in 1698 the French too .
In 1766, Hyder Ali , the Muslim ruler of Mysore , took the city and largely destroyed it. The Zamorin then locked himself in his palace and killed himself. The Mysore rulers were driven out by the British, who came under the rule of Kozhikode in 1792.
British rule ended with the independence of India in 1947. Kozhikode was initially part of the state of Madras . In 1956 the states were rearranged according to language boundaries. Kozhikode has been part of Kerala since then .
Culture
religion
As everywhere in Kerala, several religions live side by side in Kozhikode. The majority of the population are Hindus , there are also considerable minorities of Muslims and Christians . The Muslims of the region are known as "Mappilas".
language
The overwhelming majority of the population speaks Malayalam . English is widely used as a language of education and communication .
education
Kozhikode has had a university (University of Calicut) since 1968 . Calicut Medical College is one of the most respected medical schools in India. The University of Calicut used to include the National Institute of Technology, founded in 1961, which in 2002 received the rank of university itself. Today it is one of the leading technical universities in India. Since 1996 Kozhikode has also been the seat of one of only six Indian Institutes of Management in the country, India's leading business academies. There are also several other partly private colleges.
The Indian Institute of Spices Research in Kozhikode houses the world's largest collection of genetic resources (germinal plasma) for pepper (Piper nigrum).
Attractions
Not much is left of the old Kozhikode today, but the religious diversity is reflected in the numerous temples, mosques and churches. The Tira Temple and the Kuttichira Mosque are worth mentioning. The heart of the city is Mananchira Square, once the courtyard of a palace of the Zamorine. Today there is a park, the town hall and the impressive library.
sons and daughters of the town
- Martin Schlunk (1874–1958), German missiologist
- VK Krishna Menon (1896–1974), diplomat and politician
- A. Vincent (1928–2015), cameraman and film director
- Arun Vishnu (* 1988), badminton player
- AV Rakesh Babu (* 1990), triple jumper
- Nayana James (* 1995), long jumper
economy
Kozhikode has a port. Important branches of industry are the wood processing, food and textile industries as well as shipbuilding.
The international airport is the Calicut International Airport near Karipur.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Census of India 2011: Provisional Population Totals. Cities having population 1 lakh and above. (PDF file; 151 kB)
- ^ Census of India 2011: Provisional Population Totals. Urban Agglomerations / Cities having population 1 lakh and above. (PDF file; 138 kB)
- ^ Valerie Hansen, Kenneth Robert Curtis: Voyages in world history . Wadsworth, Boston, 2nd ed. 2013, ISBN 978-1-133-60859-2 , p. 313.
- ↑ Details at the National Biodiversity Authority Of India ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Website of the "Indian Institute of Spices Research"
- ↑ Black Pepper, Piper Nigrum: The Genus Panax: 13 (Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (Gordon and Breach)), PA Ravindran (editor)
