British Malabar: Education & Social Mobility of Thiyyas

The history of education in Malabar under British rule is often narrated through polarized lenses: One emphasizes Colonial exploitation and to attack this fractured view the other celebrates Western benevolence. Malabar's late 18th and 19th century experience reveals a naunced reality, where East India Company and later the British crown, together with missionary efforts created channels for vernacular education that enabled social mobility of marginalized communities, notably Thiyyas. 

Early Education in Pre British Malabar 

Education in Malabar was highly stratified by caste. Brahminical schools, usually attached to temples served Namboothiri boys, while mosques provided basic literacy to Muslim students. Village level Ezhuthupallis offered elementary Malayalam or Tamil to a few non-Brahmin children. However, majority of lower caste groups including Thiyyas, Cherumas, and Pulayas were excluded, effectively denying them access to clerical and administrative positions. Social hierarchy thus dictated educational access and limited social mobility. 

East India company Initiatives in Education 

The annexation of Malabar by East India company in 1792 brought new administrative demand.  The company needed clerks, translators and record keepers, prompting a pragmatic encouragement of literacy.

While initially informal, these efforts provided first entry points for lower caste groups into official employment.

Basel Mission, arriving in 1830s, was particularly significant in this context. In Tellicherry and Cannanore, it established Schools in teaching Malayalam literacy, arithmetic, and vocational skills, accessible to lower-caste groups, including Thiyyas.  Similarly, London Mission Society operated schools in South Malabar. The intervention of Henry Valentine Conolly during 1841 to 1855 was decisive.  Known for his reformist bent of mind Conolly encouraged mission schools and supported education regardless of caste facilitating access for talented students like Churayi Kanaran. Kanaran, a Thiyya from Tellicherry, who became the first in his community to secure government employment - an extraordinary achievement given prevailing caste hierarchies. According to oral tradition, when upper caste colleagues initially refused him a table and chair, Conolly intervened to ensure he was provided with proper office facilities, symbolically acknowledging his merit, and gradual dismantling of caste based office discrimination.

Crown Administration & Vernacular Expansion 

After 1857 revolt, Malabar's administration came under British Crown. The Madras Education Code of 1868 institutionalised vernacular primary education. Inspectors and district officials, including William Logan, documented the rapid expansion of schools across North Malabar, especially in Tellicherry, Calicut and Kottayam. Schools were run jointly by the government and the mission, often supported by local landlords and merchants. The Basel Mission press played a pivotal role by publishing Malayalam text books and Arabi-Malayalam primers, facilitating literacy among both Hindus and Muslims.

Vernacular instructions and low cost schooling enabled marginalized communities to access literacy and administrative skills, laying the foundation for social mobility. The Thiyya community, hitherto excluded from such opportunities, now had a way to clerical positions, as exemplied by Kanarsn's rise.

Reform & Self government in Education 

The Montagu-Chelmsford reform of 1919 transfered educational administration to local boards, further democratising the process. Taluk and District boards in Malabar began constructing public primary schools, often in partnership with communities. Prominent reformers including Vagbhatananda, K.Kelappan and Kumaran Asan emphasized education as a tool for social empowerment, particularly for lower caste groups. Community initiatives complemented state efforts, ensuring that vernacular education reached villages and backward communities, gradually erasing caste based educational barriers.

By the eve of independence, Malabar had a network of government and mission schools, high literacy rates relative to other Madras Presidency districts, and a culture that recognised education as a vehicle for social mobility. The Thiyya communities early entrants into Colonial service, like Churayi Kanaran, exemplified the possibilities opened by these structural changes.

Legacy of British Administration 

The story of Malabar's educational evolution demonstrates that British East India Company and later the Crown were not solely exploitative but enabled social mobility through pragmatic governance and support for vernacular education. Mission schools and district level initiatives provided access to marginalized communities, creating a foundation for Kerala's later literacy achievements.