Jenmi or Janmi, plural Jenmimar, is the Malayalam term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala who traditionally held their lands as absolute and allodial owners, with such lands known as Jenmom or Janmam.[1] They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region in colonial times,[2] and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this community. They predominantly belonged to the Nambudiri (Brahmin priests) and Nair castes.[3]
Although many smallholders existed within the Janmi system, Janmam lands were heavily concentrated into a few dozen families, most of them of Nair or Nambudiri Brahmin rank.[4]
The twenty-two families paying 3,000 rupees or more in land revenue to the Crown held 620,012 acres among them; the Vengalil dynasty alone accounted for 200,000 acres, followed immediately by the Mannarghat and Kavalappara Moopil Nairs, whose respective swaroopams governed 180,000 acres and 155,358 acres.[citation needed]
The Zamorins of Calicut owned at least 60,000 to 90,000 acres of Jenmom estate lands, followed by the Raja of Kollengode, who held 82,000 acres of forested lands along with 18,000 acres of farmland, and the Nilambur Thirumalpad, whose swaroopam estates spanned 80,000 acres, and in 1925 yielded some 273,075 rupees in revenue.[citation needed] The Koothali Moopil Nair family owned at least 47,000 acres, and likely much more, as the tabulation excluded tens of thousands of acres they directly transferred to their Vengalil daughter and her tharavad, including the entirety of the Changaroth estate as a wedding gift to match the donation of Kuttiyadi by the groom's father, the Porlathiri Raja, from the Kadathanadu swaroopam.[5]
Temples like The Padmanabhaswamy Temple was controlled and owned by the Nair Jenmis, known as Ettuveettil Pillamar, and their associates, Ettarayogam, until the 17th century,[6] the Koodalmanikyam Temple (controlled by the Thachudaya Kaimal) and the Guruvayoor Temple of M. R. Ry. were built on lands owned by these Brahmin and Nair aristocrats.
The Maharajas of Cochin and Travancore, as well as many other rulers such as the Punjar in Travancore and the Paliath Achans in Cochin, were well known for their numerous feudal estates.[7] The total acreage controlled by the Paliam swaroopam remains unknown, but the 1956 partition suit allocated over 100,000 rupees apiece to 213 separate family members in the case, while retaining additional sums for future administration and temple maintenance. The Paliam family also enumerated their tenants of the time as 12,000 in number, and the temples under their ownership as 41.
Other major Jenmis included the Kurumathoor Namburidipad (5,615 acres). Similarly, the Kalliat Nambiar owned 36,779 acres, the Chirakkal Raja owned 32,082 acres (129.83 km2), and the K.T. Moopil Nair family had at least 25,000 acres.
Today, however, there are restrictions placed on the amount of land one can own in Kerala.[8][9] A token pension is normally paid to Jenmis who have ceded their lands, but the Government of Kerala has refused to do so from time to time.[10]
There have been several incidences of violence against Jenmis, influenced by Communists.
Kayyur Incident: Kayyur is a small village in Hosdurg taluk. In 1940, peasants there under the leadership of communists rose against the two local Jenmis, Nambiar of Kalliat and the Nayanar of Karakkatt Edam. Several people were killed in the conflict and four Communist leaders were found guilty and hanged by the government. A fifth instigator was sentenced to life imprisonment and was spared from the death penalty, since he was under the age of criminal liability.[11]
Mattannur Incident: Mattanur witnessed large scale communal riots between the Moplah tenants and their Nair landlords during 1852. The riots started when an armed band of 200 Moplahs entered the house of the local landlord, Kalathil Kesavan Thangal, and massacred his entire family of 18 members. The rioters then decided to eliminate the most powerful Jenmi in the district, Kalliat Anandan Nambiar. However, their plans were somehow leaked and the landlord fled with his family, leaving his nephew Kalliat Kammaran Nambiar to defend the land. Kammaran Nambiar organized a militia of 300 Nair warriors and waited for the rioters. The unsuspecting rioters were ambushed and massacred, and the tenants were forced to abandon their campaign and disband.[12]
Korom Incident: Another historic movement was at Korom village in Payyanur on 12 April 1948. Farmers from Payyanur Farka marched to the rice godown of the landlord, Aalakkat Mavila Kunhambu Nambiar, and took control of it and distributed the rice stored there among them. The Malabar Special Police force arrested the volunteers, including K P Kunhikkannan, the leader of the "Karshaka Sangham", upon the request of the landlord. To protest against these arrests, people marched to the spot where the volunteers were kept under police custody. The police started firing on the procession, and this resulted in the death of a harijan youth named Pokkan, who became the first martyr in Payyanur Farka during the 1948 movement.