Hindu Temples of Kerala and Colonel John Munro’s reforms

Rituals and traditions practised in the family deity’s temples, temples of the village deity, Desha devata, guide a common Hindu’s sense of Dharma, religious identity, worldview. Their temples and rituals impact not only the individual but also the socio-cultural thought process of an entire community. More than intricate Vedantic discourse, the audiovisual experiences a person undergoes through the ritualistic practices of the Kerala temple traditions act as the portal to the great lessons of the Indic civilisational thoughts. The advent of the colonial forces began the dissolution of the temples which served as the nerve centre of the Hindu socio-economic life. The colonial schemes enabled encroachment and alienation of the wealth of the Hindus who submitted everything to the Devatas, leaving the Hindus as social orphans in the democratic republic of India. The role of General John Munro, a celebrated British colonial soldier in dismantling the traditional temple administration, thereby depriving a section of the Hindu castes of performing their legitimate duties in the temples, is hardly discussed. The cunning measures by Munro that continued for around a century transferred lots of temple properties to Church as schools and colleges. Besides, divisive colonial evangelism sowed the seeds of casteist propagandas that are still used by the reformist zeal of secular democracy. 

Travancore woke up to the nineteenth century, wounded, crippled after the hefty war against the plague of Tipu’s barbaric army besieged Malabar. Travancore had to sign a treaty with the British in 1795 to reinforce their defences and to escape complete takeover by the British after having spent vast resources to stop Tipu’s invasion of their state as well as to rehabilitate the non-Muslim population of Malabar who took refuge in Travancore from Tipu’s atrocities. The British also charged Rs 8 Lakhs per year for ‘protecting’ Travancore as per the treaty. Consequently, post the death of Tipu, King Balaramavarma of Travancore signed the Subsidiary alliance under duress. Balarama Varma succeeded Karthika Tirunal Ramavarama (Dharmaraja) at the age of thirteen. The Kingdom was going through severe financial difficulty due to the massive expenses incurred during the wars against the Mysore Sultans. This extra burden was more than what a tiny Kingdom like Travancore could afford. Meanwhile, Colonel Macaulay was appointed as Company’s Resident with specific confidential instructions to secure the revision of the existing agreement with the Travancore Maharaja consolidating the terms of the Subsidiary Alliance to bring the Travancore kingdom under the firm British control. 

With Macaulay as the EEIC Resident and a thirteen-year-old King at the helm, the court of Travancore became a stage for dubious intrigues and squabbles resulting in the Murder of the Dewan Raja Keshavadas. The Resident was effective in raising the taxes for alleviating the financial difficulties due to the high amount of ‘subsidiary payment’ to be paid to the British – said tax increase done through the Commerce Minister, Tachil Mathoo Tharakan, a Syrian Christian merchant who was an ally of EEIC in the opium trade. Tax burden and chaos created by the corrupt ministers like Mathoo Tharakan and Shankaran Nambudiri irked the local officials. The revolt led by Veluthampi brought down the corrupt proxies of the British in the Travancore administration. Veluthampi in 1801, became the Dalawa, but he wasn’t very soft on the undue interference of the British Resident in the internal matters of the Kingdom. In 1809

Veluthampi revolted against the British with other Nair warriors like Vaikkom Padmanabha Pillai, the hero of Battle of Nedumkottai that crippled Tipu Sultan. Freedom fighters under Padmanabha Pillai attacked British Resident Col. Macaulay in Poonjikkara Residency (now, Bolghaty Palace) in December 1808 – but the Nair army was mostly disbanded in the previous years for ‘saving expenses’ and the Hindus were neither well equipped nor did they retain a proper infantry command structure to face trained British army. The revolt was crushed. Padmanabha Pillai was publicly hanged by the British. Veluthampi killed himself before the Bhagavati of Mannadi temple – to escape the ignominy of capture. 

Simultaneous fights with Pazhassi Raja in Malabar, Paliath Achan in Kochi and Veluthampi in Travancore bothered the British tremendously. They started to find ways for tightening the Company’s grip over the rulers of Travancore and Kochi. Paliathachan was deported to Madras and was never allowed to return. Travancore’s army was totally disbanded, and British Company took over the defence of Travancore. The Maharaja died of mysterious illness after 3 visits to Munro – Maharaja’s personal physician was changed by Munro when he was ill. There are enough reasons to suspect that his death was orchestrated by the British since there was always a suspicion that Velu Thampi’s revolt had Maharaja’s blessings. After all, one of the primary reasons given by Thampi to revolt was that missionaries were trying to convert the Hindus (conversion was punishable offense before British paramountcy) and the Maharaja’s devotion to Sri Padmanabhaswamy as well as Hindu dharma in general was well known. Heir to the throne, Kerala Varma was denied the right to succession by Munro – since the British did not feel that they could control him. Young princess Gauri Lakshmi bai was declared as successor. The new Queen Gauri Lakshmibai has to appoint the Company Resident, Colonel Munro as the Diwan as well. This dual role of being the British Resident and the Diwan of the country gave John Munro an enormous, unprecedented amount of political power.

 John Munro (June 1778 – 25 January 1858)

“He lived to see Muslims and high caste Hindus appreciate the integrity and fairness of Christian judges, and he paved the way for those who since his day have tried to interpret Western Christianity to the Eastern people”, claimed Canon Horace Munroe who documented the story of the Munroe caste. In Scotland, the Munros are a large clan (Caste). Colonel John Munroe is one of the most significant influencers in the modern history of Kerala. While secular history books see him as a remarkable administrator, the Church historians study his support of the Syrian community. According to the Church historians, Munro was a man of deep piety and profound evangelical conviction. John Munro joined English East India Company at the age of sixteen. Within 15 years, he made a promising career and became the quartermaster general in Madras. He married Charlotte Blacker, daughter of an Irish Missionary in 1808. Following his role in the controversial reforms of the tent contract system, he was sent to establish the empire’s strongrooms in the Travancore Kingdom. 

“His tactful handling of the people of Travancore at a time of dangerous plot against British residents led to his being given uncontrolled rule of the province. With his freedom of actions, he so far won the confidence of the people as to be able to introduce the practice, in the administration of justice, of having a Christian sitting on the bench as judge beside a Brahmin.”  Munro considered it his religious duty to weaken the Hindu religion and at the same time foster Christianity. Every administrative reform measures taken by him was aimed at the weakening of the native culture and promotion of Christianity in Travancore. As a result of the devout evangelical persuasion of Munroe, the Rani of Travancore was made to donate land in Kottayam as well as the money and timber to build the Orthodox Seminary. He also petitioned the Church Missionary Society to send missionaries on a Help Mission, to educate and train the clergy of the Malankara Church. A considerable amount of property has been accumulated by the Syrian Christians through the generous grants provided by Colonel Munro’s administrative efforts. A proclamation he issued in 1815 exempted Christians from several taxes. Colonel Munro, representing the Travancore and Cochin kingdoms, persuaded the British Authorities in 1814 to give up control over the Christians. He appointed Christian judges in each of the Courts to uplift their social status.

As I explained earlier, Munroe was entrusted with the job of extracting maximum wealth from the Travancore and Kochi Kingdoms. Already, the native rulers had to pay a massive amount of money as compensation for the killing of Tipu by EEIC and an annual fee for maintaining the East India company troops in Travancore and Kochi. The most celebrated accomplishment of Colonel Munro as Diwan of Travancore is the total reformation of the administrative structure of the Hindu temples in Travancore. 

The administration of Hindu temples before colonial takeover

The temples in Travancore have been managed and administered by the people belonging to various Jatis. Sanketham was the name given to the semi-autonomous trusts that governed the temples on the land grants received in Medieval Kerala. MT Narayanan classifies Sanketams as Grama Sanketams and Kshetra sankethams. Sanketham was defined as territory over which no King shall wield any power over the temporal authority. Four types of temples are distinguished as those controlled by upper castes – 1. Mahakshetram whose estate was managed by nambudiris, 2. Private temples owned by Nambuthiri families, 3. Private temples of Royal and chiefly matrilineal clans mainly dedicated to Bhagavati or Bhadrakali, 4. smaller temples collectively managed by the Nair retainers of one or more Villages. There were also other temples besides these 4 types. Every other Jati, clan, families had their own Kavu, thara, deities shrines of which were owned and managed by the people belonging to the specific Jati, group, or, family. Certain temples had vast areas under their Sanketams. For, e.g., Koodalmanikyam temple at Irinjalakkuda had as its Sanketam, the whole area lying to the north to Vellangallur, west to Chalakkudy river, south of Kurumali river and east of Kakkathuruthi – it is said that the temple owned more than 75000 acres of land in the past. Lineages of Marar, Varrier and other Ambalavasi castes used to perform the chores needed for the running of the daily rituals, performance of musical, artistic, ritualistic art forms as part of the daily routines (Nityanidanam) of each temple.

The governance of the temple estate (Sanketam) was carried out by the body of the yogam (committee), which consisted of the elders of all legitimate Tharavadu (households) belonging to the designated region. These members (Yogakkar) elected a committee of Ooralans (leaders of specific clan/family) and a chief, who exercised supreme authority within the confines of the sanketham. The Kings had only a nominal Melkoima (Supervision) over any temple estates. Some Devaswoms were managed by a Synod of Priests, while in certain places, Ooralans delegated the administrative rights to Samudayams or Manushyam. By the middle of the 18th century, the temporal power of the Sankethams had vanished. The Minor Devaswoms were public worship places endowed by individuals or communities and managed by hereditary trustees or managers from the Samudayams (community).

British interference with the Hindu temple administration

The British got hold of the temples in Madras quite early. But due to the opposition from the evangelical groups in Britain who felt it to be condemnable to run the pagan shrines, a Religious Endowment Act was passed in 1836 which transferred the control of Hindu temples to the local management committees. However, over time, they used allegations of mismanagement to take over the temples again Under HR&CE act of 1927. Colonel Munro was nevertheless very cunning and enjoyed the support of the evangelical lobbies too. When Colonel Munro accepted the Dewanship of Travancore in 986 M.E (1811), he understood that Devaswoms – to which large properties and wealth are attached – if brought under the consolidated power of the State can be a source of immense revenue. Using the authority as the Resident, Munro persuaded the weak Queen of Travancore to take over the administration of the temples and their estates so that the dues to the British Company can be paid. 

In 1811, Munro ordered direct control of the temples using Melkoima rights. He also merged the accounts of the income from the temple lands into that of the State governments revenue account. Thus he acquired 62000 acres of Kara (Garden land) & 548000-acres of Nilam (paddyland) of Hindu Temples in Travancore under British Empire and secured a surplus income of 150,000 Rupees. Devaswoms like Turavur, Pattazhi were taken over from the Ooralar by citing mismanagement. Even the secular democratic governments are now seen using the same logic and reasoning for usurping power over Hindu temples – which shows the government to be no different from that run by an evangelist intent on destroying dharma. The acquirement of the control of temple management was not done under any acts or laws, but by ascertaining the melkoima rights which the King enjoyed over certain temples. Technically, the British Resident played behind the scenes using the powers vested on the Queen of Travancore to dismantle the native community from their wealth and land. 

Consequences of Munro’s temple acquisition

On the eve of the takeover, the income from immovable property of the Devaswoms was nearly sixteen lakh para of paddy and about fifty-three thousand rupees. Besides, seventy thousand para of paddy through Sanchaayam and forty-three thousand rupees through Kanikka were earned. This calculation was done without including the substantial income from Cheerikkal lands, whose extent was unascertained. The Thirattu (records showing govt expenditure and revenue) of 1811 mentions the seizure of 348 major and 1123 minor Devaswoms. Most of the immovable property of the Devaswoms was overtime, treated as Pandaravaka (government property). Ooralars (hereditary trustees) were coerced to increase Temple revenue. The State began to have a revenue surplus even after meeting the entire expenses of temples. Within three years of his assuming of office, Munro successfully paid the subsidies and debts off to the English Company as per the subsidiary alliance. 

The Proclamation of 1865 gave fixity of tenure and proprietary rights to the holders of pandara pattom (government revenue) lands. Most of the Devaswom lands were entered in revenue accounts, through the periodic survey and settlement, as Pandaravaka. When Devaswom lands were treated like that of the Government, its holders got a proprietary interest in it whereas earlier they had only a leasehold or mortgagee’s interest. The income of temples from their lands also started to diminish significantly due to this mishandling of properties. 

Under the British control, Hindu Temple money was diverted for non-Hindu use. Missionary activities and Schools flourished. Art and Education associated with temples declined. A vast tract of temple lands, paddy lands as well as forest got occupied by the missionary establishments and plantations. In 1810 there were 44 Oottupura (Place for serving food) attached to Hindu Temples, but it was reduced to 28 in 1920. 

Alienation of lower castes from their temples combined with ‘better opportunities’ given by Church using land & money looted from Hindu temples lead to massive conversions. This was especially accelerated post 1890s when the state started making progress – perhaps to ensure that the British had a loyal segment within the State’s population if the government became powerful enough to challenge the British in future.

Though jihadi invaders had struck down the temples of Malabar, they couldn’t harm Travancore much; the nonchalant treatment towards the temples of Travancore was started by the British. Colonel John Munro, infamously known as a committed Christian missionary as well as a ruthless colonialist’ initiated the ‘Secular politicking’ and social engineering experiments using the Kerala temples. The secular State under communists and socialists kept the temples under state control even after independence. The past 70 plus years accelerated the deracination of Hindus as well as degradation of Hindu temples. The secular Government also attached the premier educational institutions and hospitals established by the Hindu rulers to the State, while allowing the organised religions to run their establishments and places of worship.

Moreover, politicians and caste organisations conspired together to encourage nihilism in the post-independent era. Any debates on the wealth of the temples end up in a political duel between the seculars and so-called non-secular political workers. The administrative reformist zeal triggered by Colonel Munro is still living through the colonial morality of the politicized Hindus and the politico – Bureaucratic democratic State.