Mukkuva kerala

Mukkuva community in Kerala belong to the Dheevara section in Hindus. The major occupation of the dheevaras were limited to fishing in early times. With the support of the fishing community which included mukkuvas and muslims in Calicut and adjoining areas, the naval fleet was founded by Kunjali Marakkar.

Dheevara community also includes mukhayas and arayas. This is just a regional difference in the community; with each section claiming to be superior to the others!

Arayas are settled in the Cochin, Alleppey, kollam and Trivandrum coastal areas. Most of them are poor in these regions and lived in huts and hence were affected by the Tsunami. The richer among them lived in small houses and mostly did government jobs.

Mukkuvas are settled in the trichur and calicut regions. Most of them are well-off and are a strong community owing to the fact that the major occupation was not limited to fishing alone. The rich dealt with agriculture and various businesses. Most of them were educated and had managed to secure jobs of high positon in the government in these areas. The rich among the Mukkuvas lived in Nalu kettu and many of them were the landlords in most places and enjoyed many privileges over Ezhavas and vettuvars. The poorer among them had small houses and very few lived in huts. The condition remains almost the same today except that there are no naalu kettu or huts now. Most of them are well-off and many have settled in the gulf regions or are professionals, people holding good government jobs or businessmen.

The mukkuvas in Trichur, Calicut and Mahe were far more adventurous than in any other part of Kerala. They were also mostly rich and competant enough unlike the members in other districts. The main occupation was not limited to fishing in these regions. Agriculture, social causes and education were given due importance. Even the girls in the 18th century would complete their 8th standard(which was considered high education those days) The uprising against the Portugese in Calicut and the 'Sanku pada' against the mappillas(another name for Muslims)during the mappila lahala and the freedom movements in Mahe are examples of these.

Dheevaras in Trichur.

Eminent persons from Trissur district include

Aruketty Sanku

Aruketty Sanku, who was well trained in Kalarippayattu, marma vidya and uzhichil formed an army comprising men from his community and other oppressed community and trained them to take on the mappilas, who, during the "mappila lahala", tortured, raided and killed many innocent Hindus. With his army of men called the 'Sanku Pada', (pada literally means army), he chased out the mappilas and restored peace in the coastal regions of Trichur. His family stayed in a naalu kettu before partition and was a very capable young man.

Kochan Bhaskaran

Kochan Bhaskaran was the first "Adhikari" in the community. Even while untouchability was prevalent, he had many Nair loyalists and he set an example for the reviving of education amongst Mukkuvas in Trichur.

Kannachanpurakkal Sankaran

Kannachanpurakkal Sankaran (K. Sankaran) was the first Dy. Commissioner of Sales Tax and Agrl. Income Tax from this community. He was a very honest and a no-nonsense man, who had even dared to suspend a whole department for non-compliance of the rules. After retirement, he praticed law at the High court of Kearla and was the legal advisor for most of the prominent firms in Kerala including HMT, Tata Tea and so on. He married A.S Chandramukhi, who is the daughter of Aruketty Sanku.

Prabhakaran

Prabhakaran was the Sessions court judge at Ernakulam. He was a very eminent person in the field of law.

K.M.Mohandas

The Westfort hospital group founded by K.M.Mohandas in 1989 at West Fort, Trichur is the star achievement of an NRI Business giant. The group has now diversified into the education and hospitality sector.

Mayadevi

Mayadevi is a multi-talented artist and has won many awards in the malayalam literary field including the "Grihalakshmi" award for short stories. The feather in the cap was her Lalithambika Antharjanam Award for her collection of short stories - 'Meerayude Kaazhchakal'.

Dr. Benoy Shankar

Dr. Benoy Shankar, son of K. Sankaran, is the very first person from the community to do a DM in the field of medicine.

Eminent persons from Calicut, Mahe district include

Vellavil Kesavan

Vellavil Kesavan is a freedom fighter from Mahe and is eminent in the field of French law. Mahe was a French colony and when the Amendment was made by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru to liberate it from the French, Vellavil Kesavan was in the panel who were chosen to sign on the Amendment. He was a staunch believer of Gandhism and along with Panditji and Gandhiji, supported the cause of freedom. He was the first mayor of Mahe and was also an MLA. He spent his life working for the upliftment of the poor and uneducated and has been a champion of eradication many social concerns at the time.

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