Historically
too, Palakkad district has its own special characteristics. The fort of
Hyder Ali tells us the story of Mysore invasions and the advent of the
British to this part of the country. The Victoria College, started in
1886, marks the beginning of higher education in Malabar. The Jain
temple near Chunnamputhara speaks of the magnanimity of the king of
Palakkad who provided shelter to the people who escaped the religious
persecutions of the King of Mysore, five hundred years ago.
The
ancient history of Palakkad is shrouded. According to William Logan, the
author of the Malabar Manual, the Pallava dynasty of Kanchi might have
invaded Malabar in the second or third centuary. One of their head
quarters was a place called Palakada which could be the present –day
Palakkad. Malabar had been invaded by many of the ancient South Indian rulers. For many centuries, it was ruled by the
Perumals. They had under them some powerful Utayavars who held authority
in their own respective territories. After the rule of the Perumals, the
country was divided among these chieftans. The valluvakkonathiri (ruler
of Valluvanad), the rulers of Vengunad (Kollengodu Rajas) andf Sekhari
Varma ( Raja of Palakkad) were the prominent rulers of this region,
after the Perumals.
When
the Zamorin of Kozhikode
invaded Palakkad in 1757, the raja of Palakkad sought the help of Hyder
Ali of Mysore. Hyder Ali’s help forced the Zamorin to retreat. Later
Hyder Ali subjugated all territories in Palakkad which were under the
possession of Zamorin. Thus the whole area possessed by the Raja of
Palakkad passed into the hands of the Mysore rulers – Hyder Ali and
his son Tippu Sultan. The war between Tippu and the East India Company
ended with the treaty of 1872 and all the possessions of Tippu in
Malabar were ceded to the British. Gradually these formed part of the
Malabar district of the Madras Presidency.
