Kooroppada
Grama Panchayat

HISTORY OF KOOROPPADA GRAMA PANCHAYAT

Kooroppada Grama Panchayat is a local self-government institution in Kottayam Taluk of Kottayam District, under Pampady Block, comprising the entire Kooroppada Village. The Panchayat has an area of 27.42 square kilometres. Its boundaries are Aymanam and Akalakunnam Panchayats in the north; Akalakunnam, Pallikkathode and Vazhoor Panchayats in the east; Aymanam, Pampady and Vijayapuram Panchayats in the west; and Vazhoor and Pampady Panchayats in the south.

Kooroppada Panchayat was formed in 1953, comprising the entire Kooroppada Village and parts of Pampady and Anikad Villages. Adv. M. P. Thomas was its first President. The Panchayat office initially functioned in a building owned by Mulamthanathu Raman Nair.

The Kooroppada Panchayat Service Co-operative Bank, which brought significant changes to the economic sector of the Panchayat, was established in 1956. The first post office in the Panchayat was also started at Kooroppada.

The temples, churches and other places of worship, along with the youth and cultural organisations associated with them, have played an important role in preserving the unique identity and culture of the village. Organisations such as the NSS, SNDP, Viswakarma Sabha and other community organisations have also contributed to preserving the social and cultural traditions of the region.

Origin of the Name Kooroppada

Kooroppada has its own traditional legends regarding the origin of its name. Around 1100 AD, Kooroppada is believed to have been a place where the soldiers of the Thekkumkoor King, who ruled the region with Vennimala as his capital, were stationed.

According to one popular explanation, the area where the soldiers lived was known as “Koor Akathulla Pada”, meaning the army stationed within the territory, and this later became Kooroppada.

There are also other oral traditions regarding the origin of the name. One says that it was the place where the Kauravas marched with their army. Another tradition holds that the name evolved from Oorahappuzha, which gradually became Kooroppada.

The kings of Thekkumkoor, who were feudatories of Kochi, supported Kayamkulam and other northern kingdoms in their conflicts against Travancore. As a result, Marthanda Varma, the ruler of Travancore, annexed the Kingdom of Thekkumkoor into Travancore.

Kooroppada, along with the areas of Kothala and Madappadu, belonged to the Ampazhathungal Karthas, who owned a large extent of land stretching from Chotti (Kanjirappally) to Vembanad Lake. Documents relating to these properties were preserved as family records by the Karthas and are kept at the Sree Krishna Temple, Pallikkathode.

Political and Social Awakening

With independence, strong political awareness began to develop among the people. In 1946, a Congress conference was held at Puthamburaparambu near the 12th mile at Kothala under the leadership of Chacko. Karimpunkal Narayanan Nair was its organiser.

During the Puthuppally firing incident, which took place in connection with the Responsible Government agitation in Kollavarsham 1114, freedom fighters from Kooroppada also participated.

The Communist movement emerged in Kooroppada during the early 1950s. By the end of the 1950s, women's movements also began to take shape in the Panchayat.

In 1958, a women's committee with around 200 members was formed at Madappadu, with V. G. Karthyayani Amma as President and Ellukalayil Thankamma as Secretary.

Most of the large landholdings were controlled by landlords. The struggles led by the farmers' organisations, land reform movements and the Communist Party brought an end to the traditional landlord system. This resulted in significant changes in the social life of the people.

The class division between agricultural labourers and landowners became particularly evident during the period 1968–1970, following an incident widely known as the Makkal/Makkal issue. This helped progressive and democratic ideas gain a strong foothold among the working class of Kooroppada.

Education and the First School

From the early days, several fundamental developmental activities took place in the Panchayat.

A British person who came to Kooroppada expressed an interest in starting a school. Upon learning about this, Kochuparambil Kurian Oommen donated one acre of land for the purpose.

The British missionary later returned with funds collected through a Sunday offering at Westminster Abbey in London and built a school. Thus, the Panchayat's first school was established at Pulimoodu.

The CMS School, associated with the church there, played an important role in the early development of education in the region.

In the early days, villagers who had received basic literacy through traditional village teachers obtained formal school education mainly through the missionary-established CMS L.P. School and the fourth-standard Grant School at Edakkattukunnu.

Later, students depended on schools such as M.G.M. School at Pampady and the English-medium school at Puthuppally for further education.

Roads and Transportation

One of the major roads in the district, the K.K. Road, passes through the Panchayat, forming a boundary through Wards 9 and 10.

However, the first road to come into existence in the Panchayat was the Oravakkal–Koorali Road, which runs through the middle of the Panchayat.

The first motor vehicle entered the area in 1939.

Construction of the Eruthupuzha Bridge began in 1961 and was completed in 1964. With the completion of the bridge, transportation facilities in the area expanded considerably.

Libraries, Clubs and Cultural Activities

The first library in the Panchayat was established in Kollavarsham 1116 at Eruthupuzha. It was named the “Sachivothama Shashtyabdapoorthi Memorial Library.”

The Janatha Arts Club began functioning at Kothala in 1956.

A Farmers' Club formed at Kissan Kavala during 1964–1965 is believed to have been the first farmers' club established in the Panchayat.

This was the period when Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister of India. Inspired by Shastri's famous slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,” the gathering of young farmers in the locality was reportedly named the Kisan Club.

Agriculture and Traditional Farming

The people of Kooroppada, who were mainly engaged in agriculture, followed traditional farming methods.

One of the important agricultural practices of those days was known as “Uzhavuvettum Vithayum.”

Crops such as little millet (chama) and horse gram (muthira) were also cultivated.

Traditional Healthcare

In the earlier days, modern hospital facilities were not available in the Panchayat. Therefore, traditional local methods of treatment were commonly practised.

Traditional physicians used to live in the locality and prepare kashayam (herbal medicinal decoctions) and other medicines for the people.

Murippara Vaidyan and Ampazhathinal Vaidyan were among those who practised such traditional treatments.

On rare occasions, people also travelled to the hospital run by the Kangazha Rescue Force for medical treatment.

P. S. Padmanabha Pillai of Valiyakunnel, Lakattur, established P. S. Vaidyashala in Alappuzha.

Trade and Traditional Occupations

Agricultural products such as copra and hill produce were transported to Alappuzha by boat through intermediary traders.

A large number of people were engaged in traditional handicrafts and occupations such as oil pressing, making baskets, winnowing trays and other household articles.

These traditional occupations, agricultural practices, educational institutions, social movements, cultural organisations and historical events have all contributed to shaping the unique history and identity of Kooroppada Grama Panchayat.