Through this post, we are releasing the digital scan of Report Of The Malabar Tenancy Committee Volume-II-Evidence published in the year 1940.
The “Report of the Malabar Tenancy Committee” is a key historical document on agrarian relations and land tenure in Malabar, now part of Kerala. Volume II, “Evidence,” compiles depositions and testimonies from diverse witnesses including janmis (landlords), kanamdars and verumpattamdars (tenant classes), agricultural laborers, peasants, officials, lawyers, experts, as well as submitted documents from organizations and individuals.
Volume II provides detailed firsthand evidence on the land laws favoring landlords, highlighting tenants’ struggles such as insecure tenures due to widespread evictions without fair compensation, excessive rents, and illegal levies. It also discusses tenant claims to compensation for permanent improvements like planting and wells, which led to early protective laws. Furthermore, it explains the complex tenancy arrangements like Kanam and Verumpattam, showing how colonial laws often harmed actual cultivators by misinterpreting these systems.
Volume II provides detailed firsthand evidence on the land laws favoring landlords, highlighting tenants’ struggles such as insecure tenures due to widespread evictions without fair compensation, excessive rents, and illegal levies. It also discusses tenant claims to compensation for permanent improvements like planting and wells, which led to early protective laws. Furthermore, it explains the complex tenancy arrangements like Kanam and Verumpattam, showing how colonial laws often harmed actual cultivators by misinterpreting these systems.
These documents are digitized as part of the Madras University Library digitization project.
Metadata and link to the digitized document
Metadata and link to the digitized document are provided below. A facility to read the document online is provided in the item page.
- Name: Report Of The Malabar Tenancy Committee Volume-II-Evidence
- Published Year: 1940
- Printer: Government Press, Madras
- Scan link: Link