LAKSHADWEEP
Early history of Lakshadweep is unwritten. What now
passes for history is based on various legends. Local traditions attribute
the first settlement on these islands to the period of Cheraman Perumal, the
last king of Kerala. It is believed that after his conversion to Islam, at
the behest of some Arab merchants, he slipped out of his capital Cranganore,
the present day Kodungallor - an old harbour town Kochi, for Mecca. When his
disappearance was discovered, search parties went after him in sailing boats
and left for the shores of Mecca, in search of the king from different
places. It is believed that one of these sailing boats of Raja of Cannanore
was struck by a fierce storm and they were shipwrecked on the island now
known as Bangaram. From there they went to the nearby island of Agatti.
Finally the weather improved and they returned to the mainland sighting
other islands on their way. It is said that after their return another party
of sailors and soldiers discovered the island of Amini and started living
there. It is believed that the people sent there were Hindus. Even now
unmistakable Hindu Social stratification exists in these islands despite
Islam. Legends say that small settlements started in the Islands of Amini,
Kavaratti, Andrott and Kalpeni first and later people from these islands
moved to the other islands of Agatti, Kiltan, Chetlat and Kadmat. This
legend of Cheraman Perumal is not, however, substantiated.
The advent of Islam dates back to the 7th century around the year 41 Hijra.
It is universally believed that one St.Ubaidullah(r) while praying at Mecca
fell asleep. He dreamt that Prophet Mohammed(s) wanted him to go to Jeddah
and take a ship from there to go to distant places. Thus, he left Jeddah but
after sailing for months, a storm wrecked his ship near these small Islands.
Floating on a plank he was swept ashore on the island of Amini. He fell
asleep there but again dreamt of the Prophet asking him to propagate Islam
in that Island. Ubaidullah started doing so. But this enraged the headman of
the island and he ordered his exit at once. St. Ubaidullah(r) stood firm.
Meanwhile,a young woman fell in love with him. He gave her the name Hameedat
Beebi and married her. This further offended the headman and he decided to
kill him. It is said that the headman and his henchmen surrounded
Ubaidullah(r) and his wife to kill them. At once St.Ubaidullah(r) called up
on the Almighty and the people were struck blind. At this time
St.Ubaidullah(r) and his wife disappeared and as soon as they left the
island people regained their eye sight.From Amini St.Ubaidullah(r) arrived
at Andrott where he met with similar opposition but he succeeded finally in
converting the people to Islam. He next went to other islands and
successfully propagated Islam and returned to Andrott where he died, and was
buried. The grave of St.Ubaidullah(r) is today a sacred place. Preachers
from Androttare respected deeply in far off lands like Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Burma etc. It is a marabout or Mukbara.
The Arrival of the Portuguese in India again made Laccadives an important
place for seafarers. It was also the beginning of years of plunder for the
islands. The finely spun coir was much sought after for ships. So the
Portuguese started looting island vessels. They forcibly landed at Amini to
procure coir sometime in the early 16th century, but it is said that the
people killed all the invaders by poisoning, ending the Portuguese invasion.
Even after the conversion of the entire islands to Islam, sovereignty
remained in the hands of the Hindu Rajah of Chirakkal for some years. From
the hands of the Chirakkal Raja, the Administration of the island passed on
to the Muslim house of Arakkal of Cannanore around the middle of the 16th
century. The Arakkal rule was oppressive and unbearable. So sometime in the
year 1783 some islanders from Amini took courage and went to Tipu Sultan at
Mangalore and requested him to take over the Administration of Amini group
of islands. Tipu Sultan at that time was on friendly terms with Beebi of
Arakkel and after deliberations, the islands of Amini group were handed over
to him. Thus the islands suzerainty came to be divided as five came under
the rule of Tipu Sultan and the rest continued under Arakkal house. After
the battle of Seringapattom in 1799 the islands were annexed to the British
East India Company and were administered from Mangalore. In 1847, a severe
cyclone hit the island of Andrott and Raja of Chirakkal decided to visit the
island in order to assess the damages and for distributing relief. An
officer of the East India Company Sir William Robinson volunteered to
accompany him. On reaching Andrott, the Rajah found it difficult to meet all
the demands of the people. Sir William then offered the Rajah help in the
form ofa loan. This was accepted. This arrangement continued for about four
years but when the interest started mounting, the English asked the Rajah to
repay them which he could not. In 1854 all the remaining islands were handed
over to the East India Company for Administration. so, came the British
rule.
The sequestration of the islands is a clear example of the political
manipulations and methods adopted by the British for establishing their
supremacy in India. Its traditional system of administration was treated by
the English as something of misgovernment. But they were more interested in
their own political and economic interests than the good government of the
islands. Their policy was to exploit the profits from the islands through
the Beebi without taking responsibility of its administration. the British
later brought the Lakshadweep Regulation 1912,which confers limited power of
judicial and magisterial status to Amins/Karanis of the islands. A
reasonable restriction of outsiders were also brought into force by the
above regulation. Nine Primary Schools and few dispensaries were started
during the colonial rule in the islands.
The Union Territory was formed in 1956 and it was named Lakshadweep in 1973. |