Kumbalam
Grama Panchayat

Kumbalam Grama Panchayat is a beautiful island region in the Kanayannur Taluk of Ernakulam district, surrounded by the Vembanad and Kaithappuzha backwaters. Geographically and socially highly significant, this area was historically under the land ownership of Namboothiri families and, later, Nair families. During an era when caste discrimination and social inequality were rampant, lower-caste communities were denied education and temple entry. However, the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1945 and the Land Reform Act of 1970 brought about monumental changes in the socio-economic advancement of Kumbalam, as numerous farmers and hut-dwellers (kudikidappukar) became landowners through land reform struggles. Historically, paddy cultivation, coconut farming, coir industry, and screw-pine mat weaving were the primary...