Chirakkal is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

Kannur district Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is a suburb of Kannur city, about 7 km away.

History

The Kovilakam ("Palace" in the Malayalam language) of Kolathiris, the erstwhile ruling dynasty is situated in Chirakkal. The Kolathiri of Chirakkal was also known as Chirakkal Raja meaning the King of Chirakkal. The southern branch of the same family ruled over

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom between the Western Ghat mountains of India with its capital at city of Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143 ...

and is today known as the

Travancore Royal Family The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. They signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authorit ...

. Kolathiris are the successors of Mooshiks Kings who ruled northern Kerala in the first century AD. The detailed history of this dynasty and hidden history of this region is mentioned in the "Mooshika Vamsham" a Sanskrit poetic text, written by Athulan in the tenth century AD. Mooshika Vamsham is believed to be one of the earliest Sanskrit books written based on the history of northern Kerala. Kolathiris were political and commercial rivals of the Samoothiris (Zamorins) of Kozhikode. Bekal Fort now in

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kera ...

and Chandragiri Fort were originally under the Chirakkal Rajas until the time of Shivappa Naik's invasion of Kolathunadu Nowadays the recognition of the Chirakkal Raja is widely regarded by the folk artists, especially the

Theyyam Theyyam is a Hindu religious ritual practised in the North Malabar Region of Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is a ritual performance involving extended chanting of mantras and ceremonial preparations that typically span 8 to 10 hou ...

artists. The most gifted among them receive 'pattum valayum' (a type of silk cloth and golden bangle) from the Chirakkal Raja as recognition.

Demographics

As of 2011 Census, Chirakkal census town with an area of had a population of 45,601, where male population is 21,123 and female population is 24,478. Population of Children under the age of 0-6 is 4902, male child population under the age of six is 2412 and female child population under the age of six is 2490. Total literacy rate of Chirakkal is 96.05%, male literacy rate is 97.57% and female literacy rate is 94.77%. In Chirakkal, Female Sex Ratio is 1159 per 1000 Males. Child sex ratio is 1032 per 1000 male child under the age of six. Total number of house holds in Chirakkal is 9599.

Famous residents

Former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Shri K. Karunakaran was born in Chirakkal in 1918.

Image gallery

File:The Palace Pond, Chirakkal, Kannur, Kerala. (4488403697).jpg, Chirakkal Chira File:Chirakkal chira.jpg, Chirakkal Chira File:Kotiyettam of the festival of Chirakkal Kadalayi sreekrishna temple.jpg, Kodiyettam at Kadalayi File:Banyan tree at Kanhirathara, Chirakkal.jpg, Kanhirathara File:Bird at Chirakkal Chira-1.jpg, A

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

amongst the water lilies at Chirakkal chira File:Bird at Chirakkal Chira-2.jpg, A cattle egret at the Chirakkal chira

References

Suburbs of Kannur {{Kannur-geo-stub

History

Demographics

Famous residents

Image gallery

See also

References