History of Munnar

The Kanan Devan Hills was named so, in AD 1820 after the land survey of the Madras Presidency and Travancore boundaries covering the vast hills of Munnar, by the British Army Survey team. In the 19th century an adventurous British man named John Daniel Monro and Kanan Devar, the tribal chief of Anchunadu joined hands to shape the history of the present day Munnar. Kanan Devar was the tribal chief of a small kingdom including Marayoor, Kanthalloor, Kovilkadavu etc. These were perhaps the earliest human settlements in the entire South India. With the support and assistance of Kanan Devar, Monro was able to persuade the, Maharaja of Poonjar to get 588sq.km of land at Munnar for lease. Monro had this vision of turning this land into plantations. Cardamom and coffee were cultivated first. Later the Anglo American companies bought the land from Monro. They started the tea plantation. In honour of the tribal chief for his invaluable assistance, the Englishmen named the tea plantations Kanan Devan Hills and the company, Kanan Devan Tea Company. Presently it is known as KDHP. The unique character of this company is that all it’s employees own shares in the company.

Entry of Tatas
In 1964, the Tata Group entered into collaboration with Finlay which resulted in the formation of the Tata-Finlay Group. Tata Tea Ltd. was formed in 1983. In 2005, the Kannan Devan Hills Produce Company Pvt. Ltd. was formed and Tata Tea transferred the ownership of its plantations to the new company. Employees of Tata Tea hold stake in the company.

Tourism, the new hope of Munnar
If plantation industry ‘discovered’ Munnar in the 19th century, it was re-discovered by the tourism industry in the later half of the 20th century. The hill station, situated about 1600 m above the sea level, began to be flocked by travellers from around the world. The town, which still retains its colonial charm, has a large number of hotels to greet travellers. Virgin forests, savannahs, rolling hills, scenic valleys, numerous streams, waterfalls, sprawling tea plantations and winding walkways are attracting thousands every year.

Poonjar Royal Family
The history of Munnar is never complete without a mention of the Poonjar royal family. Over a long period of history, this royal family had the privilege to be the custodians of the virgin hills of Munnar.
The history of Poonjar Royal Family begins in Tamil Nadu from where they had to flee following a ruthless struggle for power. Long ago, the Madurai kingdom was ruled by Manavikrama, a mighty king of the Pandyan dynasty. Besides a powerful kingdom, Madurai had the distinction of being a centre of arts. The Pandyan kings had great reverence to the goddess Madurai Meenakshi. The artful sanctum sanctorum of the temple is believed to have been built during the reign of the Pandyas.
Once Madurai came under the attack of the nearby Chola dynasty and after a fierce battle, the Pandyas recaptured their kingdom. The recapturing of Madurai was celebrated with spectacular festivities. But in the night, when everyone was asleep after the celebrations, Viswanatah Naicken a general of the Pandyas who had sided with the Cholas, opened the fort gates for the enemy.

The Chola army unleashed a ruthless attack slaying the sleeping soldiers. A minister safely took Manavikrama and his immediate family out of the fort through a long secret tunnel. The family had managed to take a good portion of their fortune in the form of jewellery, gems and gold. The tunnel led them to a forest area from where they reached Palghatusserry (the present day Palghat). There they lived for a brief period in the house of a Brahmin. But when he came to know that his guest was King Manavikrama, the Brahmin family feared the displeasure of the Cholas and asked them to leave the place.

From there, Manavikrama moved to Vanneri, which is part of the present day Thrissur. There he built a residence and after sometime some of his former subjects came to visit him. They were the poligars of Theni, Uthamapalayam and Kumbam. Though they extended support to their dear king to win back Madurai, Manavikrama had scant interest. Though the poligars returned, they didn’t loose hope in a come back of the King. They built a palace at Mele Goodalloor in anticipation of a change of mind of their dear king.

As time passed by Manavikrama was racked with a feeling of insecurity at Vanneri and during this time he was approached by the king of Elangallur (present day Edappally). Both the royal heads soon struck a chord of friendship which resulted in Elangallur king marrying the daughter of Manavikrama. The Elangallur king, as a token of his love, gifted the Ernakulam region in his principality to the queen.

Unfortunately, Manavikrama who found great solace in getting an affluent relative didn’t live for long. After Manavikrama’s death, his eldest son Kulasekhara took charge of family affairs. The prince was an ambitious gentleman who wanted to regain the glory of his family. He made arrangements to move to the Goodalloor palace and regroup the loyal Poligars.

Fate was more generous than the young prince had thought. He came to know that the kingdom of Poonjar was for sale following the death of its chieftain. Poonjar lay opposite to the Goodalloor hill ranges and it was quite natural for the prince to have interest in the region. With the help of the fortune his family had brought from Madurai, the prince bought the Poonjar region from its custodians, the royal family of Thekkumkoor. Besides selling the land, Aditya Varma, the Thekumkoor King, installed Kulasekhara as the king of Poonjar.

Kulasekhara was an ardent devotee of the goddess of Madurai Meenakshi temple and the first thing he did was to build a temple for the goddess on the banks of Meenachil river which flowed through Poonjar. A grand palace and fort was also built soon. It is said that the idol installed at the temple was the original idol of Madurai Meenakshi temple, which King Manavikrama had brought with him.

The Pandya kings were generous rulers and had high regard for their subjects. Though their original title was Perumal, they adopted the title Raja for male members and Thampuratty for female members.