Vaikom

Vaikom is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala. It is located north of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Vaikom has a population of 23,234 people, and a population density of.

Location

Vaikom is situated at the northwestern end of the Kottayam district, close to the border with the Ernakulam district. Vaikom is a lakeside town situated in the banks of the Vembanad lake similar to other lakeside towns like Kottayam and Changanassery. Its western borders are bound by the Vembanad lake. The Muvattupuzha river has its mouth near Vaikom where it empties into the Vembanad lake, many distributaries of the Muvattupuzha river pass through Vaikom. It is also close to the tourism destination Kumarakom and the city of Kochi. Vaikom is situated on the Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kottayam border area and it is 33 km from Ernakulam, 33 km from Kottayam via Kumarakom, 39 km from Alappuzha and about from Kochi International Airport.

History

Vaikom was believed to be a part of a kingdom called Venmalanadu in the past. When Venmalanadu was split into Vadakkumkoor and Thekkumkoor, it became part of Vadakkumkoor dynasty. Vadakkumkoor kingdom spread along the path of Muvattupuzha river towards the north east side from Kaduthuruthy, Vaikom, Piravom, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam and Thodupuzha. There was an important port at Chemmanakary, near Vaikom during the Vadakkumkoor era. Later in 1742, it became part of Travancore when the then Maharajah of Travancore, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, annexed Vadakkumkoor to his kingdom.
Vaikom gained its fame on a national level during the Vaikom Satyagraha.
File:Gandhi at vaikom satyagraha-2.jpg|thumb|upright|Mahatma Gandhi at Vaikom Satyagraha

Vaikom Temple

The Vaikom Shiva Temple, known as Thekkan Kashi, is the centre of the town, and is the site of the Vaikom Ashtami celebrations during November. It is notable as the venue of the Vaikom Agitation for achieving for the lower castes the right to walk on the roads surrounding the temple. One of the most popular temples in Kerala dedicated to Lord Shiva,

Administration

Vaikom is administered by a municipality and is the seat of a munsiff's court. The Vaikom assembly constituency is part of the Kottayam parliamentary constituency.

Economy

The traditional economy has been based on coconut and rice crops, and fishing; more recently, crops like nutmeg, black pepper, and latex have been introduced. Tourism and software are pursued as a means to livelihood.
The Kerala Paper Products Limited is situated in Velloor, away from Vaikom.

Demographics

As per the 2001 census, Vaikom has a population of about 22637. This region has a literacy rate of 92%. Population density of the region is 2496 per square km.
In the 2011 census, the Vaikom municipality had a population of 23,234 of which 11,304 are males while 11,930 were females. The population of children under age 6 was 1807, which was 7.78% of the total population of Vaikom. The female sex ratio in Vaikom municipality is 1055. Vaikom's child sex ratio is almost 960. Vaikom city's literacy rate is 96.84%, higher than the state average of 94.00%. Male literacy is almost 98.30% and female literacy rate is 95.47%.
Hindus are the largest religious community in Vaikom, accounting for 85% of the population. Christians represent 12%, and Muslims 3%.

Notable people

Mar Sebastian Adayantharath
Justice K. G. Balakrishnan
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
Mammootty, actor
P. K. Biju
George Josy
Cherian K. Cherian
V. N. Janaki
Janardhanan, actor
A. J. John
Monce Joseph
M. K. Kamalam
Abraham Kattumana
Kalaikkal Kumaran, actor
Mathew Ulakamthara, poet and literary critic
N. Mohanan
Vaikom Chandrasekharan Nair
N. N. Pillai
P. Krishna Pillai, leader of the first communist movement in Kerala
Vaikom Padmanabha Pillai, military officer of the Kingdom of Travancore
Vaikom Ramachandran, poet
Thomas Unniyadan
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
Vaikom Viswan
S. Ramesan, Malayalam language poet and orator