(wl-1573)-British Rule and Environmentalism in Wayanad - The Curious Case of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja

Colonial intervention in the forests of Wayanad, Kerala, was accompanied and supported by exploitation of forests and environmental destruction, which faced steep local resistance, both from the tribals and the peasants. The accessible forest was a central element in the organisation of traditional agriculture in Wayanad. Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja became a radical critique of colonial capitalist expansionism and put a solid resistance to British intervention in Malabar. The primary objective of his anti-British stance was the colonisation of nature. However, independence has continued to disrupt this relationship between local communities and their natural resource bases. The present paper contrasts the modern forest conservation efforts with the society-nature equilibrium situation as envisaged by Pazhassi Raja and introspects the current anxieties of animal attacks in Wayanad in the fore of the ecology of the forest environment and humans.