The Sea-Food Industry in British Malabar (c.1880-1930): A Social History

The fishery practices of pre-independence India is generally construed as ‘backward’ and ‘traditional’. The present paper investigates this historiographical notion of ‘backwardness’ with respect to the history of Malabar Fishery during 1880-1930. It specifically concentrates on the fish-curing practices and fish- oil production. This paper tries to argue, on the one hand, that the British essentially had a futuristic look while introducing certain structural changes, Fish-curing Yards and Fish-Oil Presses etc. in the Malabar Fishery. It also tries to posit that certain practices pursued by the ‘traditional’ fishermen of Malabar had some ‘modern’ science inherent in it, on the other. The practices in question are generally preservation techniques deployed on the fish intended for local consumption and export. And these techniques were to be viewed as the output of a social process, where combined operation of the fishers’ experiences, State’s preoccupations and market-needs took place. This paper also looks into the possible reasons that persuaded the British authorities to introduce certain structural changes in fishery sector of Malabar and why it became a success in this side of the Presidency. This is done by bringing out the interrelation among the historical actors like state, entrepreneurs, market and labour.