There is a general attitude that women must be restricted for their own benefit. The KITE Kerala is a state owned special purpose company under education department of the Government of Kerala. [155] The "Arabian Sea Branch" of the Southwest monsoon first hits the Western Ghats,[156] making Kerala the first state in India to receive rain from the Southwest monsoon. [503] Sadhya is a vegetarian meal, which is served on a banana leaf and followed with a cup of payasam. [546][547] [357]:5 Kerala's 13.3% prevalence of low birth weight is higher than that of many first world nations. [500] Rice is a dominant staple that is eaten at all times of day. [438][439], The culture of Kerala is composite and cosmopolitan in nature and it is an integral part of Indian culture. [37] The Matsya Purana, among the oldest of the 18 Puranas,[38][39] uses the Malaya Mountains of Kerala (and Tamil Nadu) as the setting for the story of Matsya, the first incarnation of Vishnu, and Manu, the first man and the king of the region. The annual yield of the sector was estimated as 608,000 tons in 2003–04. Until the early 1980s, Kerala was a relatively unknown destination compared to other states in the country. [329] Kerala is also widely regarded as the cleanest and healthiest state in India. [520] Unlike in many other states, the urban-rural divide is not visible in Kerala with respect to mobile phone penetration. Lying between northern latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and eastern longitudes 74°52' and 77°22',[129] Kerala experiences humid tropical rainforest climate with some cyclones. [128] However, gender inequality among low caste men and women is reportedly higher compared to that in other castes. [103] The Dutch in turn were weakened by constant battles with Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family, and were defeated at the Battle of Colachel in 1741. [257] Related animal husbandry is touted by proponents as a means of alleviating rural poverty and unemployment among women, the marginalised, and the landless. [195] The Kerala Panchayati Raj Act envisages a 3-tier system of local government with Gram panchayat, Block panchayat and District Panchayat forming a hierarchy. [339][340] This focus was maintained by Kerala's post-independence government. [199], After independence, the state was managed as a democratic socialist welfare economy. [22] The word Kerala is first recorded as Ketalaputo ('son of Chera[s]') in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka (274–237 BCE), one of his edicts pertaining to welfare. Kollam Airport, established under the Madras Presidency, but since closed, was the first airport in Kerala. P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar theorised, that Senguttuvan may have been inspired by the Parasurama legend, which was brought by early Aryan settlers. [296][297][298] It is the first metro system in India to use a communication-based train control (CBTC) system for signalling and telecommunication. Fertility rate is highest in Malapuram district (2.2) and lowest in Pathanamthitta district(1.3). The Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala. They are locally known as "muniyara", derived from muni (hermit or sage) and ara (dolmen). When Francisco de Almeida was appointed as Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, his headquarters was established at Fort Kochi (Fort Emmanuel) rather than in Kozhikode. The child marriages are particularly higher among the Muslim community. [49], Kerala has been a major spice exporter since 3000 BCE, according to Sumerian records and it is still referred to as the "Garden of Spices" or as the "Spice Garden of India". [491][492][493][494][495] Later, writers like O. V. Vijayan, Kamaladas, M. Mukundan, Arundhati Roy, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, have gained international recognition. At the time of Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, there were two major princely states in Kerala-Travancore State and the Kingdom of Cochin. Since the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution of India, the local government institutions function as the third tier of government, which constitutes 14 District Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 941 Grama Panchayats, 87 Municipalities, six Municipal Corporations and one Township. In 2015 Kerala became the first "complete digital state" by implementing e-governance initiatives. [321][322][323] Queerala is one of the major LGBT organisation in Kerala.