Analyze the features of the medieval land tenure and social system in Kerala known as 'Janmi-Kanam': 1. The 'Janmam' right represented absolute landownership vested primarily in temples and high-caste landlords. 2. The 'Kanam' tenure was a hereditary leasehold arrangement where the tenant paid a fixed share of produce and provided military service or customary dues to the landlord.

💡 Solution & Explanation

Both statements accurately describe the classical feudal structure of medieval Kerala. The Janmam system concentrated economic power in the hands of religious institutions and noble houses, while the Kanam tenure established a complex intermediary tenancy network. Tenants held security of tenure through advance loans given to the landlord, forming the socio-economic backbone of rural Malabar and Travancore until land reforms were enacted post-independence.