History • Medieval IndiaHard
In the context of medieval Kerala land tenure and agrarian structure, what precise legal obligation was denoted by the term 'Kanam'?
A. A permanent, unalienable royal grant of entire revenue villages made exclusively to Vedic Brahmins
B. A conditional hereditary leasehold tenure where the tenant paid a fixed share of agricultural yield and held a mortgage claim over the land✓ Correct Answer
C. An emergency war tax levied by the Zamorin on all maritime spice merchants operating in Calicut harbor
D. A compulsory daily corvee labor service exacted from lower-caste agrarian workers by temple trustees
💡 Solution & Explanation
Kanam represented a vital intermediate tenure in medieval Kerala where the Janmi (landlord) leased land to the Kanakkaran (tenant), who paid rent and advanced a monetary loan to the landlord, securing usufructuary rights. Absolute tax-free grants to Brahmins were known as Brahmadeyas or Jenmam endowments. War taxes were distinct levies, and corvee labor formed part of customary feudal obligations rather than the Kanam contract. This complex tenurial arrangement governed agrarian relations until land reforms in the twentieth century.
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