MALABAR, a district of British India, in the Madras Presi dency. Geographically the name is sometimes extended to the entire western coast of the peninsula. Properly it should apply to the strip below the Ghats, which is inhabited by people speaking the Malayalam language, a branch of the Dravidian stock, who form a peculiar race, with castes, customs and traditions of their own. It would thus be coextensive with the old kingdom of Chera, including the modern states of Travancore and Cochin, and part of Kanara. In 1931 the total number of persons speaking Ma layalam in the Presidency was The district of Malabar extends for 145 m. along the coast, running inland to the Ghats with a breadth varying from 7o to 25 m. The administrative headquarters are at Calicut. Area, 5,794 sq.m. Malabar is much diversified in its configuration ; from the eastward, the great range of the Western Ghats, only interrupted by the Palghat gap, looks down on a country broken by spurs, ravines, forests and jungle. To the westward, gentler slopes and downs, and gradually widening valleys closely culti vated, succeed the forest uplands, till, nearer the seaboard, the low laterite tablelands shelve into rice plains and backwaters fringed with coconut palms. The coast runs in a south-easterly
direction, and forms a few headlands and small bays, with a natural harbour in the south at Cochin. In the south there is considerable extent of table-land. The mountains of the Western Ghats, from 3,00o to 7,000 ft. high, run almost parallel to the coast, and along the coast is an almost continuous chain of lagoons or backwaters which have been formed by the action of the waves and shore currents in obstructing the waters of the rivers. Connected by artificial canals, they form a cheap means of transit for a large local trade. Fishing and fishcuring is an im portant industry, coir is manufactured, and there are saw-mills, soap and tile works. The forests are extensive and of great value. The population in 1931 was 3,533,944 The staple crop is rice, the next most important products being coconuts, fruits and pepper. Coffee is grown chiefly in the upland tract known as the Wynaad. The Madras railway crosses the district and runs along the coast from Calicut to Mangalore. The principal seaports are Calicut, Tellicherry, Cannanore and Cochin. The principal exports are coffee, coconut products and pepper.