Thrissur district

Thrissur district
Trichur district
District
Nickname: 
Cultural capital of Kerala
Location in Kerala
Location in Kerala
Thrissur District
Coordinates: 10°31′N 76°13′E / 10.52°N 76.21°E / 10.52; 76.21
Country India
State Kerala
HeadquartersThrissur
Subdivisions
Revenue Divisions: 2
Taluks: 6
Government
 • District CollectorArjun Pandian IAS
 • Commissioner of PoliceNakul Rajendra Deshmukh, IPS
 • Superintendent of Police (Rural)B. Krishna Kumar, IPS
 • Divisional Forest Officer, ThrissurKurra Srinivas IFS
Area
 • Total
3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi)
 • Rank4th
Population
 (2018)
 • Total
3,243,170
 • Density1,070/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalam, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationKL-08 Thrissur,
KL-45 Irinjalakuda,
KL-46 Guruvayur,
KL-47 Kodungallur,
KL-48 Wadakkancherry,
KL-64 Chalakkudy,
KL-75 Thriprayar
HDI (2005)Increase 0.781 ( High)
Websitethrissur.nic.in

Thrissur district (Malayalam: [t̪riʃ(ː)uːr] ⓘ), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi), the district is home to over 9% of Kerala's population.

Thrissur district is bordered by the districts of Palakkad and Malappuram to the north, the district of Ernakulam to the south and Coimbatore to the east. The Arabian Sea lies to the west and Western Ghats towards the east. It is part of the historical Malabar Coast. The main language spoken is Malayalam.

Thrissur district was formed on 1 July 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur city. The district is known for its ancient temples, churches, and mosques.

History

Map of Thrissur City by John Gould, 1816.

The Thrissur district was ruled by the Perumal dynasty from the 9th to the 12th centuries and following that was part of the Kingdom of Cochin.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901683,266—    
1911769,702+1.20%
1921813,758+0.56%
1931993,913+2.02%
19411,154,598+1.51%
19511,403,150+1.97%
19611,688,333+1.87%
19712,128,877+2.35%
19812,439,633+1.37%
19912,737,311+1.16%
20012,974,232+0.83%
20113,121,200+0.48%
20183,243,170+0.55%
source:

Source: Official Statistics 2007

District Thrissur
Area 3,027
Population (2011) 31,21,200
Males 14,80,763
Females 16,40,437
Sex ratio : Females/1000 1107
Density of Population 1031
Per Capita Income (in Rs) 21,362
Literacy rate 95.08%; Male 96.78%; Female 93.56%
Coastal line in km. 54
Water bodied area in ha. 5,573
Forest area in ha. 103619

According to the 2018 Statistics Report, Thrissur district has a population of 3,243,170, roughly equal to the nation of Mongolia or the US state of Iowa. The 2011 Census of India gives it a ranking of 113th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 1,026 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,660/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 4.58%. Thrissur has a sex ratio of 1107 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 95.32%. 67.17% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 10.39% and 0.30% of the population respectively. Thrissur was also the second highest urbanized district in Kerala after Ernakulam.

Malayalam is the predominant language, spoken by 98.91% of the population as of 2011.

Religion

Religions in Thrissur district (2011)
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 58.42%
Christianity
 
 24.27%
Islam
 
 17.07%
Other or not stated
 
 0.24%
Religions in taluks
Talukas Hindus Christians Muslims Others
Thrissur 61.25 33.53 4.86 0.36
Kodungallur 59.22 8.43 32.16 0.19
Mukundapuram 56.65 35.56 7.63 0.16
Talappilly 61.13 16.11 22.54 0.23
Chavakkad 52.13 8.60 39.07 0.20

Hinduism is the majority religion in Thrissur, with 58.4% of the population. Christians and Muslims form significant minority.

Christians

According to Saint Thomas christian tradition, the Palayur church was established in 52 AD by Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. It is the first church in India, and Saint Thomas performed the first baptism in India here. It is part of the Ēḻarappaḷḷikaḷ (seven major churches) that he established in India. The original small church structure has been retained at the original site.

Geography and climate

Rivers and Lakes in Thrissur District

Thrissur is situated in southwestern India (10°31′N 76°13′E / 10.52°N 76.21°E / 10.52; 76.21) and is in the central part of Kerala. Thrissur is at sea level and spans an area of about 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi). It is bounded on the north by small parts of Malappuram district, on the east and north by Palakkad district, on the east by small parts of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, on the south by Ernakulam district, and on the west by the Arabian Sea (54 km (34 mi)). Descending from the heights of the Western Ghats in the east, the land slopes towards the west forming three distinct natural divisions – the highlands, the plains and the sea board. Karimala Gopuram is the highest point in Trissur situated in the border of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary of Palakkad.

The Periyar, the Chalakudy, the Karuvannur, the Kurumali River (main tributary of the Karuvannur River) and the Ponnani (Bharatha Puzha) are the main river systems in the district. They take their origin from the mountains on the east, and flow westward and discharge into the Arabian Sea. There are a number of tributaries also joining these main rivers. There are waterfalls such as Athirappilly Falls which is widely known as the "Indian Niagara" nowadays. This is the only district in Kerala with the presence of both Periyar and Bharathappuzha, though they flow only a small distance through the district.

The district has a tropical humid climate with an oppressive hot season and plentiful and seasonal rainfall. Annual rainfall is about 3,000 mm (120 in). The hot season from March to May is followed by the South West Monsoon season from June to September. The period from December to February is the North East Monsoon season. However the rain stops by the end of December and the rest of the period is generally dry.

Culture

Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple at Triprayar
Chalakudy River

According to legend Malik Bin Deenar and 20 others who were the followers Muhammad, the founder of Islam, first landed in Kodungallur in Thrissur district when they came to India. He built the mosque Cheraman Juma Masjid which makes it the first mosque in India.

Education

Administration of Thrissur

Thrissur District has four types of administrative hierarchies:

Revenue sub-districts and Taluks

Source:

Taluks in Thrissur District
Taluks & its Headquarters
Thrissur Thrissur
Mukundapuram Irinjalakuda
Kodungallur Kodungallur
Chavakad Chavakad
Thalapilly Wadakkanchery
Chalakudy Chalakudy
Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam

The district is divided into two Revenue Sub Divisions: Thrissur and Irinjalakuda, and is headed by the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO). The district is divided into seven taluks, headed by the Thasildar. Each of these taluks is further divided into villages headed by a village officer, with a total of 255 villages in the district. The numbers in the brackets denote the number of villages in each taluk.

Local Self-Governing Bodies

Municipalities
Kunnamkulam
Chalakudy
Kodungallur
Chavakad
Guruvayur
Irinjalakuda
Wadakkanchery
Municipal
Corporation
Thrissur

The district of Kerala has the following Local Self-Governing Bodies (LSGs), which form the third-tier government.

  • District Panchayats - 1
  • Block Panchayats - 16
  • Grama Panchayats - 86
  • Municipalities - 7
  • Municipal Corporations - 1

Thrissur Municipal Corporation is the only municipal corporation in the district.

Kerala State Assembly Constituencies

There are 13 constituencies from the district of Thrissur:

Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituency

The district of Thrissur forms part of three parliamentary constituencies:

Suresh Gopi is the Thrissur MP, Benny Behanan is the Chalakudy MP, and K. Radhakrishnan is the Alathur MP.

Major Towns

Media

General began publication in 1976.

Politics

Source:
District No. Constituency Name Party Alliance Remarks
Thrissur 61 Chelakkara (SC) U. R. Pradeep CPI(M) LDF
62 Kunnamkulam A. C. Moideen
63 Guruvayur N. K. Akbar
64 Manalur C. Raveendranath
65 Wadakkanchery Xavier Chittilappilly
66 Ollur K. Rajan CPI
67 Thrissur Rajan Pallan INC UDF
68 Nattika (SC) Geetha Gopi CPI LDF
69 Kaipamangalam K. K. Valsaraj
70 Irinjalakuda Thomas Unniyadan KC UDF
71 Puthukkad K. K. Ramachandran CPI(M) LDF
72 Chalakudy T. J. Saneesh Kumar Joseph INC UDF
73 Kodungallur O. J. Janeesh Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports, Registration & Museum

Places of interest

Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary – 30 km (19 mi) from Thrissur City.
The Athirapally Falls flowing its usual discharge

Important towns

Kulassery Narasimha Temple, Thrissur

List of villages

References

  1. ↑ "District Collector". Thrissur.nic.in. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  2. ↑ InfoTech, S. R. V. "Who is Who". Thrissurcity.keralapolice.gov.in. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  3. ↑ InfoTech, S. R. V. "Who is Who". Thrissurrural.keralapolice.gov.in. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 Annual Vital Statistics Report - 2018 (PDF). Thiruvananthapuram: Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala. 2020. p. 55.
  5. ↑ "Kerala | UNDP in India". UNDP.
  6. ↑ Thampuran, Ashalatha. "History of the Cochin Royal Family: Tracing the Journey of Perumpadappu Swarūpam". Sahapedia. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  7. ↑ Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  8. ↑ [dead link]
  9. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Mongolia 3,133,318 July 2011 est.
  10. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Iowa 3,046,355
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "District Census Hand Book: Thrissur" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  12. ↑ "Chapter IV - Trends in Urbanization" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2019.
  13. ↑ "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Kerala". Censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  14. 1 2 "Table C-01: Population by religious community: Kerala". Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  15. ↑ Menon, A. Sreedhara (1962). Kerala District Gazetteers: Trichur, Kerala, Volume 7. Superintendent of Govt. Presses. pp. 72, 100.
  16. ↑ Sheshadri, Veena (2013). India: A to Z. ISBN 9789351184263.
  17. ↑ Limca Book of Records: India at Her Best. Hachette UK. 2018. ISBN 9789351952404.
  18. ↑ Logan, William (1887). "Ponnani Taluk". Malabar Manual. II: ccccxi.
  19. ↑ William, Logan (1887). "The People: Religion: Christianity". Malabar Manual. I: 199.
  20. ↑ Ayyar, A. S. Ramanatha (1927). "Two Copper Plate Records from Palaiyur". Travancore Archaeological Series. IV Part I: 84–91.
  21. ↑ Ron Geaves (2017). Islam and Britain: Muslim Mission in an Age of Empire. Bloomsbury. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4742-7175-2.
  22. ↑ "Mosque in Kerala dates back to the Prophet's time". The Times of India. 20 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Anandan, S. (20 July 2015). "Tinkering with the past". The Hindu.
  24. ↑ "Villages (255) | District Thrissur, Government of Kerala | India". Thrissur.nic.in. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "Kerala Election Results Winners List 2026: Congress Wins 63 Seats as CPI(M) Shrinks to 26. Full Constituency-Wise Data Here". The Indian Express. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Kerala Assembly Election Results 2026: Get Constituency-wise, Party-wise Results of Kerala Polls". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Kerala Election Results 2026: Full list of winners and losers; Congress-led UDF breaks LDF's decade-long dominance". The Times of India. 4 May 2026. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 14 May 2026.

Further reading