Ralph Abraham, Trip Report 2014

Kerala is a small state in the south of India. Its history:

Before 8th C, Dravidian culture thrivved all over India, thought to be a partenership society.
Since 8th C, Aryan Brahmins pushed down from the North, displacing partnership with dominator society, and Buddhism with Hinduism and its caste system.
Brahmins created Malayalam from Sanskrit and Tamil.
Dravidian language group, older than the Indo-European group, now comprises Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, and minor branches.
In the 9th C, the last king of the Chera dynasty (including parts of present Kerala and Tamil Nadu) converted to Islam, leading to the relatively high Muslim population today.
In 1498, Vasco da Gama (the first European) arrived at Beypore Port near Calicut (Kozhikode).
In the 16th C, Malabar (meaning hill country) was adopted as the name for the district, with Calicut is capital.
In 1792, Malabar was ceded to the British East India Company.
In 1956, Madras state was divided on linguistic grounds, creating Kerala.
Now, the Muslim population of Kerala is around 30% (it is 20% in West Bengal), but is 38% around Calicut, with Hindu, Muslim, and Christian fundamentalism rapidly rising.