For the village of the same name in Thrissur district

Thrissur district

Thrissur is a revenue district of Kerala situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2, Thrissur district is home to over 10% of Kerala’s population. Thrissur district was formed on July 1, 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur City. Thrissur is known as...

 see Chirakkal, Thrissur

Chirakkal, Thrissur

Chirakkal is a small village in Thrissur district of Kerala, South India. It is fifteen kilometers from Thrissur city, on the Cherpu-Thriprayar road....

.

Chirakkal is a census town

Census town

In India, a census town is one which has:# A minimum population of 5,000# At least 75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits# A density of population of at least 400 persons per km2.In Ireland, a census town is;...

 in Kannur district

Kannur district

Kannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name Cannanore is the anglicised form of the Malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and...

  in the state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is 7 km from Kannur

Kannur

Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...

 town.

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Chirakkal has a population of 43,290. Males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. Chirakkal has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 85% and female literacy of 82%. Eleven percent of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

The Kovilakam ("Palace" in the Malayalam language) of Kolathiri

Kolathiri

Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...

s were in Chirakkal a place near to Kannur famous as the seat of the Kolathiris. Kolathiri were also known as Chirakkal Raja or King of Chirakkal. The southern branch of this family ruled over Venad

Venad

Venad Swarupam was one of the three prominent late medieval Hindu feudal kingdoms on Malabar Coast, south India, along with Kingdom of Calicut and Kingdom of Cannanore. In the early 14th century, Venad ruler Ravi Varma Kulasekhara had established a short-lived supremacy over southern India...

 and is today known as the Travancore Royal Family

Travancore Royal Family

The Travancore Royal Family descended from the Venad line of the Cheras and ruled over the Indian state of Travancore until 1947.The Royal family, alternatively known as the Kupaka Royal Family, Thripappur Swaroopam, Venad Swaroopam, Vanchi Swaroopam etc., has its seat today at Trivandrum in...

.

Kolathiris are the successors of Mooshiks Kings who ruled northern Kerala in the first century AD. The detailed history of this dynasty and hidden history of this region is mentioned in the "Mooshika Vamsham" a Sanskrit poetic text, written by Athulan in the tenth century AD. Mooshika Vamsham is believed to be one of the earliest Sanskrit books written based on the history of northern Kerala.

Kolathiris were political and commercial rivals of the Samoothiris (Zamorins) of Kozhikode.

Bekal Fort

Bekal Fort

'Bekal Fort' is the largest fort in Kasargod, Kerala, India, spreading over . An important features of this fort are the water-tank with its flight of steps, the tunnel opening towards the south, the magazine for keeping ammunition and the broad and wide steps leading to the Observation Tower...

 now in Kasaragod

Kasaragod district

Kasaragod District is one of the districts of the Indian state of Kerala. Kasaragod District was organised as a separate district on 24 May 1984...

 and Chandragiri

Chandragiri

Chandragiri , is a suburb of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, India. Recently it is included under Municipal Corporation limits of Tirupati...

 Fort were originally under the Chirakkal Rajas until the time of Shivappa Naik's invasion of Kolathunadu
Nowadays the recognition of the Chirakkal Raja is widely regarded by the folk artists, especially the Theyyam

Theyyam

Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu area Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu...

 artists. The most gifted among them receive 'pattum valayum' (a type of silk cloth and golden bangle) from the Chirakkal Raja as recognition.

Famous residents

Former Chief Minister of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 Shri K. Karunakaran was born in Chirakkal in 1918.