MALAPPURAM: The Samastha Kanthapuram faction’s renewed call for Malappuram’s bifurcation has reignited a long-standing, politically sensitive debate in which governance challenges, population pressure and development concerns intersect with electoral calculations and communal anxieties. Formed on June 16, 1969, Malappuram is Kerala’s most populous district, with a population of 41.1 lakh according to the 2011 Census. Unofficial estimates suggest the figure has crossed 47 lakh, making it denser in population than several states and UTs.
In 2015, the Malappuram district panchayat adopted a resolution seeking division of the district, citing administrative overload and difficulties in service delivery. The issue was raised in the assembly in 2019 by IUML MLA K N A Khader, who argued Malappuram had outgrown its existing administrative framework. Even in the early 2010s, SDPI had organised hartals to press the issue.
In recent years, Tirur MLA Kurukkoli Moideen proposed the formation of a new district by merging Tirur, Tirurangadi and Ponnani taluks, arguing that coastal and central regions were being under served.
“I first came across the issue in 1990. During the district’s 25th anniversary in 1993, when I was Youth League district president, I raised the issue on the party platform. In 2008, a resolution was passed by the Muslim League’s Tirur mandalam committee. Our intention was not publicity, but to highlight the severe administrative bottlenecks faced by the district,” Moideen said.
Supporters of bifurcation point to persistent administrative stress as justification. Revenue offices, taluk administrations and district-level institutions in Malappuram handle unusually high caseloads, often resulting in delays in delivering welfare benefits. Public healthcare facilities function under heavy pressure. Policing and disaster management also pose major challenges in a district marked by dense population clusters and difficult terrain.
Opposition to the demand has been sharp, particularly from Hindu organisations and right-wing groups. Reacting to the Kanthapuram faction’s demand, Hindu Aikya Vedi leader K P Sasikala on Facebook questioned whether population control, rather than administrative reorganisation, should be the priority.
The IUML leadership, reportedly wary of the implications of endorsing a demand often framed by opponents in communal terms, has so far distanced itself from the renewed push. “The party has not discussed the issue in depth. With the assembly election approaching, a detailed study is required. We will decide on further steps after that,” said IUML Malappuram district general secretary and MLA Abdul Hameed.
The state government has consistently adopted a cautious stance. The LDF regime earlier dismissed the bifurcation demand as unscientific. No expert committee has been constituted to examine the feasibility of dividing Malappuram.
Maintaining he was misquoted in 2019, Khader said: “I never demanded bifurcation. What I argued for was updating governance in line with population growth. There is nothing inherently wrong in administrative reorganisation, but some are trying to politicise and communalise the issue,” Khader told TNIE.