The proposal to shift two cannons belonging to the British era from the Kunjali Marakkar Museum at Kottakkal-Iringal, near Vatakara, to the District Tourism Promotion Office (DTPC) at Kannur has acquired a political colour, with the Indian Union Muslim League-Congress combine and the Bharatiya Janata Party opposing the government move.
The Department of Archaeology had decided to shift the two cannons after Thalassery legislator A. N. Shamseer requested the government for their exhibition in Kannur district. The 19th century artillery were part of the eight cannons recovered from the Thalassery port premises three years ago. Officials said the Department of Ports had decided to keep six of them in its custody and hand over the remaining two to the Thalassery tourism council. After chemical conservation, these were maintained in a building under the control of the Aralam farm office.
When the building had to be vacated, the Department of Archaeology shifted these two cannons to the Kunjali Marakkar Museum on temporary basis last year. That Thalassery neither had a museum nor an archaeological office for their preservation was cited as the reason.
Lately, the DTPC in Kannur decided that it would maintain them. Subsequently the government also issued an order in this regard.
But the local people led by IUML, Congress and BJP are up in arms against the move as they believe that transferring the cannons would undermine the development of the Kunjali Marakkar Museum in Kozhikode district.
Two attempts to shift the cannons were foiled. “But the government is determined to shift them to Kannur. If this is not done now, more problems will emerge in the future,” an official with the Archaeology Department said.
Meanwhile, the issue was raised in the ongoing Assembly session. Kuttiyadi legislator and IUML leader Parakkal Abdulla said shifting the cannons would weaken the expansion plans of the Kunjali Marakkar Museum that was set up in memory of the erstwhile Muslim naval chief of the Zamorin of Calicut. He also accused the government of not taking adequate steps for the expansion the museum.
However, Kadannappally Ramachandran, Minister for Ports, Museums, Archaeology and Archives, clarified that the government was committed to the development of the Kunjali Marakkar Museum. But materials of historical importance that was recovered from a certain place should be a displayed there. That was also true in the case of the cannons recovered from the Thalassery port premises.
