ABSTRACT
The Malabar migration refers to the mass movement of peasants from Travancore to Malabar that began in the early 1920s and lasted till the late 1970s. The Malabar migration and the history of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Malabar are closely interrelated. This chapter explores how religion became central to a mass migration, and the relationship shared by the migrants and the Church in the process of the migration. The chapter also examines how various discourses on gender and family became pivotal in the establishment of the Church in Malabar. Girideepam, a magazine published by the Telicherry diocese between 1961 and 1971, is taken as the primary source of information for understanding the notions of religious identity, family, and gender with respect to the Malabar migration.
