Ponnani

Ponnani പൊന്നാനി
Municipality
Ponnani Nagaram Post Office
Ponnani Show map of Kerala Ponnani Show map of India Location in Kerala, India
Coordinates: 10°46′N 75°54′E / 10.77°N 75.9°E / 10.77; 75.9Coordinates: 10°46′N 75°54′E / 10.77°N 75.9°E / 10.77; 75.9
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Malappuram
Government
• Type	kerala sarkar
• Body	Ponnani municipality
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	90,491
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	679 577
Telephone code	0494
Vehicle registration	KL-54
Nearest city	Thrissur, Malappuram
Sex ratio	1000:1067 ♂/♀
Literacy	71.3%
Lok Sabha constituency	Ponnani
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Ponnani
Civic agency	Ponnani municipality

Ponnani (formerly Ponani and Paniyani) is municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala. It serves the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayath of the same name. It is situated at the mouth of Bharathappuzha (Nila River) and is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west.

Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered Malabar in 1766 and established an outpost in Ponnani. During his son Tipu Sultan’s regime Ponnani became an important centre for Islamic studies. Tipu developed the port at Ponnani for trade and security reasons. Ponnani was the southern most town of Tipu's regime. After Tipu’s defeat in 1799, the British took the territory of Malabar under their control.

Shri. KV Raman Menon (1900–1974), known as Ponnani Gandhi, was a great Congress leader of the time who had actively participated in the freedom movement of Malabar. He was a social reformer and was a leading lawyer of the Court of Ponani.

As of 2001^[update] India census, Ponnani had a population of 87,356. Males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. Ponnani has an average literacy rate of 85.20%, higher than the Indian national average of 65.38%: male literacy is 90.08%, and female literacy is 80.87%. In Ponnani, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Ponnani provides a natural ground for establishing a port. Ponnani is a sea shore town along the south banks of Barathappuzha. It is located at 10°46′N 75°54′E / 10.77°N 75.9°E / 10.77; 75.9 at the earth global. It has an average elevation of 5 metres (16 feet).