Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam

Kottayam district

Kottayam is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The district has its headquarters at Kottayam town, located at 9.36° N and 76.17° E. According to the 1991 census, it is the first district to achieve highest literacy rate in the whole of India...

  in 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...

. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad

Vembanad Lake

Vembanad Lake is the longest lake in India, and the largest lake in the state of Kerala. It is also one of the largest lakes, in India. A lake spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known by different names in different localities viz. Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad, Kochi Lake in...

, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha

Muvattupuzha

Muvattupuzha is a municipality in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a junction of three districts namely Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki. The town is bordered by Kottayam district on southern side and Idukki district on eastern side approximately 20 km from the town...

. It lies between Ernakulam

Ernakulam

Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...

 and Kottayam

Kottayam

Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...

. Vaikom is the oldest township in Kottayam, and among the oldest in South India.

The Vaikom Shiva Temple

Vaikom Temple

The Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a temple for the Hindu god Shiva in Vaikom, Kerala.The temple, along with Ettumanoor Siva Temple, Kaduthuruthy Thaliyil Mahadeva Temple is considered a powerful trisome...

, known as Thekkan Kashi [Southern Kashi

Varanasi

-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...

], is the heart of the town, and is remarkable for the Vaikom Ashtami celebrations during November. It is notable as the venue of the Vaikom Agitation

Vaikom Satyagraha

Vaikom Satyagraha was a satyagraha in Travancore, India against untouchability in Hindu society. The movement was centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.The Satyagraha aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Sri...

 for achieving for the lower castes the right to walk on the roads surrounding the temple.

The traditional economy has been based on coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 and rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 crops, and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

; more recently, crops like nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

, black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

, and latex

Latex

Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...

 have also been introduced. Tourism and software are also pursued as means to livelihood. Hindustan Newsprint Limited is situated in Velloor

Velloor

Velloor is a village in the Vaikom Taluk of the Kottayam district in Kerala, India.-Location:Regular bus servies are available to the towns of Vaikom and Kottayam...

 near Vaikom.

Vaikom is administered by a Municipality and is the seat of a Munsiff's court (among the oldest to be established in the Kingdom of Travancore).
Vaikom assembly constituency is reserved for Dalits and is part of Kottayam parliamentary constituency

Kottayam (Lok Sabha constituency)

-Assembly segments:Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments:piravom/-/pala#Kottayam#Ettumanoor#Puthuppally#Kaduthuruthy#Vaikom #Palai#Piravom-Members of Parliament:*1952: C. P. Matthew, Indian National Congress...

.