During the British rule, Malabar's chief importance laid in producing pepper.[82] The Company reduced the Zamorins to the position of "pensioned" landlord by giving them an annual payment called mali khana. Payments (Mali khana) were taken over by the Government of India after independence in 1947.[81] The royal family has been trying to get a pension from the various governments over fifty years. The Kerala government decided to award a monthly pension to members of the royal family in 2013.[81]