The unpopular Maharajah Bala Rama Varma, during whose reign Travancore faced a number of internal and external problems, revolts and unnecessary battles and conspiracies, including the most important revolt of
Velu Thampi Dalawa, died in 1809. At the death of the Maharajah, Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the senior Rani of Attingal, was barely twenty years of age. There were no eligible male members in the family which meant she would have to take over Travancore and rule it as queen till such an heir would be born to her. However her accession was not easy because a member from the
Mavelikara branch of the royal family, a distant cousin, Prince Kerala Varma, who was the pet of the previous ruler, staked a claim on the throne which was anything but substantiated. The Queen placed in the hands of the British Resident Col.
John Munro, one of Travancore's most loved British Residents, a document asserting her claim and proving the claim of Kerala Varma untenable. This irked Kerala Varma who resorted to tact and tried to convince the Princess to give up her claim. However the Resident sided with Gowri Lakshmi Bayi and she was made the official Maharani of Travancore in 1811. Kerala Varma was permitted to reside at
Thiruvananthapuram, the capital. But when he tried to create further troubles, he was imprisoned and banished from Travancore.
Selection of the Dewan One of the earliest acts of Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi was to dismiss the existing
Dewan or Prime Minister, Ummini Thampi. Ummini Thampi was accused of squandering money and acquiring all the property of the vanquished rebel freedom fighter
Velu Thampi Dalawa and others. He was dismissed and when he tried to cause further trouble, he was imprisoned and punished after being found guilty of conspiracy against the queen. The queen was now asked to nominate some individual for the post of Dewan, to which she stated that she found no eligible individual and would like to appoint the Resident Colonel John Munro as her Dewan. Accordingly, Munro became Dewan of
Travancore in 1811.
Government reforms • The Dewan Col. Munro informed the Maharani of the widespread corruption in her Government owing to the practice of giving all power, administrative and judicial, to a single officer right from village level to district level. To end this the Proverticars (village officers), Kariakkars (
Taluka officers) and the district officials were all deprived of their judicial powers and instead a Court of Appeal and five District Courts at
Padmanabhapuram,
Mavelikara,
Thiruvananthapuram, Vaikam and Alwaye were established and modern judicial system was introduced in
Travancore. The Courts had each two judges and a
Brahmin Sastri. For the trial of Government servants another court known as the
Huzhur court was also established. • The Police was reorganised in Travancore during the reign of Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi at the suggestion of Col. John Munro
Dewan. • Deprived of magisterial and judicial power, the district and village officials now could concentrate their attention on the collection of revenue alone, curtailing their power greatly and making them subject to judicial trial in case of misconduct. The revenue department was cleaned of corruption and revenue collection became smoother and organised.
Social reforms • Taxes on festivals, taxes on inheritance of property were abolished. • Travancore contained a large number of
Devaswoms or Temple Corporations that held vast areas of land and controlled most of the important and wealthy temples in the country. These corporations had fallen prey to corruption and mismanagement and they next engaged the
Dewan's attention. More than three hundred of the biggest temples of Travancore were appropriated by the Government under a Devaswom Board and cleared of corruption and mismanagement. • By a Royal Proclamation in 1812 5 December, Her Highness Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi abolished the purchase and sale of all slaves and granted them independence excepting those attached to the soil for agricultural purposes. • Castes like the
Ezhavas, Kaniyans etc. were given independence from their Lords. A restriction put on the Shudras and others regarding the wearing of gold and silver ornaments was removed. • A vaccination department was started in
Travancore in 1813 under her rule. Finding orthodox reservations amongst her subjects with regard to vaccination, the Queen first vaccinated herself and other members of the Royal family to reassure her people. • Secretariat system was introduced under the guidelines of Col. Munro.
Change in Dewanship In 1814, Colonel John Munro resigned his Dewanship as it was not a permanent arrangement for the Resident to take that post. In his stead the Judge of the Appeal Court, Devan Padmanabhan was appointed as Dewan. However he soon after died from
smallpox. In his place, one of Col. Munro's assistants, Bappu Rao, was appointed as Dewan of Travancore in that same year. ==Family==