Due to the geographical isolation of the
Malabar Coast from the rest of the Indian peninsula, attributed to the presence of the
Western Ghats mountain ranges lying parallel to the coast, the population and language spoken in Kerala differed from those in neighboring states such as
Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka. According to the religious text "
Keralolpathi" by the
Nambudhiri Brahmins, the region from
Gokarna to
Kanyakumari district was created when
Parashurama threw his axe and claimed this land, known as
Parashuramakshetra.
Medieval Kerala –
Thiruvananthapuram–
Kanyakumari area, located at the southernmost tip of the
Indian subcontinent was the main seat of the Ay dynasty and was under the influence of the Pandya dynasty. The
Chera dynasty governed the
Malabar Coast between
Alappuzha in the south and
Kasaragod in the north. The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during the
Sangam period roughly between the first and the fourth centuries CE and served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and Tamil Nadu. However the southern region of the present-day Kerala state was under the
Ay dynasty. During the Ay dynasty, they spoke a language known as
Middle Tamil. When the Ay dynasty was conquered and succeeded by the
Kulashekara Perumals, based in
Kollam (later known as
Venad), during the period of the Chera Kulashekara Perumal (Keralaputras) dynasty, The
Quilon copper plates (849/850 CE) are considered the oldest available inscription written in Old Malayalam. Later, the northern districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alapuzha, and Pathanamthitta became proper
Malayalam-speaking populations in
Kerala, while the other districts showed influences from
Arabic,
Tamil and
Kannada languages. During the period of
Pattom Thanu Pillai, Travancore was referred to as Malayalam state or the land of proper
Malayalis.
Venad Swaroopam was printed at Kollam, the capital of Venad in 1578, during the Portuguese Era. It is the first book printed in any Indian language. It was written in the language Lingua Malabar Tamul'', which was spoken in southern Kerala (Kollam–
Thiruvananthapuram–
Kanyakumari area) during the medieval period. Located at the tip of the Indian subcontinent, the former state of Venad was traditionally ruled by
rajas known as the Venattadis. Until the end of the 11th century AD, it was a small principality in the Ay Kingdom. The Ays were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, who, at their zenith, ruled over a region from
Nagercoil in the south to Thiruvananthapuram in the north. Their capital during the first
Sangam age was in Aykudi and later, towards the end of the eighth century AD, at
Quilon (Kollam). Though a series of attacks by the resurgent Pandyas between the seventh and eighth centuries caused the decline of the Ays, the dynasty was powerful until the beginning of the tenth century.
Sulaiman al-Tajir, a
Persian merchant who visited Kerala during the reign of
Sthanu Ravi Varma (9th century CE), recorded the existence of extensive trade between Kerala and China, based at the port of Kollam. in Quilon, where the resident of Travancore resided When the Ay diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the
Second Chera Kingdom. Thus, Rama Varma Kulasekara, the last emperor of the Chera dynasty, was probably the founder of the Venad royal house, and the title of the Chera kings,
Kulasekara, was thenceforth kept by the rulers of Venad. Thus the end of the Second Chera dynasty in the 12th century marks the independence of Venad. In the second half of the 12th century, two branches of the Ay dynasty, the Thrippappur and Chirava, merged in the Venad family, which set up the tradition of designating the ruler of Venad as
Chirava Moopan and the heir-apparent as
Thrippappur Moopan. While the Chrirava Moopan had his residence at Kollam, the Thrippappur Moopan resided at his palace in Thrippappur, nine miles north of Thiruvananthapuram, and was vested with authority over the temples of Venad kingdom, especially the
Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.
Formation and development of Travancore , as shown in the map (Present-day districts of
Thiruvananthapuram district and Kanyakumari only). The vast region of the Malabar Coast between
Kannur and Kollam was under the control of the
Zamorin of Calicut then. In the latter half of the 18th century Travancore inherited the kingdoms as far as
Cochin and became a powerful kingdom. of the
Dutch East India Company surrenders to
Marthanda Varma of the kingdom of Travancore after the
Battle of Colachel. Depiction at
Padmanabhapuram Palace. In the early 18th century CE, the
Travancore royal family adopted some members from the royal family of
Kolathunadu based at
Kannur, and
Parappanad in present-day
Malappuram district. The history of Travancore began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the kingdom of Venad (Thrippappur), and expanded it into Travancore during his reign (1729–1758). After defeating a union of feudal lords and establishing internal peace, he expanded the kingdom of Venad through a series of military campaigns from
Kanyakumari in the south to the borders of
Kochi in the north during his 29-year rule. During his rule occurred the
Travancore–Dutch War (1739–1753) between Travancore and the
Dutch East India Company, which had been allied to some of these kingdoms. In 1741, Travancore won the
Battle of Colachel against the Dutch, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in the region. In this battle Travancore forces captured the Dutch Captain,
Eustachius De Lannoy; he later defected to Travancore. De Lannoy was appointed captain of His Highness' bodyguard and modernised the
Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery. Travancore became the most dominant state in the Kerala region by defeating the powerful
Zamorin of
Kozhikode in the battle of
Purakkad in 1755. At the Battle of Ambalapuzha, Marthanda Varma defeated the union of the deposed kings and the king of the
Cochin kingdom.
Mysore invasion at the lines of Travancore. Illustration from ''Cassell's Illustrated History of India'' by James Grant (c. 1896). Marthanda Varma's successor Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (1758–1798), who was popularly known as
Dharma Raja, shifted the capital in 1795 from
Padmanabhapuram to
Thiruvananthapuram. Dharma Raja's period is considered a golden age in the history of Travancore. He not only retained the territorial gains of his predecessor, but also improved and encouraged social development. He was greatly assisted by a very efficient administrator,
Raja Kesavadas, the Diwan of Travancore. Travancore often allied with the
English East India Company in military conflicts. During Dharma Raja's reign,
Tipu Sultan, the de facto ruler of
Mysore and the son of
Hyder Ali, attacked Travancore in 1789 as a part of the
Mysore invasion of Kerala. Dharma Raja had earlier refused to hand over the Hindu political refugees from the
Mysore occupation of Malabar who had been given asylum in Travancore. The Mysore army entered the Cochin kingdom from Coimbatore in November 1789 and reached
Thrissur in December. On 28 December 1789 Tipu Sultan attacked the Nedunkotta (northern lines) from the north, causing the
Battle of Nedumkotta and the defeat of the Mysore army.
Velu Thampi Dalawa's rebellion -spoken region. On Dharma Raja's death in 1798,
Balarama Varma (1798–1810), the weakest ruler of the dynasty, took over at the age of sixteen. A treaty brought Travancore under a
subsidiary alliance with the English
East India Company in 1795. In 1848 the
Marquess of Dalhousie, then
Governor-General of India, was apprised that the depressed condition of the finances in Travancore was due to these mahādānams by the rulers. Lord Dalhousie instructed
Lord Harris, Governor of the
Madras Presidency, to warn the King of Travancore,
Martanda Varma (Uttram Tirunal) (1847–60), that if he did not end this practice, the Madras Presidency would take over his state's administration. This led to the cessation of the practice of mahādanams. All Travancorean kings including
Sree Moolam Thirunal conducted the
Hiranyagarbham and
Tulapurushadaanam ceremonies. Maharaja
Chithira Thirunal was the only King of Travancore not to have conducted these rituals as he considered them extremely costly.
19th and early 20th centuries coin The
caste system was enforced more rigorously in Travancore than in many other parts of India up to the mid-1800s. The hierarchical caste order was deeply entrenched in the social system and was supported by the government, which transformed this caste-based social system into a religious institution. In such a context, the
Ayyavazhi religious sect served also as a reform movement in uplifting the downtrodden of society, both socially and religiously. The
rituals of Ayyavazhi constituted a social discourse. Its beliefs, mode of worship, and religious organisation seem to have enabled the Ayyavazhi group to negotiate, cope with, and resist the imposition of authority. The hard tone of the sect's founder,
Ayya Vaikundar, was perceived as a revolution against the government. In response, King
Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma initially imprisoned Vaikundar in the Singarathoppu jail, but later set him at liberty. Vaikundar's jailor, Appaguru, ended up becoming his disciple. File:Anchal Box Perumbavoor Rest House.JPG|Travancore's postal service adopted a standard cast iron pillar box, made by Massey & Co in
Madras, similar to the British
Penfold model introduced in 1866. This
Anchal post box is in
Perumbavoor. File:Ayilyam Thirunal and Madhava Rao.JPG|
Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore (centre) with the first prince (left) and Dewan Rajah Sir
T. Madhava Rao (right) File:Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.jpg|The last King of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma File:Nair pattalam cavalry.jpg|Travancore
Nair Brigade in 1861 After the death of
Sree Moolam Thirunal in 1924,
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi became regent (1924–1931), as the heir apparent; Sree
Chithira Thirunal was then a minor, 12 years old. In 1935, Travancore joined the
Indian State Forces Scheme and a Travancore unit was named
1st Travancore Nair Infantry,
Travancore State Forces. The unit was reorganised as an
Indian State Infantry Battalion by Lieutenant Colonel H S Steward, who was appointed commandant of the Travancore State Forces. The last ruling king of Travancore,
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, reigned from 1931 to 1949. Menon states that "his reign marked revolutionary progress in the fields of education, defence, economy and society as a whole." He made the famous Temple Entry Proclamation on 12 November 1936, which opened all the
Kshetrams (Hindu temples in Kerala) in Travancore to backward communities. This act won him praise from across India, most notably from
Mahatma Gandhi. The first public transport system (Thiruvananthapuram–Mavelikkara) and telecommunication system (Thiruvananthapuram Palace–Mavelikkara Palace) were launched during his reign. He also began state industrialisation, introducing heavy industry in the state and established giant public sector undertakings. As many as twenty industries were established, mostly for utilising the local raw materials such as rubber, ceramics, and minerals. Even today, a majority of the premier industries in Kerala were initially established by Sree Chithira Thirunal. He patronised musicians, artists, dancers, and Vedic scholars. Sree Chithira Thirunal appointed, for the first time, an Art Advisor to the Government, Dr. G. H. Cousins. He also established a new form of University Training Corps, viz. Labour Corps, preceding the N.C.C, in the educational institutions. The expenses of the university were to be met fully by the government. Sree Chithira Thirunal also built the beautiful
Kowdiar Palace, finished in 1934, which was previously an old
Naluektu given by Sree Moolam Thirunal to his mother Sethu Parvathi Bayi in 1915. A famine in 1943 claimed approximately 90,000 lives in Travancore. However, his prime minister, Sir
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, was unpopular among the communists of Travancore. The tension between the Communists and Iyer led to minor riots. In one such
riot in Punnapra-Vayalar in 1946, the Communist rioters established their own government in the area. This was put down by the Travancore Army and Navy. The prime minister issued a statement in June 1947 that Travancore would remain an independent country instead of joining the Indian Union; subsequently, an attempt was made on his life, following which he resigned and left for Madras, to be succeeded by Sri
P. G. N. Unnithan. According to witnesses such as
Aiyappan Pillai, constitutional adviser to the Maharaja and historians like
A. Sreedhara Menon, the rioters and mob-attacks had no bearing on the decision of the Maharaja. After several rounds of discussion and negotiation between Sree Chithira Thirunal and
V. P. Menon, the king agreed that the kingdom should accede to the Indian Union on 12 August 1947. On 1 July 1949 the kingdom of Travancore was merged with the kingdom of Cochin and the short-lived state of
Travancore–Kochi was formed. in 1909 On 11 July 1991, Maharaja Sree Chithira Thirunal suffered a stroke and was admitted to a hospital, where he died on 20 July. He had ruled Travancore for 67 years and at his death was one of the few surviving rulers of a first-class
princely state in the old
British Raj. He was also the last surviving Knight Grand Commander of both the
Order of the Star of India and of the
Order of the Indian Empire. He was succeeded as head of the Royal House as well as the Titular Maharajah of Travancore by his younger brother,
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. The Government of India issued a stamp on 6 Nov 1991, commemorating the reforms that marked his reign in Travancore.
Formation of Kerala The State of Kerala came into existence on 1 November 1956, with a governor appointed by the president of India as the head of state instead of a king. The king was stripped of all political powers and of the right to receive
privy purses, according to the twenty-sixth amendment of the Indian constitution act of 31 July 1971. He died on 20 July 1991.
Merger of Kanyakumari with Madras State Tamils lived in large numbers in the
Thovalai,
Agastheeswaram,
Sengottai,
Eraniel,
Vilavancode,
Kalkulam,
Devikulam,
Neyyattinkara,
Thiruvananthapuram South and
Thiruvananthapuram North
taluks of erstwhile Travancore State. During this period the Travancore State Congress favoured the idea of uniting all the Malayalam-speaking regions and forming a "Unified Kerala". In protest against this idea, many Tamil leaders vacated the party. Tamils gathered together at
Nagercoil on 16 December 1945 under the leadership of Sam Nathaniel and formed the new political party All Travancore Tamilian Congress. That party pushed for the merger of Tamil regions in Travancore with Tamil Nadu. During the election campaign, clashes occurred between the Tamil Nadar community and the Malayali Nair community in Kalkulam–Vilavancode taluks. The police force suppressed the agitating Nadars. In February 1948 police opened fire and two Tamil-speaking Nadars were killed. After the independence of India, State Assembly elections were announced in Travancore. As a consequence, TTNC improved its popularity among Tamils. A popular and leading advocate from Vilavancode,
A. Nesamony organised a meeting of his supporters at Allan Memorial Hall, Nagercoil on 8 September 1947. In that meeting it was declared that they must achieve their objective through their political organisation, the TTNC. Thereafter TTNC started gaining strength and momentum in Kalkulam–Vilavancode taluks. TTNC won in 14 constituencies in the election to the
State Legislative Assembly. Mr.
A. Nesamony was elected as the legislative leader of the party. Under his leadership, the awakened Tamil population was prepared to undergo any sacrifice to achieve their goal. In 1950, a meeting was held at
Palayamkottai to make compromises between the state congress and the TTNC. The meeting met with failure and Sam Nathaniel resigned from the post of president of the TTNC. P. Ramasamy Pillai, a strong follower of Nesamony, was elected as the new president. On 11 August, Liberation Day celebrations were held at many places in South Travancore. Public meetings and processions were organised. Communists also collaborated with the agitation programmes. Police opened fire at the processions in Thoduvetty (Martandam) and Puthukadai. Nine Tamil volunteers were killed and thousands of TTNC and communist sympathisers were arrested in various parts of Tamil main land. At the end, Pattom Thanu Pillai's ministry was toppled and normalcy returned to the Tamil regions. On 1 November 1956 four taluks (Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, Kalkulam, Vilavancode) were recognised to form the New Kanyakumari District and merged with Tamil Nadu state. Half of
Sengottai taluk was merged with
Tirunelveli district. As the TTNC's primary objective was a merger of Travancore's Tamil regions with Tamil Nadu, a major part of its goal had been realised, and it was dissolved thereafter. The TTNC had also requested to merge these taluks with
Madras State. However, due to some decisions of
Pattom Thanu Pillai, the first prime minister of Travancore, they were retained in Kerala state. Pattom came up with a colonisation project to re-engineer the demography of
Cardamom Hills. His colonisation project was to relocate 8,000 Malayalam-speaking families into the taluks of
Devikulam and
Peermade. About 50,000 acres in these taluks, which were Tamil-majority area, were chosen for the colonisation project. As a victory of the colonisation project done by post-independence Travancore, these two taluks and a larger portion of Cardamom Hills were retained in the state of Kerala, after
States Reorganisation Act (1956). ==Politics==