The

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

borders

Arabian sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

coastline on the west,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

on the south and east,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

on the north and north east. Western Ghats form an almost continuous mountain wall, except near

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

where there is a natural mountain pass known as the

Palakkad Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between the Nilgiri Hills to the north and ...

. When the independent India amalgamated smaller states together Travancore and Cochin states were integrated to form Travancore-Cochin state on 1 July 1949. However,

North Malabar North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad District, Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara, Koyilandy, and Thamarassery in the Kozhikode Distri ...

and

South Malabar South Malabar refers to a geographical area of the southwestern coast of India covering some parts of the present-day Kerala. South Malabar covers the regions included in present-day Kozhikode Tehsil, taluk of Kozhikode district, the whole area o ...

remained under the

Madras state Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...

. The

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have b ...

of 1 November 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood, through the unification of

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-speaking territories in the southwestern

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

of India. The state of

is divided into 14 revenue

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s. On the basis of geographical, historical and cultural similarities the state's districts are generally grouped into three parts – The Northern Kerala districts of

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

; the Central Kerala districts of

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

; and the Southern Kerala districts of Idukki,

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

Alappuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in States and territories of India, state of Kerala, India. The Kerala Backwaters, Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Indi ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37 ...

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

, and

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. Such a regional division occurred being part of historical regions of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, and

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

. The

region, which is culturally distinct from the rest of Kerala, entirely lies in the districts of ''Northern Kerala''. The regions of

and

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

, both of which share a lot of historical, geographical, and cultural similarities, together constitute the districts of ''Central Kerala''. The

region is incorporated in the districts of ''South Kerala''. The Travancore region was again divided into three zones as

Northern Travancore The Northern Division or Kottayam Division was one of the three (or four) administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore in British India. It was established in 1856 and covered parts of Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki in the p ...

(Hill Range) ( Idukki and a smaller portion of

Central Travancore Central Division, sometimes referred to as the Quilon Division was one of three (or four) administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore in what is now Kerala. It was administered by a civil servant of rank Diwan Peishkar equival ...

(Central Range) (

and

) and

Southern Travancore The Southern Division, or Padmanabhapuram Division till 1921 and Trivandrum Division from 1921 to 1949, was one of the administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore. It covered the five taluks of Agastiswaram, Eraniel, Kalkula ...

(Southern Range) (

and

). The largest and smallest district by area in the state are

and

respectively whereas

and

are the most and least populous districts of the state respectively. The districts in Kerala are often named after the largest town or city in the district. The 14 districts are further divided into 77 taluks, 6

Municipal Corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

s, 87

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, and 941

Gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s. Some of the districts were renamed in 1990 from the

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

names to their local names.

Administrative structure

Kerala State has been divided into 14 districts, 78 taluks, 152 community development blocks, 941

s, 6 corporations and 87 municipalities. A district is governed by a

District Collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

, who is an officer from

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

(IAS) of Kerala cadre and is appointed by the State

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

. Functionally the district administration is carried on through the various Departments of the State Government each of which has an office of its own the district level. The District Collector is the executive leader of the district administration and the District Officers of the various Departments in the district render technical advice to him in the discharge of his duties. The District Collector is a key functionary of Government having large powers and responsibilities. He has a dual role to both as the agent of the Government of the state and also as the representative of the people in the district. He is also responsible for the maintenance of the law and order of the district. Other than urban units such as town

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and rural units called

s, other government administrative subdivisions includes

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s and 'community development blocks' (also known as CD blocks or blocks). A taluk consists of urban units such as

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

s and rural units called

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s. The ''Tahsildar'' in charge of each taluk is primarily the Revenue Official responsible for the collection of revenue of the taluk, but he is also expected to be in direct contact with the people at all levels and to have first hand knowledge of the conditions of every village under his jurisdiction. The

Tahsildar In India and Pakistan, a Tehsildar or Mamlatdar is a tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as an executive magistrate of the relev ...

is assisted in each village by village officers and village assistants. A block also consists of such as

s and

s. A block is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), who is appointed by the Government of Kerala. A gram panchayat, which consists of a group of villages, is administered by a village council headed by a Gram Panchayat President. A

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, which consists of urban areas, is administered by a municipal council headed by a Municipal Chairperson. A District Police Chief, better known as a Superintendent of Police, heads the District Police organization of

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...

. This is as per the Police Act of 1861, which is applicable to the whole of India. The Superintendents of Police are officers of the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...

. For every subdivision, there is a Subdivision Police, headed by a Police officer of the rank of

Assistant Superintendent of Police Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held b ...

or Deputy Superintendent of Police. Under subdivisions, there are Police Stations, each headed by a Station House Officer of the rank of

Inspector of Police Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

, or in case of rural areas, by a Sub-Inspector of Police. The

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

has the jurisdiction of the state of Kerala. Each of the districts has a District & Sessions Court.

History

At the time of formation, Kerala had only five districts:

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

, and

. On 1 January 1957, the

Malabar district Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

was trifurcated to form new districts of

, and

, bringing the total to seven districts. Alappuzha district was carved out of erstwhile Kottayam and Kollam districts on 17 August 1957, to form the 8th district.

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

was formed on 1 April 1958 as the 9th district, carved out of parts of erstwhile Thrissur and Kottayam districts.

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the to ...

was formed on 16 June 1969 as the 10th district, with Ernad and Tirur taluks of the erstwhile Kozhikode district and Perinthalmanna and Ponnani taluks of Palakkad district. Idukki district was formed on 26 January 1972 as the 11th district, with Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peermedu taluks of the erstwhile Kottayam district and Thodupuzha taluk of the erstwhile Ernakulam district.

Wayanad district Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

was formed on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district in Kerala by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts.

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruval ...

was formed on 1 November 1982 as the 13th district by carving out the entire Pathanamthitta taluk and nine villages of Kunnathur taluk from Kollam district, entire Thiruvalla taluk and part of

Chengannur Chengannur (also spelled Chengannoor or Chenganur) is a Municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala State, India. It is located in the extreme eastern part of the Alappuzha district, on the banks of Pamba River. Chengannur is north of ...

and Mavelikkara taluks from Alapphuzha district and parts of Idukki district.

Kasaragod district Kasaragod ( and Malayalam language, Malayalam: , English language, English: ''Kassergode'', Tulu language, Tulu: ''Kasrod'', Arabic language, Arabic: ''Harkwillia'') is one of the 14 List of districts of Kerala, districts in the southern Indi ...

was formed on 24 May 1984 as the 14th district by carving out a major portion of the erstwhile Kannur district.

Alphabetical listing

References

External links

Official website of Government of Kerala
{{DEFAULTSORT:Districts in Kerala, List of

Kerala geography-related lists

Administrative structure

History

Alphabetical listing

See also

References

Further reading

External links