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
Padmanabhapuram is a town and a municipality near Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342.
History
Padmanabhapuram was the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Travan ...
, and later
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 ...
. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day
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 ...
(
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- ...
,
Alappuzha,
Pathanamthitta,
Kollam, 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 ...
districts, and some portions of
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 ...
), and the southernmost part of modern-day
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
(
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
and some parts of
Tenkasi district
Tenkasi is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, India, separated from Tirunelveli district on 22 November 2019. The Government of Tamil Nadu announced its creation on 18 July 2019. The district headquarters is at Tenkasi.
Geography
The di ...
) with the
Thachudaya Kaimal
The Thachudaya Kaimals were a lineage of ruling chiefs in Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala. The Thachudaya Kaimal is a sacerdotal dignitary in Kerala and is considered the spiritual chief and temporal ruler of the Koodalmanikyam Templ ...
's enclave of
Irinjalakuda
Irinjalakuda is a municipal town in Thrissur district, Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of
Irinjalakuda Revenue Division and Mukundapuram (tehsil), Mukundapuram Taluk. After Thrissur, this town has most number of administrative, law-enfor ...
Koodalmanikyam temple
Koodalmanikyam Temple is a Hindu temple in Irinjalakuda Municipality, Thrissur district, Kerala, India . The temple comprises a main structure, a walled compound with citadels, and four ponds around the main structure one of which is withi ...
in the neighbouring
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 wa ...
. However
Tangasseri
Tangasseri or Thangassery is a heavily populated beach area on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Kollam city, Kerala, India.
Location
Tangasseri is located about from the city centre and from Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. Archaeologi ...
area of
Kollam city and
Anchuthengu
Anchuthengu ("Five Coconut Palms"), formerly known as Anjengo, Angengo or Anjenga, is a coastal panchayath and town in the Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala. It is situated 9km south-west of Varkala Town along Trivandrum - Varkala - Kollam ...
near
Attingal
Attingal is a municipality in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, India. It was the location of the Attingal kingdom, under Travancore. It is the headquarters of Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, and the ...
in
Thiruvananthapuram district
Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...
, were British colonies and were part of 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 ...
until 30 June 1927, and
Tirunelveli district from 1 July 1927 onwards.
Travancore merged with the erstwhile princely state 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 ...
to form
Travancore-Cochin in 1950. The five
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-majority
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 of
Vilavancode
Vilavancode, also spelt as Viḷavaṅgōḍu, is a town panchayat in Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu state, India. It is part of territory among several taluks that were with the Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the St ...
,
Kalkulam
Kalkulam is a small village located in Kalkulam taluk, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The taluk was among several in Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 were transferred from Thir ...
,
Thovalai,
Agastheeswaram
Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu.
History
Agasteeswaram is named after Sage Agastya who had visited this place to teach Ramayana. Most of the people ...
, and
Sengottai
Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,82 ...
were transferred from
Travancore-Cochin to
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 ...
in 1956.
The
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
-speaking regions of
Travancore-Cochin merged with 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 ...
(excluding the
Laccadive
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
and
Minicoy
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on ''Maliku atoll'', the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory ...
Islands) and the
Kasaragod taluk of the
South Canara
South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas of ...
district in
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 ...
to form the modern
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
-state of
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 ...
on 1 November 1956, according to the
States Reorganisation Act, 1956 passed by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
.
The official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver
conch shell
Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends).
In North Ame ...
(''
Turbinella pyrum
''Turbinella pyrum'', common names the chank shell, sacred chank or chank, also known as the divine conch, sometimes referred to simply as a conch, is a species of very large sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod moll ...
'') at its center. The coat of arms had two elephants standing to the left and right with the conch shell (''
Turibinella pyrum'') in the center. The ribbon is white with black
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
script. Travancore was bounded by the princely state of the
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 wa ...
and the
Coimbatore district of
Madras Presidency to the north,
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
and
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...
districts of
Pandya Nadu
Pandya Nadu or Pandi Nadu is a geographical region comprising the southern part of the present day state of Tamil Nadu. The region is bounded on its West by the Venad/ Ay Nadu, Northeast by the Chola Nadu and Northwest by the Kongu Nadu. It comp ...
region in
Madras Presidency to the east, the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
to the south, and the
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 ...
to the west.
As of the 1911 Census of India, Travancore was divided into five:
Padmanabhapuram
Padmanabhapuram is a town and a municipality near Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342.
History
Padmanabhapuram was the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Travan ...
,
Trivandrum
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 populatio ...
,
Quilon
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 ...
,
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- ...
, and
Devikulam
Devikulam () is a Grama Panchayat and small hill station of about from Munnar in the Idukki District of Kerala State, India. It lies above sea level.
Etymology
The name Devikulam is a conjunction of the words ''Devi'', from the goddess Devi a ...
, of which the first and last were predominantly
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-speaking areas.
King
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
inherited the small feudal state of
Venad
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
in 1723 and built it into Travancore, one of the most powerful kingdoms in
southern India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...
.
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
led the Travancore forces during the
Travancore-Dutch War of 1739–46, which culminated in the
Battle of Colachel. The defeat of the Dutch by Travancore is considered the earliest example of an organised power from Asia overcoming European military technology and tactics.
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
went on to conquer most of the petty principalities of the native rulers. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful
Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited b ...
of
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 l ...
in the battle of
Purakkad
Purakkad is a village in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the beach which is described in Thakazhi's novel "Chemeen".
History
There was an ancient port at Purakkad. Purakkad was known as ''Burkkare'' in ancient time. ...
in 1755.
In the early 19th century, the kingdom became a
princely state of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. The Travancore Government took many progressive steps on the socio-economic front and during the reign of Maharajah Sri
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, Travancore became a prosperous modern
princely state in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, with reputed achievements in education, political administration, public work, and social reforms.
["Travancore." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 11 November 2011.] In 1903–1904, the total revenue of the state was Rs. 1,02,01,900.
Etymology
The kingdom takes its name from
Thiruvithamcode in the present-day
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
.
The region had many small independent kingdoms. Later, at the peak of the Chera-Chola-Pandya, this region became part of the Chera Kingdom (except for the Ay kingdom, which always remained independent). When the region was part of the
Chera empire, it was still known as ''Thiruvazhumkode''. It was contracted to ''Thiruvankode'', and anglicised by the English to ''Travancore''.
In the course of time, the
Ay kingdom
Ay (short from of Ayar) was one of the Tamil dynasties which controlled the south-western tip of the peninsula, from the early historic period up to the medieval period.The clan traditionally held sway over the harbour of Vizhinjam, the ferti ...
, part of the Chera empire, which ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became independent, and the land was called ''Aayi Desam'' or ''Aayi Rajyam'', meaning 'Aayi territory'. The Aayis controlled the land from the present-day Kollam district in the north, through the
Thiruvananthapuram district
Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...
, all of Kerala, to the
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
. There were two capitals, the major one at Kollam (''
Venad Swaroopam'' or ''
Desinganadu'') and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur (''Thrippapur Swaroopam'' or ''
Nanjinad''). The kingdom was thus also called
Venad
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
. Kings of Venad had, built residential palaces in
Thiruvithamcode and
Kalkulam
Kalkulam is a small village located in Kalkulam taluk, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The taluk was among several in Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 were transferred from Thir ...
. Thiruvithamcode became the capital of the Thrippapur Swaroopam, and the country was referred to as ''Thiruvithamcode'' by Europeans even after the capital had been moved in 1601 to
Padmanabhapuram
Padmanabhapuram is a town and a municipality near Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342.
History
Padmanabhapuram was the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Travan ...
, near Kalkulam.
The Chera empire had dissolved by around 1100 and thereafter the territory comprised numerous small kingdoms until the time of
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
who, as king of Venad from 1729, employed brutal methods to unify them. During his reign, Thiruvithamcode or Travancore became the official name.
Geography
File:Travancore 1871.JPG, Map of Travancore in 1871.
File:A Canal Scene, Travancore.jpg, A Canal scene in Travancore.
File:Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.jpg, Sree Padmanabha Swamy was the national deity of the Kingdom of Travancore.
The Kingdom of Travancore was located at the extreme southern tip of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. Geographically, Travancore was divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains).
History
Ay dynasty
![Map of Kampili kingdom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Map_of_Kampili_kingdom.png)
The ancient political and cultural history of central and southern Travancore was almost entirely independent from that of the rest of Kerala. The
Chera dynasty governed the
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 ...
between
Alappuzha in the south and
Kasaragod in the north. This included
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 ...
, Coimbatore,
Salem, and the
Kolli Hills Kolli may refer to:
* Kolli, Iran (disambiguation), places in Iran
* Kolli Hills, is a small mountain range located in central Tamil Nadu
* Kolli Pratyagatma, better known as Kotayya Pratyagatma
* Kolli Srinath Reddy better known as K. Srinath Red ...
. The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during the
Sangam period
The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...
between roughly 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 present-day Kerala state (The coastal belt between Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha) was under the
Ay dynasty
Ay (short from of Ayar) was one of the Tamil dynasties which controlled the south-western tip of the peninsula, from the early historic period up to the medieval period.The clan traditionally held sway over the harbour of Vizhinjam, the fert ...
, which was more related to the Pandya dynasty of
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
than the Cheras.
Present-day Thiruvananthapuram city and district, and
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
, were ruled by the Ay dynasty in ancient and medieval times,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-speaking rulers based in the southernmost part of the Indian subcontinent.
Ay kingdom experienced attacks and conquests by
Cholas and Pandya dynasty at times.
Later it became part of Venad in the late Middle Ages, which eventually expanded into the princely state of Travancore in 18th century CE.
The Tamil-Dravidian architecture of Padmanabhaswamy temple make it distinct and different from the architectural style of the temples in northern and central Kerala.
Modern-day southern Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, etc.) were long ruled by
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
dynasties such as the Ay kingdom and the Pandya dynasty,
[Karashima, Noburu. 2014. 'The Fall of the Old States', in ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations'', ed. Noburu Karashima, pp. 172–73. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.] and Chola dynasty,
[Majumdar (contains no mention of Maldives)] until the 16th-17th century CE. The official language of Venad, based at Kollam, was also Tamil.
The place names, the dialects of
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
spoken, and the customs of southern Kerala still reveal a close relationship with a Tamil heritage.
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
became more prevalent when Venad became Travancore by annexing the territories up to the present-day
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 ...
.
Venad Swaroopam
![Thambiran Vanakkam 1578](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Thambiran_Vanakkam_1578.JPG)
The former state of Venad at the tip of the Indian subcontinent, traditionally ruled by
raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
s 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
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
in the south to Trivandrum in the north. Their capital during the first
Sangam age
The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...
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 Sulaiman is an English transliteration of the Arabic name that means "peaceful" and corresponds to the Jewish name Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה, Shlomoh) and the English Solomon (/ˈsɒləmən/) . Solomon was the scriptural figure who was king of wh ...
, a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
merchant who visited Kerala during the reign of
Sthanu Ravi Varma (9th century CE), records that there was extensive trade between Kerala and China at that time, based at the port of Kollam.
![British Residency in Kollam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/British_Residency_in_Kollam.jpg)
When the Ay diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the
Second Chera Kingdom.
An invasion of the Cholas into Venad caused the destruction of Kollam in 1096. However, the Chera capital,
Mahodayapuram
Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
, also fell in the subsequent Chola attack, which compelled the Chera king, Rama Varma Kulasekara, to shift his capital to Kollam.
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
![1733 Homann Heirs Map of India - Geographicus - India-homannheirs-1733](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/1733_Homann_Heirs_Map_of_India_-_Geographicus_-_India-homannheirs-1733.jpg)
In the early 18th century CE, the
Travancore royal family adopted some members from the royal family of
Kolathunadu
Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along with ...
based at
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 ...
, and
Parappanad
Parappanad was a former feudal city-state in Malabar, India. The headquarters of Parappanad Royal family was at the town Parappanangadi in present-day Malappuram district. In 1425, the country divided into Northern Parappanad (Beypore kingdom) an ...
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
Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...
in the south to the borders of
Kochi
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 ...
in the north during his 29-year rule.
This rule also included
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 East India Company, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in the region. In this battle, the Dutch Captain,
Eustachius De Lannoy
Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy (also sometimes called 'Captain De Lannoy') (30 December 1715 – 1 June 1777, Udayagiri Fort) was a skilled military strategist and commander of the Travancore Army, under Maharaja Marthanda Varma.
De Lannoy ...
, was captured. He later defected to Travancore.
De Lannoy was appointed captain of His Highness' bodyguard
and later Senior Admiral ("Valiya kappittan")
and modernised the
Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery.
From 1741 to 1758, De Lannoy remained in command of the Travancore forces and was involved in annexation of small principalities.
[
]
Travancore became the most dominant state in the Kerala region by defeating the powerful
Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited b ...
of
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 l ...
in the battle of
Purakkad
Purakkad is a village in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the beach which is described in Thakazhi's novel "Chemeen".
History
There was an ancient port at Purakkad. Purakkad was known as ''Burkkare'' in ancient time. ...
in 1755.
Ramayyan Dalawa
Ramayyan (died January 1756) was the Dewan of Travancore state, India, during 1737 and 1756 and was responsible for the consolidation and expansion of that kingdom after the defeat of the Dutch at the 1741 Battle of Colachel during the reign of ...
, the prime m inister (1737–1756) of Marthanda Varma, also played an important role in this consolidation and expansion.
On 3 January 1750, (5
Makaram, 925
Kollavarsham), Marthanda Varma virtually "dedicated" Travancore to his tutelary deity
Padmanabha, one of the aspects of the Hindu God
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
with a lotus issuing from his navel on which
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
sits. From then on the rulers of Travancore ruled as the "servants of Padmanabha" (the Padmnabha-dasar).
At the Battle of Ambalapuzha, Marthanda Varma defeated the union of the kings who had been deposed and the king of the
Cochin kingdom
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 ...
.
Mysore invasion
![Tippoo Sahib at the lines of Travancore in the 1850s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Tippoo_Sahib_at_the_lines_of_Travancore_in_the_1850s.jpg)
Marthanda Varma's successor Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (1758–1798), who was popularly known as
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...
, shifted the capital in 1795 from
Padmanabhapuram
Padmanabhapuram is a town and a municipality near Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342.
History
Padmanabhapuram was the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Travan ...
to
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 ...
.
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...
'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
Kunnathur Kesavan Raman Pillai, also known as Raja Kesavadas (1745-1799; Sanskrit ') was the Dewan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. He is well known for his military tactics and administrative acumen ...
, the Diwan of Travancore.
Travancore often allied with the
English East India Company in military conflicts.
During
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...
's reign,
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...
, the de facto ruler of
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
and the son of
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the at ...
, attacked Travancore in 1789 as a part of the
Mysore invasion of Kerala
The Mysorean invasion of Malabar (1766 –1792) was the military invasion of the Malabar region of Kerala, including the territories of the Zamorin of Calicut, by the then-''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, Hyder Ali. After the invas ...
. Dharma Raja had earlier refused to hand over the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
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
Trichur in December. On 28 December 1789 Tipu Sultan attacked the Nedunkotta (Northern Lines) from the north, causing the
Battle of Nedumkotta (1789), and the defeat of Mysore army.
Velu Thampi Dalawa's rebellion
![A language map of India prepared for the missionary projects at Serampore, 1822](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/A_language_map_of_India_prepared_for_the_missionary_projects_at_Serampore%2C_1822.jpg)
On
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...
's death in 1798,
Balarama Varma
Avittom Thirunal Bala Rama Varma (c. 17827 November 1810) was a ruler of the Indian princely state of Travancore from 1798 to 1810, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Dharma Raja on 12February 1798. His reign was a time of disturbances and inter ...
(1798–1810), the weakest ruler of the dynasty, took over at the age of sixteen. A treaty brought Travancore under
Subsidiary alliance
A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between a South Asian state and a European East India Company.
Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the company in question would be provided wi ...
with the East India Company in 1795.
![General Colin Macaulay, 1792](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/General_Colin_Macaulay%2C_1792.jpg)
The Prime Ministers (
Dalawas or
Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...
s) started to take control of the kingdom beginning with
Velu Thampi Dalawa
Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi of Thalakulam (1765–1809) was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1802 and 1809 during the reign of Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. He is best known for being one ...
(Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi) (1799–1809) who was appointed as the ''divan'' following the dismissal of
Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri (1798–1799). Initially, Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi and the
English East India Company got along very well. When a section of the Travancore army mutinied in 1805 against Velu Thampi Dalawa, he sought refuge with the British Resident Colonel (later General)
Colin Macaulay
Colin Macaulay (13 April 1760 – 20 February 1836), was a Scottish general, biblical scholar and key activist in the campaign to abolish slavery.
Early life
Macaulay was a son of the Rev. John Macaulay (1720–1789), minister in the Church of ...
and later used
English East India Company troops to crush the mutiny. Velu Thampi also played a key role in negotiating a new treaty between Travancore and the English East India Company. However, the demands of the East India Company for the payment of compensation for their involvement in the Travancore-Mysore War (1791) on behalf of Travancore, led to tension between the Diwan and Colonel Macaulay. Velu Thampi and the diwan of Cochin kingdom,
Paliath Achan
Paliath Achan or Paliyath Achan is the name given to the oldest male member of the Paliam royal family, a Nair/ Menon chieftain family from the Indian state of Kerala who were elevated to the status of royalty by the Rajah of Kingdom of Cochin ( ...
Govindan Menon, who was unhappy with Macaulay for granting asylum to his enemy Kunhi Krishna Menon, declared "war" on the East India Company.
![Adoption Durbar, Trivandrum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Adoption_Durbar%2C_Trivandrum.jpg)
The East India Company army defeated Paliath Achan's army in Cochin on 27 February 1809. Paliath Achan surrendered to the East India Company and was exiled to
Madras and later to
Benaras. The Company defeated forces under Velu Thampi Dalawa at battles near Nagercoil and Kollam, and inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, many of whom then deserted and went back home. The Maharajah of Travancore, who hitherto had not openly taken any part in the rebellion, now allied with the British and appointed one of Thampi's enemies as his prime minister. The allied East India Company army and the Travancore soldiers camped in Pappanamcode, just outside
Trivandrum
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 populatio ...
. Velu Thampi Dalawa now organised a guerrilla struggle against the company, but committed suicide to avoid capture by the Travancore army. After the mutiny of 1805 against Velu Thampi Dalawa, most of the Nair army battalions of Travancore were disbanded, and after Velu Thampi Dalawa's uprising, almost all of the remaining Travancore forces were also disbanded, with the East India Company undertaking to serve the Rajah in cases of external and internal aggression.
Cessation of mahādanams
The Rajahs of Travancore had been conditionally promoted to Kshatriyahood with periodic performance of
16 mahādānams (great gifts in charity) such as
Hiranya-garbhā, Hiranya-Kāmadhenu, and Hiranyāswaratā in which each of which thousands of
Brahmins
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
had been given costly gifts apart from each getting a minimum of 1 ''kazhanch'' (78.65 gm) of gold.
[''A Social History of India'' – (Ashish Publishing House: / , Jan 2000).] In 1848 the
Marquess of Dalhousie, then
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
, was apprised that the depressed condition of the finances in Travancore was due to the mahādanams by the rulers.
[Sadasivan, S.N., 1988, ''Administration and social development in Kerala: A study in administrative sociology'', New Delhi, Indian Institute of Public Administration] Lord Dalhousie instructed
Lord Harris
Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3 February 1851 – 24 March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay. He was also an English amateur cricketer, mainly active ...
, Governor of the
Madras Presidency, to warn the then King of Travancore,
Martanda Varma (Uttram Tirunal 1847–60), that if he did not put a stop to this practice, the Madras Presidency would take over his state's administration. This led to the cessation of the practice of mahādanams.
All Travancore kings including
Sree Moolam Thirunal conducted the ''Hiranyagarbham'' and ''Tulapurushadaanam'' ceremonies. Maharaja
Chithira Thirunal
Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancor ...
was the only King of Travancore not to have conducted these rituals as he considered them extremely costly.
The 19th and early 20th centuries
![Travancore Rupee - Reverse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Travancore_Rupee_-_Reverse.jpg)
In Travancore, the caste system was more rigorously enforced 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 belief in
Ayyavazhi, apart from being a religious system, 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 Vaikundar towards this was perceived as a revolution against the government. So King
Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma initially imprisoned
Vaikundar
Ayya Vaikundar (c.1833 –c.1851) ( ta, அய்யா வைகுண்டர், sa, अय्या वैघुण्ढर्) also known as Vaikunda Swami is the first and the foremost Purna avatar of Eka-Paran born to Lor ...
in the Singarathoppu jail, where the jailor Appaguru ended up as a disciple of Vaikundar. Vaikundar was later set at liberty by the King.
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
Perumbavoor (, Malayalam: പെരുമ്പാവൂർ) is a historic place located at Bank of Periyar (Poorna River) in Ernakulam District in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area It lies in the no ...
.
File:Ayilyam Thirunal and Madhava Rao.JPG, Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore
Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma (1832–1880) was the ruler of the princely state of Travancore in India from 1860 to 1880. His reign was highly successful with Travancore gaining the appellation of "model state of India". Ayilyam Thirunal was th ...
''(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
Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI (5 November 1895– 22 February 1985) was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her yo ...
became regent (1924–1931), as the heir apparent, Sree
Chithira Thirunal
Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancor ...
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. "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
Kshetram
{{Hinduism small
Kshetram (Kshetra) literally means a place. In Hindu mythology, it is referred to as the physical holy location where a temple or a collection of temples, its tank and deities exist.
Sacred geography
There exist privileged region ...
s (Hindu temples in Kerala) in Travancore to all
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
s, a privilege until then reserved to upper-caste Hindus. This act won him praise from across India, most notably from
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. The first public transport system (Thiruvananthapuram–Mavelikkara) and telecommunication system (Thiruvananthapuram Palace–Mavelikkara Palace) were launched during his reign. He also started the industrialisation of the state, enhancing the role of the public sector. He introduced heavy industry in the state and established giant public sector undertakings. As many as twenty industries were established, mostly for utilizing the local raw materials such as rubber, ceramics, and minerals. A majority of the premier industries in Kerala even today, were established by Sree Chithira Thirunal. He patronized 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 a beautiful palace named ''Kowdiar Palace'', finished in 1934, which was previously an old ''Naluektu'', given by Sree Moolam Thirunal to his mother Sethu Parvathi Bayi in 1915.
However, his prime minister, Sir
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer (12 November 1879 – 26 September 1966), popularly known as Sir C. P., was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law m ...
, 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 K.
Aiyappan Pillai, constitutional adviser to the Maharaja and historians like
A. Sreedhara Menon
Alappat Sreedhara Menon (18 December 1925 – 23 July 2010), known as A. Sreedhara Menon, was an Indian historian from Kerala. He is best known as the State Editor (1958–68) of Kerala District Gazetteers (1961–1975). He served as registrar o ...
, 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.
![Madras Prov South 1909](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Madras_Prov_South_1909.jpg)
On 11 July 1991, 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
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
. He was also the last surviving Knight Grand Commander of both the
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:
# Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI)
# Knight Commander ( KCSI)
# Companion ( CSI)
No appointmen ...
and of the
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:
#Knight Grand Commander (GCIE)
#Knight Commander ( KCIE)
#Companion ( CIE)
No appoi ...
. He was succeeded as ''head'' of the Royal House as well as the ''Titular Maharajah'' of Travancore by his brother,
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma
Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma (22 March 1922 – 16 December 2013) was the titular Maharaja of Travancore. He was the younger brother of the last ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Travancore, Maharajah Chithira Thiru ...
. 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 his political powers and 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
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
lived in large numbers in the
Thovalai,
Agastheeswaram
Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu.
History
Agasteeswaram is named after Sage Agastya who had visited this place to teach Ramayana. Most of the people ...
,
Sengottai
Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,82 ...
,
Eraniel
Eraniel is a panchayat town in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is of major commercial and political importance in the history of South India, as it was the seasonal capital of the affluent Venad and later Travancore ...
,
Vilavancode
Vilavancode, also spelt as Viḷavaṅgōḍu, is a town panchayat in Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu state, India. It is part of territory among several taluks that were with the Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the St ...
,
Kalkulam
Kalkulam is a small village located in Kalkulam taluk, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The taluk was among several in Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 were transferred from Thir ...
,
Devikulam
Devikulam () is a Grama Panchayat and small hill station of about from Munnar in the Idukki District of Kerala State, India. It lies above sea level.
Etymology
The name Devikulam is a conjunction of the words ''Devi'', from the goddess Devi a ...
,
Neyyattinkara,
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 ...
South 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 ...
North
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 of erstwhile Travancore State.
In the Tamil regions,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
was the official language and there were only a few Tamil schools. So the Tamils met many hardships. The Travancore state government continued rejecting the requests of Tamils. During that 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
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
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.
In the working committee meeting of Tamilian congress at Eraviputhur on 30 June 1946, the name of the political party was changed to Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress (T.T.N.C). T.T.N.C was popular among the Tamils living in Thovalai and Agateeswaram taluks. Ma. Po. Sivagnanam (
Ma.Po.Si) was the only leader from Tamil Nadu who acted in favour of T.T.N.C.
[D. Daniel – Travancore Tamils: Struggle for Identity.] After the independence of India, State Assembly elections were announced in Travancore. As a consequence, T.T.N.C 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 T.T.N.C. And T.T.N.C started gaining strength and momentum in Kalkulam – Vilavancode Taluks.
[B. Yogeeswaran – History of Travancore Tamil Struggle (Tamil)]
T.T.N.C won in 14 constituencies in the election to the State Legislative Assembly. Mr.
A. Nesamony was elected as the legislative leader of the party. Then under his leadership, the awakened Tamil population was prepared to undergo any sacrifice to achieve their goal.
[D. Peter – Malayali Dominance and Tamil Liberation (Tamil)]
In 1950, a meeting was held at
Palayamkottai
Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani river, with the exception of its downtown area, wh ...
to make compromises between state congress and T.T.N.C. The meeting met with failure and Mr. Sam Nathaniel resigned from the post of president of T.T.N.C Mr. P. Ramasamy Pillai, a strong follower of Mr. A. Nesamony was elected as the New President.
The first general election of Independent India was held on 1952. T.T.N.C won 8 legislative assembly seats. Mr. A. Chidambaranathan became the minister on behalf of T.T.N.C in the coalition state government formed by the Congress. In the parliamentary Constituency Mr. A. Nesamony was elected as M.P. and in the Rajyasabha seat. Mr. A. Abdul Razak was elected as M.P. on behalf of T.T.N.C.
In due course, accusing the Congress government for not showing enough care the struggle of the Tamils, T.T.N.C had broken away from the coalition and the Congress government lost the majority. So fresh elections were announced. In 1954 elections, T.T.N.C gained victory in 12 constituencies.
Pattom Thanu Pillai
Raja Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (15 July 188527 July 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the chief minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' o ...
was the chief minister for Thiru – Kochi legislative assembly. He engaged hard measures against the agitations of Tamils. Especially the Tamils at
Devikulam
Devikulam () is a Grama Panchayat and small hill station of about from Munnar in the Idukki District of Kerala State, India. It lies above sea level.
Etymology
The name Devikulam is a conjunction of the words ''Devi'', from the goddess Devi a ...
– Peermedu regions went through the atrocities of Travancore Police force. Condemning the attitude of the police, T.T.N.C leaders from Nagercoil went to Munnar and participated in agitations against the prohibitive orders. The leaders were arrested and an uncalm atmosphere prevailed in South Travancore.
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 T.T.N.C and communist sympathizers 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.
The central government had appointed
Fazal Ali Commission
The States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) constituted by the Central Government of India in December 1953 to recommend the reorganization of state boundaries. In September 1955, after two years of study, the Commission, comprising Justice Fazal ...
(1953 dec) for the states reorganisation based on language. It submitted its report on 10 August 1955. Based on this report, Devikulam – Peermedu and
Neyyattinkara Taluks were merged with
Kerala state. 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
Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,82 ...
Taluk was merged with
Tirunelveli District. The main demand of T.T.N.C was to merger the Tamil regions with Tamil Nadu and major part of its demand was realised. So T.T.N.C was dissolved thereafter.
Retainment of Devikulam and Peerumedu Taluks in Kerala
Apart from
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
, the Taluks of
Devikulam
Devikulam () is a Grama Panchayat and small hill station of about from Munnar in the Idukki District of Kerala State, India. It lies above sea level.
Etymology
The name Devikulam is a conjunction of the words ''Devi'', from the goddess Devi a ...
and
Peermade
Peermade, also spelt Peerumedu (Malayalam: പീരുമേട്) is a village, Grama Panchayat and hill station in the state of Kerala, India. It lies above sea level in the Western Ghats (Sahyadri) about east of Kottayam on the way to The ...
in present-day
Idukki district also had a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-majority until late 1940's.
The T.T.N.C had also requested to merge these Taluks with
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 ...
.
However it was due to some decisions of
Pattom Thanu Pillai
Raja Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (15 July 188527 July 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the chief minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' o ...
, who was the first prime minister of Travancore, that they retained in the modern-state of
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 ...
.
Pattom came up with a colonisation project to re-engineer the demography of
Cardamom Hills
The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, wh ...
.
His colonisation project was to relocate 8,000
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
-speaking families into the Taluks of
Devikulam
Devikulam () is a Grama Panchayat and small hill station of about from Munnar in the Idukki District of Kerala State, India. It lies above sea level.
Etymology
The name Devikulam is a conjunction of the words ''Devi'', from the goddess Devi a ...
and
Peermade
Peermade, also spelt Peerumedu (Malayalam: പീരുമേട്) is a village, Grama Panchayat and hill station in the state of Kerala, India. It lies above sea level in the Western Ghats (Sahyadri) about east of Kottayam on the way to The ...
.
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
The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, wh ...
retained in the state of
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 ...
, after
States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Politics
Under the direct control of the king, Travancore's administration was headed by a
Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...
assisted by the ''Neetezhutthu Pillay'' or secretary, ''Rayasom Pillay'' (assistant or under-secretary) and a number of ''Rayasoms'' or clerks along with ''Kanakku Pillamars'' (accountants). Individual districts were run by ''
Sarvadhikari
{{for, the motion picture, Sarvadhikari (film)
Sarvādhikārī is a title with diverse uses in India, including:
*an old title for the Chief minister of a southern Indian ruler, notably of:
**under the Western Ganga Dynasty's Maharaja Dharma ...
s'' under supervision of the Diwan, while dealings with neighbouring states and Europeans was under the purview of the ''Valia Sarvahi'', who signed treaties and agreements.
Rulers of Travancore
# Anizham Tirunal
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
1729–1758
# Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...
) 1758–1798
#
Balarama Varma
Avittom Thirunal Bala Rama Varma (c. 17827 November 1810) was a ruler of the Indian princely state of Travancore from 1798 to 1810, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Dharma Raja on 12February 1798. His reign was a time of disturbances and inter ...
I 1798–1810
#
Gowri Lakshmi Bayi
Maharani Ayilyom Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi (1791–1815) was the Maharani of the Indian state of Travancore from 1810 till 1813 and Regent from 1813 till her death in 1815 for her son Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. She was the only Queen of Travan ...
1810–1815 (Queen from 1810 to 1813 and Regent Queen from 1813 to 1815)
#
Gowri Parvati Bayi
Uthrittathi Thirunal Gowri Parvathi Bayi (1802–1853) was the Regent of the Indian state of Travancore in 1815-1829. She succeeded her sister Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, till her regency was relinquished in favour of her nephew, Maharajah Sw ...
(Regent) 1815–1829
#
Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma II 1813–1846
#
Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma
Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma (26 September 1814 – 18 August 1860) was the Maharajah of Travancore state in southern India, succeeding his elder brother Maharajah Swathi Thirunal in 1846 till his demise in 1860. Known for his progress ...
II 1846–1860
#
Ayilyam Thirunal
Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma (1832–1880) was the ruler of the princely state of Travancore in India from 1860 to 1880. His reign was highly successful with Travancore gaining the appellation of "model state of India". Ayilyam Thirunal was ...
Rama Varma III 1860–1880
#
Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma IV 1880–1885
# Sree
Moolam Thirunal
Sir Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (1857–1924) was Maharajah of the princely state of Travancore between 1885 and 1924, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Visakham Thirunal (1880–1885).
Early life and education
Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was bo ...
Rama Varma VI 1885–1924
#
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI (5 November 1895– 22 February 1985) was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her yo ...
(Regent) 1924–1931
#
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma II 1924–1949
Prime Ministers of Travancore
Dalawas
* Arumukham Pillai 1729–1736
* Thanu Pillai 1736–1737
*
Ramayyan Dalawa
Ramayyan (died January 1756) was the Dewan of Travancore state, India, during 1737 and 1756 and was responsible for the consolidation and expansion of that kingdom after the defeat of the Dutch at the 1741 Battle of Colachel during the reign of ...
1737–1756
* Martanda Pillai 1756–1763
* Warkala Subbayyan 1763–1768
*
Krishna Gopalayyan 1768–1776
* Vadiswaran Subbrahmanya Iyer 1776–1780
* Mullen Chempakaraman Pillai 1780–1782
* Nagercoil Ramayyan 1782–1788
* Krishnan Chempakaraman 1788–1789
*
Raja Kesavadas
Kunnathur Kesavan Raman Pillai, also known as Raja Kesavadas (1745-1799; Sanskrit ') was the Dewan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. He is well known for his military tactics and administrative acumen ...
1789–1798
* Odiery
Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri 1798–1799
*
Velu Thampi Dalawa
Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi of Thalakulam (1765–1809) was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1802 and 1809 during the reign of Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. He is best known for being one ...
1799–1809
* Oommini Thampi 1809–1811
Dewans
![Madhava Rao](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Madhava_Rao.jpg)
*
Col. John Munro 1811–1814
* Devan Padmanabhan Menon 1814–1814
* Bappu Rao (acting) 1814–1815
* Sanku Annavi Pillai 1815–1815
* Raman Menon 1815–1817
*
Reddy Row 1817–1821
*
T. Venkata Rao 1821–1830
*
Thanjavur Subha Rao 1830–1837
*
T. Ranga Rao (acting) 1837–1838
*
T. Venkata Rao (Again) 1838–1839
*
Thanjavur Subha Rao (again) 1839–1842
*
Krishna Rao (acting) 1842–1843
*
Reddy Row (again) 1843–1845
* Srinivasa Rao (acting) 1845–1846
*
Krishna Rao 1846–1858
Prime Ministers of Travancore (1948-49)
Administrative divisions
In 1856, the princely state was sub-divided into three divisions, each of which was administered by a Divan Peishkar, with a rank equivalent to a District Collector in British India.
These were the:
*
Northern (Cottayam) comprising the
talukas
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 ...
of
Sharetalay,
Vycome,
Yetmanoor,
Cottayam,
Chunginacherry,
Meenachil
Meenachil is the north-eastern region of Kottayam district in Kerala, south India. The name originates from Meenakshi, the Hindu Goddess. Pala is the main city in Meenachil. The arterial river of the district is also named Meenachil.
Geogra ...
,
Thodupolay,
Moovatupolay, Kunnathnaud, Alangaud and
Paravoor;
*
Quilon (Central), comprising the talukas of Amabalapulay, Chengannoor, Pandalam, Kunnattur, Karungapully, Kartikapully,
Harippad, Mavelikaray, Quilon; and
*
Southern (Padmanabhapuram) comprising the talukas of
Thovalay,
Auguteeswarom, Kalculam,
Eraneel, and Velavencode.
Divisions according to the 1911 Census of Travancore
1. Padmanabhapuram Division
The 1911 Census Report of Travancore states that Padmanabhapuram Division was the original seat of Travancore, where
Thiruvithamcode and
Padmanabhapuram
Padmanabhapuram is a town and a municipality near Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342.
History
Padmanabhapuram was the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Travan ...
are located.
The report further states that a vast majority of this division was ethnic
Tamils
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
.
Padamanabhapuram Division consisted of the present-day district of
Kanyakumari
Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...
in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
.
The report also states that the two southernmost Taluks of this division, namely Thovalai and Agastheeswaram, geographically too more resembles to
Pandya Nadu
Pandya Nadu or Pandi Nadu is a geographical region comprising the southern part of the present day state of Tamil Nadu. The region is bounded on its West by the Venad/ Ay Nadu, Northeast by the Chola Nadu and Northwest by the Kongu Nadu. It comp ...
of
Tamil country and the eastern
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...
of the
Madras Presidency than the rest of
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
country.
2. Trivandrum Division
It was the headquarters of Travancore since 1795.
The
Neyyattinkara taluk was a main seat of industry according the 1911 census report of Travancore.
This division also contained many ethnic
Tamils
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
, mostly concentrated in the southern Taluks of
Neyyattinkara 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 ...
.
The Trivandrum Division consisted of the present-day
Thiruvananthapuram district
Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...
excluding the British colony at
Anchuthengu
Anchuthengu ("Five Coconut Palms"), formerly known as Anjengo, Angengo or Anjenga, is a coastal panchayath and town in the Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala. It is situated 9km south-west of Varkala Town along Trivandrum - Varkala - Kollam ...
.
3. Quilon Division
Quilon
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 ...
was the capital of
Venad
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
and the largest port town in Travancore, and was also one of the oldest ports on
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 ...
.
The 1911 Census of Travancore states that it was from Quilon division onwards that the genuine country of
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
starts.
However, the
Sengottai
Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,82 ...
taluk of this division which was earlier under
Kottarakkara
Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as ''Kottarakara'', is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of the Kerala, India. The town is close to Kollam Port, which has a rich history linked to the early medieval pe ...
Thampuran, was a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-majority region.
Geographically too Sengottai resembled to
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
and
Pandya Nadu
Pandya Nadu or Pandi Nadu is a geographical region comprising the southern part of the present day state of Tamil Nadu. The region is bounded on its West by the Venad/ Ay Nadu, Northeast by the Chola Nadu and Northwest by the Kongu Nadu. It comp ...
than rest of the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
country.
4. Kottayam Division
It was situated in the northernmost area of Travancore.
It was a pure
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
-speaking and geographical region.
The
Vembanad Lake
Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...
was a speciality of this division.
5. Devikulam Division
It consisted most of the present-day
Idukki district.
It was also related to
Pandya Nadu
Pandya Nadu or Pandi Nadu is a geographical region comprising the southern part of the present day state of Tamil Nadu. The region is bounded on its West by the Venad/ Ay Nadu, Northeast by the Chola Nadu and Northwest by the Kongu Nadu. It comp ...
and
Kongu Nadu.
Devikulam division was
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-speaking region.
Demographics
Travancore had a population of 6,070,018 at the time of the
1941 Census of India
The Census of India prior to independence was conducted periodically from 1865 to 1941. The censuses were primarily concerned with administration and faced numerous problems in their design and conduct ranging from the absence of house numbering ...
.
Religions
Languages
Currency
Unlike the rest of India, Travancore divided the rupee into unique values, as represented on coins and stamps, as follows:
Cash and Chuckram coins are copper.
Travancore Fanam
The Travancore Fanam was a type of money that was issued by the State of Travancore, now mainly a part of Kerala in South India. The Fanams (also spelt ''Fanoms'') and Chuckrams (or ''Chakrams'') were known to be some of the smallest coins in the ...
and
Travancore Rupee
The Travancore rupee was a type of currency issued by the erstwhile Indian princely state of Travancore, which was primarily located in the modern Indian state of Kerala. The rupee was largely a newer currency in comparison to the older currencie ...
coins are silver.
Culture
![Palace of Trivandrum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Palace_of_Trivandrum.jpg)
Travancore was characterised by the popularity of its rulers among their subjects. The kings of Travancore, unlike their counterparts in the other
princely states
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...
of India, spent only a small portion of their state's resources for personal use. This was in sharp contrast with some of the northern Indian kings. Since they spent most of the state's revenue for the benefit of the public, they were naturally much loved by their subjects.
Violence rooted in religion or caste was uncommon in Travancore, but the barriers based on these parameters were rigid.
Swami Vivekananda described Travancore as ''The Lunatic Asylum in India'' due to the level of caste discrimination.
[A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon (2007), DC Books, Kottayam] Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...
point out the high-level Casteism existed in Travancore.
Tamil Brahmins
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
and
Nairs
The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histo ...
alone dominated the bureaucracy until 20th century. Many political ideologies (such as
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
) and social reforms were not welcomed in Travancore, and in
Punnapra, communist protesters were fired at. Travancore royal family were devout
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
s. Some kings practiced untouchability with British officers, European aristocrats and diplomats (for instance,
Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, has reported that
Maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...
Visakham Thirunal had to take bath after touching Richard's Mrs., to remove ritual pollution, when they visited in 1880). The decline of caste system began at the end of the 19th Century due to a series of
reformation movements. As a result, the Kingdom of Travancore became the region with the highest male literacy rate in India.
Unlike most of India, just like in
Dakshina Kannada, in Travancore (and the rest of Kerala), the social status and freedom of women in Higher castes were relatively high. However, the
Upper cloth revolt of 19th century is an exception to this. The women of lower caste hadn't the permission to wear upper cloth in Travancore.
In some communities, the daughters inherited the property (though property was exclusively administered by men, their brothers) (until 1925), were educated, and had the right to divorce and remarry, but due to laws passed starting from 1925, by regent queen
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI (5 November 1895– 22 February 1985) was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her yo ...
proper patriarchy was established and now women have relatively little rights.
See also
*
Zamorin of Calicut
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited ...
*
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 wa ...
*
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
*
Travancore-Cochin
*
Thachudaya Kaimal
The Thachudaya Kaimals were a lineage of ruling chiefs in Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala. The Thachudaya Kaimal is a sacerdotal dignitary in Kerala and is considered the spiritual chief and temporal ruler of the Koodalmanikyam Templ ...
*
Battle of Colachel
*
Travancore War
The Travancore rebellion against the British East India Company was led by the prime ministers of the Indian states of Travancore and Cochin in 1808–09 with support from Sikhs ruling Punjab.
Background
The East India Company–Travanco ...
*
Travancore rupee
The Travancore rupee was a type of currency issued by the erstwhile Indian princely state of Travancore, which was primarily located in the modern Indian state of Kerala. The rupee was largely a newer currency in comparison to the older currencie ...
*
Battle of Nedumkotta
*
Cochin - Travancore Alliance (1761)
*
Cochin Travancore War (1755–1756)
*
Kingdom of Mysore
*
Upper cloth revolt
*
Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...
*
Temple Entry Proclamation
*
Merger of Kanyakumari with Madras State
The present-day Kanyakumari district and parts of tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu state in India was originally a part of the Travancore-Cochin state. Between 1945 and 1956, especially after the Government of India announced plans to reorganize s ...
*
Madras Presidency
*
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 ...
*
Marthandavarma (novel)
* ''
The Years of Rice and Salt
''The Years of Rice and Salt'' is an alternate history novel by American science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, published in 2002. The novel explores how world history might have been different if the Black Death plague had killed 99 per ...
'', an acclaimed novel that features an alternate history Travancore
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
Digital book format
Further reading
*
* (a second revision was published in 1939)
*
*
Census reports
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
{{Coord, 8, 26, N, 76, 55, E, type:country_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title
History of Kollam
1729 establishments in India
1949 disestablishments in India
Feudal states of Kerala
Historical Indian regions
Kingdoms of Kerala
Princely states of India
Former British colonies and protectorates in Asia
Travancore–Cochin
Historical Hindu empires