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The Kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the Thiruvithamkoor Kingdom () and Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore royal family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala (Idukki district, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam district, and Thiruvananthapuram districts, major portions of Ernakulam district, Puthenchira village of Thrissur district) and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari district and some parts of Tenkasi district) with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring kingdom of Cochin.British Archives http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/d3e53001-d49e-4d4d-bcb2-9f8daaffe2e0 However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.
Malabar District of Madras Presidency was to the north, the Madurai district and Tirunelveli districts of Pandya Nadu region in Madras Presidency to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, and the Arabian Sea to the west.
Travancore was divided into five divisions: Padmanabhapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, and Devikulam. Padmanabhapuram and Devikulam were predominantly Tamil language-speaking regions with small Malayalam-speaking minorities. The divisions of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kottayam were predominantly Malayalam-speaking regions with small Tamil-speaking minorities.
King Marthanda Varma inherited the small feudal state of Venad in 1723, and built it into Travancore. Marthanda Varma led the Travancorean 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 went on to conquer most of the smaller principalities of the native rulers.
The Travancore royal family signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby accepting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authority and the loss of political independence for Travancore. They had to give up their ruling rights over the common people in 1949 when Travancore were forced to merge with independent India.
The region had many small independent kingdoms. Later, at the peak of the Chera dynasty-Chola dynasty-Pandya dynasty, 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, part of the Chera empire, which ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became an independent kingdom, 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 Thiruvananthapuram district to Kanyakumari district in the south. There were two capitals, the major one at Kollam ( Venad or Desinganadu) and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur ( Thrippapur Swaroopam or Nanjinad). The kingdom was thus also called Venad. Kings of Venad had built residential palaces in Thiruvithamcode and Kalkulam. 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, near Kalkulam.
The Chera empire had dissolved by around 1100 and thereafter the territory comprised numerous small kingdoms until the time of Marthanda Varma who, as king of Venad from 1729, employed brutal methods to unify them. During his reign, Thiruvithamkoor (Anglicised as Travancore) became the official name.
According to the religious text "Keralolpathi" by the Nambudiri, the region from Gokharna to Kanyakumari district was created when Parashurama threw his axe and claimed this land, known as Parashuramakshetra. Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti Part 1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication Ancient Indian History By Madhavan Arjunan Pillai, p. 204
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, 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.
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, 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 Nair pattalam 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 of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad in 1755. Ramayyan Dalawa, the prime minister (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 with a lotus issuing from his navel on which Brahma 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.
Travancore often allied with the English East India Company in military conflicts."Travancore." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. During Dharma Raja's reign, Tipu Sultan, the de facto ruler of Mysore and the son of Hyder Ali, attacked Travancore in 1789 as a part of the Mysore invasion of Kerala. Dharma Raja had earlier refused to hand over the Hindu political refugees from the Mysore occupation of Malabar who had been given asylum in Travancore. The Mysore army entered the Cochin kingdom from Coimbatore in November 1789 and reached Thrissur in December. On 28 December 1789 Tipu Sultan attacked the Nedunkotta (Northern Lines) from the north, causing the Battle of Nedumkotta (1789), and the defeat of the Mysore army.
The prime ministers (Dewan or ) started to take control of the kingdom beginning with Velu Thampi Dalawa (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 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 Govindan Menon, who was unhappy with Macaulay for granting asylum to his enemy Kunhi Krishna Menon, declared "war" on the East India Company.
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 Thiruvananthapuram. 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.
All Travancorean Kings including Sree Moolam Thirunal conducted the Hiranyagarbham and Tulapurushadaanam ceremonies. Maharaja Chithira Thirunal was the only King of Travancore not to have conducted these rituals as he considered them extremely costly. MATHRUBHUMI Paramparyam ഹിരണ്യഗര്ഭച്ചടങ്ങിന് ഡച്ചുകാരോട് ചോദിച്ചത് 10,000 കഴിഞ്ച് സ്വര്ണം – "ശ്രീമൂലംതിരുനാള് വരെയുള്ള രാജാക്കന്മാര് ഹിരണ്യഗര്ഭം നടത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ടെന്നാണ് അറിയുന്നത്. ഭാരിച്ച ചെലവ് കണക്കിലെടുത്ത് ശ്രീചിത്തിരതിരുനാള് ബാലരാമവര്മ്മ മഹാരാജാവ് ഈ ചടങ്ങ് നടത്തിയില്ല."
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.""During his rule, the revenues of the State were nearly quadrupled from a little over Rs 21/2 crore to over Rs 91/2 crore." – 'The Story of the Integration of the Indian States' by V. P. Menon He made the famous Temple Entry Proclamation on 12 November 1936, which opened all the (Hindu temples in Kerala) in Travancore to backward communities. This act won him praise from across India, most notably from Mohandas Gandhi. 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 utilising 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 patronised musicians, artists, dancers, and Vedic scholars. Sree Chithira Thirunal appointed, for the first time, an Art Advisor to the Government, Dr. G. H. Cousins. He also established a new form of University Training Corps, viz. Labour Corps, preceding the N.C.C, in the educational institutions. The expenses of the university were to be met fully by the government. Sree Chithira Thirunal also built 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.Aswathy Thirunal Gauri Lakshmi Bai (1998). 9788176380287, The State Institute of Languages, Kerala. ISBN 9788176380287
A famine in 1943 claimed approximately 90,000 lives in Travancore.
However, his prime minister, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, was unpopular among the communists of Travancore. The tension between the Communists and Iyer led to minor riots. In one such riot in Punnapra-Vayalar in 1946, the Communist rioters established their own government in the area. This was put down by the Travancore Army and Navy. The prime minister issued a statement in June 1947 that Travancore would remain an independent country instead of joining the Indian Union; subsequently, an attempt was made on his life, following which he resigned and left for Madras, to be succeeded by Sri P.G.N. Unnithan. According to witnesses such as K.Aiyappan Pillai, constitutional adviser to the Maharaja and historians like A. Sreedhara Menon, the rioters and mob-attacks had no bearing on the decision of the Maharaja.Sreedhara Menon in Triumph & Tragedy in Travancore Annals of Sir C. P.'
On 11 July 1991, Maharaja Sree Chithira Thirunal suffered a stroke and was admitted to a hospital, where he died on 20 July. He had ruled Travancore for 67 years and at his death was one of the few surviving rulers of a first-class princely state in the old British Raj. He was also the last surviving Knight Grand Commander of both the Order of the Star of India and of the Order of the Indian Empire. He was succeeded as head of the Royal House as well as the Titular Maharajah of Travancore by his younger brother, Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. The Government of India issued a stamp on 6 Nov 1991, commemorating the reforms that marked his reign in Travancore.
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 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 in 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 was the chief minister for Thiru – Kochi legislative assembly. He engaged hard measures against the agitations of Tamils. Especially the Tamils at Devikulam – 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.R. Kuppusamy – Historical foot prints of a True War (Tamil)
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 sympathisers were arrested in various parts of Tamil main land. At the end, Pattom Thanu Pillai's ministry was toppled and normalcy returned to the Tamil regions. The central government had appointed Fazal Ali Commission(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.B. Mariya John – Linguistic Reorganisation of Madras Presidenty On 1 November 1956 – four Taluks Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, Kalkulam, Vilavancode were recognised to form the New Kanyakumari District and merged with Tamil Nadu State. Half of Sengottai Taluk was merged with Tirunelveli District. 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.
His heir is Revathi Thirunal Balagopal Varma – the titular Elayaraja (Crown Prince) (born 1953).
(1948–49)
Cash and Chuckram coins are copper. Travancore Fanam and Travancore Rupee coins are silver.
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 point out the high-level casteism existed in Travancore.
Travancore was once a dominant feudal state during the Venad period, with the Nair reaching its peak compared to other kingdoms. Later Nairs and Kerala Iyers alone dominated the bureaucracy until the early 20th century. Many political ideologies (such as communism) and social reforms were not welcomed in Travancore, and in Punnapra, communist protesters were fired at. The Travancorean royal family are devout . Some practiced untouchability with British Raj, European aristocrats and diplomats (for instance, Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, has reported that Maharaja Visakham Thirunal had to take bath after touching Richard's wife, to remove ritual pollution, when they visited in 1880). The decline of the 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, In South Canara and Travancore (and the rest of Kerala), the social status and freedom of women who belong to forward castes were relatively high. However, the Upper cloth revolt of the 19th century is an exception to this. The women of backward castes had not 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 proper patriarchy was established and now women have relatively little rights.
/ref> 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.
Aswathy Thirunal Gauri Lakshmi Bai (1998). 9788176380287, The State Institute of Languages. ISBN 9788176380287
Formation of Kerala
The State of Kerala came into existence on 1 November 1956, with a governor appointed by the president of India as the head of state instead of a king. The king was stripped of all political powers and of the right to receive privy purses, according to the twenty-sixth amendment of the Indian constitution act of 31 July 1971. He died on 20 July 1991.
Merger of Kanyakumari with Madras State
Tamils lived in large numbers in the Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, Sengottai, Eraniel, Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Devikulam, Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram South and Thiruvananthapuram North of erstwhile Travancore State. In the Tamil regions, Malayalam 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.V. S. Sathianesan – Tamil Separatism in Travancore 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 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.R. Isaac Jeyadhas – Kanyakumari District and Indian Independence Struggle (Tamil) 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.
Retainment of Devikulam and Peerumedu Taluks in Kerala
Apart from Kanyakumari district, the Taluks of Devikulam and Peermade in present-day Idukki district also had a Tamil language-majority until the late 1940s. The T.T.N.C had also requested to merge these Taluks with Madras State. However it was due to some decisions of Pattom Thanu Pillai, who was the first prime minister of Travancore, that they retained in the modern-state of Kerala. Pattom came up with a colonisation project to re-engineer the demography of Cardamom Hills. His colonisation project was to relocate 8,000 Malayalam-speaking families into the Taluks of Devikulam and Peermade. About 50,000 acres in these Taluks, which were Tamil-majority area, were chosen for the colonisation project. As a victory of the Colonisation project done by post-independence Travancore, these two Taluks and a larger portion of Cardamom Hills retained in the state of Kerala, after States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Politics
Under the direct control of the King, Travancore's administration was headed by a Dewan 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 under the supervision of Diwan, while dealings with the neighbouring states and Europeans was under the purview of the Valia Sarvahi, who signed treaties and agreements.
Rulers of Travancore
Titular Maharajahs of Travancore since 1991
Prime ministers of Travancore
Dalawas
Dewans
T. Madhava Rao 1857 1872 1 A. Seshayya Sastri 1872 1877 1 Nanoo Pillai 1877 1880 1 V. Ramiengar 1880 1887 1 T. Rama Rao 1887 1892 1 S. Shungrasoobyer 1892 1898 1 V. Nagam Aiya 1901 1904 1 K. Krishnaswamy Rao 1898 1904 1 V. P. Madhava Rao 1904 1906 1 S. Gopalachari 1906 1907 1 P. Rajagopalachari 1907 1914 1 M. Krishnan Nair 1914 1920 1 T. Raghavaiah 1920 1925 1 M. E. Watts 1925 1929 1 V. S. Subramanya Iyer 1929 1932 1 T. Austin 1932 1934 1 Sir Muhammad Habibullah 1934 1936 1 Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer 1936 1947 1 P. G. N. Unnithan 1947 1947 1
Prime ministers of Travancore (1948–49)
>1 Pattom A. Thanu Pillai 100x100px]] 24 March 1948 17 October 1948 Indian National Congress | rowspan="2" Representative
Body
Sir Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, Maharaja of Travancore >2 Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai 22 October 1948
1 July 1949
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:
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 are located. The report further states that a vast majority of this division was ethnic Tamil people. Padamanabhapuram Division consisted of the present-day district of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. The report also states that the two southernmost Taluks of this division, namely Thovalai and Agastheeswaram, geographically too more resembles to Pandya Nadu of Tamil Nadu and the eastern Coromandel Coast of the Madras Presidency than the rest of Malayalam country.
2. Thiruvananthapuram Division
It was the headquarters of Travancore since 1795. The Neyyattinkara taluk was a main seat of industry according to the 1911 census report of Travancore. This division also contained many ethnic Tamil people, mostly concentrated in the southern Taluks of Neyyattinkara and Thiruvananthapuram. The Trivandrum Division consisted of the present-day Thiruvananthapuram district excluding the British colony at Anchuthengu.
3. Quilon Division
Kollam was the capital of Venad and the largest port town in Travancore, and was also one of the oldest ports on Malabar Coast. The 1911 Census of Travancore states that it was from Quilon division onwards that the genuine country of Malayalam starts. However, the Sengottai taluk of this division which was earlier under Kottarakkara Thampuran, was a Tamil people-majority region. Geographically too Sengottai resembled to Madurai and Pandya Nadu than rest of the Malayalam country. The Quilon division encompassed present-day Kollam district, Pathanamthitta district, Alappuzha district and some parts of Kottayam district.
4. Kottayam Division
It was situated in the northernmost area of Travancore. It was a pure Malayalam-speaking and geographical region. The Vembanad Lake 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 and Kongu Nadu. Devikulam division was Tamil language-speaking region.
Demographics
Travancore had a population of 6,070,018 at the time of the 1941 Census of India.
Religions
Languages
+Distribution of Language by Division (1881) +Languages by Tehsil (1881) Total population
Currency
Unlike the rest of India, Travancore divided the rupee into unique values, as represented on coins and stamps, as follows:
7 Travancore Fanam 4 16 Cash
Culture
Travancore was characterised by the popularity of its rulers among their subjects.THE HINDU by STAFF REPORTER, 14 May 2013, 'Simplicity hallmark of Travancore royal family'- National seminar on the last phase of monarchy in Travancore inaugurated: "History is replete with instances where the Travancore royal family functioned more as servants of the State than rulers who exploited the masses. The simplicity that the family consistently upheld in all aspects of governance distinguished it from other contemporary monarchies, said Governor of West Bengal M.K. Narayanan" The Kings of Travancore, unlike their counterparts in the other princely states 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."Sree Chithira Thirunal, was a noble model of humility, simplicity, piety and total dedication to the welfare of the people. In the late 19th and early 20th century when many native rulers were callously squandering the resources of their, states, this young Maharaja was able to shine like a solitary star in the firmament, with his royal dignity, transparent sincerity, commendable intelligence and a strong sense of duty."- 'A Magna Carta of Religious Freedom' Speech By His Excellency V.Rachaiya, Governor of Kerala, delivered at Kanakakkunnu Palace on 25.10.1992
Notable people
See also
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
Census reports
External links
Categories: 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, Hindu States, Gun Salute Princely States, Former Kingdoms, States And Territories Disestablished In 1949
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