Travancore-Cochin

History

Paravur T. K. Narayana Pillai, the Congress Prime Minister of Travancore, became the Chief Minister of Travancore–Cochin. The first elections were held in 1951 and A. J. John from the Congress party was elected as the Chief Minister, ruling until 1954.

The ruler of Travancore was appointed as the governor (known as "Rajpramukh") of Travancore–Cochin. The Maharajah of Cochin was offered to be addressed as Uparaja Pramukh, but he did not want any title after handing over the power. The Maharaja politely said that the eldest member of Cochin Royal Family should be called Valiya Thampuran and gave up royal powers unconditionally for the good of the people. During the tenure of Chief Minister Pattom A. Thanu Pillai of the Praja Socialist Party in 1954–1955, the Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress (TTNC) campaigned for the merger of the predominantly Tamil-speaking southern regions of Travancore–Cochin with the neighbouring Madras State, reflecting demands for linguistic reorganization aligned with Tamil identity. This occurred amid the broader Aikya Kerala Movement, which sought to unite all Malayalam-speaking areas into a single state. The agitation intensified with protests and processions; clashes occurred at Marthandam and Puthukkadai in August 1954, resulting in several deaths and highlighting deepening linguistic divisions between the communities.

Under the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the four southern taluks of Travancore namely Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode and a part of Sengottai in Tenkasi Taluk was merged with Madras State. On 1 November 1956 Travancore–Cochin was joined with Malabar District of Madras State to form the new state of Kerala, with a governor appointed by the President of India to be the head of the state instead of the 'Rajapramukh'.

Merger of Kanyakumari with Madras State

Tamils lived in large numbers in the areas of Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, Sengottai, Eraniel, Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Devikulam, Peerumedu Neyyattinkara and Thiruvananthapuram in the erstwhile Travancore State. In the predominantly Tamil-speaking southern regions of Travancore, Malayalam served as the official language with only a limited number of Tamil-medium schools available. This posed linguistic and educational challenges for Tamil-speaking residents. The Travancore State Government did not accede to requests from Tamil-speaking residents for greater use of Tamil in education and administration, prioritizing the promotion of Malayalam as the official language. During that period, the Travancore State Congress favoured the idea of uniting all the Malayalam speaking regions and the formation of a unified state for Malayalam speakers. In protest against this idea, many Tamil leaders vacated the party. Tamils gathered together in the town of Nagercoil on 16th December 1945 under the leadership of Sam Nathaniel and formed the new political party All Travancore Tamilian Congress. The party continuously compelled for the merger of Tamil regions in Travancore with the Madras State.

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 (TTNC). TTNC was popular among the Tamils living in Thovalai and Agateeswaram Taluks. Mr. Ma. Po. Sivagnanam (Ma.Po.Si) was the only leader from Tamil Nadu who functioned in favour of TTNC After the independence of India, State Assembly Elections were announced in Travancore. As a consequence, TTNC improved its popularity among Tamils. A popular and leading advocate from Vilavancode Mr. A. Nesamony organised a meeting of his supporters at Allan Memorial Hall, Nagercoil on 8 September 1947. In that meeting it was declared that they must achieve their objective through their political organisation, the TTNC started gaining strength and momentum in Kalkulam – Vilavancode taluks. During the election propaganda campaign, clashes occurred between the Tamil Nadar community and the Malayali Nair community at various places in Kalkulam – Vilavancode taluks. police force suppressed the agitating Nadars. In February 1948 the police opened fire on two Tamil speaking Nadar who subsequently succumbed due to the injuries.

TTNC won in 14 constituencies in the election to the State Legislative Assembly. Mr. A. Nesamony was elected as the legislative leader of the party. Then under his leadership, the awakened Tamil population was prepared to undergo any sacrifice to achieve their goal.

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-majority until the late 1940s. The TTNC had also requested to merge these Taluks with Madras State. However it was due to a major decision undertaken by Pattom Thanu Pillai, the first prime minister of Travancore, that led to these regions being retained in the modern state of Kerala. Pillai implemented a resettlement project designed to alter the demographic balance of the Cardamom Hills by relocating 8,000 Malayalam-speaking families into the two taluks. About 50,000 acres in these Tamil majority taluks were chosen for the project. The States Reorganisation Commission cited this initiative as evidence of the government's commitment to developing the areas, which served as a key reason in recommending that these Tamil-speaking regions remain part of Kerala.

Subdivisions

The state had 4 districts which were divided into 36 taluks.