Princely states of Travancore and Cochin were first combined in 1949 and came to be known as "THIRU-COCHI".Sri Chithira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma was the head of state and was known as "RAJAPRAMUKHAN".On November 1, 1955 'Travancore-Cochin and parts of 'Malabar' , which was part of Madras presidency merged to form a new state called 'KERALA'.On that date 'Raja Pramukhan' retired.Before Kerala was created Malayalam State extended from Kassercode including Gudallor to Kanya Kumari in the south. In the process that lead to creation of Kerala we lost four 'taluks' in southern Travancore, some parts of 'Chenkottai' and 'Kanya Kumari'.We gained Malabar excluding 'Gudallur'.

THE STATE OF KERALA IN INDIA

With it's lush green vegetation, and palm trees Kerala is one of the smallest states in India along the Malabar coast of the Arabian sea. It is a rather narrow strip of land measuring about 15000 square miles that stretch 75 miles at it's broadest and only 20 miles wide at certain points in the north and south. It is different from he north of India where large rivers, and planes and scrubby lands welcome visitors.

Kerala is a distinct region separated from the adjoining states of India by the Western Ghats mountains which run parallel to the sea for about 85 miles along the shores of the Arabian Sea.

The plains are very humid and warm with an average temperature of 85 degrees. Two annual monsoons provide adequate precipitation, the South West monsoon from mid June to September and the Northeast monsoon from October to the end of November. The rest of the year is dry with occasional showers. While Kerala has the densest population in India it has a literacy rate of almost 100%.

The recent history of Kerala includes the prelude to independence, the road to Communism and the evolution of the modern state of Kerala. Kerala was formed out of three political units- the princely state of Cochin, which dates back to the middle ages, the kingdom of Travancore, which was created in the 18th century, and the Malabar district which was the former Kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut. Among the modern line of traders - the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the English, it was the English that presided over the fate of Kerala from 1791, to the end of British rule in 1947. During the first eighty years of British rule life changed very little. Caste structure and the matrilineal joint family systems continued in the three units that were to become Kerala. By the end of the eighteenth century, tea and coffee plantations developed. An industrial revolution began in the 1850s - textiles, tiles, coir etc. Modern education took root. The influx of missionaries contributed to western education. Democratic institutions were formed in 1888, and political activity which began during the following decade, intensified during the 1920s when the Indian National congress spearheaded the national independence movement. This was a period when the communist movement gathered momentum especially in Malabar.

As India itself was edging towards independence from Britain in 1947, Travancore, Cochin and Malabar all entered India as separate units. This was a period when the communist movement gathered momentum especially in Malabar.

All communities in Kerala share a common language, Malayalam. Malayalam is a Dravidian language closest to the Tamil language. It has it's own script which is slightly different from Tamil. It is also different from the Devanagari script used in Hindi, the national language. The vocabulary of  Malayalam is a mixture of Tamil, Sanskrit and it's own elements.

Kerala is one of the most advanced states in India in the fields of education, transportation, communication and health care delivery. Most of the advancement since independence has come in the field of education. Industrial development has lagged behind some other centers in India due to labour unrest, lack of power resources and government ineptitude.

Vast pools of highly trained technical people from Kerala are serving elsewhere in India or overseas.

Profound economic changes are taking place in India and there is no doubt Kerala too is very eager to be part of that development with major initiatives in a variety of fields such as airports, electronics and power development.

Chronology from the formation of Kerala state

Nov. 1, 1956 Birth of Kerala
March 1957. First Assembly Election
April 5, 1957. E.M.S. ministry (Communist ) sworn in
July 31, 1959 . E.M.S. ministry dismissed after 'Vimochana samaram under Mannathu Padbanabhan leader of the Nair community. Main reasons were an unpopular education bill which reduced the role of the private sector. An agricultural bill also met with opposition. There were also charges of nepotism , corruption in rice purchase from Andhra and charges of making the police force ineffective.
Feb. 1960. Election to assembly
February 22, 1960 :Pattam Thanu Pillai (Congress- P.S.P.) ministry sworn in.
September 25, 1962: Pattam ministry falls. Pattam appointed as governor of Punjab.
September 26, 1962: R.Sankar ministry (Congress ) sworn in.
September 10 , 1964: Sankar ministry falls
Sankar and P.T.Chacko had conflicts. P.T.Chacko resigned from the ministry. T.A.Thomman replaced him. Internal strife in Congress became worse. !5 Congress MLAs resigned from Congress and formed a special group under K.M.George. That paved he way for the formation of Kerala Congress
March 1965. Assembly election (non-productive)
Feb.1967 Election to the assembly
March 6, 1967: Second E.M.S ministry (Communist )sworn in
October 24, 1969: E.M.S. ministry falls
November 1, 1969 Achuta Menon ministry
(Left United Front ) sworn in
June 26, 1970 Assembly dissolved 
August 1, 1970 :Achuta Menon ministry resigns
September 1970 Assembly election
October 4, 1970 Second Achuta Menon ministry sworn in
March 1977: Election to the assembly
March 25, 1977 :Karunakaran ministry (Congress ) sworn in
April 25, 1977 :Karunakaran resigns
April 27, 1977: A.K.Antony sworn in as chief minister (Congress)
October 29, 1978 : Antony resigns
October 29, 1978: P.K.Vasudevan Nair ministry (LDF) sworn in
October 7, 1979: Vasudevan Nair ministry falls
October 11, 1979: C.H.Mohamed
Koya ministry (Right democratic front )sworn in
December 1, 1979: Mohamad Koya ministry falls
January 1980: election to the assembly
January 25, 1980 :E.K.Nayanar (LDF ) ministry sworn in.
October 20, 1981: Nayanar minisry falls.
December 21, 1981: Karunakaran ministry (United democratic frnt ) sworn in
March 17, 1982: Karunakaran ministry falls.
May 19, 1982: Assembly elections
May 24, 1982 :Karunakaran ministry (United Democratic Front ) sworn in
March 23, 1987: Assembly election.
March 26, 1987: E.K.Nayanar ministry (LDF) sworn in
June 24, 1991: Karunakaran ministry (UDF) sworn in
March 16, 1995: Karunakaran ministry falls
March 22, 1995: A.K.Antony ministry (UDF) sworn in.
April 22, 1996: Elections to assembly.
May 20, 1996: E.K.Nayanar ministry (LDF) sworn in May10, 2001: Elections to assembly.

Chief ministers of Kerala-- In one glance
March 24, 1948 : First democratic government(Congress) under Pattam Thanu Pillai. -October 7, 1949: Pattam ministry falls
-October 22, 1949 :Paravur T.K.Narayana Pillai ministry (Congress ) sworn in. -February 24, 1951: Paravur T.K. ministry falls due to friction between Panampilli Govinda Menon and E.John Philipose.
-March 1951: C Kesavan ministry with A.J.John and T.K.Narayana Pillai sworn in. -December 1951: A.J.John ministry
-September 23, 1953: A.J.John ministry falls.
-February 22, 1954: Pattam Thanu Pillai (minority P.S.P) ministry sworn in.
-February 14, 1955: Panampilli Govinda Menon ministry
-Nov. 1, 1956 Birth of Kerala
P.S. Rao administrator rules
-April 5, 1957. E.M.S. ministry (Communist ) sworn in
-July 31, 1959 . E.M.S. ministry dismissed
-February 22, 1960 :Pattam Thanu Pillai (Congress- P.S.P.) ministry sworn in. -September 25, 1962: Pattam ministry falls. Pattam appointed as governor of Punjab. -September 26, 1962: R.Sankar ministry (Congress ) sworn in.
-September, 1964: Sankar ministry falls
-March 6, 1967: Second E.M.S ministry (Communist )sworn in
-October 24, 1969: E.M.S. ministry falls
-November 1, 1969 Achuta Menon ministry
(Left United Front ) sworn in
-August 1, 1970 :Achuta Menon ministry resigns
-October 4, 1970 Second Achuta Menon ministry sworn in
-March 25, 1977 :Karunakaran ministry (Congress ) sworn in
-April 25, 1977 :Karunakaran resigns
-April 27, 1977: A.K.Antony sworn in as chief minister (Congress)
-October 29, 1978 : Antony resigns
-October 29, 1978: P.K.Vasudevan Nair ministry (LDF) sworn in
-October 7, 1979: Vasudevan Nair ministry falls
-October 11, 1979: C.H.Mohamed Koya ministry (Right democratic front )sworn in -December 1, 1979: Mohamad Koya ministry falls
-January 25, 1980 :E.K.Nayanar (LDF ) ministry sworn in.
-October 20, 1981: Nayanar minisry falls.
-December 21, 1981: Karunakaran ministry (United democratic frnt ) sworn in
-March 17, 1982: Karunakaran ministry falls.
-May 24, 1982 :Karunakaran ministry (United Democratic Front ) sworn in
-March 26, 1987: E.K.Nayanar ministry (LDF) sworn in
-June 24, 1991: Karunakaran ministry (UDF) sworn in
-March 16, 1995 : Karunakaran ministry falls
-March 22, 1995: A.K.Antony ministry (UDF) sworn in.
- May20, 1996: E.K.Nayanar ministry (LDF) sworn in
-May20, 1996: E.K.Nayanar ministry (LDF) sworn in -May 17, 2001: A.K.Antony ministry (UDF) sworn in

KERALA TO DAY

Population-30 million

Comparison:-
Canada-26 million
Cuba-10 million
Gautimala-8 million
Iraq-16 million
Bolivia-7 million
Chili-12 million
Algeria-22 million
Ghana-13 millio
Libiya-4 million Kenya-21 million
Belgium-10 million
France-56 million
Switswerland-7 million
In this group only France has a bigger population than Kerala.

Area-39000 Sq.Kilometers(KERALA)

Comparison:- Belgium-30,000 Sq.Kilometers
Luxembourg-25,00 Sq.Kilometers
Holland-41000 Sq.Kilometers
Switswerland-41000 Sq.Kilometers
Brunu-6000 Sq.Kilometers
Burma-6000 Sq.Kilometers
Cypress-9000 Sq.Kilometers Kuwait-24,000 Sq.Kilometers
Lebanon-10,000 Sq.Kilometers
SriLanka-65000 Sq.Kilometers
In this group SriLanka, Holland and Switswerland are larger than Kerala.
Among India's states Kerala is 18th in area.
In population among India's 25 states there are eleven states bigger and
thirteen states smaller compared to Kerala.
The often used expression 'KOCHU KERALAM' is a misnomer.

End...

Kerala History Series