The Kingdom of Travancore (Malayalam:തിരുവിതാംകൂർ) was an Indian kingdom from 1729 to 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of modern-day central and southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district. The official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell (Turbinella pyrum) at its centre. In the early 19th century, the kingdom became a princely state of the British Empire.
On 1 July 1949, the State of Travancore-Cochin was established, with the king of Travancore as the Rajapramukh of the new State. A number of popular ministries were elected and fell and in 1954, the Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress launched a campaign for the merger of the Tamil speaking regions of Southern Travancore with the neighbouring area of Madras. Under the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the four southern taluks of Travancore, namely Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam, and Vilavancode, and a part of the Chencotta Taluk were merged with Madras state. |
