History of Thiruvananthapuram
Encyclopedia
Thiruvananthapuram
city and several other places in the district occupy an important place in ancient tradition, folklores and literature of the State. South Kerala
, particularly Thiruvananthapuram, had a political and cultural history in the early past which was in some respects independent from that of the rest of Kerala.
in 1110 AD. The disappearance of the Ays synchronised with the emergence of the rulers of Venad
. During the Venad
rule, the trustees of the temple (Ettarayogam) became powerful enough to challenge the authority of the rulers. Raja Aditya Varma was poisoned by them, and five out of six children of Umayamma Rani
were murdered by them. In 1684, during her regency, the English East India Company
obtained a sandy piece of land at Anchuthengu
(Anjengo) on the sea coast, about 32 km north of Thiruvananthapuram city, for erecting a factory and fortifying it. The place had earlier been frequented by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch. It was from here that the English gradually extended their domain to other parts of Thiruvithamcore, anglicised as Travancore.
During the regency of Umayamma Rani, Travancore was invaded by a Mughal
adventurer, known as the Mughal Sirdar, forcing the Rani to take refuge in Nedumangad
. The Sardar camped in the suburbs of the present day Trivandrum, till he was defeated by Kerala Varma, a prince from the Kottayam royal family, adopted into the Venad royal family. The Rani was brought back in triumph to Trivandrum, but in 1696 AD, Kottayam Kerala Varma was assassinated by the trustees within the precincts of his own palace.
During the regin of another Aditya Varma (1718–1721), the clashes between the royal officials and the temple trustees became more common. Failing to get redress at the hands of the king, the tenants of the temple lands marched to Trivandrum to present their grievances to the Yogakkar (trustees), indicating the low ebb of the power of the king.
who reigned from 1729 to 1758 AD, and who is regarded as the Father of modern Travancore, modernised Thiruvananthapuram. The locals of Thiruvananthapuram had supported him against the Pillamar when he was the heir-apparent, and when he was attacked by the agents of the trustees, he had fled to the safety of Trivandrum, from where he counter attacked them. During his reign, he renovated the Padmanabha Swamy temple and the walls of the fortress. He also shifted the capital legally from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram, which he made a great centre of intellectual and artistic activity in those days. In 1791 AD, the English East India Company signed a treaty to protect Travancore from Mysore and in accordance to that treaty, was allowed to install a Resident and troops in Thiruvananthapuram. In 1799 AD, Velu Thampi, then a Karyakar of Talakkulam, led a march of the local people to Thiruvananthapuram to protest against the corruption of the Kings's ministers. The accession of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal who reigned from 1829 to 1847 AD, ushered in an epoch of cultural progress and economic prosperity. The beginning of English education was marked in 1834 by the opening of an English school at Thiruvananthapuram. An observatory and a charity hospital were also established here in 1836. During the reign of Maharaja Uthram Thirunall, Rev. Mead, an Anglican priest of the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.), was employed by the Maharajah to improve the quality of education. Schools, including one for girls, were started in Thiruvananthapuram.
During the reign of Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal
(1860–1880), a full-fledged Arts College was started here besides the several English
, Malayalam and Tamil
schools, all over the State. A large hospital with lying-in-facility and a lunatic asylum were also established in Thiruvananthapuram. The Trivandrum University College was started in 1873, with Dr. Read as its principal. A Law class was opened in Thiruvananthapuram in 1874 AD, and the main building of the old Kerala Government Secretariat was designed and constructed by the Maharajah's chief engineer, Mr. Barton. Mr. Barton also improved the sanitation of the city. It was during the reign of Sri Moolam Thirunal (1885–1924), that the Sanskrit College, Ayurveda College, Law College and a second grade College for Women were started here. A department for the preservation and publication of oriental manuscripts was also established.
One of the significant aspects associated with Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal’s reign was the inauguration of the Legislative Council in 1888. This was the first legislative chamber, instituted in an Indian State. The Sri Moolam Assembly came into being in 1904. The activities of the Indian National Congress
echoed in Thiruvananthapuram and other parts of Kerala during the reign of Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal.
During the regency of Maharani Setu Lakshmi Bai, the college for Women at Trivandrum was raised to the first grade.
A political conference of the Congress was held in the city under the presidency of Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramaiah, in 1938. The period of Maharaja Sri Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma who took the reins of administration in 1931, witnessed many-sided progress. The promulgation of the Temple Entry Proclamation (1936) was an act that underlined social emanicipation. In 1937, a separate University for Travancore was started. This was later redesignated as the University
of Kerala, following the formation of the State of Kerala in 1956. With the accession of Travancore to the Indian Union after Independence, the policy of the State Government as well as the political atmosphere underwent radical changes. The first popular ministry headed by Sri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai was installed in office on 24 March 1948.
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
city and several other places in the district occupy an important place in ancient tradition, folklores and literature of the State. South Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, particularly Thiruvananthapuram, had a political and cultural history in the early past which was in some respects independent from that of the rest of Kerala.
Ancient history
The Ays were the leading political power till the beginning of the 10th century AD. During the Chera-Chola Wars from 999 to 1110 AD, the city of significance was Vizhingam, which housed a university (Kanthalur Salai). Trivandrum housed the famous temple. All of the regions were attacked and sacked by the Chola army, till they were forced to retreat to KottarKottar
Kottar is a locality and a thriving bazaar area of Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu state, India; though a part of Nagercoil today, it is the original town around which the city of Nagercoil, near the southernmost tip of Peninsular India, grew. It was an ancient trade center of both Pandyas and Cheras at...
in 1110 AD. The disappearance of the Ays synchronised with the emergence of the rulers of Venad
Venad
Venad Swarupam was one of the three prominent late medieval Hindu feudal kingdoms on Malabar Coast, south India, along with Kingdom of Calicut and Kingdom of Cannanore. In the early 14th century, Venad ruler Ravi Varma Kulasekhara had established a short-lived supremacy over southern India...
. During the Venad
Venad
Venad Swarupam was one of the three prominent late medieval Hindu feudal kingdoms on Malabar Coast, south India, along with Kingdom of Calicut and Kingdom of Cannanore. In the early 14th century, Venad ruler Ravi Varma Kulasekhara had established a short-lived supremacy over southern India...
rule, the trustees of the temple (Ettarayogam) became powerful enough to challenge the authority of the rulers. Raja Aditya Varma was poisoned by them, and five out of six children of Umayamma Rani
Umayamma Rani
Aswathi Thirunal Umayamma, popularly known as Umayamma Rani, was the Regent of Venad from 1677 to 1684 on behalf of her nephew Rajah Ravi Varma who ruled thereafter till 1718.-State of Venad:Venad or Travancore was at that time in a state of turmoil...
were murdered by them. In 1684, during her regency, the English East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
obtained a sandy piece of land at Anchuthengu
Anchuthengu
Anchuthengu, formerly known as Anjengo, is a coastal town in the Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala.This was an old Portuguese settlement lies between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, near Varkala. Literally the word ‘Anjuthengu’ means 'five coconut palms.’ The whole land is cultivated with...
(Anjengo) on the sea coast, about 32 km north of Thiruvananthapuram city, for erecting a factory and fortifying it. The place had earlier been frequented by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch. It was from here that the English gradually extended their domain to other parts of Thiruvithamcore, anglicised as Travancore.
During the regency of Umayamma Rani, Travancore was invaded by a Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
adventurer, known as the Mughal Sirdar, forcing the Rani to take refuge in Nedumangad
Nedumangad
Nedumangad is a municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located around 20 km to the north-east of Thiruvananthapuram city on the Thiruvananthapuram — Thenmala State Highway...
. The Sardar camped in the suburbs of the present day Trivandrum, till he was defeated by Kerala Varma, a prince from the Kottayam royal family, adopted into the Venad royal family. The Rani was brought back in triumph to Trivandrum, but in 1696 AD, Kottayam Kerala Varma was assassinated by the trustees within the precincts of his own palace.
During the regin of another Aditya Varma (1718–1721), the clashes between the royal officials and the temple trustees became more common. Failing to get redress at the hands of the king, the tenants of the temple lands marched to Trivandrum to present their grievances to the Yogakkar (trustees), indicating the low ebb of the power of the king.
Modern history
Maharaja Marthanda VarmaMarthanda Varma
Marthanda Varma , was the founder of the Indian Hindu feudal kingdom of Travancore from Venad SwaroopamHe ruled from 1729 till his death in 1758, having succeeded his maternal uncle Dharma Raja.King Marthanda Varma is usually credited as the "founder of Kingdom of Travancore" from...
who reigned from 1729 to 1758 AD, and who is regarded as the Father of modern Travancore, modernised Thiruvananthapuram. The locals of Thiruvananthapuram had supported him against the Pillamar when he was the heir-apparent, and when he was attacked by the agents of the trustees, he had fled to the safety of Trivandrum, from where he counter attacked them. During his reign, he renovated the Padmanabha Swamy temple and the walls of the fortress. He also shifted the capital legally from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram, which he made a great centre of intellectual and artistic activity in those days. In 1791 AD, the English East India Company signed a treaty to protect Travancore from Mysore and in accordance to that treaty, was allowed to install a Resident and troops in Thiruvananthapuram. In 1799 AD, Velu Thampi, then a Karyakar of Talakkulam, led a march of the local people to Thiruvananthapuram to protest against the corruption of the Kings's ministers. The accession of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal who reigned from 1829 to 1847 AD, ushered in an epoch of cultural progress and economic prosperity. The beginning of English education was marked in 1834 by the opening of an English school at Thiruvananthapuram. An observatory and a charity hospital were also established here in 1836. During the reign of Maharaja Uthram Thirunall, Rev. Mead, an Anglican priest of the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.), was employed by the Maharajah to improve the quality of education. Schools, including one for girls, were started in Thiruvananthapuram.
During the reign of Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal
Ayilyam Thirunal
Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma 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"...
(1860–1880), a full-fledged Arts College was started here besides the several English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Malayalam and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
schools, all over the State. A large hospital with lying-in-facility and a lunatic asylum were also established in Thiruvananthapuram. The Trivandrum University College was started in 1873, with Dr. Read as its principal. A Law class was opened in Thiruvananthapuram in 1874 AD, and the main building of the old Kerala Government Secretariat was designed and constructed by the Maharajah's chief engineer, Mr. Barton. Mr. Barton also improved the sanitation of the city. It was during the reign of Sri Moolam Thirunal (1885–1924), that the Sanskrit College, Ayurveda College, Law College and a second grade College for Women were started here. A department for the preservation and publication of oriental manuscripts was also established.
One of the significant aspects associated with Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal’s reign was the inauguration of the Legislative Council in 1888. This was the first legislative chamber, instituted in an Indian State. The Sri Moolam Assembly came into being in 1904. The activities of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
echoed in Thiruvananthapuram and other parts of Kerala during the reign of Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal.
During the regency of Maharani Setu Lakshmi Bai, the college for Women at Trivandrum was raised to the first grade.
A political conference of the Congress was held in the city under the presidency of Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramaiah, in 1938. The period of Maharaja Sri Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma who took the reins of administration in 1931, witnessed many-sided progress. The promulgation of the Temple Entry Proclamation (1936) was an act that underlined social emanicipation. In 1937, a separate University for Travancore was started. This was later redesignated as the University
of Kerala, following the formation of the State of Kerala in 1956. With the accession of Travancore to the Indian Union after Independence, the policy of the State Government as well as the political atmosphere underwent radical changes. The first popular ministry headed by Sri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai was installed in office on 24 March 1948.