Men of the royal family of Travancore, Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (far right)
Travancore Royal Family (present members)
The royal Family of Travancore is one of the most unique royal families in existence, the reason of this is due to their order of succession being different from other royal families. The reason it is different is due to the fact that they follow the Marumakkathayam or the matrilineal system with inheritance and succession through the sisters' children in the female line.
- The surviving younger brothers or cousins of the Maharajah, according to age.
- The sons of the sisters (direct or cousins) of the Maharajah, according to age. If there were more than one sister, the first born male child of that generation would be the heir, regardless of whether his mother was older or younger than other sisters.
If the Kingdom of Travancore was restored as a sovereign Kingdom then it would be the one and only kingdom in existence that practices the Marumakkathayam or the matrilineal system. However continuing this order of succession sometimes results in the adoption of girls. Many of these girls who are adopted are female descendants of previous Maharajahs of Travancore and Cochin or females of the Kolathiri family, because the Kolathiris are considered a sister dynasty by the Travancore Royalty.
The reason the Royal Family of Travancore operated a matrilineal (marumakkathayam) order of succession is because matrilineal heritage is common in the society of the Nair, a group of Indian Hindu castes that operate in a matrilineal (marumakkathayam) joint family structure called tharavad, whereby descendant families of one common ancestress lived under a single roof.
The women of the family were popularly referred to as Attingal Queens. Attingal was also considered as the ancestral homes of Travancore royals. Historians like V. Nagam Ayya, A. Sre
... keep reading on reddit β‘The victory in Travancore was a major boon for the Dravidians, especially to the nationalist fervor that gripped the country in the face of Hindustanβs militarism. The Fall of Trivandrum was the final act in a play wrought with tragedy and heroism, yet it was for the greater good of the Dravidian people as more of the family joined the Federal Republic and thus emancipated themselves from their oppressors. Several things transpired over the next year and a half in the country, starting with the establishment of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the State of Travancore followed by the Peace & Unification Talks with the PRGST.
The first order of business of the revolutionists in Travancore was to establish a state in which to engage in direct diplomacy with the DFR so as to complete the process in as orderly a fashion as possible. The proclamation of the intent to form a Provisional government was given the day that Trivandrum fell. During the first few days since the fall, the revolutionists voted to formally abolish the monarchy and proclaimed the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the State of Travancore which would immediately take to dismantling or altering the institutions of the now abolished monarchy. Among these was the replacement of the Nair Brigade with the Travancore Republican Army which did experience some level of integration of the Nair Brigade into the new military. A major step towards the eventual goal as stated by the Travancori revolutionists was the adoption of laws, institutions and policies heavily inspired by the Dravidian Constitution.
At the proclamation of the PRGST, the Dravidian Federal Republic formally acknowledged them as the legitimate authority and entered into full relations. Over the rest of the year and a half, the PRGST and the Dravidian Federal Republic would cooperate quite closely in working towards the ascension of Travancore as a part of the Dravidian Federal Republic. Over the course of this period, the Dravidian state expended resources to ensure that the transition would be smoother, including the establishment of the position of Special Representative to Assist in the Development and Integration of Travancore which served as an adviser to the administration.
Upon the integration of Travancore into the Federal Republic, a ceremony would be held in Trivandrum with the first half at the palace grounds with the flag of Travancore being lowered and the Dravidian flag raised. The second part w
... keep reading on reddit β‘Dheeman worked the controls of crane as sweat poured down his brow. It was a hot day in the port of Quilon, but it wasn't the heat that caused the sweating. It was the Indian rifleman on the pier below him with the rifle aimed at his head.
The dockworkers hadn't always had to work under such stress. A year ago, the Indian soldiers had treated the Quilon dockworkers as ordinary civilians. They were obedient, non-threatening. They were expected to obey the soldiers orders.
At the time it was almost as if the Indians had forgotten how the Travancori revolution had begun. It had been here that the first dockworkers strike had led to a small massacre by the King's troops. It was in turn that massacre that had galvanized the people of Travancore and had led to the liberation of most of the country from the monarchy (with Dravidian help of course).
It was only when the strikes had resumed that the Indians had realized how much of a danger the dockworkers were. They couldn't unload their transports without porters. They couldn't repair their convoy escorts without welders and electricians. The picket lines had of course been broken up by Indian soldiers and the workers forced back to work at gunpoint. However, men like Dheeman still remembered that the Indians were enemies of his people, that they propped up an oppressive monarchy.
Dheeman swung the crane arm slowly and carefully out over the freighter. The crate it was carrying swung too, up and out. His comrades had ensured that the crates had been switched. The crate he was loading, what was supposed to be an empty munitions crate, was actually a full one. Within it were a number of naval mines, which could be set off by any strong enough impact, such as the crate being dropped. He simply needed to get the crate in position above the freighter, and then release the crane.
Dheeman glanced over his shoulder at the rifleman. He didn't seem concerned. I appeared that no one had noticed anything amiss about the crate. The crane moved the crate slowly into positionβ¦.
And then Dheeman flicked the release lever. The crate fell towards the freighter deck. Dheeman saw the deck of the freighter erupt in flames as the crack of the rifle sent a bullet into his brain.
Pratish glanced out from behind the pile of rocks that sheltered him and his squad at the river in front of him. The pontoon bridge was in place. He saw the unmistakable markings of Dravidian uniforms on the far side of the river. While stray bul
... keep reading on reddit β‘
###Travancore
With the naval Battle of Mangalore increasing tensions between India and Dravida, and with British attempts to broker a diplomatic solution ending in failure, the Indian mission to prop up the Kingdom of Travancore would continue. With much of the Dravidian fleet destroyed, the Indian fleet would continue to the port of Quilon, which was still under Socialist-Communist control. While the revolutionaries had succeeded at ousting the Travancori troops from the port, the Indian troops were much more numerous and better trained than the Travancoris and soon overran the port and city. An Indian division would enter Travancore to back up the monarchist positions.
However, by the time the Indians established themselves in Quilon, the Dravidian troops coming through the mountains had made it out into the coastal plain. A battle between Indian and Dravidian troops would ensue, with the Dravidians attempting to push the Indians back into the sea before the Indians could dig in. In the end, though, the Dravidians had only committed two brigades and two divisions (although Socialist and Communist partisans would and them), while India had landed a full division. In the end, India would succeed at establishing a secure defensive line along the Kallada River before Dravida could bring in reinforcements. Established by mid-1958, this line would hold through 1959 dividing the former Kingdom of Travancore in two.
By early 1959 it was clear that neither side would win an easy victory. The Indian-baked rump Kingdom of Travancore would be able to dig in along the Kallada River in the North and Thampiraparabi River in the South, and would have the Western Ghats to its East. While Dravida certainly could breach this line if they were willing to pay the cost in blood, they seemed unwilling to do so. India, for their part, was never able to land a second division. While the fighters they had flown in were able to patrol the skies of Travancore itself, India did not have the air power to keep its supply convoys with consistent air support, and torpedo bombers from Dravida would continue to sink occasional supply ships and escorts. At the same time, the Dravidian fleet itself would be confined to port due to Indian submarines being detected in the vicinity.
At the same time, Dravida would continue to wage economic warfare against India, cutting off food exports to exacerbate India's economic problems. Certainly, an expensive war fought at the end of a long suppl
... keep reading on reddit β‘One of the greatest defenders to exist, the Travancore & Cochin (south & central kerala) region of Kerala were untouched by foreign rulers even by europeans & some of this credit goes to Marthanda also known as the Travancore Thamburan
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