Kerala Birth Day

It has been 67 years since God’s own country Kerala was formed. The Kerala we see today was born on November 1, 1956. November 1 is a day to commemorate the fact that this land, rich in diversity, is united based on language. According to the decision of the Government of India to reorganize the states based on language, united Kerala was born as Malayalam speakers by combining the territories namely Travancore, Kochi, Malabar and Madras.

Four taluks of Travancore namely Thovala, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Valavankot and a part of Shenkottai taluk were separated and added to Madras State. Malabar District and Kasargod Taluk of South Canara District were added to the Travancore-Kochi State. As a result, the Kanyakumari district was lost to Kerala and the Malabar region except Goodalur was annexed to Kerala. When Kerala was formed, Kerala was the smallest of the 14 states of India. At the time of state formation, Kerala had only five districts namely Malabar, Thrissur, Kottayam, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. On 1 January 1957, Malabar district was bifurcated into three districts: Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad, making a total of seven districts.

The first general election in the state of Kerala was held on February 28, 1957. In that election, the government with E M Sankaran Namboothiripad as Chief Minister, came to power. This was the first elected government in Kerala.

Classroom Activity

Prepare a list of districts in Kerala with the years they were formed. Also, prepare a list of Chief Ministers in chronological order after the formation of Kerala State.