Travancore-Cochin or Thiru-Kochi (Malayalam: തിരു-കൊച്ചി) is a former state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 (1949–1956). It was created on 1 July 1949 by the merger of two former princely state

Princely state

A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

s, the kingdoms of Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 and Cochin

Kingdom of Cochin

Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...

.
On 1 July 1949 AD, the State of Travancore-Cochin was established, with Trivandrum as the capital and the Maharajah of Travancore as the Rajapramukh of the new State. The Maharajah of Cochin was offered to be addressed as Uparaja Pramukh, but he did not want any title after handing over the power. The Maharaja politely said that the eldest member of Cochin Royal Family

Cochin Royal Family

The Cochin royal family were rulers of Cochin, or Kochi, India. They were also known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam or Kuru Swaroopam.-Tradition of Perumpadapu Swaroopam:...

 should be called Valiya Thampuran and gave up royal powers unconditionally for the good of the people. Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai, the Prime minister of Travancore, continued to lead the new state as Chief minister.

Elections were held in 1951 and A. J. John, Anaparambil

A. J. John, Anaparambil

Anaparambil Joseph John was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, and statesman. He was Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin and Governor of Madras....

 was elected as the Chief Minister of the state, ruling until 1954. While Pattom A. Thanu Pillai

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962....

 was the Chief minister 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. The agitation took a violent turn and some police and many local people were killed at Marthandam

Marthandam

Martandam is a major trade centre in Kuzhithurai municipality across National Highway in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India, at the border with Kerala. Originally called Thoduvetty, it was a portion of Kanyakumari district which was added to the state of Tamil Nadu on November 1, 1956...

 and Puthukkada, irreparably alienating the entire Tamil-speaking population from merger into Kerala. Under the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the four southern taluks of Travancore, namely Thovalai

Thovalai

Thovalai is a small village located in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is well known in India for its production of flowers, especially Jasmine.-Flower Industry:...

, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode and a part of the Chencotta Taluk was merged with Madras state.

On 1 November 1956 it was joined with Malabar District

Malabar District

Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...

 of Madras State

Madras Presidency

The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

 to form the new state of 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....

, with a Governor, appointed by the President of India

President of India

The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

, as the head of the state instead of the Rajapramukh.