Kerala

Majority of Kerala were not comes directly under British colonization. Malabar one of district of Madras Presidency under direct British rule, but Tiruvithamkoor (Travancore) and Kochi (Cochin) regions were autonomous kingdoms ruled by Maharajas during British era in India, and were known for their forward-looking attitude which effect in several welfare reforms, particularly in the domain of education and health care.

Kerala was one of the places in India where European colonization first started. The Portuguese were the first to gestate a direct sea route between Lisbon and Kozhikode in Kerala, and this marked as the opening of European colonization in the country. Soon the Dutch, French, Italians and British were all enticed by the wealth of spices and silk and came with the purpose of forming colonies. The failure of the Dutch by the Travancore Army at the Battle of Colachel, and the decline of Portuguese Empire and French problems in Europe, effect in the British gaining the full power in country, and the acquisition of the Malabar region into the British Madras Presidency.

However, the Kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore remained independent with little foreign policy from the British, and they were staunch allies. After the independence of India, the Kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin choose to yield into the Indian Union, and were later merged into a single State of Travancore-Cochin. With the linguistic reorganization of States, the Malayalam-speaking regions of Malabar and Travancore-Cochin were merged into the State of Kerala on November 1st 1956. This released a united Kerala, a dream held since the segmentation of the ancient Kerala Empire of Cheras in the eighth century. Today, people in Kerala live a largely conventional lifestyle, and much of the rich culture and heritage of the region is well-preserved.

November 1st is celebrated as Keralappiravi (Birth of Kerala) Day (also known as Malayalam Divasam / Malayalam Day).