KPSC - 01- KERALA: AN INTRODUCTION

Kerala, a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India was formed on November 1, 1956, in accordance with the States Reorganization Act bringing together the areas where Malayalam is the dominant language. Bordering with Karnataka to the North, Tamil Nadu to the South and the East and the Arabian Sea towards the West, the state has an area of 38,863 sq. km with Thiruvananthapuram as the capital. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, and estimated to reach 3.5 crores, Kerala holds a place of honour among the people of India as the one who have enriched Indian Cultural Heritage and helped the cause of national integration. Kerala's culture is in fact, an integral part of Indian culture, which is revealed in its arts, architecture, festivals, dress, cuisine etc. A rock inscription dated back to 3rd-century-BC by Emperor Asoka the Great, attests the concept of Kerala-putra.

Around 1 BC the region was ruled by the Chera Dynasty, which traded with the Greeks, Romans and Arabs. The patriarchal dynasties of Tamil Chera dynasty, Ayas and the Pandyan Kingdom ruled until the 14th century and hence were the traditional rulers of Kerala. The Dravidian Villavar tribe which established the Chera Kingdom was of patriarchal descends. After repeated attacks from the neighboring Chola and Rashtrakuta kingdoms, the Cheras collapsed. Feudal Namboothiri Brahmin and Nair city-states subsequently gained control of the region. Kolla Varsham or Malayalam Era, which is assumed to have been established by King Udaya Marthanda Varma in 825 AD, serves as the official calendar of Kerala. Early contact with Europeans gave vive to struggles between colonial and native interests.  After independence, Kerala state was created in 1956 from the former state of Travancore-Cochin, Malabar district of Madras State, and Kasaragod taluk of Dakshina Kannada. Kerala is a popular tourist destination famous for its back waters, Ayurveda treatments and tropical greenery Kerala has a higher Human Development Index than all other states in India. The state has a literacy rate of 91 percent, the highest in India. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. It also has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries, starting the Kerala ‘Gulf Boom’, and is uniquely dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.