The head of state and sovereign of the Indian state of Kerala is the Governor, appointed by the President of India. He or she acts as the nominal head of the state, but the Chief Minister is the real executive power.
The current Governor of Kerala is Arif Mohammed Khan. He was appointed to office on 27 August 2019.
The title of ‘King of Kerala’ is not officially recognised by the Indian government and has no basis in law. It is, however, sometimes used as a poetic or poeticized form of expression, referencing the historical rulers of the region.
The last ruler of Kerala was the Zamorin of Calicut (or Samuthiri), who ruled the region before the British colonized India. The Zamorin’s kingdom extended far beyond the modern state of Kerala, stretching from Kasaragod in the north to Coimbatore in the south.
Which king ruled Kerala the most?
The most prominent king to have ruled over Kerala was King Cheraman Perumal. His reign dates back to between 844 AD and 877 AD, during which time he helped to shape the history of Kerala and his reign saw great cultural and religious progress.
He is widely known for being the first recorded ruler of Kerala and for helping to spread religious and cultural influences from Arabia and Persia across the region. During his reign, he established diplomatic relations with China, welcomed Arab invaders and travelers from the Middle East, and is credited with having introduced the principles of Shaivism, along with Arab merchants, to Kerala.
He oversaw the construction of numerous Hindu temples, including the Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kodungallur, which was the first mosque in India. He even converted to Islam and took on the name Thajuddin before his death, making him the first ruler of Kerala to do so.
His reign marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Kerala that saw the rise of the Travancore, Cochin and Malabar Kingdoms, renowned institutions such as the University of Calicut and Nalanda, as well as the beginnings of the traditional Kerala arts.
Which Kerala king converted to Islam?
The first known Kerala king to convert to Islam was Malik Deenar, who was a local ruler from the region of Tippu Sultan. He is known to have converted to Islam in 7th century AD. There is some speculation as to how Malik Deenar embraced the religion, as some historians believe he was converted by Arab traders who passed through his land, while others suggested he encountered Islam when he left his home and ventured abroad.
Following Malik Deenar’s conversion, a wave of further conversions to Islam occurred in the region, resulting in the formation of the medieval kingdom of Malabar by around the 11th century AD. During the period of the Malabari Sultanate, powerful rulers like Zamorin, Kunhali Marikkar, and Tipu Sultan continued the process of conversion with the introduction of trade links and education initiatives.
By the 16th century AD, the majority of the kings in Kerala had embraced Islam, opening the door for the region of Kerala to become a vibrant culture embracing both Hindus and Muslims. The region still remains a hub of religious tolerance and communal harmony to this day.
Is there any royal family in Kerala?
No, there is no officially recognized royal family in the Indian state of Kerala. While some local rulers did exercise regional power in the past, and passed down knowledge through generations, Kerala was formally annexed by the British East India Company in 1809.
With the country’s independence in 1947, India abolished its princely states and India’s Constitution specifies that rulers cannot receive recognition for their past rule and cannot accept any titles from foreign nations.
As a result, no official royal family of Kerala exists today.
When did King rule end in Kerala?
The King’s rule in Kerala ended in 1947, when India became independent from the British Raj. This ended the era of the princely states of the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin Union, where King Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma had taken the throne in 1924.
From 1816 to 1947, when the princely state of Cochin amalgamated with Travancore, the region was ruled by various maharajahs and kings. The power of the monarchy began to weaken by the battles with the Vellalaras and the growing strength of the Nair military forces, who wanted to end the King’s rule and gain independence from the British Empire.
After India’s independence in 1947, the rule of the kings ended and the power of the Indian Government was imposed in Cochin. The monarchy in Kerala was officially abolished in 1971, when the state of Kerala was established.
Who is the richest royal family in India?
The richest royal family in India is undoubtedly the Mewar Dynasty of Udaipur, Rajasthan. The current head of the family is Arvind Singh Mewar, the 76th custodian of the dynasty since its inception in 734 A.
D.
The family holds vast property and assets in India, which includes the City Palace, Jagmandir Palace, Fateh Prakash Palace and Maharana Pratap Memorial, amongst other places. The family also owns the Taj Lake Palace Hotel, a luxurious heritage hotel which is situated in the middle of Lake Pichola in Udaipur.
The family is said to have a worth of at least $825 million according to Forbes. Much of this wealth comes from tourism, as the City Palace, Fateh Prakash Palace and Taj Lake Palace Hotel draws visitors from all around the world.
The royalties also receive revenue from the Shreeji Arvind Mills, a cloth mill founded in 1935 that has been managed by members of successive generations of the family.
The lineage of the Mewar Dynasty holds the position of being one of the oldest princely families of India, as it has over 2000 years of unsurpassed history. This has earned them great respect within the nation, and makes them the richest royal family in India.
Who ruled Kerala before British?
Before the British colonised Kerala, the region was ruled by three distinct Hindu ruling dynasties; the Cheras, Pandyas, and the Ays. During the Sangam period from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD, the Chera Dynasty was the predominant dynasty in the region.
This period was marked by the development of local politics, culture, and trade. The Sangam age was followed by the emergence of the Pandyan Dynasty in the 8th century AD, which lasted up to the 16th century.
During this turbulent period, Kerala witnessed a number of different kingdoms controlling a part of the region, such as the Quilon, Travancore, Cochin, Venad, Kozhikode and Palakkad provinces.
The Ays marked the beginning of the last dynasty to rule Kerala, which began in the early 17th century. The Ays’ rule extended from the north to the southern part of the state. In 1792, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, invaded Kerala, leading to the collapse of the Ays dynasty in 1792.
This opened the doors to the British colonisation of Kerala, and in 1793, the state of Kerala was annexed as part of the British Empire.
Who founded Kerala?
The history of Kerala has been shaped by its geography and strategic location, which has attracted many migrations from other parts of India as well as from different parts of the world. However, the exact chronology of its founding/origin is largely disputed.
According to Hindu mythology, Kerala was founded by Parasurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, who was said to have created Kerala by throwing his axe into the sea.
More historically accepted accounts of Kerala’s origins involve the Ays, a Dravidian tribe from the Indus Valley, who migrated to the region 2500 BC. This set the stage for the emergence of the native Tamil-speaking people of the region, who are believed to have gradually displaced the Ays as the predominant group in the region.
Other groups, including Namboodiris (Brahmin priests), traders, and military personnel of the Chera dynasty, arrived in the region during this period.
The Cheras, who had ties to Rome, the Middle East and other parts of India, expanded the region’s trade with the outside world and laid the foundation for a rich and prosperous society. They are believed to have been the first rulers of Kerala, and were followed by a series of smaller kingdoms and dynasties.
The period from 900 AD to the early 1500s saw extensive foreign involvement in the region, with a Portuguese mission setting up trading posts in 1498. The long period of colonial rule which followed saw a gradual but significant shift in the population, with many foreign settlers arriving in the region.
Overall, the long and varied history of Kerala means that its founding is widely disputed, with different people laying claim to its origins for a variety of reasons. The Ays, the Dravidian tribes, the Chera dynasty, and European settlers all have some claim to having founded Kerala.
Who brought Islam to Kerala?
Islam was first introduced to Kerala in the 7th century AD by Muslim traders, who had come from the Middle East. It is believed that many of these traders had already embraced Islam before arriving in Kerala, though some of them may have converted upon arrival.
The spread of Islam in the region was primarily driven by the Arab and Persian traders, and the establishment of their local mosques and madrassas. Later on, Sufi saints such as Malik Bin Dinar and Sheikh Zainuddin Makhdoom I also played a major role in the spread of Islam in Kerala.
Today, the vast majority of Kerala’s population is either Muslim or has a Muslim background, making it one of the most culturally diverse states in India.
When did Jews come to Kerala?
Jews have a long history in Kerala, a state in the southwest of India. Jewish settlement in the region dates back to more than 2,000 years ago. Historians believe that Jews first arrived in the region between 587 BC and 586 BC, when they fled the Babylonian Exile.
Kerala is home to the oldest Jewish settlement in India, known as the Malabar Coast. Estimates suggest that as many as 10,000 Jews once lived along the coast, at or around Calicut, Cranganore, Palur, and Cochin.
Anastasi, a Jewish traveler from Syria, visited the Malabar Coast in 1078 and recorded his observations in his book, “The Periplus of Anastasius. ” He noted that there were numerous Jewish merchants living in the region as well as a synagogue.
Others are thought to have arrived in Kerala between the 4th and 15th centuries, during the Mughal, Arab, and British colonization. By the early 20th century, the number of Jews in Kerala had reached the tens of thousands, with a largely Sephardic population.
Over time, many migrated elsewhere, and now only a small number of Jews remain in the region.
Was Kerala a Mughal rule?
No, Kerala was not a Mughal rule. While the Mughal Empire extended its rule over the northern parts of India and parts of the Deccan, the area that is now Kerala was under the rule of numerous local rulers and dynasties, such as the Zamorin of Calicut, the Kolathunadu Rajas, the Ays and the kingdom of Cochin.
The earliest recorded period of Kerala’s history is the Cheran kingdom which dates back to the 4th century AD. Later these areas were occupied by the Portuguese and the British, who began their rule in the 16th and 18th centuries respectively.
It was only at the time of India’s independence in 1947 that the state of Kerala was formed.