Editing Travancore (section)

==Culture==

[[File:Palace of Trivandrum.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Kowdiar Palace]], Thiruvananthapuram ]]

Travancore was characterised by the popularity of its rulers among their subjects.<ref>THE HINDU by STAFF REPORTER, 14 May 2013,  'Simplicity hallmark of Travancore royal family'- National seminar on the last phase of monarchy in Travancore inaugurated: "History is replete with instances where the Travancore royal family functioned more as servants of the State than rulers who exploited the masses. The simplicity that the family consistently upheld in all aspects of governance distinguished it from other contemporary monarchies, said Governor of West Bengal M.K. Narayanan"</ref> The [[Kings of Travancore]], unlike their counterparts in the other [[princely states]] of India, spent only a small portion of their state's resources for personal use. This was in sharp contrast with some of the northern Indian kings. Since they spent most of the state's revenue for the benefit of the public, they were naturally much loved by their subjects.<ref>"Sree Chithira Thirunal, was a noble model of humility, simplicity, piety and total dedication to the welfare of the people. In the late 19th and early 20th century when many native rulers were callously squandering the resources of their, states, this young Maharaja was able to shine like a solitary star in the firmament, with his royal dignity, transparent sincerity, commendable intelligence and a strong sense of duty."-  'A Magna Carta of Religious Freedom'  Speech By His Excellency V.Rachaiya, Governor of Kerala, delivered at Kanakakkunnu Palace on 25.10.1992</ref>

Violence rooted in religion or caste was uncommon in Travancore, but the barriers based on these parameters were rigid. [[Swami Vivekananda]] described Travancore as ''The Lunatic Asylum in India'' due to the level of caste discrimination.<ref name="Trava">A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon (2007), DC Books, Kottayam</ref> [[Vaikom Satyagraha]] point out the high-level casteism existed in Travancore.

Travancore was once a dominant feudal state during the [[Venad (kingdom)|Venad]] period, with the [[Nair|Nair aristocracy]] reaching its peak compared to other kingdoms.<ref name="Menon1878" /> Later [[Nairs]] and [[Kerala Iyers|Tamil Brahmins]] alone dominated the bureaucracy until the early 20th century. Many political ideologies (such as [[communism]]) and social reforms were not welcomed in Travancore, and in [[Punnapra]], communist protesters were fired at. The Travancorean royal family are devout [[Hindu]]s. Some practiced untouchability with [[British Raj|British officers]], European aristocrats and diplomats (for instance, [[Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos]], has reported that [[Maharaja]] [[Visakham Thirunal]] had to take bath after touching Richard's wife, to remove ritual pollution, when they visited in 1880). The decline of the caste system began at the end of the 19th century due to a series of [[Kerala reformation movement|reformation movements]]. As a result, the Kingdom of Travancore became the region with the highest male literacy rate in India.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jeffrey|first=Robin|title=The decline of Nayar dominance : society and politics in Travancore, 1847-1908|year=1976|pages=17–18}}</ref>

Unlike most of India, In [[South Canara]] and Travancore (and the rest of Kerala), the social status and freedom of women who belong to forward castes were relatively high. However, the [[Upper cloth revolt]] of the 19th century is an exception to this. The women of backward castes had not the permission to wear upper cloth in Travancore.<ref name="Trava"/> In some communities, the daughters inherited the property (though property was exclusively administered by men, their brothers) (until 1925), were educated, and had the right to divorce and remarry, but due to laws passed starting from 1925, by regent queen [[Sethu Lakshmi Bayi]] proper patriarchy was established and now women have relatively little rights.<ref>{{cite news|last=Santhanam|first=Kausalya|title=Royal vignettes: Travancore – Simplicity graces this House |url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2003/03/30/stories/2003033000700700.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404124139/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2003/03/30/stories/2003033000700700.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 April 2011|access-date=14 February 2014|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=30 March 2003}}</ref>