Editing Thiruvananthapuram (section)

===Contemporary Period===
The early 20th century was an age of tremendous political and social changes in the city. The [[Sree Moolam Popular Assembly]], established in 1904, was the first democratically elected legislative council in any Indian state.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of legislative bodies in Kerala-- Sri Mulam Popular Assembly |url=http://keralaassembly.org/history/popular.html |publisher=Keralaassembly |access-date=17 May 2017}}</ref> Despite not being under the direct control of the [[British Empire]] at any time, the city featured prominently in [[Indian independence movement|India's freedom struggle]]. The [[Indian National Congress]] had a very active presence in Thiruvananthapuram. A meeting of the [[Indian National Congress]] presided by Dr [[Pattabhi Sitaramaiah]] was held here in 1938.
[[File:Palace of Trivandrum.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kowdiar Palace]] built-in 1915 was the official residence of the [[Travancore Royal Family]].<ref name="Kowdiar">{{cite web |title=Kowdiar palace |url=http://www.zonkerala.com/tourism/Kowdiar-Palace-9.html |work=About Kowdiar palace |publisher=Zonkerala |access-date=25 June 2010}}</ref>]]
The Thiruvananthapuram Municipality came into existence in 1920 as the first municipality in the [[Travancore]] region. The municipality was converted into a corporation on 30 October 1940, during the period of [[Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma]], who took over in 1931.<ref name="ThiruvananthapuramHistoryIntro">{{cite web |title=Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation |url=http://www.corporationoftrivandrum.org/ |work=Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation Introduction |publisher=Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Government of Kerala |access-date=3 January 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916043822/http://www.corporationoftrivandrum.org/ |archive-date=16 September 2010}}</ref> The city witnessed multi-faceted progress during his period. The promulgation of the "[[Temple Entry Proclamation]]" (1936) was an act that underlined social emancipation. This era also saw the establishment of the [[Kerala University|University of Travancore]] in 1937, which later became [[Kerala University]].<ref name="University of Kerala History">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the University |url=https://keralauniversity.ac.in/history |publisher=University of Kerala |access-date=17 May 2017}}</ref>