Dr. Jitendra, Travancore and Cochin were two different states. Though officially friendly states, there were always ideological differences between the two. After independence, the two states were merged to form the state of Travancore-Cochin...

Dr. Jitendra, Travancore and Cochin were two different states. Though officially friendly states, there were always ideological differences between the two. After independence, the two states were merged to form the state of Travancore-Cochin (1947-1956), administrative capital at Trivandrum and Judicial capital at Cochin. Later, in 1956, the district of Malabar was merged with Travancore-Cochin to form the state of Kerala. Travancore pushed for a commonwealth of Independent states after independence but the king of Cochin, Sri. Kerala Varma joined the union of India immediately. This was more of a political move to "defeat" Travancore, and the commonwealth (spearheaded by States of Bhopal and Travancore) idea died off instantly

I had always wantd to see an MG pic of this section.. thanks Jimmy for this gem!

Thanks Jimmy for this piece of history. Did it really take 15 yrs. to complete? And didn't know that Travancore - Cochin was the first princely state to join India. I guess Hyderabad was the last one - Hyderabad and Kutch had their own currencies and...

Thanks Jimmy for this piece of history. Did it really take 15 yrs. to complete? And didn't know that Travancore - Cochin was the first princely state to join India. I guess Hyderabad was the last one - Hyderabad and Kutch had their own currencies and railway stations within their boundaries accepted only those, and not the Indian rupee of that time.