The following is a list of notable people from Kerala, India. The names are classified according to the person's major area of work. For more details please see their respective articles.
The Cheras are referred to as Kedalaputo (Sanskrit: "Kerala Putra") in the Emperor Ashoka's Pali edicts (3rd century BCE).[1] The earliest Graeco-Roman accounts referring to the Cheras are by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century CE, in the Periplus of the 1st century CE, and by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE. Greeks and Romans are called "Yavanas" in early Indian literature.
Uthiyan Cheralathan – earliest known ruler of the Chera family who was also known as "Vanavaramban" Cheral Athan. He is sometimes identified with the Chera ruler who prepared food for the warring cousins at Kurukshetra War in the epic Mahabharata (Akananuru).
Pallaana Chel Kelu Kuttuvan – son of Uthiyan Cheral Athan. Credited as the conqueror of Kongu.[2]
Kalankakkanni Narmudi Cheral – led an expedition against the Adigaiman Anji of Tagadur. Initially defeated by Nannan of Ezhimala in the battle of Pazhi, later defeated and killed Nannan in the battle of Vakai Perum Turai.[2]
Chenguttuvan – identified with "Kadal Pirakottiya" Vel Kezhu Kuttuvan, son of Nedum Cheral Athan, celebrated by the poet Paranar in the 5th decade, ascended to the Chera throne after the death of his father. Vel Kezhu Kuttuvan is often identified with the legendary "Chenguttuvan Chera", the most illustrious ruler of the Early Cheras. Under his reign, the Chera territory extended from Kollimalai (near Karur Vanchi) in the east to Thondi and Mantai (Kerala) on the western coast.[2]
Adu Kottu Cheral Athan – successor of Vel Kezhu Kuttuvan
Chelva Kadumko Valia Athan – son of Anthuvan Cheral and the hero of the 7th set of poems composed by Kapilar. He defeated the combined armies of the Pandyas and the Cholas. He is sometimes identified as the Ko Athan Cheral Irumporai mentioned in the Aranattar-malai inscription of Pugalur (c. 2nd century CE).
Perum Cheral Irumporai – "Tagadur Erinta" defeated the combined armies of the Pandyas, Cholas and that of the chief of Tagadur. He captured Tagadur which was ruled by the powerful ruler Adigaman Ezhni. He is also called "the lord of Puzhinadu" and "the lord of Kollimalai" and "the lord of [Poom]Puhar". Puhar was the Chola headquarters. Perum Cheral Irumporai also annexed the territories of a minor chief called Kaluval.
Illam Cheral Irumporai – defeated the Pandyas and the Cholas and brought immense wealth to his base Vanchi.
Kanaikkal Irumporai – said to have defeated a chief called Muvan and imprisoned in him. The Chera then brutally pulled out the teeth of the prisoner and planted them on the gates of the city of Thondi. Upon capture by the Chola ruler Sengannan Kanaikkal committed suicide by starvation.
Rulers of Venad trace their origin to the Vel family related to the Ay chiefs of the ancient southern India (c. 1st - 4th century AD). Venad - ruled by hereditary chiefs, acting with the help of a military entourage - emerged as a chiefdom in the state of the Cheras of Kodungallur in c. 8th century.
Rama Varma Kulashekhara (1090–1102) – mentioned in Rameswarathukoil Inscription as the founder of Venad as an independent state
Kotha Varma Marthandam, Keezhperoor (1102–1125) – conquered Kottar and Nanjanad from the Pandya Dynasty
Vira Kerala Varma I, Keezhperoor (1125–1145) – great religious benefactor, responsible for the rebuilding of Padmanabhaswamy and the endowment of Suchindram Temples
Kodai Kerala Varma, Keezhperoor (1145–1150)
Vira Ravi Varma, Keezhperoor (1161–1164)
Vira Kerala Varma II, Keezhperoor (1164–1167)
Vira Aditya Varma, Keezhperoor (1167–1173)
Vira Udaya Martanda Varma, Keezhperoor (1173–1192) – established his seat at Kulikkod and allied himself to the Pandya kings
Devadaram Vira Kerala Varma III, Keezhperoor (1192–1195)
Vira Rama Kerala Varma Tiruvadi, Keezhperoor (1209–1214)
Vira Ravi Kerala Varma Tiruvadi, Keezhperoor (1214–1240)
Vira Padmanabha Martanda Varma Tiruvadi, Keezhperoor (1240–1252) – the Pandya kings asserted their dominance over Venad during his reign
Jayasimha Deva, Keezhperoor (1266–1267) – succeeded in bringing the whole of present-day Kerala under his control. He established his seat at Kollam, the surrounding areas becoming known as Jayasimhanad (Desinganad). His wife Rani Umma Devi was probably a joint ruler with her husband. He died leaving several sons who quarrelled with his nephews over the succession, causing a long and disruptive civil war.
Vira Ravi Kerala Varma, Kulasekhara Perumal (1504–1528) – succeeded as Trippappur Mutta Tiruvadi
Mushika Kingdom (Ezhimalai)
The Mushika kingdom was a kingdom in the early historic south India in present-day Kerala, India, ruled by a royal dynasty of the same name. Its dominions, for most of its recorded history, covered the present-day regions of northern Kerala, Tulunadu and Coorg (southern Karnataka), between the western slopes of the Western Ghats in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west.
Nannan I - married the daughter of the Chera King Perunchorruthiyan sometime around the 3rd Century BCE. Sangam texts as well as several versions of the Mahabharata cite a Chera king by the same name to have fed the rival armies in the Great War. Under Nannan, an able military commander also, Mushika kingdom transformed into a force in South India, and stretched into Wynad and Gudalur Districts in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and the northern parts of present-day Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. Eager to expand his kingdom, Nannan waged war against the Cheras, and successfully defeated the Chera commanders at the Battle of Pazhi.
Isanavarman – married a Chedi princess Nandini. He also married the daughter of the then Chola King. Their son Nrpurama was the next king.
Virochana – defeated the Pallavas, and married Harini, the daughter of the Pallava King.
Kandan Kari Varman – (The Mushika king who lived in the Eleventh Century CE) is referred to as a close relative of the Ay-Chera King Vira Kerala. Several inscriptions exist in both the Kasargod-Kannur area (in Eramam) and in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari area, throwing light on the synchronism between Rajendra Chola, Chera Vira Kerala and Kandan Kari Varman and that the latter Mushika King belonged to the Ay Dynasty.[4]
Kola Swarupam (Chirakkal Rajah)
Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the three most powerful feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of Portuguese India Armadas, the others being Zamorin's Calicut and Quilon. The Kolathiris are praised as Vadakkan Perumals ("Kings of the North") by the noted "Keralolpathi". Kolathiri were also known as Chirakkal Raja or King of Chirakkal.
Rama Ghata Mushaka – established the lineage of Kola Swarupam;
Vikrama Rama[5] an inscription dating to 929 AD mentions about one Vikrama Rama identifiable with the ruler Vikrama Rama who appears in the Mushika Vamsa
Udaya Varma, also known as "Rama Ghata Muvar" – mentioned on the inscription from 10th century AD
Eraman Chemani (Rama Jayamani) – the inscription from the Tiruvattur temple mentions him to be identifiable as the king who appears as the 109th ruler in the Mushika Vamsa
Arrakal Kingdom
Arakkal kingdom (Kingdom of Cannanore, Sultanate of Laccadive and Cannanore) was a former city-state on the Malabar Coast, ruled by a dynasty of the same name. The ruling King was called Ali Raja ("the Sea Ruler") and the ruling queen was called Arakkal Beevi. The royal family is said to be originally a branch of the Kolattiri, descended from a princess of that family who converted to Islam. They owed allegiance to the Kolattiri rulers, whose ministers they had been at one time. The Arakkal family was the only Muslim royal family of Kerala to control parts of the coast and Lakshadweep.
Ali Raja Ali II – known to have deployed his naval Mappila forces on behalf of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb during the Child's War
Samoothiri of Kozhikode
Zamorin of Calicut[6] (Saamoothiri, സാമൂതിരി) – rulers of Malabar from the 14th and 18th century AD. At the peak of their reign, the Samoothiris ruled over a region from Kollam (Quilon) to Panthalayini Kollam (Koyilandy).
Mana Vikrama (Manikkan) – legendary founder of the ruling family
In the 18th century, Marthanda Varma (1706–1758), of the Trippappoor, successfully developed the centralised state of Travancore. Varma routed all of major Nair nobles in Travancore, organised a standing army, defeated most of the chiefdoms in central Kerala, entered into strategic alliances with Europeans, supported Kerala merchants (Syrian Christian) in the place of the Europeans, and eventually formed one of the first modern states of southern India.
Pannyan Raveendran – Member Loka Sabha (2006–2012); Kerala State Secretary, Communist Party of India (2012–2015)
Pinarai Vijayan – Chief Minister, Kerala; Kerala State Secretary, CPI(M) (1998–2015), and member of the CPI(M) Politburo (2002–incumbent)
Prakash Karat – General Secretary, CPI(M) of India (2005–2015)
Panakkad Shihab Thangal (Panakkad Sayeed Mohammedali Shihab Thangal) – President of the Kerala state committee of the IUML (1975–2009)
Ramesh Chennithala – President, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (2005-incumbent); four times Lok Sabha MP (1989–2004)
Anathalavattom Anandan – President, CITU State Committee; Vice Chairman, Apex Body for Coir; State Secretariat Member, CPI(M); three times MLA from Attingal Constituency
Thomas Kailath (2012) – presented by President Barack Obama in 2014 for "transformative contributions to the fields of information and system science, for distinctive and sustained mentoring of young scholars, and for translation of scientific ideas into entrepreneurial ventures that have had a significant impact on industry"[31][32]
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards also known as the Oscars are a set of 24 awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry, given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the academy's voting membership.[33]
The Booker Prize (formerly known as the Booker–McConnell Prize and the Booker Prize for Fiction) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the UK.
Tessy Thomas (1963–) – Indian scientist and director general of aeronautical systems and the former project director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation. She is the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India. She is known as the 'Missile Woman' of India.
V. R. Lalithambika (1962–) – Indian scientist working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO); will lead the Gaganyaan mission as the director of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme which is intended to send Indian astronauts in the space by 2022[59][60][61]
Dr.Ayyathan Gopalan - First male doctor and Surgeon of Kerala, First Indian superintendent and Psychiatrist of Calicut mental Asylum (Kuthiravattom mental hospital), medical school professor and social reformer of Kerala.
Byju Raveendran – founder of Think and Learn Private Ltd, popularly known as BYJU'S - The Learning App, the first investment in Asia from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative[69] It is considered to be one among the only few Indian consumer startups that has gone global,[70] particularly with the 2017 acquisition of TutorVista.
DR.Ayyathan Gopalan (1861-1948) - Social reformer, Founder of Sugunavardhini movement, Depressed Classes Mission, Leader and Propagandist of Brahmosamaj in Kerala.
Kamala Das – English poet and novelist; also wrote in Malayalam under the pen-name Madhavikkutty; first Indian woman to openly write about women's sexuality; embraced Islam under the name Kamala Suraiyya in 1999; Asian Poetry Prize, 1964; Kent Award, 1965
Kottarathil Sankunni – well known author of Malayalam literature. He made significant contributions in both poetry and prose. He started compiling the legends of Kerala in 1909 and completed the work in eight volumes over a quarter of a century. "Aithihyamala" (Garland of Legends) is a collection of stories of legends prepared by Kottarathil Sankunni. The works on the legends were collected and published by Sankunni in the famous Malayalam literary magazine of the nineteenth century, the Bhashaposhini.
Kumaran Asan – poet, also called Mahakavi Kumaran Asan, died at age 51 in a boat (named Redeemer) accident en route Alapuzha to Kollam in January 1924
Niranam Poets – three Malayali poets, Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar of the Kannassa family; they lived between AD 1350 and 1450 in the Niranam village of Tiruvalla
Sarah Joseph – writer, Novelist, Sahitya Academy winner
Shashi Tharoor – novelist, Commonwealth Writers Prize, 1991; previous Under-Secretary-General (Communication and Public Information) of the United Nations, Deputy Minister of External affairs
K. Kumar of Travancore – Gandhian reformer, nationalist and Freedom Fighter who revived and edited "Swadeshabhimani" run by the deported Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishnana Pillai
Pramada Menon – queer feminist activist, stand-up comedian, gender and sexuality consultant, and co-founder of Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action
Sally Varma – animal activist, humane educator, founder of Save A Life and Senior Campaigner in the Farm Animal Protection Campaign of Humane Society International/India
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800 - AD 1124). ISBN9788188765072.
↑ Kaladharan, V. (12 December 2013). "Sound of the nagaswaram". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
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