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| Northern Division | |||||
| Division of Travancore | |||||
| |||||
 | |||||
| Capital | Kottayam | ||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||
| Historical era | British Raj | ||||
| • | Established | 1856 | |||
| • | Disestablished | 1949 | |||
| Today part of | Kerala, India | ||||
The Northern Division or Kottayam Division was one of the three (or four) administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore in British India. [1] It was established in 1856 and covered parts of Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki in the present-day Kerala. The division was administered by a Diwan Peishkar, a civil servant of rank equivalent to a District Collector. The division was sub-divided into the taluks of Alangadu, Kunnatunadu, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha (including Kothamangalam), Paravur, Thodupuzha and Vaikom. [2] The headquarters of the division was first located at Cherthala, and later got shifted to Kottayam.
A princely state, also called native state, feudatory state or Indian state, was a vassal state under a local or regional ruler in a subsidiary alliance with the British Raj. Though the history of the princely states of the subcontinent dates from at least the classical period of Indian history, the predominant usage of the term princely state specifically refers to a semi-sovereign principality on the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by a local ruler, subject to a form of indirect rule on some matters. In actual fact, the imprecise doctrine of paramountcy allowed the government of British India to interfere in the internal affairs of princely states individually or collectively and issue edicts that applied to all of India when it deemed it necessary.
The Kingdom of Travancore (Thiruvithamkoor) was an Indian kingdom from 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and Kollam and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of modern-day central and southern Kerala with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikkam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin, as well as the district of Kanyakumari, now in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell at its center. In the early 19th century, the kingdom became a princely state of the British Empire. The Travancore Government took many progressive steps on the socio-economic front and during the reign of Maharajah Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, Travancore became the second most prosperous princely state in British India, with reputed achievements in education, political administration, public work and social reforms.
Kottayam is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. Kottayam has no city or muncipal corporation, but has six muncipal towns of Kottayam, Changanssery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. Though the district is 65 km south to Kochi, it is located in an area with biggest diameter and population. It is the only district in kerala having no border with either the Arabian Sea or the other states.
