The present state of Kerala is made up of three princely states, Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. When the British announced their withdrawal from India, the Diwan of Travancore, Sir. CP Ramaswamy Iyer announced that Travancore would establish itself as an independent state and would not join the Indian Union.

bq. The action of Diwan aroused a bitter controversy inside and outside the State. Travancore was again in the vortex of a political struggle and the Government resorted to a series of repressive measures to meet the situation. One of the highlights of the struggle was a police firing at Pettah, Trivandrum, in which three persons including a student by name Rajendran were killed. A few days after the incident, an unsuccessful attempt was made on Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer’s life when the Diwan was attending a function in the Swathi Thirunal Academy of Music at Trivandrum (July 25, 1947). The Diwan escaped with minor injuries and very soon left the State for good. Immediately after this incident the Maharaja intimated, to Lord Mountbatten, the Governor-General, his decision to accept the Instrument of Accession and take Travancore into the Indian Union. Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer resigned the office of Diwan on August 19, 1947 and was succeeded in that office by P.G.N. Unnithan.

[Source: “Kerala’s Politics”:http://www.keralaspolitics.com/html/history.htm] This series is part of “15 days of Independence”:http://www.madhoo.com/archives/002681.php#002681