SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The subject is the development of politics, within a context of social change, in the Indian princely state of Travancore. The thesis is divided into two parts: Part One focuses upon social change, and Part Two on politics. Since, in considering the emergence of 'modern' forms of political expression we are concerned with the twin themes of political socialisation and mobilisation. Part One explores the social background. Beginning with the latter half of the nineteenth century it deals with the development of communal identity. Chapters Two and Three give a survey of the castes and communities in the state and their situation at the turn of the century. They cover social and religious reform movements and the emergence of communal associations. Chapter Four is devoted to religious reform in the 1918-38 period. Chapter Five turns to the economy of Travancore: it considers the rise of capitalism and the consequences of change for nascent class conflict. Having examined political development prior to 1918 in Chapter One, Part Two concentrates on politics in the eventful 1918-38 period. Chapter Six deals with the formation of the early political associations and the campaigns for civic equality and legislative reform in 1918-22. Chapter Seven covers the communal politics of the 1920s. Chapter Eight examines the Abstention movement of 1933-35 that sought an end to the political and administrative dominance of caste-Hindus. The final chapter looks at the background to the formation, in 1938, of the multi-communal Travancore State Congress on a platform of responsible government. The conclusion reviews the transformation of politics in a period of social and institutional change - the development and expression of a new sense of communal identity, nationalism, and an emergent class consciousness. It then goes on to consider the significance of all three in post-1938 Kerala.