Nagercoil

Nagercoil is the 12th largest city in the Southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District. The city is situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula is the southernmost city in the Indian mainland.

The town was a part of the erstwhile Travancore state, or later Travancore-Cochin state, till almost a decade after the Indian independence in 1947. In 1956, the city and the District were merged with Tamil Nadu. In its earlier days, the town and its surroundings were known as Nanjilnadu.

History

Nagercoil derives its name from a famous old temple called the Naga Raja Temple, (temple of the serpent king)  which still exists in the central part of the town. It has been an important temple for Hindus for centuries as well as a tourist attraction. According to certain accounts, it may once have been a Jain temple, as icons of the Jain Tirthankaras -- Mahavira and Parsvanatha -- are found on the pillars of the temple. 

Nagercoil came under the rule of various kingdoms, notably the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms, at various points in time; historical records reveal that these kingdoms fought over the control of the fertile area of Nanjilnadu and Kottar, a town mentioned in old Tamil writings and maps of ancient India. Archaeological records also show Jain influences in ancient times. Also the literatures reveal the fact that the Nanjil Nadu and Kottar were ruled by Kurunji Nattan (Kuravars) and a naga tribe with pandyan origin called Bharathars (Paravars, ancient rulers of Bharatha Varsha), who were called Chandravanshi in North India.

The modern history of the town is interwoven with the history of Travancore state. The modern town of Nagercoil grew around Kottar, now a locality within the municipal limits. The town came to prominence during and after the reign of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, the king of Travancore, the capital of which was Padmanabhapuram, about 20 km to the north of Nagercoil. The capital was later shifted to Trivandrum, now Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, about 65 km to the north of Nagercoil. In the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, Nagercoil was the second most important town after the capital Trivandrum.

Maharaja Marthanda Varma's successors continued the land, revenue and social reforms he instituted. Although Travancore was considered by many to be a "Hindu" administration, the rulers generally showed religious tolerance, and were not hostile to European educators, missionaries and traders. Until the 19th century, the coffers of Travancore were greatly helped by revenues from the trade of pepper and other spices, with the European powers.

Irrigation systems (an excellent system is still found around Nagercoil), dams, roads, schools etc. developed under the able administration of the Travancore royals and their Dewans. The British in India considered Travancore a "model native state". At the time, Travancore was the most socially developed, and one of the most economically developed states under the British Raj. During the British Raj, Travancore was essentially a vassal-state to the British, but the British never interfered in the general administration of the state.

At the time of India's independence from Britain, the Dewan of Travancore, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer, preferred Travancore to be a sovereign country, but he eventually gave up after a tough stand by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's federal minister in charge of home affairs, who wanted the princely state annexed to India. The late Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer is still held in high esteem in Nagercoil, for the many development projects he undertook in South Travancore, of which the town was a part.

After a political fight in the 1950s led by Marshal A. Nesamony Nadar, the Government of Travancore-Cochin gave part of South Travancore (present day Kanyakumari District) to Tamil Nadu, because a majority of the population spoke Tamil in the district. This was enacted in the Indian States Reorganization Act of 1956.