Envis Centre, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India

Printed Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024

About Kerala

 

              Kerala, the southern most State of India lies in between 8°18' and 12°48' latitude and 74°52' and 72°22' longitude. The total geographic area of the State is 38,86,300 ha. Kerala lies between the Arabian Sea in the West and the Western Ghats (Sahyadris) in the East with an area of 38863 sq km. It is one of the five states in the linguistic-cultural area known as South India. The neighbouring states of Kerala are Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Mayyazhi (Mahe) is a part of Pondicherry (Puducherry) and lies within Kerala. Though the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea is part of the Union Territories, it has a close alliance with the linguistic and cultural heritage of Kerala.

 

               After India's independence in 1947, Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin on July 1, 1949. Later, the Government of India's November 1,1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state-Kerala-incorporating Malabar District, Travancore-Cochin, and the Taluk of Kasaragod, South Kanara. A new Legislative Assembly was also created, for which elections were held in 1957.

State Symbols