 India, a union of states, is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The Indian Polity is governed in terms of the Constitution, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 November 1950.
When India became free, Kerala was made up of two princely states, Travancore and Cochin, and Malabar which was under the direct administration of the British. One of the first steps taken by independent India was to amalgamate small states together so as to make them viable administrative units. In pursuance of this policy the Travancore and Cochin states were integrated to form Travancore Cochin State on 1st July, 1949. But Malabar remained as part of the Madras Province. Under the States Re-organization Act of 1956, Travancore-cochin State and Malabar were united to form the State of Kerala on 1st November, 1956. The state has a unicameral legislature. The legislative assembly has 141 members and in the Indian parliament the state is represented by its 20 members. The state is divided into 15 districts. |