Two pairs of flags fluttered proudly in the August breeze of 1947 in the erstwhile kingdom of Cochin, marking the birth of a new nation. One was raised at Hill Palace in Tripunithura, the other at Town Hall in Thrissur.
“On the historic morning of August 15, 1947, the maharaja (Rama Varma VII) hoisted the flag of Cochin alongside the Tricolour at Hill Palace. In Thrissur, the Ilaya Raja led the celebrations, raising the same two flags in unison,” informs Devan Rama Varma, a descendant of the Cochin royal family.
“The photo that is now available of the flag hoisting is of Ilaya Raja at Thrissur.”
For Cochin, the twin celebration for a new India was not just ceremonial. It was a full-circle moment for the vision of Rama Varma VII — or Aikya Keralam Thampuran as he was better known. His dream of a united Kerala and India had placed Cochin several steps ahead of its time.
In his now-famous speech delivered to the Cochin Legislative Council on July 29, 1946, the maharaja had addressed what he called the “hopes as well as misgivings” of his subjects due to the political uncertainties of the time. “For its own sake and for the good of the country as a whole, Kerala must unite and function as a separate and cohesive unit in the greater Federation of India,” he stated.
In the following months, as India’s journey to freedom gathered pace, he declared in April 1947 at the Aikya Keralam Convention, “I have no hesitation to declare that Cochin would continue to remain part of the Mother Country. It is joining the Constitutional Assembly at once. No word or act of mine shall usher in a day when a Cochinite finds he has lost the right to call himself an Indian.”
Devan asks with a smile: “Aren’t these words so inspiring when they come from a maharaja who volunteers to let go of his powers and privileges in the interest of his people’s welfare?”
Throughout his speech addressed to the Legislative Council, the maharaja showed faith in the idea of India as an independent state: “I have said before that if India becomes great, every part of it becomes great.”
He also showed complete confidence in governance based on a constitution, instead of favouring autocracy: “I believe in pure Constitutional Rule, and throughout my life, I have sedulously cultivated an attitude towards life and institutions which is antipathetic to autocracy and personal rule.”
The maharaja’s attitude and eagerness towards uniting Kerala with India had caught the attention of notable leaders such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and C Rajagopalachari.
“The outlook and approach of this declaration was in pleasant contrast to what one usually gets from the ruler and authorities in the states, and I should like to congratulate the maharaja,” said Nehru. “Cochin is eminently suited for this changeover to a democratic form of government because of the high standard of education here.”
Highlighting how graciously the declaration was carried forward, Ramabhadran Thampuran, another descendant of the royal family, says, “When V P Menon arrived in Cochin as a representative of the Indian government, he was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity with which Pareekshith Thampuran (Rama Varma VII’s successor) let go of his powers. He mentioned it in his book — ‘The Story of the Integration of the Indian States’.”
Seventy-eight years later, as tricolours unfurl across the country, the image of two flags fluttering side by side in Cochin still carries a quiet power. On August 15, 1947, Cochin did not just join a free India — it embraced it, wholeheartedly.