The States Reorganisation Act brought Travancore-Cochin, the Malabar District and the Kasargod taluk of South Kanara together as Kerala

Background

The Thrissur District Administration records that Cochin was the first princely state to join the Indian Union willingly.
After independence, E. Ikkanda Warrier became the first Prime Minister of Cochin.
The first step towards the goal of Aikyakerala was taken with the integration of the Travancore and Cochin states in July 1949.
In 1949 the Travancore-Cochin state came into being by the merger of Cochin and Travancore, with Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai as its first chief minister.
Travancore-Cochin was in turn merged with the Malabar district of the Madras State.
The Government of India's 1 November 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state, Kerala, incorporating Travancore-Cochin, the Malabar District and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.
Earlier, in 1946, the first popular Cabinet of Cochin took office, consisting of Panampilly Govinda Menon, C.R. Iyyunni, K. Ayyappan and T.K. Nair.
The Cochin State Praja Mandal, a political organisation that pressed for responsible government, took shape on 26 January 1941 under the leadership of V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan.