The Southern state of Travancore was one of the first among the princely states to refuse accession to the Indian union. It wanted to remain independent, but things changed after an assassination attempt on the dewan of the state, Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyer. In this episode, historian Manu Pillai and renowned painter and descendant of the Travancore royal family, Rukmini Varma join us to tell us more about the story of the state's integration.

Hosted by Adrija Roychowdhury and Damini Jaiman
Edited by Damini Jaiman
Mixed by Suresh Pawar
Editorial Support: Shashank Bhargava

All 5 episodes are out now!
Visit - www.indianexpress.com/audio

The Indian Express introduces a brand new history podcast — Pages from the Past. In its first season - The Reluctant Princes, hosts Adrija Roychowdury and Damini Jaiman explore the stories of five princely states that were reluctant to join the Indian union.

This is an Indian Express Exclusive Podcast - to listen to the entire show - visit www.indianexpress.com/audio