India's Malabar Coast is home to the state of Kerala. After the States Reorganisation Act was passed, it was created on 1 November 1956 by joining the Malayalam-speaking portions of the former regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canara, and Thiruvithamkoor. Kerala, which covers 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), is the 21st-largest Indian state in terms of land area. To the north and northeast, Karnataka; to the east and south, Tamil Nadu; and to the west, the Lakshadweep Sea. Kerala is the thirteenth-largest Indian state by population, with 33 million residents as per the 2011 Census. Thiruvananthapuram serves as the capital and is split into 14 districts. The state's official language and the most generally used tongue is Malayalam. The first notable monarchy with a base in Kerala was the Chera dynasty. The other kingdoms in the early Common Era were comprised of the Ay kingdom in the deep south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north (CE). Since 3000 BCE, the area had been a significant exporter of spices. Around 100 CE, Pliny's writings and the Periplus both mentioned the region's prominence in trade. Portuguese traders were drawn to Kerala by the spice trade in the 15th century, which helped pave the path for European colonization of India. There were two significant princely realms in Kerala during the time of the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century: Thiruvithamkoor and Cochin. In 1949, they came together to become the state of Thiru-Kochi. Previously a part of British India's Madras province, the Malabar region in northern Kerala later joined the Madras State after India's independence. After the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, the current state of Kerala was created by merging the Malabar district of Madras State, the taluk of Kasaragod (now Kasaragod District) in South Canara, and the former state of Thiru-Kochi (with the exception of the Gudalur taluk of Nilgiris district, the Lakshadweep Islands, Topslip, and the Attappadi Forest east of Anakatti) (excluding four southern taluks of Kanyakumari district, and Shenkottai taluks).
