Emblem of Kerala
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2020) |
Emblem of Kerala | |
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Acts of Niyamasabha ;on all documents issued by state to the public; on all state correspondences of State Government and its agencies and on exteriors of all public state buildings. |
The Emblem of Kerala
Description
The official Kerala emblem is a derivative version of the Royal coat of arms of the
Changes in Emblem
Kerala Government has made changes in its official emblem. The changes, as per the recommendation of a committee that looked into the issue, were made to make the state emblem in tune with the national emblem as the Government of India uses the phrase 'Satyameva Jayate' below the four lions standing back-to-back, an official release said.
In the former version, 'Satyameva Jayate' was written below the two saluting elephants, after the words 'Government of Kerala'. Apart from this, the committee has also suggested increasing the size of the fonts for writing Government of Kerala in both Malayalam and English.
In an order issued on 3 January 2011, the general administration department shifted the national motto from the base of the emblem to the base of the national emblem on top in accordance with the National Emblem. The order was based on the recommendation of the Official Language (Legislative) Commission. Though the Commission also suggested keeping only the Malayalam version 'Kerala Sarkar', it was not accepted based on the fact that the emblem is also used for the official communication with Centre and various state governments.
The government had asked all departments to incorporate the changes when they use the symbol in future, the release said. However, many departments are still using the old logo despite the circular issued to all department heads and others.[2]
History
Ancient Kerala
The earliest references of a national emblem in Kerala can be traced to times of
Medieval Kerala
Much of the medieval period started after partition of Chera Empire by last Chera Emperor,
Malabar
The Malabar region comprised primarily two major kingdoms. The first and oldest among them was
The legend says, that during partition of Kerala, the last Chera Emperor did not give any land to his most trusted Nair lieutenant. Due to the feel of guilt, the emperor gave his personal sword (Odaval) and his favourite prayer conch which was broken, to his general and asked him to occupy as much as land he can with his might. The general established the state of Kozhikode and created an empire for himself. As a token of his respect to the Chera Emperor, the Zamorins adopted the logo of 2 swords crossed each other, with a broken conch in middle and a lighted lamp above it. Soon this became the official emblem of Malabar until 1766 AD, when Mysore state under leadership of Hyder Ali defeated the Zamorins and annexed the state into it.
Colonial Kerala
Portuguese Cochin
The Portuguese, after issues with Zamorin, soon made
Dutch Cochin
The Dutch under Dutch East India Company, soon came to Kochi and took over the Fort Immanuel from Portuguese after the Battle of Kochi in 1510. With this Kochi came under Dutch protection.
The Dutch Cochin shared the emblem of Dutch East India Company as its formal state emblem. The emblem was just a monogram carrying VOC, an abbreviation of Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie. The remains of the official emblem of Dutch Cochin, can be still seen on top of VOC Gate in Fort Kochi, which was the main office of Dutch establishment in India.
Arakkal kingdom
On the coat of arms there were, among other things, two fish, which probably alluded to the Alupa dynasty.
Kingdom of Kochi
While Portuguese, Dutch and British were fighting each other over Fort Kochi and allied possessions, the Kingdom of Kochi retained its autonomy and maintained its administration separately. The Kingdom of Kochi has its traditional emblem derived its traditional family - the
In 1902,
Kingdom of Travancore
Travancore was formed in 1729, under leadership of Marthanda Varma. Since the days of Venad, the family emblem of Thrippapur Swaroopam namely a right swelled Conch was used to represent the state. As the family deity was Lord Sri Padmanabha, the emblem of conch was widely used. Marthanda Varma added two laurel wreaths to it, to decorate the image which was used extensively in banners, flags, personal standards and coins until 1948.
In 1939, the Government of Travancore unveiled its new emblem with 2 elephants guarding the imperial crest of Shanku with a banner below to its crest carrying the words "Sri Padmanabha" in devanagiri script. The new coat of arms was the fourth revision of the emblem of the Kingdom of Travancore.
In addition, the Travancore had a western styled coat of arms, awarded by British Government during Delhi Durbar as well as individual Royal Cypher during reigns of each monarch, which will abbreviation of name of the reigning monarch in English with emblem of Shanku on top of it.
Modern Kerala
Travancore-Cochin
In 1948, the Kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin merged to form the state of
The newly formed government, under leadership of
Communist Kerala
With passing of States Reorganization Act of 1956 by Indian Parliament, the state of Kerala was formed merging Travancore-Cochin with Malabar. After the elections of 1957, the communists led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad came to power. The newly formed Communist Government decided to adopt a different state emblem as the emblem in use was an inherited legacy of monarchy days. The state emblem with the Communist Government adopted in 1957 featured an Indian elephant representing Cochin, 2 Shanku on its crest representing Northern and Southern Travancore respectively and two palm-trees for the Northern and Southern Malabar, encircled in a crest with Indian National emblem on top.
However much of the public was against the move to adopt new emblem and opposed it vigorously.[citation needed]
Present
With the
Other versions
Though the official state emblem is governed as per Government Order passed in 1960, a slight modified versions are used by certain Government departments. For example, Industries Department uses and cog wheel around the Shanku emblem as the shield, whereas local self governments like Panchyats etc. uses an Ashoka Chakra as the shield around the Shanku. Kerala Sports Council replaces traditional laurel as shield as well as Indian emblem as its emblem leaving just 2 elephants and Shanku. Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, also uses the state emblem in a different shade and replaces the banner with KSRTC lettering.
The
Government banner
The Government of Kerala can be represented by a banner displaying the emblem of the state on a white field.[4]
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Banner of Kerala
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Emblem of Government of Kerala in red.
See also
- National Emblem of India
- List of Indian state emblems
References
- ^ "KERALA".
- ^ "Kerala: Departments obsessed with old emblem!". Deccan Chronicle. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
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- ^ "Kerala State of India Flag Textile Cloth Fabric Waving on the Top Sunrise Mist Fog Stock Illustration - Illustration of creative, background: 127909936".