Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma

Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was born on 25 September 1857 to Prince Raja Raja Varma of the Changanassery Royal Family and niece of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal, Maharani Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore. His mother died at just a couple of days old. The Maharajah had an elder brother, Thirunal Hastham. The two princes were placed under the tutorship of Annaji Rao B.A, after the usual vernacular studies of Malayalam. Then subsequently under Raghunath Rao B.A. At a country house specially built for this purpose. Because of ill health, Hastham Thirunal soon had to leave his studies and so under the tutor Rama Varma remained the only pupil.At first, he was taught subjects like history , geography, arithmetic, and grammar. The Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore was his great-grandmother.

In 1888, three years after Moolam Thirunal became Maharajah, the Travancore Legislative Council was established. This was the first Legislative Council in Indian history for a native state. Later it was replaced by the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, the first legislature to have elected members in Indian history.

A decree was issued in 1886 relieving citizens of the need to pay fines on documents executed on unprinted cadjan government leaves. In 1887, the penalty for non-payment of the stamp duty was reduced as a huge burden was found to be imposed. A further royal declaration was passed the same year, relinquishing the right of the government to property left by a person under the Marumakkathayam matrilineal inheritance scheme when a person died without heirs. Thus under the system then, when a tenant of a Jenmi or landlord died heirless, instead of the land passing entirely to the landlord, it passed with sovereign right to the government which subsequently auctioned it. This was done away with.

The Anchal post system was strengthened in 1888 with the introduction of stamps with new values. The reign of Moolam Thirunal also saw important changes in Travancore's transport sector. In 1908 the first bus services began on two routes from Trivandrum. Arumana Narayanan Thampi, son of Visakham Thirunal, started the first bus on the Trivandrum-Nagercoil route while the first bus on the Trivandrum-Kollam route was started by Joseph Augusti Kayalackakom, a Trivandrum textile merchant. Ten years later in 1918 the first train reached Trivandrum with the extension of the Chenkotta-Quilon railway to Trivandrum.

Moolam Thirunal also introduced several other reforms in fields including education , medicine, law and order, and the civil service. Sanitary departments were opened, and women's education advanced. Changes were introduced in prisons management, and the department of public works was reorganized. The Maharajah also implemented a life-insurance scheme. In 1898, the British awarded Moolam Thirunal with a personal salute of 21 arms in appreciation of his accomplishments.