Southern Division (Travancore)

In 1956, the Tamil-speaking taluks of Southern Division were transferred to the neighbouring Madras State as per the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 and forms the present-day Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. The Malayalam-speaking taluks of the erstwhile Trivandrum division form the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. The headquarters of the Southern Division were at Padmanabhapuram.

Before the formation of the Travancore Kingdom, Southern Travancore, Padmanabhapuram, and the Trivandrum division were part of Venad (kingdom) (previously known as Quilon), with its capital at Quilon. Quilon Kingdom covered present-day four southern Kerala districts and Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Kollam, Pathanamthitta district, and the northern Trivandrum districts were situated to the north of Quilon. Kanyakumari district and the south-Central region of Trivandrum district were situated to the south of Quilon.