Sree Chithira Thirunal was the eldest son of Junior Maharani of Travancore, Sethu Parvathi Bayi, and Sri Pooram Nal Ravi Varma Koyi Thampuran of the Royal House of Kilimanoor.

Sree Chithira Thirunal's mother, Sethu Parvathi Bayi, was distantly related, by birth, to the royal house of Travancore in the direct female line.

His early education in Malayalam and Sanskrit was imparted by the eminent scholar of the time, Sri Attoor Krishna Pisharody and in English by Mr. Dowel I.C.S (Indian Civil Service) and T. Raman Nambeeshan.

Sree Chithira Thirunal lived in Bangalore until 1 July 1931, and acquired knowledge in practical administration for 15 months, under the guidance of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharajah of Mysore.

His mental equipment and the present standard of his knowledge in English, Malayalam and other subjects like Mathematics, History and Geography are higher than those laid down by the Committee ruling 'Minor Ruler's Education and Training in Administration'.

[11] Even after turning eighteen, Sree Chithira Thirunal's investiture ceremony wasn't done and his accession to full power looked unlikely, as rumours were spread about him that he was not mentally stable and hence not qualified to occupy the throne.

His mother, Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi, contacted Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, a family friend, who then presented Sree Chithira Thirunal's case to the then Viceroy of India, Lord Wellington, and arranged a meeting between the two.

After meeting the young monarch, the Viceroy was highly impressed and found the rumours baseless, and thus all the obstacles, in Sree Chithira Thirunal's accession to power, were removed.

ln his speech, after assuming full power as the Maharajah of Travancore, he declared: "It is my hope that I shall be enabled by God's grace to earn the affection and esteem of all communities and classes amongst my people whose advancement in every department of life will be my perpetual pre-occupation and my sole aim.

Sree Chithira Thirunal is the only Maharajah of Travancore not to have conducted Hiranyagarbham or Tulaapurushadaanam as he considered these as extremely costly ceremonies thereby making himself a Nair and not a Samantha Kshatriya.

[15] Sree Chithira Thirunal was able to secure the services of eminent statesman, Sir C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar, who initially served as his Legal and Constitutional Adviser and later as his Prime minister, for several years.

This bicameral system continued to function till September 1947, until it gave way to a constituent assembly that later led to the merger of Cochin state and the eventual joining into the Indian Union.

Historian A. Sreedhara Menon referred to the administration of Sree Chithira Thirunal as 'enlightened' as his reign saw remarkable progress in the fields of education, economy, defence & society as a whole.

[18] During and immediately after the Vaikom Satyagraha, the general public started to support the temple entry movement in Kerala and due to the participation of Mahatma Gandhi, it got all India level importance as well.

The Committee stated that Hindu community is bound to take immediate and adequate measures for the upliftment of the dalits, socially and economically, and it should be done independently of the question of temple entry.

The committee suggested for this following steps for the upliftment of dalits: The above four observations were immediately put into action by the government and thus all restrictions on the usage of public amenities, like roads, wells, tanks etc.

Based on the research provided on Shodganga site, the efforts of "Kerala Harijan Sevak Sangh" played a big part in bringing the attention of the people, back to the cause.

The study done by Mahatma Gandhi University researchers, published in the website, Shodhganga, has pointed out that, Sree Chithira Thirunal was indeed in full favour of a proper temple entry even when, the Maharajah of Cochin and British Malabar's Zamorin, opposed it vigorously.

G. D. Birla, the then President of "All India Harijan Sevak Sangh" had an audience with the Maharajah and did an interview with him in the third week of June 1936, which is mentioned in the research paper, "TEMPLE ENTRY FREEDOM IN KERALA".

The team from Kerala State Temple Entry Conference also met the then Prime Minister of Travancore, Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyer and handed over the memorial for submitting it to the Maharajah.

During the Regency of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi those imprisoned were released and at the request of Mahatma Gandhi, she opened the west, south & north public roads to Vaikom Mahadeva Temple to all castes.

But much to the embarrassment of Regent Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the 12-year-old Sree Chithira Thirunal, readily and without any consultation, promised Gandhi that he would allow temple entry during his reign.

Thus the Proclamation, issued by Maharajah Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, finally abolished the ban on Dalits from entering Hindu temples in Travancore (now part of Kerala, India) and also ended the cruel practice of untouchability.

[13] The full edict of Temple Entry Proclamtion by His Highness Sree Padamanabhadasa Vanchipaala Sir Rama Varma Chithira Thirunal Kulasekhara Kireetapathi Manney Sulthan Maharajah Ramarajabahadur Shemsherjung, KNIGHT GRAND COMMANDER OF THE MOST EMINENT ORDER OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE Maharajah of Travancore, as follows: "Profoundly convinced of the truth and validity of our religion, believing that it is based on divine guidance and on all-comprehending toleration, knowing that in its practice it has throughout the centuries, adapted itself to the needs of changing times, solicitous that none of our Hindu subjects should, by reason of birth or caste or community, be denied the consolation and the solace of the Hindu faith, we have decided and hereby declare, ordain and command that, subject to such rules and conditions as may be laid down and imposed by us for preserving their proper atmosphere and maintaining their rituals and observances, there should henceforth be no restriction placed on any Hindu by birth or religion on entering or worshipping at temples controlled by us and our Government.

[29] Despite all the development and prosperity attained by his reign, Sree Chithira Thirunal's ruling period saw severe political unrest due to the then ongoing Indian freedom struggle.

The State Congress presented a memorandum to Sree Chithira Thirunal making him aware of the immediate need for the grant of responsible government and also bringing to his notice the repressive policies of his Prime Minister's administration.

But Louis Mountbatten withdrew all his assurances regarding maintaining Travancore's sovereignty and another round of discussion started between Sree Chithira Thirunal and Indian representative, V. P. Menon.

[citation needed] According to Article XI of the Covenant, Rajpramukh Sree Chithira Thirunal promulgated an ordinance which declared that the laws existing in the two states should continue to be in force in their respective territories and the courts, both civil and criminal.

[7] On 28 December 1971, Sree Chithira Thirunal lost his privy purse when the Government of India de-recognized the status of the Maharajahs of the erstwhile princely states, as rulers and was thus politically stripped.

[48] Other winners include India's former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan (2007), agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan (2008), actor Mohanlal, veteran playback singer K J Yesudas(2010), diplomat Nirupama Rao, E. Sreedharan (2012), M T Vasudevan Nair (2013) former Indian Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar (2014), former Ambassador and vice chairman of the Kerala Higher Education Council T.P.