<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Kanyakumari has been a great centre for art and religion for centuries . It was also an area of great trade and commerce . It was ruled by the Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Nayaks . The architectural beauty of the temples in the area are the works of these rulers . Later Kanyakumari became part of the Venad kingdom with its capital at Quilon . The king of Venad, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, established Travancore by extending his domain further north up to Azhva, during his reign from 1729 to 1758 . By this, the present Kanyakumari District came to be known as Southern Travancore . In 1741, Maharaja Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch East India Company at the famous Battle of Colachel . </P> <P> Kanyakumari was under the rule of the Pandyan Kings till the downfall of Pandyas, and later by kings of Travancore under the overall suzerainty of the British (as "Cape Comorin") until 1947, when India became independent . Travancore joined the independent Indian Union in 1947 . The reign of the Travancore royals came to an end . </P> <P> In 1949, Kanyakumari became part of the reconstituted Travancore - Cochin State . Around this time, a popular agitation by the Tamil - speaking people of the district for the amalgamation of Kanyakumari District with Tamil Nadu intensified under the leadership of Marshal Nesamony who is called as' Kumari Thanthai' (Father of Kanyakumari district). Marshal Nesamony was instrumental in the merger of Kanyakumari district with Tamil Nadu (then known as Madras State) in 1956 during the linguistic reorganisation of states . </P>

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