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|Sir Rama Varma VI|
|Maharaja of Travancore|
|Reign||4 August 1885 – 7 March 1924|
|Successor||Sethu Lakshmi Bayi (Regent)|
|Born||25 September 1857|
|Died||7 March 1924 (aged 66)|
|Father||Changanassery Raja Raja Varma|
|Mother||Rani Lakshmi Bayi|
Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was born on 25 September 1857 to Prince Raja Raja Varma of the Changanassery Royal Family and Maharani Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore, niece of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal. His mother died when he was only a few days old. The Maharajah had an elder brother, Hastham Thirunal. After the usual vernacular Malayalam studies, the two princes were placed under the tutorship of Annaji Rao B.A. and later under Raghunath Rao B.A. at a country house built specially for the purpose. Hastham Thirunal soon had to stop his studies owing to ill health and so Rama Varma remained the only pupil under the tutor. He was initially taught subjects such as history, geography, arithmetic and grammar. His great-grandmother was the Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore.
The Travancore Legislative Council was established in 1888, three years after Moolam Thirunal became Maharajah. This was the first Legislative Council for a native state in the history of India. It was later succeeded by the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, the first legislature in Indian history to have elected members.
In 1886 a proclamation was issued relieving people of the requirement to pay of penalties on documents executed on unstamped government cadjan leaves (paper was not yet in common use in Travancore). In 1887, the penalty for non payment of stamp duty was reduced as it was found to be a huge burden. The same year, another royal proclamation was passed relinquishing the right of the government in property left by a person under the Marumakkathayam matrilineal system of inheritance when a person died without heirs. Likewise under the then system, when a tenant of a Jenmi or landlord died heirless, instead of the land passing in entirety to the landlord, it passed with sovereign right to the government who auctioned it later. This was abolished.
In 1888 the Anchal post system was improved with stamps of new values introduced. Moolam Thirunal's reign also saw major changes in the transport sector in Travancore. The first bus services began in 1908 on two routes starting from Trivandrum. The first bus on the Trivandrum-Nagercoil route was started by Arumana Narayanan Thampi, son of Visakham Thirunal while the first bus on the Trivandrum-Kollam route was started by Joseph Augusti Kayalackakom, a textile merchant of Trivandrum. Ten years later in 1918, the first train reached Trivandrum as the Chenkotta-Quilon railway was extended to Trivandrum.
Several other reforms were also brought in by Moolam Thirunal in fields including education, medicine, law and order and the civil service. Sanitary departments were opened and female education progressed. Changes were brought in the management of prisons and the public works department was reorganised. A life insurance system was also introduced by the Maharajah. In 1898, in recognition of his accomplishments, the British rewarded Moolam Thirunal with the grant of a personal salute of 21 guns.
Since the Royal House of Travancore followed the Nair Marumakkathayam system of matrilineal inheritance the presence of females was very essential in the family. Since the family had failed to exist in the female line, on the suggestion of Rani Lakshmi Bayi, two princesses, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi were adopted from the cousin Royal family at Mavelikara. Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi succeeded Maharajah Moolam Thirunal Sir Rama Varma as Regent in 1924 till 1931, when her nephew & heir to the throne, Maharajah Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma attained the legal age and became the last Maharajah of Travancore.
Maharajah Sir Rama Varma married twice, both noblewomen of the Thampi clan of the Nairs as tradition. His first wife (married in 1880) was Nagercoil Ammachi Panapillai Amma Srimathi Kunju