Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era documents, Uthiyan Cheralathan (Perum Chorru Udiyan Cheralathan, Athan I, or Udiyanjeral - AD c. 130) is the first recorded Kera (Chera) dynasty ruler of the Sangam period in ancient South India. Governance The city is governed by the Changanacherry Municipal Council.Ms Sandhya Manoj is the chairperson of the municipality and the vice chairperson Mr Binu. It heads the taluk Kachery (office). It also heads the Munsiff's court and the judicial first class magistrate's court. Changanacherry assembly constituency was a part of Kottayam (Lok Sabha constituency). However, after the Delimitation Commission's Report in 2005, in order to retain Mavelikkara Lok Sabha Constituency, Changanacherry segment in Kottayam and the neighbouring constituencies in Alappuzha and Kollam districts were put together under Mavelikkara constituency. Sri. Kodikunnil Suresh represents Mavelikkara constituency in Parliament and Sri. Job Michael represents Changanacherry Constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly now. Demographics As of the 2011 India census Changanassery municipality has a population of 47,485; the total population of Changanassery UA/Metropolitan region is 127,987. The male population was 61,807, while the female population was 66,180. The literacy rate of Changanassery Agglomeration is 97.56%, which is higher than the national urban average of 85%. The literacy rates for male and female for Changanassery stood at 98.19% and 96.98% respectively. Total literates in Changanassery UA were 113,597, of which males were 54,901 and the remaining 58,696 were females. The child population (age 0–6) of Changanassery UA is around 9.02% of the total Changanassery UA population, which is lower than the national urban average of 10.93%. The total number of children in Changanassery urban region was 11,550, of which 5,895 were males while the remaining 5,655 children were females. Education There was a Vedic school at Vazhappally Salagramam (Vazhappally Shala) in ancient times during the rule of the Thekkumkur. It was run exclusively for Brahmins. It is the oldest educational institution in Changanassery on record. The Vazhappally Sala was destroyed by army of Ramayyan Dalawa during the Battle of Changanassery between Thekkumkur and Travancore in 1790. St. Berchmans College, Changanassery (June 19, 1922); The college was initially started in a building (now it is a museum) near to St. Mary's Parel Church. It was a junior college