Documented local history

Ranni’s history traces to ancient times with early settlements around Sabarimala and Nilakkal and an historic trade route through Nilackal; the Ranni Karthas (the Karthkal of Ranni) were a Samanthas family of Thekkamamkoor rulers, and in the 18th century Anizham Thirunal Marthandavarma of Vennad annexed the Thekkamkoor kingdom and confiscated lands belonging to those rulers. [1]

Ranni lay in the Central Travancore region before the unification of India; before 1982 it formed part of Kollam district, and with the formation of Pathanamthitta district in 1982, the area came under the new district. [1]

Administrative reorganization in the early 1980s led to the formation of the Ranni taluk on 1 August 1983. [2]