Travancore: Then and Now

There is no doubt that to the foreigners of today, who are distressed over the Brahmin aristocracy o...

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May 16, 1908

India and the Independent Labour Party

The founder-leader of Britain’s Independent Labour Party, Mr. Keir Hardie, had visited India about f...

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October 24, 1908

News Round UP: Travancore

Due to the holiday for the office on the occasion of Diwali, today's "Svadesbhimani" newspaper has b...

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September 26, 1908

Namboothiri Yogakshema Sabha (Namboothiri Welfare Society)

While the waves of state and community affairs reforms triggered by the spread of Western education...

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June 14, 1909

Reforms in Education

The (Education reforms) committee has prepared a curriculum to exclude English from primary schools...

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About the Collection

The Svadesabhimani was a weekly Malayalam language newspaper founded by the noted writer and journalist Vakkom Abdul Khader Moulavi (1873-1932), who was the owner and publisher and its managing editor. This digital collection contains the original Malayalam and their English translations.

Throughout its existence, it was funded through the personal funds of Vakkom Moulavi, who imported a modern press from Britain. The newspaper began publication in Anjengo, a small village in the princely state of Travancore, on 19 January 1905. Chirayinkeezhu C.P Govinda Pillai was the first editor for one year, after which Sri. K. Ramakrishna Pillai became the editor. The newspaper ceased publication on 26 September 1910, when it was banned by a Royal Proclamation, the editor Ramakrishna Pillai was exiled and the press was confiscated.

The Svadesabhimani served to inform the public in Travancore, as well as in the Malayalam speaking regions, about local, national and international issues. It stood apart from other Malayalam newspapers of the time in exposing corruption in the government, analysing and critiquing government policies, discussing important issues of social and religious reform and bringing news of the national anti-colonial movement and international developments. It is considered a trailblazer in Malayalam journalism, contributing to the development of a new political consciousness in the state.