From the Reporter's Notebook

A piece in the series of articles about the turmoil in Turkey being published in the Maratha Gazette...

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March 22, 1909

Bribery Scandals in Travancore

After ten years of slumbering in ignorance of Travancore's bribery scandal, our fellow newspaper, Ma...

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December 20, 1909

Is this Journalistic ethics?

We are saddened and surprised to see that some of our fellow newspapers, who are reputed to have mor...

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June 12, 1907

News Round Up: National

It is reported that the Emir of Afghanistan has contracted a disease called rheumatism. *** The an...

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May 05, 1909

National News

Kolkata The house of nationalist singer Mukunda Das has been searched again and two national songs...

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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.