Educational spoilsports in Travancore

Educational Secretary Mr. P. Ayyappan Pillai, who has no considerable knowledge of Malayalam languag...

Read

January 09, 1907

Land tax

In Padmanabhapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kottayam divisions, the weather conditions were generall...

Read

July 08, 1908

Bail processes

Bal Gangadhar Tilak has been committed to the Sessions Court by the Presidency Magistrate for the ch...

Read

May 09, 1906

Leprosy and the fish Diet

Jonathan Whitchinson*, a doctor who is of the opinion that the spread of leprosy is due to the consu...

Read

January 24, 1906

The Viceroy and Muslims

Lord Minto, who has taken over as the new Viceroy of India, was presented with a scroll of honour on...

Read

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.