Administrative changes in Travancore

The relationship between the king and the subjects is the most sacred. No worldly event has the powe...

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June 14, 1909

News Round-Up – World

Readers are aware that numerous individuals from Travancore migrated to Burma and are currently enga...

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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 07, 1908

The Calamity in Hyderabad

It may be recalled that our last editorial about the calamity of flood that struck the state of the...

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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...

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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.