The unprincipled Nairs

“If you have to eat where you have not eaten before, you have to take a new route to reach there...

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September 19, 1910

News Highlights

An Indian wrestler named Prof...

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June 07, 1909

Education in Travancore

The Government of Travancore has constituted a committee with the intention of improving the standar...

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January 24, 1906

News Round Up: Muslim News

The Nizam of Hyderabad has agreed to contribute two thousand rupees towards the Curzon Memorial Fund...

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January 15, 1908

The water tax in the south

It is contended that the newly completed Kothayar project work, which costs a lot of money, ca...

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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.