What Mr C. Sankaran Nair said about Social Reform

Some views expressed by Mr C. Sankaran Nair while presiding over the 12th anniversary of the Madras...

Read

February 19, 1908

Committee on the System of Matrilineal Inheritance

Some decisions made by the Travancore Government regarding making a few reforms in the current socia...

Read

February 28, 1910

Religious Rivalry

It was with the aim of curbing newspapers from further publishing news and articles with sinister...

Read

November 04, 1908

Conservation of historical sites

The Gazette from yesterday features a report detailing the Government's appointment of a team in Tra...

Read

September 26, 1908

Sri Moolam Popular Assembly - a serious omission

A very serious omission is clearly evident in the advertisement published in the Government Gazette...

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.