After the Tirunelveli Riots

Many details regarding the riots that broke out in Tiruvelveli on March 13 are now surfacing...

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July 28, 1909

Spike in Violence

The spike in frightening violence that has gripped the city of Thiruvananthapuram for the past few d...

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January 12, 1910

Malayalam daily newspaper

With the daily publication of "Svadesabhimani" beginning on the occasion of Popular Assembly, many p...

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June 21, 1909

City News

The Thiruvananthapuram Senior District Sessions Magistrate, Mr. K.Narayana Menon, has been suspended...

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April 29, 1910

The need for ritual program

The Smritis* are legal texts governing the people, which are revered as the epitome of scriptures. I...

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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.