Sri. K.Ramakrishna pillai (1876-1916) from Neyyatinkara and Sri. Mohamed Abdul Khadar (1873-1932) from Vakkom, both places not far away from Thiruvananthapuram the royal seat of the then princely state of Travancore were intrepid, enthusiastic social and political reformers in their own right, even before they later met. The Moulavi was in search of an editor who could give bold and effective expression to the objectives with which he started his first journal Swadeshabhimani (The Patriot), and Ramakrishna Pillai was sulking after a series of his disappointments in a number of periodicals of which he was editor, a few of them ceased publications and others he had to quit due to differences with the publishers and owners of them. The real reasons for the stoppage of them or his quitting were not known.
Ramakrishna Pillai was eager to size any journalistic opportunity to give expressions to his social, political, educational ideas at that time when no other popular medium was available. There were occasions when he was concurrently editing more than one periodical with differing objectives- Upadhyan was mainly meant to disseminate among general public ideas regarding education and Keraladarpanam a general purpose periodical in which went all matters of varied interests. On the other hand Abdul Khader Moulavi”s first journal Swadeshabhimani was mainly political and social in its character. The editorial declaration in the first number unequivocally stated that the objective of the publication was the well being of the people in the promotion of which the publishers would not be deterred by fear of any consequences that might befall them.Swadeshabhimani lived up to this solemn policy statement till the very end. These early publications and a number of socio-cultural organizations that sprung up had made their contribution to the slow growth of a civil society that eventually led to great social upheavals and the later political awakening that led to the Kerala Renaissance. When Ramakrishna Pillai concentrated his enthusiasm and energies on journalistic work the Maulavi apart from publishing two more periodicals tried to mobilize the public through social organizations. Soon new vibrant meaningful changes in all spheres of life- religious, social, political and cultural – in the traditional Kerala society were evident.
Other striking examples of this kind of change were the publication of Unninamboothiri and the organization of Namboothiris with a radical socio-religious programme and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sangham (SNDP) with equally progressive aims and its publications like Vivekodayam.
These disparate and widely spread organizations and publications were responsible for the later state wide awakening that was reflected in all spheres of life and activities of Malayalees. That is why Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishnapillai and Vakkom Abdul Khadar Moulavi are considered the harbingers of Kerala Renaissance. In their case affinity of their interests and physical proximity of their bases of operations brought these two indomitable spirits closer together, and they created an unforgettable chapter in the history of journalism unparalleled in any other language and region in India at that time. These early ripples in the last decades of 19th century and the first half of 20th century grew into waves of movements of new ideas and thoughts emancipatory in their values.
At the ideological level the Maulavi and Mr.Ramakrishna pillai were more or less on the same wavelength, and so their personal relationship was warm based on mutual respect and trust. That was why Moulavi who was the owner of Swadeshabhimani and its modern brand new printing establishment gave full freedom to Ramakrishna Pillai to write and Publish whatever he wanted to write against the corrupt rule of the then Dewan P.Rajagopalachari and his cohorts even at the risk of incurring the wrath of the powerful feudal ruling establishment whose punitive punishment was certain to visit the periodical. When it actually came as was expected Maulavi was not very much sorry for the loss of his press but was broken at fate that befell his beloved comrade in arms. While Pillai lived in exile in illness and penury the Maulavi plagued by financial problems as he spent all his now too meager inherited wealth in the course of his socio-religious reform work.
Other striking examples of this kind of change were the publication of Unninamboothiri and the organization of Namboothiris with a radical socio-religious programme and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sangham (SNDP) with equally progressive aims and its publications like Vivekodayam.
These disparate and widely spread organizations and publications were responsible for the later state wide awakening that was reflected in all spheres of life and activities of Malayalees. That is why Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishnapillai and Vakkom Abdul Khadar Maulavi are considered the harbingers of Kerala Renaissance. In their case affinity of their interests and physical proximity of their bases of operations brought these two indomitable spirits closer together, and they created an unforgettable chapter in the history of journalism unparalleled in any other language and region in India at that time. These early ripples in the last decades of 19th century and the first half of 20th century grew into waves of movements of new ideas and thoughts emancipatory in their values.
At the ideological level the Maulavi and Mr.Ramakrishna pillai were more or less on the same wavelength, and so their personal relationship was warm based on mutual respect and trust. That was why Moulavi who was the owner of Swadeshabhimani and its modern brand new printing establishment gave full freedom to Ramakrishna Pillai to write and Publish whatever he wanted to write against the corrupt rule of the then Dewan P.Rajagopalachari and his cohorts even at the risk of incurring the wrath of the powerful feudal ruling establishment whose punitive punishment was certain to visit the periodical. When it actually came as was expected Maulavi was not very much sorry for the loss of his press but was broken at fate that befell his beloved comrade in arms. While Pillai lived in exile in illness and penury the Moulavi plagued by financial problems as he spent all his now too meager inherited wealth in the course of his socio-religious reform work.
