Abdul Khader Moulavi, popularly known as Vakkom Moulavi, was the owner of the journal newspaper named Swadeshabhimani. C P Govinda Pillai was the editor of Swadeshabhimani before RamaKrishna Pillai took over as the editor in January 1906. Ramakrishna Pillai and his family had to shift to Vakkom in Chirayinkil Taluk where the newspaper office and the priniting press were located. The newspaper office was moved to Thiruvanthapuram only in July 1907 and the family moved to Thiruvanthapuram . Though Vakkom Moulavi was still the proprietor, Ramakrishna had been given total freedom in the running of the newspaper by Moulavi. They never had any legal or financial contracts between them. Still, Moulavi provided all the financial aid to set up the press also in Thiruvananthapuram. Ramakrisha also started a woman's magazine called Sharadha, a student's magazine Vidhyarthi and another magazine named Keralan. P. Rajagopalachari, the Diwan of Travancore, was the centre of his attacks through the newspaper.The newspaper accused the Dewan of gross immorality and that the corruption had riddled the government of Travancore. But "the most serious thing against the Swadeshabhimani," wrote the Dewan, "has always been the remarkable persistency with which it preached the gospel of government by the people, and the exhortation which it held out to the people of Travancore to unite and demand self-government." He also attacked the kingship of Maharaja of Travancore as
" The monarchs believe and force others to believe that they are God's representatives or incarnations. This is absurd.Did God create a special kind of dog to be the king of dogs,or a special kind of elephant to rule over all elephants? "
Swadeshabhimani's pen moved against corruption of the state and injustice in the society. Soon he irritated the Maharajah Moolam Thirunal himself by criticizing the large expenses incurred by the Royal consort, the Panapillai Amma, through the construction of private palaces and public celebration of the wedding of the Maharajahs daughter and so on.
On 26 September 1910, Swadeshabhimani newspaper and the printing press was sealed and confisicated by the British Police and Ramakrishna Pillai was arrested and banished from Travancore to Thirunelveli in Madras Province of British Raj.The arrest was undertaken by Superintendent of Police, F S S George ( British), Inspector R Achuthen Pillai, Inspector B Govinda Pillai and Inspector Pichu Aiyangar. He was arrested even without furnishing an arrest warrant. The police escorted him till Thirunelveli. The Kingdom of Travancore itself was a princely state under the Madras Presidency. His family joined him later and he moved to a rented house in Madras. He was offered the editorship in several newspapers in Kochi and Malabar but he chose to stay in Madras.
Many of the Indian newspapers, during that time, reacted strongly against the arrest and banishment of Ramakrishna Pillai and the confiscation of the newspaper.
After Independence of India, the Government of Kerala returned the press to Moulavi' s family in 1957.
Read more about this topic: Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai