Chengalath Kunhirama Menon (1857–1935) was the founder/editor of '' Kerala Pathrika''—first and earliest Malayalam newspaper published from

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

, Calicut

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

during 1885. Menon is often referred to as Chengalathu Valiya Kunhirama Menon; the appellation ''Valiya'' (big or senior) is used to distinguish him from his nephew and well-known story writer Chengalathu Cheriya Kunhirama Menon popularly known with reversed initials M. R. K. C. Kunhirama Menon was one of the first five graduates of erstwhile Malabar, completing his bachelor's degree at the Maharajah's College

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

, in Kerala. He represented Malabar and attended the first

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in 1885. He also met Bipin Pal, who suggested that Menon start a newspaper from Kerala, supporting the National movement. Financial help to start a newspaper was provided by Appu Nedungadi and Kannambra Valiya Unni Nair. Menon also attended the 1890 editor's conference in England with Kasturiranga Iyengar of ''The Hindu''. The editor placed emphasis on promoting nationalistic feelings and opposing the autocratic functioning of the government. Kunhirama was highly impressed with the working of Amrita Bazar Pathrika of Calcutta newspaper. It is said this was the first congress newspaper in Malayalam. '' Kerala Pathrika'' was published for a long time. After a short interruption in 1930 the paper resumed publication in 1938. Later this newspaper continued publication from Cochin in 1947. Menon was conferred the title of Rao Sahib by the Governor General of India as a personal distinction.

References

External links

Kerala Pathrika Pvt Ltd

Indian newspaper editors Malayali people 1935 deaths 1857 births 19th-century Indian journalists 20th-century Indian journalists Indian male journalists Malayalam-language journalists Businesspeople from Kozhikode Journalists from Kerala Journalists from British India {{India-journalist-stub