Changaramkumarath Krishnan Vakkeel was a community leader, banker, social reformer, and journalist from

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 ...

, India. He was a champion of implementing the revolutionary socialist reforms proposed by Sree Narayana Guru for the upliftment of the downtrodden people of Kerala. He was called Mithavathi―a minimalist―after the newspaper he published from 1913 to 1938 to spread the message of the reformist movement. He was well-educated and hailed from an influential family. Although he could have entered the government service and risen to higher positions with his education and wealth, he renounced all these for the liberation of the backward classes from the clutch of pathological social system. When the kings and the ruling class passed oppressive laws against the weak sections of the people, '' Mithavadi'' protested through its editorials that their judgments were against poor people. It also pointed out that the true owners of the land were the people and not the kings or the people in power. It reminded the King of Travancore of the Russian rulers who were overthrown by the revolutionaries and asked his highness to take this as an indication.

Biography

C. Krishnan was born in Mullassery,

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

on 11 June 1867. He took over the '' Mithavadi'' in 1913 which was initially started as a monthly newspaper(Magazine) from Thalassery. It featured articles and writings regarding the socially depressed classes and was a voice for the rights of the depressed classes.It was known as the "Bible of the socially opressed". Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan a great social reformer of Kerala, during those times, was the one who gave C. Krishnan the impetus, advice to take over Mithavadi and helped him to start this as a newspaper. Mithavadi started its publication from Calicut as a monthly from 1913 to 1921 through empire press Calicut and then as a weekly until 1938. C. Krishnan was initially a follower of Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan and Brahmosamaj and worked together with Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan in his social reform activities. He worked as the secretary of Calicut Brahmosamaj for many years. Later on he got interest in the philosophy of Buddhism. The Kochi metro entrance has the history of the Kerala press and C. Krishnan is listed amongst the first under 1907. It says "'' Mithavadi'' – From Tellicherry marks the next important milestone in the history of the press in Kerala. It published a daily news sheet featuring the latest news from the war front during the First World War. Separately, the Government of Kerala states "The Mitavadi was in the forefront of the movement for social reforms and the uplift of the weaker sections of society". C. Krishnan was a follower of Sree Narayana Guru. He was a leader of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and was active in organizing the meetings of the northern Malabar district his area of

. He participated in many SNDP yogam conventions and chaired its 9th anniversary at sivagiri along with the consecration ceremony of ‘Sharada’ temple there. He was an excellent organizer and fund raiser for the SNDP. He was appointed the Dharmakartha of all the Ashram properties. He actively participated in Vaikom Satyagraha. In 1907 Krishnan (along with Kalingalmadom Rarichan Moopan of the famous Kallingal Madom) invited Sree Narayana Guru to Malabar. The guru accepted the invitation and visited many places in Malabar. C. Krishnan however did not support the freedom movement, and was against the

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 ...

and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. He supported the British rule because he believed that freedom for rule without freedom from

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

was meaningless. He blamed Gandhiji for his failure to prevent the Malabar rebellion. He wanted the freedom of the oppressed classes to be attained before the nation achieved freedom.

References

External links

Sree Narayana Association

Blog on C. Krishnan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnan, Mithavaadi Narayana Guru Malayalam-language journalists 1867 births Writers from Thrissur Indian social reformers Journalists from Kerala Year of death missing 19th-century Indian journalists Politicians from Thrissur

Biography

See also

References

External links