Changaramkumarath Krishnan Vakkeel was a community leader, banker, social reformer, and journalist from
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, 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
Mullassery is a village in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India. It is located west of District Headquarters Thrissur and from the state capital Thiruvanathapuram. It houses Parambanthali Mahadeva temple, Good Shepherd's Church ...
,
Thrissur
Thrissur (), 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 third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...
on 11 June 1867. He took over the newspaper called ''
Mithavadi'' ("Reformist") from
Moorkoth Kumaran
Moorkoth Kumaran (1874–1941) was a social reformer, a teacher and a short story writer in Malayalam.
Kumaran came from a Thiyya family of Thalassery, Kannur. He was a disciple of Narayana Guru and wrote the first biography of Guru. He initiated ...
.
Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan a great social reformer of Malabar, Kerala, during those times, was the one who gave C. Krishnan the impetus and advice to start this newspaper. Later on he is known by Mithavaadi C Krishnan. Mitavadi was the "Bible" of the socially depressed and it is also known as the "Magazine of Thiyya's".
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
Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual ...
. He was a leader of the
Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana
Sree Narayana Trust, also known as the SN Trust, is an Indian educational organisation. The headquarters of Sree Narayana Trust is in Kollam city. It is named after Sree Narayana Guru and was formed by a former Chief Minister of Kerala, R. San ...
Yogam and was active in organizing the meetings of the northern
Malabar
Malabar may refer to the following:
People
* Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India
* Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion
Places
* Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
district his area of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. 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
Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...
. In 1907 Krishnan (along with
Kalingalmadom Rarichan Moopan of the famous Kallingal Madom) invited
Sree Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual ...
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 but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
and
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. 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, which develop ...
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.
See also
*
Sree Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual ...
*
Dr. Palpu
*
Kumaranasan
Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1873 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam ...
*
Rao Sahib Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan
*
Moorkoth Kumaran
Moorkoth Kumaran (1874–1941) was a social reformer, a teacher and a short story writer in Malayalam.
Kumaran came from a Thiyya family of Thalassery, Kannur. He was a disciple of Narayana Guru and wrote the first biography of Guru. He initiated ...
*
Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi
Karatt Govinda Menon (26 August 1852 – 10 September 1929), better known as Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi, was an Indian ''sanyasi'' from present-day Kerala who founded the Ananda Maha Sabha in 1918. He proposed Anandadarsam or Anandamadham ...
*
Vaghbhatananda gurudevar
References
External links
Sree Narayana AssociationBlog 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