Dharmarajyam

Last updated

Dharmarajyam
Author Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
CountryIndia
Language Malayalam
GenreEssays
Publisher DC Books
Publication date
1938
Pages100
ISBN 978-81-264-1833-6

Dharmarajyam is a collection of essays written by Malayalam language writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. [1] These politically charged essays were written against the policies of the then Diwan of Travancore Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer. [2] The book was published in 1938 and was Basheer's first published book. [3] The book was banned by the Travancore government in the same year. [3] It is said[ by whom? ] that Basheer himself got these printed and sold them at local shops and households, going on foot. [2] Subsequently, he was jailed for two years for conspiring against the government. [4] The book was re-released by DC Books in 2008. [3]

Related Research Articles

P. K. Balakrishnan

Panikkassery Keshavan Balakrishnan was an Indian novelist and critic. A doyen of Malayalam literature, he is best known for his novel, Ini Njan Urangatte, a novel based on Mahabharata as well as a number of critical studies which include Chandu Menon Oru Padanam, Novel - Siddhiyum Sadhanayum, Kavyakala Kumaranasaniloode and Ezhuthachante Kala : Chila Vyasabharatha Patanangalum. His work 'Jathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum is a work in social history. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him their annual award for novel in 1974. He was also a recipient of the Vayalar Award and other honours.

V. C. Sreejan is a literary critic writing in Malayalam. Born in 1951, he retired in 2007 after working as Reader in English in Government Brennen College, Thalassery. He has published eleven books in Malayalam. In 2003 he was awarded the Kerala Sahithya Akademi's C.B. Kumar Award' for his work Arthantharanyasm.

Menacherry Poulose Paul (1904–1952) was an academic, educationist, scholar and literary critic of Malayalam. Considered by many as one of the major literary critics of Malayalam literature, Paul inaugurated comparative literature in Malayalam through his works, Novel Sahithyam and Cherukatha Prasthanam. He was the founder of parallel college education system in Kerala, one of the major forces behind the Purogamana Sahitya Prasthanam and was the founder president of Sahithya Pravrthaka Sahakarana Sangham, the writers' cooperative movement.

<i>Mathilukal</i>

Mathilukal is a Malayalam novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in 1965. It is one of the most cherished and well-known love stories in Malayalam. Its hero, Basheer himself, and heroine, Narayani, never meet, yet they love each other passionately. Despite being imprisoned and separated by a huge wall that divides their prisons, the two romance each other.

Kottayam City in Kerala, India

Kottayam (കോട്ടയം)is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam literally means the interior of a fort—Kotta + Akam. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west, Kottayam is a place that is known for extraordinary qualities. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-west Kerala. Kottayam is located in the basin of the Meenachil River at an average elevation of 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level, and has a moderate climate. It is located 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Sugathakumari Indian Malayalam poet and activist

Sugathakumari was an Indian poet and activist, who was at the forefront of environmental and feminist movements in Kerala, South India. Her parents were the poet and freedom fighter Bodheswaran and V. K. Karthiyayini Amma, a Sanskrit scholar. She was the founder secretary of the Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi, an organisation for the protection of nature, and of Abhaya, a home for destitute women and a day-care centre for the mentally ill. She chaired the Kerala State Women's Commission. She played a prominent role in the Save Silent Valley protest.

Ayyappa Paniker

Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker", was an influential Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthetics and literary traditions. He was one of the pioneers of modernism in Malayalam poetry, where his seminal works like Kurukshethram (1960), considered a turning point in Malayalam poetry, Ayyappapanikkarude Krithikal and Chintha and several essays were an important influence on the playwrights of his generation.

Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer

Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, born Sambasivan but popularly known as Ulloor, was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature and a historian. He was one of the modern triumvirate poets of Kerala in the first half of the 20th century, along with Kumaran Asan and Vallathol Narayana Menon. Umakeralam, a mahakavya, and Kerala Sahitya Charithram, a comprehensive history of Malayalam language, are most two of his works.

Thekkumkur

The Kingdom of Thekkumkur was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE. It was ruled by the Thekkumkur Royal Family. Thekkumkur lies between the Meenachil River and the Pamba River, from the Western Ghats to the Vembanad Kayal. Thekkumkur emerges as a result of administrative changes in the princely states at the end of the Chera Kulasekhara dynasty of Mahodayapuram. The literal meaning of the title is the southern regent and the attribute southern distinguished them from another kingdom known as Vadakkumkur which bordered it in the northern side. The royal household, Thekkumkur Kovilakam, were at Vennimala and Manikandapuram near Puthuppally, later it shifted to Neerazhi Palace at Puzhavathu of Changanassery and Thalilkotta at Thaliyanthanapuram (Kottayam).

P. Kesavadev

P. Kesava Pillai, better known by his pen-name P. Kesavadev, was a novelist and social reformer of Kerala, India. He is remembered for his speeches, autobiographies, novels, dramas, short stories, and films. Odayil Ninnu, Nadhi, Bhrandalayam, Ayalkar, Ethirppu (autobiography) and Oru Sundariyude Athmakadha are some among his 128 literary works. Kesavadev along with Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and Vaikom Muhammad Basheer are considered the exponents of progressive Malayalam Literature.

Sundara Ramaswamy

Sundara Ramaswamy was an Indian novelist, poet, and literary critic, widely considered to be a pre-eminent figure in post-Independence Tamil literature. Born in 1931 in Nagercoil, then part of the princely state of Travancore, he grew up in Kottayam and, later, central Travancore until the age of eight, when his family moved to Nagercoil. His notable works include Oru Puliyamarathin Kathai, J.J. Sila Kuripugal and Kuzhanthaigal, Pengal, Aangal. A key figure in Tamil modern literature, the translations of his novels and short stories have brought him international acclaim. Sundara Ramaswamy has been praised for his versatility, his skillful negotiation of various literary forms: poetry, short fiction and the novel.

Dominic Chacko Kizhakemuri, better known as D. C. Kizhakemuri, was a well-known writer, activist, freedom-fighter and book publisher from Kerala. He founded the book publishing company known as DC Books. He played a pivotal role in abolishing sales tax on books in the erstwhile state of Travancore. This move influenced Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to abolish sales tax on books across India. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1999. He was instrumental in promoting Malayalam, a South Indian language, through his writings as an author, and was a columnist for various publications and through his printing and publishing company, DC Books and retail concern Current Books.

Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai Indian journalist

K. Ramakrishna Pillai (1878–1916) was a nationalist writer, journalist, editor, and political activist. He edited Swadeshabhimani, the newspaper which became a potent weapon against the rule of the British and the erstwhile princely state of Travancore and a tool for social transformation. His criticism of the Diwan of Travancore, P. Rajagopalachari and the Maharajah led to the eventual confiscation of the newspaper. Ramakrishna Pillai was arrested and exiled from Travancore in 1910. Vrithantha Pathra Pravarthanam (1912) and Karl Marx (1912) are among his most noted works in Malayalam, Vrithantha Pathra pravarthanam being the first book on journalism in Malayalam and Karl Marx, the first ever biography of Karl Marx in any Indian language. But it has been alleged that he plagiarized the biography from an essay, Karl Marx:A Modern Rishi, by Lala Hardayal, published in 1912 March issue of the Modern Review, published from Kolkata.

Vakkom Mohammed Abdul Khader Moulavi, popularly known as Vakkom Moulavi was a social reformer, teacher, prolific writer, Muslim scholar, journalist, freedom fighter and newspaper proprietor in Travancore, a princely state of the present day Kerala, India. He was the founder and publisher of the newspaper Swadeshabhimani which was banned and confiscated by the Government of Travancore in 1910 due to its criticisms against the government and the Diwan of Travancore, P. Rajagopalachari.

Sooranad Kunjan Pillai

Sooranad P. N. Kunjan Pillai was an Indian historian, researcher, lexicographer, poet, essayist, literary critic, orator, grammarian, educationist, and scholar of the Malayalam language, best remembered for his contributions in compiling Malayala Maha Nighantu, a lexicon. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padmashri in 1984 for his contribution to Malayalam literature and education. He was also a recipient of the Vallathol Award in 1992 and when the Government of Kerala instituted the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, their highest literary honour in 1993, he received the inaugural award.

Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai (1898–1976), popularly identified as Swathithirunal Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai after his magnum opus, Swathithirunal, was an Indian author of Malayalam literature, actor, speaker, teacher and thinker. He was known for his plays which dealt with themes such as patriotism, sacrifice and justice and his characters showed heroism, showing influence of William Shakespeare. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him their annual award for drama in 1970. He was also a recipient of the Kalyani Krishna Menon Puraskaram.

Unnuneeli Sandesam is among the oldest literary works in Malayalam language. It is a sandesa kavyam, a message written in poetry, on the lines of the famous Meghadūta of Kalidasa. In the case of this work, it is a message written by a lover to his lady-love staying at a far-off place. The message is therefore written as if it is sent through a messenger. The work was written in the 14th century AD, when transport and communications were very limited in Kerala. The messenger in the poem is, therefore, a carrier pigeon. Apart from the message proper, the poem gives detailed instructions to the messenger pigeon, including the route to be taken and the landmarks in route.

Khadija Mumtaz Indian Malayalam language author

Khadeeja Mumthas is a Malayalam author from Kerala state, India. She is a medical doctor by profession and is probably best known in the Kerala literary circles for her second novel Barsa which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010.

Chandrika Balan is an Indian bilingual writer who has published books in both English and Malayalam, under the pen name Chandramathi, ചന്ദ്രമതി in Malayalam. She is a writer of fiction and translator, and a critic in both English and Malayalam. Chandramathi has published four books in English and 20 books in Malayalam, including 12 collections of short stories including a novelette, an anthology of medieval Malayalam poetry, two collections of essays, two memoirs, and five books translated from English. Malayalam film Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela was based on her book.

Kathabeejam is a one-act play written by Malayalam language author Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The play was written by Basheer in a period of few weeks and was conceived for the 16th anniversary of Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishath. It was published as a book in May 1945 and was Basheer's only play. The protagonist of the play is a writer named Sadasivan.

References

  1. Mahachcharithamala (in Malayalam). DC Books. pp. 525–530. ISBN   81-264-1066-3.
  2. 1 2 Indian Literature - Issues 249-251. Sahitya Akademi. 2009. p. 84.
  3. 1 2 3 "സി.പിയെ വിറപ്പിച്ച 'ബഷീറിന്റെ ധര്‍മ്മരാജ്യം'" Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine . DC Books. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  4. "Dharmarajyam". DC Books. Retrieved 1 April 2013.