Leader of Malayali Memorial | Biography of Barrister G.P.Pillai | Facts about Malayali Memorial | First Englis Language newspaper in South India
Who was the leader of 'Malayali Memorial' ? 
[A] Mannathu Padmanabhan
[B] A. K. Gopalan
[C] G. P. Pillai
[D] K. Kelapan
Answer : Option-C [G. P. Pillai]
Barrister G.P.Pillai played a major role in the formation of Malayali Memorial in 1891. Full name of Barrister G.P.Pillai is Govindan Parameswaran Pillai. He was born in Pallichal, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala State. He was born on February 2, 1864. His parents were Hariharan Iyer and Karthyayani Amma. He established the first English language newspaper in South India, The Madras Standard. 

Malayali Memorial : The Malayali Memorial was a petition submitted too the Maharaja of Travancore on The New Years Day in 1891.It was signed by 10028 persons belonging to all classes and creeds. It drew the attention of the Travancore Maharaja to the exclusion of the educated natives from the higher grades of public service. It pleaded for the natives a fair quota of government appointments.It was drafted on the basis of a popular cry 'Travancore for Travancoreans’. It was really a fair plea for privileges and positions. Its formulators were G.P. Pillai and K.P. Sankara Menon. The Government have taken no immediate action. Its attitude was unhelpful and reactionary. Outsiders continued to be appointed. Nevertheless the agitation served its purpose namely to arouse political consciousness of the people. It symbolised the emergence of the new educated middle class as a force to be reckoned with.