K. Ramakrishna Pillai (1878–1916) was a nationalist writer, journalist, editor, and political activist. He edited Swadeshabhimani (The Patriot), the newspaper which became a potent weapon against the rule of the British and the erstwhile princely state of Travancore (Kerala, India) 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 (Ramachandran, Grandalokam, January,2018).