In 1917, Madhavan took over the daily newspaper,
Deshabhimani. He was involved in the
Temple Entry Movement, which fought for the entry for all communities to the temples of Kerala. He fought for the right of temple entry for all. In 1918, Madhavan was elected to the Sree Moolam Praja Sabha, a legislative council of
Travancore. In the same year he made his maiden speech at the Sree Moolam Assembly in lieu of his uncle Komalezhathu Kunjupillai Chekavar. He presented a resolution seeking permission of temple entry and right to worship to all people, irrespective of caste and community. He moved the resolution for the eradication of untouchability in the
Kakkinada session of Indian National Congress in 1923. In 1924, Vaikom Sathyagraha started under the leadership of T.K. Madhavan,
K. Kelappan, and
K.P. Kesava Menon, to get the right of oppressed class of people to travel through the road in front of
Vaikom Sree Mahadeva temple. Madhavan and Kesava Menon were arrested and imprisoned. Finally, the
Maharaja of Travancore agreed to open the road to all class of people and the
Vaikom Sathyagraha was a great success. However, he had to continue his struggle for the temple entry. It was T.K. Madhavan who wrote the biography of
Dr. Palpu. ==Meeting with Gandhi==