Mathrubhumi
Encyclopedia
Mathrubhumi is a Malayalam language
newspaper that is published from Kerala
, India
. Mathrubhumi was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon
, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle
against the British.
(Calicut), Mathrubhumi was founded in 1923 in the aftermath of Gandhi's non-cooperation movement as a public limited company. This status makes it rare among newspapers, which tend to be closely held private companies owned by a single family.
The newspaper's founders were members of the Indian National Congress led by K.P. Kesava Menon (1886- 1978); its shareholders included about 350 men and women of Kerala. Though Mathrubhumi lost money regularly in its early years, that did not matter, its historian noted in 1973, because its goals were not those of business but of social oppression and unrest. It battled gallantly with British authorities before independence and bitterly with Kerala's Communists from the late 1930s.
By the 1940s, as Kerala's literate and politicised character forced itself to the attention of officials, the British acknowledged that Mathrubhumi, reaches every village in the district [of Malabar] and... [a] mischievous attack of the Police [in Mathrubhumi] is likely to do, a great deal of harm among the mass of the people who are able to read but not able to think for themselves. Mathrubhumi played important roles in many social reformation movements such as Vaikom Satyagraha
and Guruvayur Satyagraha
against untouchability
. Participating in the Satyagraha, K.P. Keasava Menon was arrested and was sent to Jail. Independence activists such as P. Ramanunni Nair, K. Kelappan
, P. Narayanan Nair, C. H. Kunjappa, K. A. Damodara Menon, and A. P. Udhayabhanu
have served as Chief Editors of the newspaper, and also mathrubhumi has also witnessed some of the very splendid IAS / Civil Service officers as editors.
Mathrubhumi was Kerala's leading daily with an estimated circulation of 19,000 at independence in 1947, which rose quickly to 26,000 by 1952.
The bitter struggle between the Congress and the Communists in Kerala gave a Congress newspaper not only a reason for existence but a steady supply of electrifying stories for eager readers. The conduct of the newspaper remained with the old nationalists who had founded it and who comprised most of the shareholders, most of whom, it was said, had little idea where they had put their ancient share certificates. Commercial competition became noticeable after the formation of Kerala state in 1957. Mathrubhumi had been slow to join the Audit Bureau of Circulations, as its certificate No. 143 suggests.
A struggle began among the shareholders for control of the company. The 5,000 shares at Rs 5 each, which had floated the newspaper in 1923, acquired undreamt- of value. By the 1990s, with control of the newspaper contested, they traded at thousands of rupees each. The struggle to control Mathrubhumi eventually reached the Supreme Court of India
and illustrated the value of a newspaper and the way in which languages and local honour provide at least a hindrance to the acquisition of newspapers by 'outside' capitalists.
In 1993, Mathrubhumi's general manager - finance described the financial structure and compulsions of the company. When the newspaper was floated in the 1920s, 3,479 of the 5,000 shares were purchased at a nominal fee of Rs 5 each by 352 different shareholders, 203 of whom bought only one share each. Even in the 1990s, no single person owned more than 225 shares. Mathrubhumi was a "public limited company in the true sense". Shareholders elect nine directors for two-year terms, one-third being elected each year.
The late 1970s brought two important changes. First, the old nationalists, who had run the newspaper as a kind of public trust, began to disappear. Second, the economic climate in India and in Kerala began to become more unapologetically capitalist. Mathrubhumi, which under its old regime was a Kerala institution and also an effectively run business, came to be seen as a valuable asset. Its control could provide wealth - and certainly provided influence and prestige. Shares in Mathrubhumi began to be traded in a way that was inconceivable 10 years earlier. Indeed, when the share book was tidied up in the mid-1980s, it was found that there were dozens of partly paid-up shares whose owners were long dead or unknown. Such shares were forfeited, making the remaining valid shares even more valuable.
A keen contest to control the company began, in which M.P. Veerendra Kumar, a wealthy planter and political aspirant, who held about 3% of the shares, emerged as the dominant shareholder and became managing director. In the course of this struggle, M.D. Nalapat, another shareholder and editor from 1984-87, whose mother, the writer Kamala Das, also held shares, was forced off the board of directors. Nalapat then broke the rules as they had existed uptill that time: he sold his shares (at Rs l2,500 each) not merely outside of Kerala but to India's wealthiest newspaper chain, Bennett, Coleman & Co., owners of The Times of India in Bombay. Nalapat and his supporters sold close to 20% of the shares in Mathrubhumi. Though this was scarcely a controlling interest, others saw the sale as the beginning of a Times of India takeover of a Kerala institution, and, according to Nalapat, an "innate sense of paranoia surfaced". The dominant shareholders appealed against the sale to the Kerala High Court which ruled that because The Times of India was a competitor of Mathrubhumi, the sale was invalid. Some saw the court's decision more as a response to Kerala sentiment than to the requirements of the law. The Times of India appealed to the Supreme Court of India where the case was still pending in the mid-1990s.
In 1932 the company entered Magazine Journalism with the launch of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly. In 1940, Viswaroopam, a comic magazine was launched with Sanjayan
as the Chief Editor. Yugaprabhat, a bi-monthly in Hindi
was also published whose editor was N. V. Krishna Warrier
. But now, these two publications are not in print.
Mathrubhumi is one of the most circulated newspapers in Kerala, and is headquartered in Calicut. Inside Kerala, it is printed from Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram
, Kottayam
, Kochi, Thrissur
, Kannur
, Palakkad
, Malappuram
, Kollam
and Alappuzha
. Outside Kerala, it is published from Chennai
, Bangalore
, Mumbai
, and New Delhi
. It has a current readership of 94,44,000 as per the Indian Readership Survey 2009 (Round 1)
M. P. Veerendra Kumar, former minister for state, Govt. of India [Socialist Janatha-Democratic state President] is the Chairman and Managing Director of Mathrubhumi.
P.V. Chandran is the Managing Editor. M. Kesava Menon is the Editor of Mathrubhumi daily. M. V .Shreyams Kumar M.L.A. is the Director-Marketing and P. V. Nidhish is the Director-Editorial Administration. P. V. Ganagadharan, Industrialist of KTC Group and a famous film producer, Calicut is a Director in Mathrubhumi Board.K.Sreedharan Nair is the Editor-Periodicals.
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
newspaper that is published from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Mathrubhumi was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon
K. P. Kesava Menon
Kizhakke Potta Kesava Menon was a patriot, idealist and Indian independence activist. He had born in Tharoor village of Palakkad as the grandson of the Maharajah of Palghat and as the son of Bhiman Achan. He graduated in Arts from Madras University and Bar-at-law from Middle Temple...
, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
against the British.
History
Based in the northern Kerala town of KozhikodeKozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
(Calicut), Mathrubhumi was founded in 1923 in the aftermath of Gandhi's non-cooperation movement as a public limited company. This status makes it rare among newspapers, which tend to be closely held private companies owned by a single family.
The newspaper's founders were members of the Indian National Congress led by K.P. Kesava Menon (1886- 1978); its shareholders included about 350 men and women of Kerala. Though Mathrubhumi lost money regularly in its early years, that did not matter, its historian noted in 1973, because its goals were not those of business but of social oppression and unrest. It battled gallantly with British authorities before independence and bitterly with Kerala's Communists from the late 1930s.
By the 1940s, as Kerala's literate and politicised character forced itself to the attention of officials, the British acknowledged that Mathrubhumi, reaches every village in the district [of Malabar] and... [a] mischievous attack of the Police [in Mathrubhumi] is likely to do, a great deal of harm among the mass of the people who are able to read but not able to think for themselves. Mathrubhumi played important roles in many social reformation movements such as Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom Satyagraha was a satyagraha in Travancore, India against untouchability in Hindu society. The movement was centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.The Satyagraha aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Sri...
and Guruvayur Satyagraha
Guruvayur Satyagraha
Guruvayur Satyagraha took place in and was a Satyagraha in present Thrissur, then part of Ponnani Taluk of Malabar district, now part of Kerala, seeking entry for untouchables into the Guruvayur Temple. It was led by K. Kelappan who undertook a fast unto death for 12 days however it was given up...
against untouchability
Untouchability
Untouchability is the social practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers...
. Participating in the Satyagraha, K.P. Keasava Menon was arrested and was sent to Jail. Independence activists such as P. Ramanunni Nair, K. Kelappan
K. Kelappan
K. Kelappan was born in the small village Muchukunnu in Calicut in Kerala. He studied in Calicut and Madras and graduated from the University of Madras. He began his career as a teacher at in St. Berchmans High School, Changanassery and was the founder President of the Nair Service Society. Later...
, P. Narayanan Nair, C. H. Kunjappa, K. A. Damodara Menon, and A. P. Udhayabhanu
A. P. Udhayabhanu
A.P Udayabhanu was an Indian freedom fighter,journalist, writer and social activist from the State of Kerala. He was from the famous Alummoottil Channar, an Ezhava, family of Muttom near Haripad of Central Travancore. He was a prominent leader from Indian National Congress worked as its state...
have served as Chief Editors of the newspaper, and also mathrubhumi has also witnessed some of the very splendid IAS / Civil Service officers as editors.
Mathrubhumi was Kerala's leading daily with an estimated circulation of 19,000 at independence in 1947, which rose quickly to 26,000 by 1952.
The bitter struggle between the Congress and the Communists in Kerala gave a Congress newspaper not only a reason for existence but a steady supply of electrifying stories for eager readers. The conduct of the newspaper remained with the old nationalists who had founded it and who comprised most of the shareholders, most of whom, it was said, had little idea where they had put their ancient share certificates. Commercial competition became noticeable after the formation of Kerala state in 1957. Mathrubhumi had been slow to join the Audit Bureau of Circulations, as its certificate No. 143 suggests.
A struggle began among the shareholders for control of the company. The 5,000 shares at Rs 5 each, which had floated the newspaper in 1923, acquired undreamt- of value. By the 1990s, with control of the newspaper contested, they traded at thousands of rupees each. The struggle to control Mathrubhumi eventually reached the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
and illustrated the value of a newspaper and the way in which languages and local honour provide at least a hindrance to the acquisition of newspapers by 'outside' capitalists.
In 1993, Mathrubhumi's general manager - finance described the financial structure and compulsions of the company. When the newspaper was floated in the 1920s, 3,479 of the 5,000 shares were purchased at a nominal fee of Rs 5 each by 352 different shareholders, 203 of whom bought only one share each. Even in the 1990s, no single person owned more than 225 shares. Mathrubhumi was a "public limited company in the true sense". Shareholders elect nine directors for two-year terms, one-third being elected each year.
The late 1970s brought two important changes. First, the old nationalists, who had run the newspaper as a kind of public trust, began to disappear. Second, the economic climate in India and in Kerala began to become more unapologetically capitalist. Mathrubhumi, which under its old regime was a Kerala institution and also an effectively run business, came to be seen as a valuable asset. Its control could provide wealth - and certainly provided influence and prestige. Shares in Mathrubhumi began to be traded in a way that was inconceivable 10 years earlier. Indeed, when the share book was tidied up in the mid-1980s, it was found that there were dozens of partly paid-up shares whose owners were long dead or unknown. Such shares were forfeited, making the remaining valid shares even more valuable.
A keen contest to control the company began, in which M.P. Veerendra Kumar, a wealthy planter and political aspirant, who held about 3% of the shares, emerged as the dominant shareholder and became managing director. In the course of this struggle, M.D. Nalapat, another shareholder and editor from 1984-87, whose mother, the writer Kamala Das, also held shares, was forced off the board of directors. Nalapat then broke the rules as they had existed uptill that time: he sold his shares (at Rs l2,500 each) not merely outside of Kerala but to India's wealthiest newspaper chain, Bennett, Coleman & Co., owners of The Times of India in Bombay. Nalapat and his supporters sold close to 20% of the shares in Mathrubhumi. Though this was scarcely a controlling interest, others saw the sale as the beginning of a Times of India takeover of a Kerala institution, and, according to Nalapat, an "innate sense of paranoia surfaced". The dominant shareholders appealed against the sale to the Kerala High Court which ruled that because The Times of India was a competitor of Mathrubhumi, the sale was invalid. Some saw the court's decision more as a response to Kerala sentiment than to the requirements of the law. The Times of India appealed to the Supreme Court of India where the case was still pending in the mid-1990s.
In 1932 the company entered Magazine Journalism with the launch of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly. In 1940, Viswaroopam, a comic magazine was launched with Sanjayan
Sanjayan
Sanjayan, the penname of Professor Mannikoth Ramunni Nair or M.R. Nair , was a Malayalam satirist famous for his humorous anecdotes.Sanjayan was born in Thalassery, a town in Kannur District of Kerala....
as the Chief Editor. Yugaprabhat, a bi-monthly in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
was also published whose editor was N. V. Krishna Warrier
N. V. Krishna Warrier
N. V. Krishna Warrier was an Indian poet, newspaper editor and scholar.Warrier was well-versed in different languages. During the Quit India Movement, he published a daily called Swathanthra Bharatham . He was the editor of Mathrubhumi for a long time. Warrier was the founder director of Kerala...
. But now, these two publications are not in print.
Mathrubhumi is one of the most circulated newspapers in Kerala, and is headquartered in Calicut. Inside Kerala, it is printed from Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
, Kottayam
Kottayam
Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...
, Kochi, Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
, Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
, Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
, Malappuram
Malappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
, Kollam
Kollam
Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
and Alappuzha
Alappuzha
Alappuzha , also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated to the south of Kochi and north of Trivandrum...
. Outside Kerala, it is published from Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, and New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. It has a current readership of 94,44,000 as per the Indian Readership Survey 2009 (Round 1)
M. P. Veerendra Kumar, former minister for state, Govt. of India [Socialist Janatha-Democratic state President] is the Chairman and Managing Director of Mathrubhumi.
P.V. Chandran is the Managing Editor. M. Kesava Menon is the Editor of Mathrubhumi daily. M. V .Shreyams Kumar M.L.A. is the Director-Marketing and P. V. Nidhish is the Director-Editorial Administration. P. V. Ganagadharan, Industrialist of KTC Group and a famous film producer, Calicut is a Director in Mathrubhumi Board.K.Sreedharan Nair is the Editor-Periodicals.
In Kerala
- KozhikodeKozhikodeKozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
- KottayamKottayamKottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...
- ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
- KochiKochi-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...
- ThrissurThrissurThis article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
- KannurKannurKannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
- KollamKollamKollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
- PalakkadPalakkadPalakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
- MalappuramMalappuramMalappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
- AlappuzhaAlappuzhaAlappuzha , also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated to the south of Kochi and north of Trivandrum...
Publications
- Balabhumi (Children's publication)
- Grihalakshmi (Women's publication)
- Chithrabhumi (Film publication)
- Thozhilvartha(Opportunities publication - The leading career weekly in India)
- Arogyamasika (Health publication - The largest selling health magazine in India)
- Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu (Illustrated Weekly)
- mathrubhumi sports masika(Sports publication in Malayalam)
- www.mathrubhumi.com (The complete multipurpose portal in Malayalam)
- Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus- Malayalam (Year book in Malayalam)
- Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus- English (Year book in English)
- mathrubhumi yathra(Travel magazine)
- Mathrubhumi Minnaminni (For Pre-Primary/Lower primary Kids)
- Mathrubhumi CartoonPlus
See also
- Club FM – Ton Kanakkinu Fun
- List of Malayalam language newspapers
- Malayalam journalismMalayalam journalismMalayalam journalism refers to journalism in the Malayalam language. It began its history with the publication of the Raajyasamaachaaram and the Pashchimodhayam under the direction of Hermann Gundert in June 1847.-Defunct Malayalam newspapers:...