Legends of Journalism

 Legends of Journalism

1) Dr Herman Gundert 

Dr. Herman Gundert was a German missionary who came to Kerala in 1839 in order to spread the teachings of Christ. He contributed greatly to the growth of Malayalam language, literature and journalism. Gundert was a great scholar. He mastered Malayalam language and compiled the first comprehensive Malayalam-English dictionary. He also wrote books on Malayalam grammar and history. It was under his leadership that the two earliest newspapers, Rajyasamacharam and Paschimodayam were published. It could be said that Gundert laid the foundation for the enviable growth of Malayalam journalism. According to his biographer, he mastered several Indian languages during his stay at Illikunnu and authored nearly 20 books in Malayalam. He produced the first Malayalam textbook (Patamala) for children.

2) Kandathil Varghese Mappilai 

Kandathil Varghese Mappilai was the brain behind the success story of Malayala Manorama. He began his career in journalism as the editor of the Kochi-based Kerala Mithram, published by DevjiBhimji. Varghese resigned from this post and established the Malayala Manorama Company in Kottayam with the intention of starting a newspaper. In 1891 Varghese formed a literary club, Bhashaposhini Sabha. An offshoot of the Sabha was Bhashaposhini magazine started by Varghese in 1892. Varghese, an experienced hand in newspaper industry and an able administrator, floated shares to raise the capital for starting the newspaper. Kandathil Varghese, a trend-setter in journalism and a great visionary, passed away in 1904.

 3) Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai (1878-1916) 

Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai was one of the stalwarts of Malayalam journalism. Pillai began his career in journalism as the editor of Kerala Darpan in 1899. Later he edited another magazine, Upadyayan, in 1900 and in the following year he edited Kerala Panchika. This paper carried out a series of exposures of the corruption in the bureaucracy. The proprietors of Kerala Panchika requested Pillai to mellow down the attacks on the administration. Pillai refused to abide by the proprietors’ request and resigned the post of editor. In 1903, he joined Malayali and continued his policy of virulent attacks on the Government. Disagreement with the management on policy matters led to his resignation. Later, Pillai started a magazine, Keralan, on his own in 1905. This publication lasted up to his deportation in 1910. K Ramakrishna Pillai became its new editor in July, 1903. Under the pen name Keralan, Pillai wrote articles and editorials criticizing the Divan of Travancore and the maladministration.

Pillai was asked by the management to mellow down the writings. Pillai refused to tone down and resigned the editorship of Malayali. Ramakrishna Pillai assumed the editorship of this paper on January 17, 1906. The paper’s repeated exposures of corruption in the bureaucracy antagonized the government. Finally, the then king of Travancore, Srimoolam Thirunal, banned the paper on September 26, 1910. The press was confiscated and Ramakrishna Pillai was deported from Travancore with immediate effect. Pillai passed away on March 28, 1916 in Kannur. 

4) Kesari Balakrishna Pillai 

A.Balakrishna Pillai joined Samadarshi in 1923 as its editor. The sharp criticism in the Samadarshi went down well with the reading public but the authorities were displeased. The management of the paper was not prepared to invite official displeasure and Pillai had to resign in 1926. On June 4, 1930 Pillai started the newspaper Prabhodakanon his own. He minced no words in his criticism of the Government. The Government revoked the license granted to Prabhodakanas per the Travancore Newspaper Regulations Act of 1926. Thus, the weekly stopped publication on September 10, 1930.BalakrishnaPillai launched Kesari on September 18, 1930, a week after the closure of Prabhodakan. The contents and format of Kesari was very similar to those of Prabhodakan. Scathing criticism of the authorities was taken up with an added zeal in the columns of the new publication. Balakrishna Pillai, through the columns of Kesari, continued to be a headache to the Travancore Government. The authorities finally managed to suppress the publication of Kesariin 1935 through authoritarian methods. 

6) K. P. Kesava Menon (1886-1978)

 K.P. Kesava Menon, the founder-editor, made Mathrubhumi a voice of the forces fighting for freedom. He courted imprisonment in the Vaikom Sathyagraha. Kesava Menon spent several years in Malaysia as barrister. He was a minister of propaganda in the parallel government set up by Subhash Chandra Bose in Malaya in 1927. He returned to India after the independence and assumed the editorship of Mathrubhumi. Mathrubhumi, under the dynamic leadership of K.P. Kesava Menon, played a memorable role in the freedom struggle and did much to spread the ideals of Gandhi and the Congress party. K.P. Kesava Menon was India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in 1951. He was also a member of the Kerala Sahithya Academy during 1957-60. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan by the nation. He passed away in 1978. 

7) C. V. Kunhiraman 

C. V. Kunhiraman started his career in journalism in Sujana Nandini published from Quilon in 1890. Later he started Kerala Kaumudi as a weekly in 1911 from Mayyanad. C. V. Kunhiraman could not work as the editor then since he was a government employee. He resigned the job and took up the editorship of the paper in 1912. Kerala Kaumudi championed the cause of the uplift of the socially and economically backward sections of the society, especially, the Ezhava community. C.V. through the columns of Kerala Kaumudi, commented on political, social and cultural affairs. Under his editorship, Kerala Kaumudi prospered and became a respected newspaper. A weekly, Navajeevan, and a magazine, Kathamalika, were also published by the Kerala Kaumudi group under the editorship of C. V. Kunhiraman. 

8) Raghu Rai 

 Raghu Rai (born 1942) is an Indian photographer and photojournalist. He became a photographer in 1965, and a year later joined The Statesman in New Delhi. In 1976, he left the paper and became a freelance photographer. From 1982 up until 1992, Rai was the director of photography for India Today. Rai has specialized in extensive coverage of India. Working in both colour and blackandwhite, he has published much of his works in books. His photo essays have appeared in many of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers including Time, Life, GEO, The New York Times, Sunday Times, Newsweek, The Independent, and the New Yorker. 

9) K. Shankar Pillai 

Kesava Shankara Pillai (1902 -1989), better known as Shankar, was a famous Indian cartoonist. He is considered as the father of political cartooning in India. He founded Shankar’s Weekly in 1948, which also groomed cartoonists like Abu Abraham, Ranga and Kutty. He closed down the magazine in 1975 due to the Emergency imposed by Ms Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1976. Today he is most remembered for setting up Children’s Book Trust established 1957 and Shankar’s International Dolls Museum in 1965. He joined The Hindustan Times as a staff cartoonist in 1932 and continued as its staff cartoonist till 1946. 

10) Pothan Joseph

 Pothan Joseph (1892 – 1972) lived through a turbulent period during modern Indian history and made his mark on Indian journalism and is generally recognized as one of the greatest Indian journalists. He was a close associate of Jawaharlal Nehru and for some time editor of Mahatma Gandhi’s Young India. Joseph was either the founder or developer of many famous newspapers such as Hindustan Times, The Mail, The Indian Express, Deccan Herald and The Dawn started in New Delhi by Jinnah. Joseph was connected with dozens of newspapers either as editor or as columnist, but he was most well known for his deeply thought-provoking column Over a Cup of Tea.