People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 49
December 15,2002
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVI No. 49 December 15,2002 |
Deshabhimani
Circulation
Crosses
5
Lakh
A
GLORIOUS
MEDIA
CAMPAIGN
P
Karunakaran
THE
recent
month-long
circulation
campaign
of
Deshabhimani,
the
official
organ
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
in
Kerala,
has
shaken
the
media
world
in
the
state.
Before
the
launch
of
this
campaign,
Deshabhimani
was
the
third
largest
circulated
daily
in
Kerala
with
a
circulation
of
over
1.70
lakh
copies
according
to
the
September
2002
report
of
the
Audit
Bureau
of
Circulation
(ABC).
This
latest
circulation
drive
has
seen
the
total
circulation
of
Deshabhimani
crossing
5
lakh
copies.
Though
Deshabhimani
had
organised
several
circulation
campaigns
in
the
past,
this
one
was
distinctly
marked
by
a
massive
participation
of
the
people.
The
hoardings
and
arches
that
came
up
on
the
route
from
Parassala
in
the
south
to
Manjeswaram
in
the
north
of
the
state
testify
to
the
grandeur
of
this
campaign
and
the
massive
people's
participation
that
it
drew.
This
campaign
has
had
no
parallel
in
any
part
of
India
and
should
have
captured
the
hearts
of
any
traveler
through
Kerala
with
its
colour
and
enthusiasm.
In
a
manner
of
speaking,
Kerala
has
been
waking
up
during
the
last
few
weeks
seeing
the
colourful
campaign
hoardings
and
banners
of
Deshabhimani.
The
circulation
campaign
this
time
was
in
several
ways
reminiscent
of
the
massive
effort
mounted
some
one-and-a-half
decade
ago
to
make
Kerala
fully
literate.
What
made
this
campaign
a
success
was
the
intense
desire
of
the
people
to
free
the
Malayali
milieu
from
the
clutches
of
bourgeois
media
monopolies.
The
year
2002
has
become
a
nightmarish
experience
for
the
big
players
in
Kerala's
media
scene.
According
to
the
latest
figures
of
the
Audit
Bureau
of
Circulation
(ABC),
the
top
two
dailies
in
Malayalam
had
a
combined
circulation
drop
of
over
one-lakh
copies
during
the
first
half
of
this
year.
Deshabhimani,
with
its
unbiased
news
useful
for
the
general
reading
public,
These
newspaper
giants
have
never
agreed
to
an
open
debate
on
the
latest
trends
in
the
media
scene,
clearly
because
of
the
fear
that
their
masks
would
peel
off
in
the
process.
They
wield
the
arbitrary
power
to
pass
judgment
on
anything
and
everything
under
the
sun,
but
they
see
dark
foreboding
in
any
suggestion
for
such
an
open
debate
on
what
a
newspaper
is
and
should
be.
Deshabhimani,
which
is
branded
as
a
'party
paper',
has
shown
the
courage
to
frequently
organise
meaningful
discussions
on
a
variety
of
topics.
Such
open
discussions
have
helped
in
giving
the
people
deep
insight
into
the
current
trends
in
the
media
world
and
the
way
media
impacts
society.
This
has
helped
in
the
evolution
of
a
parallel
democratic
media
experience
in
Kerala.
Even
while
keeping
the
tag
of
being
a
'political
paper',
Deshabhimani
has
never
been
afraid
of
making
value-based
judgment
of
issues,
events
and
individuals.
For
Deshabhimani
is,
as
the
campaign
slogan
goes,
always
'With
the
Truth
and
With
the
People'.
Deshabhimani
has
shown
the
courage
to
self-critically
evaluate
itself
and
other
newspapers
in
Malayalam
in
full
public
view
only
because
it
has
adopted
the
search
for
hidden
truths
as
its
guiding
motto.
One
outstanding
feature
of
the
circulation
campaign
this
time
was
the
success
with
which
Deshabhimani
could
generate
open
debates
on
a
variety
of
issues
and
ensure
participation
of
people
cutting
across
political
barriers.
Well-known
thinkers,
first-rung
writers,
religious
heads,
academic
intellectuals
and
even
people
occupying
the
opposing
political
space,
associated
with
the
circulation
campaign
of
Deshabhimani
this
time
in
one
way
or
another.
The
Kerala
chief
minister,
A
K
Antony,
has
always
been
averse
to
associate
with
Deshabhimani,
to
write
in
the
paper
or
share
any
of
its
forums.
But,
when
Deshabhimani
organised
a
major
seminar
in
Thiruvananthapuram
as
part
of
the
circulation
campaign
he
was
conspicuous
with
his
participation.
Equally
significant
was
the
function
where
the
senior
Congress
leader,
K
Karunakaran,
took
subscription
of
the
paper
for
three
years.
When
Karunakaran
handed
over
the
subscription
amount
to
the
former
chief
minister,
E
K
Nayanar,
it
became
major
news
for
the
media
in
Kerala.
The
bourgeois
media
always
poses
to
be
well
wishers
of
its
readers
and
the
people
in
general.
Their
language
and
get-up
are
meant
to
cleverly
hide
their
reactionary
agenda.
Welfare
of
the
masses
does
not
figure
in
their
real
agenda.
Their
only
objective
is
the
protection
of
the
rich.
Malayala
Manorama,
which
gloats
about
its
claimed
one
crore
plus
circulation,
makes
only
cursory
attempts
to
address
the
burning
problems
of
the
people.
One
would
hardly
find
any
account
of
the
wretched
life
of
ordinary
people
eking
out
a
living
in
such
traditional
industries
as
coir,
handloom,
cashew,
beedi
and
toddy
tapping
in
these
papers.
The
media
barons
allot
space
for
news
depending
on
their
impact
on
the
papers'
profit-and-loss
accounts.
To
the
newspaper
owners,
only
people
with
purchasing
power
matter.
The
massive
response
to
Deshabhimani's
circulation
campaign
is
not
accidental.
This
paper
has
worked
in
Kerala's
socio-economic,
political
and
cultural
spheres
during
the
last
60
years
preserving
its
unique
individuality.
Deshabhimani
was
the
only
paper
subjected
to
censoring
during
the
darks
days
of
Emergency.
It
could
not
publish
even
A
K
Gopalan's
speech
in
Parliament
during
those
dark
days.
Deshabhimani
had
also
played
a
stellar
role
in
bringing
to
light
the
brutal
murder
of
Rajan,
an
engineering
college
student,
during
Emergency
and
in
mobilising
public
opinion
against
this
ghastly
act.
When
a
naxalite,
Varghese,
was
tied
up
and
shot
by
the
police,
the
bourgeois
media's
attempt
was
to
dub
it
as
an
'encounter
killing'.
Deshabhimani
has
never
approved
naxalite
politics,
but
there
was
only
one
paper
to
tell
the
world
that
Varghese
was
tied
up
and
shot
dead-Deshabhimani.
Much
later,
the
other
papers
also
had
to
accept
this.
When
fundamental
changes
took
place
in
Kerala's
agricultural
and
educational
sectors,
Deshabhimani
documented
it
well
and
told
the
people
what
was
actually
happening.
When
communal
and
casteist
forces
ignited
the
fire
of
divisive
politics,
the
only
paper
that
resisted
the
onslaught
was
Deshabhimani.
When
Deshabhimani
was
opposing
the
new
economic
policies
that
threaten
to
tear
asunder
every
segment
of
national
polity
and
economy,
other
bourgeois
dailies
were
all
praise
for
them.
But,
the
bitter
experiences
of
the
last
few
years
have
opened
their
eyes.
Deshabhimani
was
the
only
paper
that
cautioned
the
people
years
ago
against
the
threats
that
secularism,
the
cornerstone
of
our
Constitution,
faced
from
religious
fundamentalist
forces.
People
at
large
are
now
realising
that
the
fears
expressed
by
Deshabhimani
about
the
consequences
of
communalism
and
new
economic
policies
were
indeed
real.
NO
RESTING
ON
LAURELS
People
now
accept
as
a
reality
the
social
commitment
and
honesty
that
Deshabhimani
has
always
cherished
even
while
being
an
integral
part
of
the
well-preserved
and
battle-ready
organisational
structure
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist).
The
massive
response
that
the
circulation
campaign
received
is
a
sign
of
this.
But,
we
cannot
rest
on
laurels.
We
know
well
that
there
is
a
tremendous
scope
for
improvement.
At
every
stage
in
Deshabhimani's
growth,
our
readers
and
the
general
masses
have
taken
care
to
point
out
our
mistakes
and
shortcomings.
We
are
hopeful
that
we
would
be
able
to
improve
Deshabhimani
further
by
taking
such
suggestions
and
criticism
in
all
its
seriousness,
keeping
constant
vigil
and
by
putting
up
a
united
effort.
The
circulation
campaign
has
proved
that
the
progressive
and
democratic
sections
of
the
Kerala
population
wish
to
take
Deshabhimani
from
its
current
position
as
the
third
largest
circulated
newspaper
in
Malayalam
to
higher
levels.
Lakhs
of
Malayalees
realise
that
there
is
no
other
paper,
which
is
uncompromising
in
its
commitment
to
take
their
struggles
forward.
But,
at
the
same,
Deshabhimani
must
improve
as
a
paper
of
the
masses.
There
is
an
urgent
need
to
mount
an
intense
effort
to
improve
its
content
and
get-up.
Our
experiences
of
the
last
sixty
years
and
the
intimate
links
that
we
have
forged
with
the
people
should
help
us
achieve
this.
Kerala
is
a
model
for
the
rest
of
India
in
literacy
levels
of
the
people.
Kerala
achieved
this
great
honour
through
the
constant
endeavour
of
progressive
and
democratic
sections
of
its
society
and
radical
minds.
Deshabhimani
has
the
same
source
of
strength.
Our
effort
is
to
harness
this
rich
source
of
energy
and
take
Deshabhimani
to
the
top
position
among
Malayalam
newspapers.
Just
as
Kerala
was
made
the
most
literate
state
in
the
country.
(The
author
is
General
Manager
of
Deshabhimani)
