Mathrubhumi is a Malayalam language newspaper published from Kozhikode in Kerala. The newspaper is regarded as one of the most prominent and influencing newspapers in the state of Kerala. It is the second most widely read newspaper daily in Kerala. Mathrubhumi was first published on 18th March, 1923. The founder of the Malayalam language newspaper was the renowned freedom fighter, K. P. Kesava Menon and it is being published by The Mathrubhumi Group. The newspaper has played crucial roles in various important social reformation movements like Vaikom Satyagraha and Guruvayur Satyagraha. It publishes a variety of magazines and supplements including the weekly literary magazine, "Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu".
History of Mathrubhumi
Mathrubhumi was established in the year 1923 in the repercussion of Non-Cooperation Movement of Mahatma Gandhi as a Public Limited Company. The founders of Mathrubhumi belonged to the Indian National Congress party, and were led by K.P. Kesava Menon. Being established by a freedom fighter, the newspaper was dedicated to propagate nationalist ideals and promote patriotism among the Indian youth. The founder of the newspaper, K. P. Kesava Menon was arrested and sent to jail for participating in the Satyagraha movement.
Mathrubhumi was published thrice in a week; Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, during its initial years. However, it became a daily newspaper from 6th April, 1930. It started its journey with only one edition published from Kozhikode. The second edition of the newspaper was published on 25th May, 1962 and was published from Kochi. As the popularity of Mathrubhumi increased gradually, the newspaper introduced new editions in regular intervals. It entered into magazine journalism and launched the "Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly" on 18th January, 1932. The Mathrubhumi Group launched a comic magazine named "Viswaroopam" in 1940 and then published a bi-monthly in Hindi language, named "Yugaprabhat". However, none of these publications of Mathrubhumi are published at present.
Publication Centres of Mathrubhumi
Mathrubhumi now has 13 editions published from different cities inside and outside Kerala. The nine editions of Mathrubhumi in Kerala are published from the publication centres in Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kannur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kollam. Apart from these, there are also another 4 editions of Mathrubhumi published from the cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. Mathrubhumi has a total circulation of more than 1.3 million and around 7.5 million readers.
Management Association of Mathrubhumi
Earlier after K. P. Kesava Menon was arrested, the newspaper was edited by many eminent personalities in Malayalam journalism like P. Ramanunni Nair, K. Kelappan, P. Narayanan Nair, C. H. Kunjappa, K. A. Damodara Menon, A. P. Udhayabhanu, etc. Sanjayan was the Chief Editor of Viswaroopam. The Editor of Yugaprabhat was N. V. Krishna Warrier.
The current Chairman and Managing Director of Mathrubhumi is M. P. Veerendra Kumar. The newspaper"s Managing Editor is P. V. Chandran and M. Kesava Menon is serving as the Editor of Mathrubhumi Daily.
Other Publications of Mathrubhumi
Apart from the Mathrubhumi daily, the Mathrubhumi Group also has several other publications. These publications include:
A children"s publication named "Baalabhumi" (started on 1st May, 1996);
A Women"s publication named "Grihalakshmi" (started on 1st July, 1979);
A film publication named "Chithrabhumi" (started on 11th April, 1982);
An job opportunities publication named "Thozhilvartha" (started on 18th July, 1992);
The health publication named "Arogyamasika" (started on 19th February, 1997);
"Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu" (Weekly), an educational publication;
The educational publication in Malayalam named "Mathrubhumi Vidyarangam";
A sports publication in Malayalam named "Mathrubhumi Sports Masika" (started on 15th June, 1994);
"Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus", in Malayalam and English;
A travel magazine named "Mathrubhumi Yathra";
An online publication of Mathrubhumi;
A separate section for pre-primary/lower primary kids, called "Mathrubhumi Minnaminni" as well as "Mathrubhumi Cartoon Plus";
"Mathrubhumi Star and Style" a complete magazine covering film, fashion and lifestyle;
"Mathrubhumi GK and Current Affairs", a portal to the world.
Mathrubhumi has already established itself as one of the largest circulated newspapers in Kerala, by the course of time. The newspaper has also gained significant recognition among the Keralites of all parts of the society. It is referred to as one of the most powerful Malayalam language newspapers as well.