Keshava Menon was the Founder-editor of the nationalist newspaper ‘The Mathrubhumi’ which from 1923 till 1980 was known as the mouthpiece of the Congress Party in Malayalam. Kesava Menon himself was one of the leading Congressmen in Malabar, who found that none of the existing papers in Malayalam or English would report on any of the activities of the Congress or even publish statements issued by the party. He along with other leaders of the party raised funds by selling Rs.5 shares in the Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co. to launch the paper in 1923.
Besides campaigning for freedom for the country, the paper
was committed to promote a broad humanism among the readers. It aimed at being
the ideal family newspaper. It was to be an instrument to usher in freedom for India.
It also stood for upliftment of the downtrodden, eradication
of untouchability and establishment of communal harmony. It energized the
people for the coming struggle against the British and for national
regeneration.
Due to his wife’s ill-health, Kesava Menon had to spend a
long time in Madras for her treatment. He resigned from the editorship of the
‘Mathrubhumi’ on 31 Jan 1925. Later he went ot Malaysia and finlly to
Singapore. Kesava Menon played a crucial role in organizing Indians in
Singapore to contribute their mite to the freedom movement in India. In this
process, he came in conflict with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who had set up
the Indian National Army in Singapore in 1942.
After the end of the World War II, Kesava Menon returned to
India in 1946. He took over the editorship of ‘The Mathrubhumi’ once again and
remained in that post till his death in the 1960s.
Kesava Menon remains one of the most distinguished and trend
setting Editors in Malayalam. Highly respected, his writings in the paper and
particularly his editorials attracted wide readership and attention. His weekly
column in the paper ‘We go Forward’ was one of the most widely read pieces in
Kerala. He also authored several books in Malayalam.
Reference: Indian Regional Journalism by P. K. Ravindranath
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