Malayala Manorama

India Media

March 16, 2013

A commemorative postage stamp on the 125 years of the daily morning Malayalam newspaper, Malayala Manorama, 3^rd largest circulating newspapers in India as per Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) 2013 figures :

Issued by India

Issued on Mar 16, 2013

Issued for : Department of Posts is happy to recognize the contribution of Malayala Manorama in upholding the values of fair and fearless journalism and issue a Commemorative Postage Stamp to mark the completion of 125 years of its existence.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC/Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 0.42 Million (0.11 million for the Proponent)

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

About :

Malayala Manorama, one of the oldest and largest circulated daily in the country, was founded by Kandathil Varghese Mappillai at Kottayam, which was then a small town in the princely state of Travancore, on March 14, 1888. The first issue of the Malayala Manorama appeared on March 22, 1890. It was a four-page weekly newspaper, published every Saturday. Since then there has been no looking back. The weekly newspaper became a daily in 1928. Today, Manorama is published from 18 centres, two of them being abroad in Dubai and Bahrain.
The Malayala Manorama was in the forefront of the freedom struggle in the princely state of Travancore. The paper was actively involved in the civil rights agitation, the formation of the Travancore State Congress and the historic campaign for responsible government. Its fearless and objective writings invited the wrath of the authorities which banned Manorama for its candid reporting on police firings and atrocities against people demanding democratic rights at Neyyattinkara on September 1, 1938. On September 10,1938, armed police charged into the Manorama office at Kottayam and sealed its doors. It was finally back on November 29,1947 after India’s independence.
Manorama has many firsts in India to its credit. It was the first in India to use flat-bed facsimile system and automated mailroom system. Manorama was also the first paper in the country to start the ‘Newspaper in Education’ (NIE) programme. Apart from the daily newspaper, Manorama has ventured into around four dozen publications in five languages and has a strong presence in the electronic media. Manorama Weekly, Bhashaposhini, Vanitha, The Week, Balarama are some of its best-selling publications in India. Manorama News channel, Manorama Music, Radio Mango and Manorama Online occupy popular spots in the electronic media.
Malayala Manorama has played a proactive role in fulfilling its social responsibilities and being an instrument of societal change. It has started projects for conservation of environment like Pala Thulli (water conservation), Bhoomikkoru Kuda (distribution of saplings for a greener world), Sukrutha Keralam (Clean Kerala), SAVE (Serve as A Volunteer for Energy). It has also launched a campaign to create awareness on road safety.
Text : Based on the material provided by the proponent.