Through this post we are releasing the scan of Leave the Newspaper Free written by P. Rajan published in the year 1987
Leave the Newspaper Free is a bold and uncompromising public complaint to the Press Council of India by veteran journalist P. Rajan, then Assistant Editor of Mathrubhumi, one of Kerala’s most respected Malayalam dailies. In this pamphlet, Rajan documents serious allegations of managerial interference, editorial intimidation, and erosion of journalistic autonomy within the newspaper. Issues he claims undermine both the public trust and the democratic role of the press.
Through this complaint, Rajan challenges the control exerted by shareholders and directors over editorial staff, despite those editors having played a foundational role in building the paper’s reputation. He equates this interference to an ethical hijacking of the institution and demands that Mathrubhumi be restructured as a public trust, free from political and corporate manipulation.
A fierce defender of press freedom, Rajan’s document recounts his past clashes with government censorship, including his arrest during the Emergency for publishing anti-government materials. The pamphlet also highlights his pioneering work in legal journalism, social justice advocacy, and feminist writing.
Blending personal testimony with sharp political critique, Leave the Newspaper Free is not just a protest against one media house, it is a call for structural reform in Indian journalism, demanding that newspapers serve the people, not private or political interests.
The book was made available for digitization by S. K Madhavan, Thalipparampu
Metadata and link to the digitized document are provided below. A facility to read the document online is provided in the item page.
Metadata and link to the digitized document
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- Name: Leave the Newspaper Free
- Published Year: 1987
- Number of pages: 50
- Printing: B. R. N Printing Works, Anayara, Trivandrum
- Scan link: Link
