''Thejas'' is a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

language

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n online

news website An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

and formerly a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

that was established in 2006. It was initially a morning newspaper published from

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

. Owned by Intermedia Publishing, a private limited company in the same city, it is the mouthpiece of the

Popular Front of India Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Islamist political organisation in India, that engages in a radical and exclusivist style of Muslim minority politics. Formed to counter Hindutva groups, it was banned by the Indian Ministry of Home Aff ...

. The eponymous magazine was the centre of a controversy in 2011 for its pro-bin Laden and pro-Taliban stance. The paper closed down in 2018, leaving only the online edition and the magazine."PFI mouthpiece Thejas to stop publication this year"
''The Indian Express''. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

History

''Thejas'' started publishing from

(Kozhikode) on the Indian republic day on 26 January 2006. Within a short span of three months it started another edition from

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

(Thiruvananthapuram) followed by the third edition from

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

within another three months. Also

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

edition started in 2008 as part of the expansion. In December 2009, it started its

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

edition. It also started an online edition and an e-paper. ''Thejas'' started its Gulf editions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam in March 2011. The fourth Gulf Edition started in Doha on 17 May 2012. The fifth Gulf Edition of Thejas was launched in Bahrain on 27 September 2012 by Akhbar Al Khaleej editor-in-chief Anwar Abdulrahman at a ceremony held in Manama. In October 2018 ''Thejas'' decided to close its print edition and become an

online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

; the last printed edition was published on 31 December 2018. The magazine by the same name however continued operation and is still in print. The management cited the dwindling revenues from advertisements and increasing debts as the reason for closing the print edition.

Controversies

In 2010, the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

denied ''Thejas'' any

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

, citing

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

inputs about the nature of the paper's coverage and its alleged attempts to create religious discord in the state. The

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

-led UPA government at the Centre followed suit, citing similar reasons. The 2011 May edition of their magazine called

Osama bin laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

a 'martyr' after he was killed by the US army. In October 2013, the district administration of

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

issued a show-cause notice to the

for spreading anti-national reports and why the

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Convention, articl ...

should not be stopped. In March 2014,

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

registered a case against ''Thejas'' and some other media organizations, in response to a petition accusing of insulting religious sentiments.

References

{{Newspapers in India Malayalam-language newspapers Companies based in Kozhikode 2006 establishments in Kerala Asian news websites Indian news websites Mass media in Kerala Newspapers published in Kerala Daily newspapers published in India Newspapers established in 2006 Online newspapers with defunct print editions