Thiruvananthapuram, July 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which rarely misses an opportunity to lecture governments across the world on freedom of expression, appears to have discovered that the principle has an invisible footnote, provided it does not make the party uncomfortable.
In the latest fallout of the now infamous ‘Kallan Vijayan’ episode, senior journalist K.R. Ajayan, one of the most respected editorial hands in the CPI(M)-owned Deshabhimani, has reportedly been given a stark choice — resign or proceed on long leave.
The oral direction, reportedly conveyed by Chief Editor Dineshen Puthelathu on the last working day of July, marks the culmination of an episode that has embarrassed the party far more than the headline it sought to suppress.
Puthelathu in the past was the political secretary to the then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from 2016-22.
The controversy began with a feature in Deshabhimani's weekend supplement commemorating the first death anniversary of veteran Communist leader V.S. Achuthanandan.
On the back page was a profile of veteran theatre artiste Vijayan under the headline, "Kallan Vijayan, Dhanya Nadakagramam, Muthathippara P.O."
The headline referred to a theatre personality affectionately known as "Kallan (thief)" because of a celebrated stage role.
Yet somewhere inside the editorial establishment, alarm bells rang.
What if political opponents or social media interpreted "Kallan Vijayan" differently?
The presses were stopped.
The printed supplement was withdrawn before circulation.
When it finally appeared a day later, the offending article had quietly disappeared. Ironically, the only thing the party succeeded in doing was ensuring that a headline which might have otherwise passed unnoticed became one of Kerala's biggest media stories.
Ajayan, who headed the weekend supplement, defended the publication, maintaining that the headline was neither inappropriate nor anti-party.
His explanation found little favour with the management.
He was removed from his editorial responsibilities, and now, according to sources, has effectively been told to either quit or go on long leave.
The development raises uncomfortable questions for a party that has built much of its political vocabulary around democratic rights, constitutional freedoms and resistance to censorship.
From condemning restrictions on journalists in distant capitals to championing freedom of artistic and literary expression, the CPI(M) has consistently projected itself as the custodian of civil liberties.
Its leaders are often among the first to issue statements whenever a book is withdrawn, a film is censored or a journalist is silenced elsewhere.
But within its own newspaper, a headline that violated no law, invited no judicial restraint and contained no defamatory content was deemed too risky because of how it might be interpreted.
The irony is difficult to miss.
Even more intriguing is the role of Resident Editor M. Swaraj, who reportedly initiated disciplinary proceedings against Ajayan.
Swaraj himself is no stranger to controversy.
During the bitter factional battle between V.S. Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan, he had courted criticism by remarking that it was time V.S. was given ‘capital punishment’ politically—a statement that many within the party considered excessive.
Years later, Swaraj finds himself presiding over disciplinary action against an editor over a headline whose greatest offence was that it required imagination to become controversial.
The ‘Kallan Vijayan’ saga also illustrates what communication experts often call the Streisand Effect—the harder one tries to suppress something, the more public attention it attracts.
A feature on a theatre artiste has now become a case study in editorial censorship, internal party discipline and political hypersensitivity.
In the end, the theatre artiste called ‘Kallan Vijayan’ escaped unscathed.
The journalist who wrote the article stood by it.
The editor who allowed it believed it deserved to remain in print.
The only casualty was the newspaper's claim to editorial independence.
For a party that frequently asks governments to trust journalists, it has shown remarkably little trust in its own.
And perhaps that is the real headline.
Source: IANS
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
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When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
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