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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | The Community Media Trust |
| Founder(s) | Abdussalam Puthige |
| Publisher | Abdussalam Puthige |
| Editor | Abdussalam Puthige |
| News editor | B.M. Bashir |
| Founded | 29 August 2003 |
| Language | Kannada |
| Headquarters | Mangalore, Karnataka, India. |
| Website | www |
| Free online archives | epaper |
Vartha Bharati. also spelled as Vartha Bharathi, is a Kannada daily newspaper published simultaneously from Bangalore, Mangalore and Shimoga. [1] It was launched in August 2003. It is one of nine state level Kannada daily newspapers of Karnataka, as recognised by the Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Karnataka. [2]
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Its main focus was to provide voice and due representation to the deprived and marginalised sections. Jnanpith and Padma Bhushan awardee U. R. Anantha Murthy was a great admirer and a regular contributor to this newspaper. In a public meeting, he called Vartha Bharati " The Guardian of Karnataka", saying that "The Guardian has created a revolution in the whole of its nation. In the same way, Vartha Bharathi is Karnataka's Guardian." Abdussalam Puthige, [3] the editor-in-chief of Varthabharati was inspired by veteran journalist Vaddarse Raghuram Shetty, who had launched Mungaru Kannada daily back in 1984. [4] Mungaru was well known for its generous policy of providing fair representation to all castes, communities and sections of the society. It left a significant mark in the history of Kannada journalism by identifying and nurturing several talents from Muslim, Christian and backward Communities. [5]
Numerous well-known Kannada leftists, social activists and Dalit ideologues, including U. R. Ananthamurthy, U. B. Banakar, Dr. Niranjan Aradhya, write regularly for the paper. [6] In 2017, a Vartha Bharati journalist was detained and served a showcause notice by the Dakshina Kannada police. The notice was later stayed by the Karnataka High Court. [7] In 2017, Vartha Bharati's social media page was blocked by Facebook. Though it was later restored, there was no clear explanation as to why it happened. [8]
