Abdusalam Puthige

Abdussalam Puthige is the Editor-in-Chief of Varthabharathi, a Kannada daily Newspaper, published from Mangalore, the coastal city of Karnataka and Bangalore, the state capital. The first issue of Vartha Bharathi hit the stands on 29 August 2003 from Mangalore, followed by the Bangalore Edition in 2006.

Early Life  

Abdussalam was born in 1964 in Ganjimutt, a small village in Dakshina Kannada district where his father Maulana Muhammed Shafi, a theologian was working as Imam of a Masjid. He went to school in Bailur, Adi-Udupi and Udupi. He completed his graduation under ICE, University of Madras and later pursued studies in Law at SDM law College, Mangalore. In the meantime he chose journalism as his profession and began his career as a sub editor in a Kannada weekly magazine in Mangalore. He studied Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Islamic theology and Muslim History under his father Maulana Shafi Saheb and later under Moulana Sayyed Yunus Saheb.

Career

During his career as a journalist, apart from reporting and writing his own articles, he translated many Urdu and English books into Kannada. He was one of the members of the committee that edited the Kannada translation of Urdu work ‘Thalkhees Thafheemul Quran’ titled ‘Qur’an Vyakhyana’. He has authored a few books in Kannada and English. His most famous English work, Towards Performing Da’wah, was published by The International Council for Islamic Information (ICII), Leicester, United Kingdom.

In 1996, Mr. Puthige along with his associate Mr. Yaseen Malpe, launched Madhyama Kendra (Media Center), Bangalore, which has grown into a well-known institution in the State today. Its principal objective is to educate the masses on Media, Mass communication and related topics. He is the director of Institute of Media Studies Bangalore which under his reins has conducted several studies on prevailing trends, bias and prejudices in the mainstream Media, focusing particularly on the misrepresentation, under representation and negative stereotyping of various communities in regional Kannada Media.

Social Concern and Contributions

He was inspired by Vaddarse Raghuram Shetty, who, in September 1984, had launched a short lived Kannada Daily newspaper Mungaru that employed and trained a considerable number of journalists from backward castes, Dalits and Minorities, in contrast to most other newspapers in the state that were, and still remain, heavily dominated by the upper castes. Mungaru sought to focus on news and stories related to these marginalized communities. Abdussalam Puthige has dealt with this subject in a widely published interview titled ‘The Muslim Kannadiga’ by scholar and researcher Yoginder Singh Sikand.

‘Kannadadalli Qur’an Anuvada’ is his most celebrated work so far. It is his own translation of the entire Holy Qur’an in Kannada with brief notes. Its first edition was released on 1 September 2012 by Rajarshi Dr. Virendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Shree Kshetra, Dharmastala. This work has already seen 4 Editions whose third Edition was published in Dubai by the Department of Islamic Affairs, Government of Dubai, UAE. This lucid translation of the Holy Qur’an is available online. The same is also available as an app on the Google Play store for free titled ‘Quran in Kannada’.

Mr. Abdussalam Puthige has served as Chief Resource Person in dozens of national and international Media workshops. He is known for his proficiency in Kannada, Urdu, English, Hindi, Beary, Tulu, Malayalam, Tamil, Nawayat and more. Asked about Arabic and Persian, he says he is a devout student of both.

He was awarded the prestigious Transparency International Award in 2009 for upholding values of journalism and spreading truth through Vartha Bharathi Kannada daily.

Interests and Associations

Mr. Puthige is an extensive traveler who has visited different locations in India under various pretexts such as delivering talks, TV programs, conducting workshops, addressing seminars, participating in relief activities, and more. Besides, he has toured foreign countries such as UK, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. The topics he deals with include the Qur’an, the message of Muhammed, Muslim history, interfaith relationship, Sufism, conflict resolution, equitable distribution of global resources, empowerment of minorities in India, privileges and responsibilities of the media, image management, human rights, social justice, advocacy for equity, Ghalib, Allama Iqbal, Rumi, Hafiz etc.

Mr. Puthige, a motorbike enthusiast, often goes on long country side rides on his favorite Royal Enfield motorbike. He is fond of bike racing, swimming and martial arts. He lives in a farm house in Kana, near Moodbidri along with his parents, wife and children. He has a son and three daughters.

External Links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdussalam_Puthige
• http://www.varthabharati.in/