Cho Ramaswamy launched Thuglak in January 1970 with a cartoon of two donkeys on the cover, promising them a steady feast now that the magazine had arrived. Many expected the magazine would prove to be 바카라a donkey diminishing into an ant before disappearing바카라, as a popular Tamil phrase goes. But Thuglak, named after Cho바카라s famous Tamil play Muhammed Bin Thuglak, a roaring political satire, has been as doughty as a donkey. There were a few more covers with India바카라s most verbally abused animal during the first Tamil political magazine바카라s 50-year journey as Thuglak became an inseparable part of Tamil Nadu바카라s Dravidian-dominated political narrative. Brahmins might form the bulk of its loyal readers, but no major politician could afford to ignore its contents, especially when Cho was around.
바카라Thuglak used to be a prized possession of student leaders during the 1970s and one issue would go around our hostel before the next one hit the stands,바카라 admits DMK spokesperson K.S. Radhakrishnan. Launched when K. Karunanidhi was calling the shots and no local publication dared to question the government, the magazine became the opposition바카라s leading voice against the DMK바카라s hegemony. When Karunanidhi refuted that photos of Hindu gods had been garlanded with chappals during a rationalist outfit바카라s procession in Salem, Thuglak published the photos to disprove his claim. Karunanidhi ordered the seizure of all copies from the press, but a few bundles made their way out and the issue became a collector바카라s item. This boosted the circulation and Cho acknowledged it with a photo of Karunanidhi sitting at a table with the name board 바카라Thuglak circulation manager바카라.
Thuglak바카라s USP was Cho바카라s satirical humour popping out of almost every section바카라cartoons, political serials involving Jaggu, a Chennai rowdy doling out political wisdom and the hugely popular Q&A. When the Indira Gandhi government decided to bring out a stamp to commemorate Sanjay Gandhi, Cho questioned the logic as Sanjay had no accomplishments other than being the PM바카라s son. Thuglak published its own set of stamps of Subhash Saxena, the co-pilot who died with Sanjay in the 1980 air crash. Many readers even posted letters to Thuglak with the Saxena stamps and they got duly delivered.
Cho바카라s magazine was the only publication in Tamil Nadu to oppose the Emergency. It got around the strict censorship with various tricks바카라printing a film review of 1950s Tamil film Sarvadhigaari (Dictator) with Cho comparing the villain to a north Indian politician (Indira, of course); publishing a critique of Tamil theatre highlighting anti-establishment dialogues from the pre-independence era; ridiculing the 20-point programme with a satirical ad for a pappad brand selling its 20 properties.
바카라The magazine carried credibility even though it was avowedly anti-DMK and used to switch sides ahead of elections, with Cho explaining why he chose the lesser evil,바카라 says journalist R. Bhagwan Singh. 바카라He also shared a personal rapport with most of those who were ridiculed on the cover.바카라 Though unabashedly pro-BJP, Cho printed a black cover after the Babri Masjid바카라s demolition and carried an editorial titled 바카라Atrocity at Ayodhya바카라.
Asked if Thuglak shed its semblance of neutrality after Cho바카라s demise in December 2016, editor S. Gurumurthy says, 바카라Neutrality is like falling between two stools. What is more important is independence and Thuglak continues to live up to the standards set by Cho.바카라
By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai
