Deccan Herald


Deccan Herald is an English daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka by The Printers Private Limited, a family business run by the Nettakallappa family. It has seven editions printed from Bengaluru, Hubballi, Davanagere, Hosapete, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Kalburgi.

Controversies

Mohammad the Idiot

Mohammad the Idiot was a controversial short story published in the Sunday magazine supplement of the Deccan Herald newspaper in December 1986.
The story was about a handicapped, half-witted boy named Mohammad who committed suicide due to the travails of his family suffering from poverty. It was a fictional story originally written by PKN Namboodri a decade earlier in Malayalam language and had nothing to do with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It created no turmoil when first published in the Kannada language. However, Muslims in the city of Bengaluru took that story as a reference to their prophet and protested violently. Marchers went on a rampage and attacked police personnel in the city of Bengaluru, Mysore, and Mandya. Curfew was declared in Bengaluru and its suburban areas. The newspaper's editor, who happened to be its publisher, was arrested for ‘fomenting enmity between two communities and writing articles in a manner prejudicial to public peace.’ However, he was soon released on bail. The incident claimed at least four lives, and over 50 people were injured.

Notable employees (past and present)