THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India: In a startling throwback to Cold War 1950s paranoia, the communist rulers of the Indian state of Kerala are in a frenzy of foreboding over the reported acquisition of the state's satellite television station by one Rupert Murdoch (pictured).

They fear the News Corporation ceo, not famed for his leftist sympathies (cf Fox TV news), has a secret agenda in his takeover of Asianet: namely imperialist intervention in the region to destabilise its socialist principles.

Warns Pinarayi Vijayan, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) - which leads Kerala's ruling coalition: "This should not be seen as a routine takeover. They want to change our society but the Left is not going to be swept away either."

He has urged all members of the government to be vigilant and has condemned the local media for failing to object strongly enough to the capitalist threat.

A spokesman for the TV station at the heart of this ideological struggle said: "Asianet has been talking to several potential partners ... However, we would not like to comment on market speculation at this point in time."

Data sourced from indiantelevision.com; additional content by WARC staff