The Hindu

Lore & Background

The Hindu began as a weekly newspaper in Madras on 20 September 1878, launched by a group known as the Triplicane Six. This group included four law students and two teachers: T.T. Rangacharya, P.V. Rangacharya, D. Kesava Rao Pantulu, and N. Subba Rao Pantulu, under the leadership of schoolteacher G. Subramania Iyer and lecturer M. Veeraraghavachariar.

In October 1898, the partnership between Iyer and Veeraraghavachariar ended when Iyer left, making Veeraraghavachariar the sole owner, who then appointed C. Karunakara Menon as editor. The paper was bought in 1905 by S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, who had served as its legal adviser since 1895. Since then, with the exception of a roughly two-year period when S. Varadarajan served as editor, the top editorial roles have consistently been filled by members of the Iyengar family or individuals chosen under their direction.

Reader's Guide

The Hindu has been a family-owned newspaper since 1905, when it was purchased by S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar from the original founders. It is now jointly owned by Iyengar's descendants (locally referred to as 'The Hindu Family'), who serve as the directors of the holding company.

Over the course of its history, the family of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar has usually run The Hindu through the presence of members in editorial and business operations, as well as on the Board. It was headed by G. Kasturi from 1965 to 1991, N. Ravi from 1991 to 2003, and by his brother, N. Ram, from 27 June 2003 to 18 January 2011. As of 2010, there were 12 directors in the board of Kasturi & Sons.

Did You Know?

• The Hindu was the first newspaper in India to have a website, launching it in 1995.
• In 1987–88, The Hindu's coverage of the Bofors arms deal scandal set the terms of national political discourse on the subject.
• For the first time since its founding in 1878, The Hindu did not publish a print edition in the Chennai market on 2 December 2015 due to floods.
• On 15 August 2022, for the first time in its 144-year history, The Hindu started publishing Hindi-translated editorials on its website.