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VOL. XXIII No. 12, October 1-15, 2013
Electrifying Tamil journalism
Mrinal Chatterjee

(Continued from last fortnight)

When Dinamani made its appearance in 1934, it electrified the atmosphere of Tamil journalism. It was a low-priced newspaper (six pice) but it was different from its rivals in presentation of news and views. Within a month of its publication its circulation shot up and it was more than the combined circulation of all other Tamil papers. Dinamani had originally been started by S. Sadanand who purchased the Indian Express from Varadarajulu Naidu. Both the papers later came into the possession of Ramnath Goenka. The first editor of Dinamani was T.S. Chockalingam, an ardent Congressman and a powerful writer. With him as joint editor was A.N. Sivaraman who was later to set new records in Tamil journalism. Both Chockalingam and Sivaraman were close associates even before they came to Dinamani. They had jointly produced a quarter anna tri-weekly with news and views on the Satyagraha movement and very critical of the government. Along with Swatantra Sanghu, another quarter-anna weekly edited by Sangu Ganesan, it became a rage at the height of the Satyagraha movement and sold like hot cakes. Chockalingasm left the Dinamani in 1943 and started a daily of his own, Dinasari, in 1944. And the burden of running Dinamani fell on Sivaraman.

Sivaraman, the most distinguished Tamil journalist, often referred to as the Bhisma of Tamil journalism, did not have much of an education in the conventional sense. He passed the secondary school course and joined a college in Tirunelveli but left it after six months. He was attracted by the Congress movement, especially by the ideals of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and he took it upon himself to carry on the movement started by the Congress. Although he had discontinued college education, he began educating himself through wide and purposive reading. Reading at all hours and far into the night became his habit. He was a prominent Congress volunteer in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 and went to prison. He strayed into journalism when he joined Chockalingam in producing the tri-weekly Gandhi. After joining Dinamani, he switched to its sister paper, Indian Express, for some years. He covered the San Fransisco Conference for his paper and remained in the US for some years as its correspondent. He wrote articles on science and technology, agriculture and industry, political and economics in a way which the common man could easily understand. He was a teacher and guide for his readers and felt that his mission was to educate his readers to be good citizens and educated patriots.

In 1942, S.B. Adityan, a barrister and a staunch Congressman, started a daily, Dina Thanthi, in Madurai, deliberately aimed at the working classes and the semi-literate population. The paper indulged in sensationalism and its four pages were filled with stories of crime, violence and cinema, all written in an easy style and language. He provided readers what they liked to be fed on and they lapped it up.

The paper’s circulation increased manifold and Adityan brought out editions from Madras and other centres. As the Dravidian parties, the Dravida Kazhagam (under E.V. Ramaswami Naicker) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagagam (under C.N. Annadurai) began to dominate the political scene in post-independence Madras State (before it was renamed Tamil Nadu), Adityan resigned from the Congress and joined the Dravidian movement. His contributon to Tamil journalism was that he took the newspaper to the doorstep of the poor and the downtrodden. Over the years, Dina Thanthi and its sister publications have not changed much in the type of journalism it began with. Neither has its popularity waned. – (Courtesy: Vidura, published by the Press Institute of India.)

-Mrinal Chatterjee

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The tragedy that is Chepauk
Mylapore to Become Pedestrian Friendly
Electrifying Tamil Journalism
Madras Week
When the Bugles blow
In Search of Tyagaraja
A most gifted left-hander

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