The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India. It is published in 21 locations across 11 states of India.
It has been owned by the Kasturi family since 1905. It is currently chaired by Malini Parthasarathy, a great-granddaughter of the original founder. The editorial positions are usually held by members of the family or under their direction.
It was founded in Madras in 1878 as a weekly newspaper. It was started by the Triplicane Six, four law students and two teachers, to support the campaign of Sir T. Muthuswamy Iyer for a judgeship at the Madras High Court. The newspaper was established to protest against British policies. About 100 copies of the inaugural issue were printed with borrowed money. Subramania Iyer became the first editor and Veera Raghav
It is a newspaper that was initially printed by Srinidhi Press and moved to various other presses. It started as a weekly newspaper, became a tri-weekly in 1883, and an evening daily in 1889. The offices moved to 100 Mount Road in 1883 and the paper became known for its editorial stances, earning it the nickname ‘Maha Vishnu of Mount Road’. After 1887, the paper’s coverage of national news increased significantly.
The Kasturi family has owned and held the top editorial positions in The Hindu since 1898. In July 2003, N. Murali acknowledged complaints of partiality and lack of objectivity in some reports. In response, N. Ram was appointed as editor-in-chief to improve the quality and objectivity of news reports and opinion pieces.
The Hindu’s coverage of the Bofors arms deal scandal in 1987-1988 set the terms of the national political discourse. It involved allegations that bribes had been paid to top Indian leaders, officials, and Army officers. The investigation was led by a part-time correspondent and supported by Ram in Chennai. In 1991, Nirmala Lakshman became Joint Editor and Malini Parthasarathy, Executive Editor – making them the first women in the company to hold an editorial or managerial role
In 2003, the Jayalalitha government of Tamil Nadu filed cases against The Hindu newspaper for breach of privilege. This prompted support from the journalistic community. In 2010, a dispute arose within The Hindu’s publisher over the retirement age of its editor-in-chief. Malini Parthasarathy later accused N. Ram and other Hindu employees of trying to oust her from the newspaper, calling them “Stalinists”.
In 2011, The Hindu newspaper became the subject of a succession battle between members of the Kasturi family. N. Ram appointed Siddharth Varadarajan as editor-in-chief, which was opposed by N. Ravi and led to the launch of its Tamil edition in 2013. In 2016, Malini Parthasarathy resigned as Editor citing general dissatisfaction with her performance. During the 2015 South Indian floods, for the first time since its founding in 18
The Kasturi Ranga Iyengar family has traditionally been in charge of The Hindu’s editorial and business operations, as well as on the Board. G. Kasturi, N. Ravi, and N. Ram have all served as heads of the newspaper at various points in its history. Currently, there are 12 directors on the board of Kasturi & Sons.
It is a newspaper published in Madras that is regularly and attentively read in Delhi. It is respected for its national voice with a southern accent, political and economic dispatches, and reports from all state capitals. In 1965, The Times listed it as one of the world’s ten best newspapers.
It was awarded the World Press Achievement Award in 1968 for its broad and balanced news coverage, enterprising reporting, and thoughtful commentary. It has earned respect from its community, country, and the world for championing reason over emotion, dedication to principle, and confidence in the future. The Hindu also provides worldwide news coverage through its correspondents stationed around the globe.
The Hindu is an Indian newspaper that has taken steps to build trust with readers. They have a Readers Editor and have opened up two editorial meetings a month to readers. The newspaper also has foreign bureaus in 11 locations around the world.