Mudumbai Veeraraghavachariar (1857-1906) was an Indian journalist, freedom-fighter and teacher from the erstwhile

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. He was one of the founders of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' newspaper and served as its Managing Director from 1878 to 1905.

Early life

Veeraraghavachariar was born in a Vaishnavite Brahmin family of Vadakapattu village near

Chingleput Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away fr ...

Muthiah Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional ...

, Pg 94 He had his schooling and graduation in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. On graduating, he was employed as a lecturer in Pachaiyappa's College, Madras. At about this time, he befriended fellow tutor,

G. Subramania Iyer Ganapathy Dikshitar Subramania Iyer ( ta, கணபதி தீக்ஷிதர் சுப்பிரமணிய ஐயர்) (19 January 1855 – 18 April 1916) was a leading Indian journalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who f ...

Founding of ''The Hindu''

In 1878, 21-year-old Veeraraghavachariar and four of his friends,

, T. T. Rangachariar, P. V. Rangachariar, D. Kesava Rao Pantulu and

N. Subba Rao Pantulu Nyapathi Subba Rao Pantulu (14 January 1856 – 15 January 1941) was an Indian politician and social activist who served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council between 1893 and 1909. He was also one of the founders of ''The Hindu''. Earl ...

, who later became popular in history as "The Triplicane Six", founded the English-language newspaper, ''The Hindu''. While Veeraraghavachariar and Subramania Iyer were lecturers at the college, the rest were all students.

With ''The Hindu''

Soon after its founding, most of the Triplicane Six parted ways to practice as lawyers.

, Pg 95 Chief-editor Subramania Iyer and Managing Director Veeraraghavachariar were the only ones who remained. Subramania Iyer took a bold stand and questioned the British masters as well as the Hindu orthodoxy. Veeraraghavachariar, on the contrary, was a moderate and opposed Subramania Iyer's militant views. The difference in ideologies caused a rift between the two. This rift was further compounded when Veeraraghavachariar lashed out at Iyer's friend

Eardley Norton Eardley John Norton (19 February 1852 – 13 July 1931) was a Madras barrister, Coroner and politician of British origin. He was also one of the earliest members of the Indian National Congress and a champion of civil liberties and rights of ...

in some of ''The Hindu'' 's editorials. Subramania Iyer's revolutionary views on Hindu society proved detrimental to the newspaper and soon it began to decline landing its owners in dire financial straits. In 1898, G. Subramania Iyer left ''The Hindu'' and took over the management of the ''

Swadesamitran ''Swadesamitran'' was a Tamil language newspaper that was published from the then Madras city from 1882 to 1985. One of the earliest Tamil newspapers and the longest in print, ''Swadesamitran'' was founded by Indian nationalist G. Subramania Iyer f ...

''. Left alone, Veeraraghavachariar employed

C. Karunakara Menon Diwan Bahadur Cozhisseri Karunakara Menon (1863–1922) was an Indian journalist and politician from the erstwhile Madras Presidency. He was the second editor of The Hindu after G. Subramania Iyer and the founder of the ''Indian Patriot''. Kar ...

as the Chief-Editor and tried to convert the newspaper into a joint-stock company in 1901.The plan failed landing the newspaper in heavy debt. In a special edition commemorating its twentyfifth anniversary, Veeraraghavachariar noted that the newspaper had defended four libel suits since its founding and lost three. Faced with a crisis, Veeraraghachariar sold the newspaper in 1904-05. The paper was purchased by

S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (15 December 1859 – 12 December 1923) was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist, politician and journalist who served as the managing director of ''The Hindu'' from 1 April 1905 till his death. Ancestry an ...

in April 1905.

Later years

Veeraraghavachariar died in 1906 at the young age of 47.

Notes

References

* {{authority control 1857 births 1906 deaths Indian male journalists The Hindu Group Businesspeople in mass media People from Kanchipuram district Journalists from Tamil Nadu 19th-century Indian journalists 20th-century Indian journalists 19th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian businesspeople