S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar
Encyclopedia
Sesha Iyengar Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (December 15, 1859–December 12, 1923) was an India
n lawyer, Indian independence activist, politician
and journalist
who served as the Managing Director of The Hindu
from April 1, 1905 till his death in December 1923.
family. His ancestors had served as high-ranking officials in the courts of Vijayanagar and Thanjavur. His brother, Diwan Bahadur S. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar
, C. I. E, served as the Inspector General of Registration in the Madras Presidency
. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar was an Anglophile who, in 1893, wrote Memorandum of Progress of the Madras Presidency during the last forty years of British administration in order to refute the charges of economic exploitation made by nationalists.
. On completion of his education, he moved to Coimbatore
in order to commence practice as a lawyer. He set up a prosperous vocation and moved to Madras in order to try his luck there. He was not as successful in Madras as he had been in Coimbatore. Eventually, in 1895, he became a legal correspondent with The Hindu which was run by G. Subramania Iyer
. He wrote a well known column in the newspaper The Coimbatore Letters. During this period, he also got ample encouragement from C. Karunakara Menon
. The rich and prosperous Kasturi Ranga Iyengar purchased the newspaper for a price of Rs. 75,000 on April 1, 1905.
's news service and allotted space for weather reports, court cases, trade and commerce
and sports. In 1905, The Hindu, in its editorial, demanded complete independence for India. It also strongly criticized Annie Besant
and her Theosophical Society
, including her lavish promotional campaign of J. Krishnamurti as the Maitreya Buddha. However, The Hindu offered its enthusiastic support to her Home Rule Movement
and protested her internment at the orders of Lord Pentland
. It also strongly condemned the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
.
.
Being the younger brother of an Anglophile, there was always the concern that at some point or the other, he might abandon his anti-British and Indian nationalist attitude. However, this estimation proved to be false. Contemporaries assert that he was as much intelligent and talented as his illustrious brother.
During his tenure as Managing -Director, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar locked horns with V. Krishnaswami Iyer
, Annie Besant
and Sir Valentine Chirol to whom he gave the rejoinder: "I am not here to learn journalistic etiquette from you", when the former made rude comments on the latter. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar also fought with Governors Sir Arthur Lawley and Lord Pentland
.
Iyengar exerted as much influence by his fabulous wealth as he did with his writing. Instead of being chastised and compelled to undergo ritual cleansing on his arrival from England, he was instead given a grand welcome with all honours by the Vaishnavite orthodoxy.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n lawyer, Indian independence activist, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who served as the Managing Director of The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
from April 1, 1905 till his death in December 1923.
Ancestry and family
Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was born in a Vaishnavite BrahminIyengar
Iyengar or Ayyangar is a caste given to Hindu Brahmins of Tamil origin who follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil Nadu state of the Republic of India...
family. His ancestors had served as high-ranking officials in the courts of Vijayanagar and Thanjavur. His brother, Diwan Bahadur S. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar
S. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar
Diwan Bahadur Sesha Iyengar Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar CIE was an Indian civil servant, Anglophile and administrator who served as the Diwan of Baroda from July 15, 1896 to October 2, 1901...
, C. I. E, served as the Inspector General of Registration in the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar was an Anglophile who, in 1893, wrote Memorandum of Progress of the Madras Presidency during the last forty years of British administration in order to refute the charges of economic exploitation made by nationalists.
Early life
Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was born on December 15, 1859 in a village in KumbakonamKumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
. On completion of his education, he moved to Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
in order to commence practice as a lawyer. He set up a prosperous vocation and moved to Madras in order to try his luck there. He was not as successful in Madras as he had been in Coimbatore. Eventually, in 1895, he became a legal correspondent with The Hindu which was run by G. Subramania Iyer
G. Subramania Iyer
Ganapathy Dikshitar Subramania Iyer was a leading Indian journalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who founded 'The Hindu' newspaper on September 20, 1878...
. He wrote a well known column in the newspaper The Coimbatore Letters. During this period, he also got ample encouragement from C. Karunakara Menon
C. Karunakara Menon
Diwan Bahadur Cozhissery Karunakara Menon 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....
. The rich and prosperous Kasturi Ranga Iyengar purchased the newspaper for a price of Rs. 75,000 on April 1, 1905.
As Managing -Director
In July 1905, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar appointed his nephew A. Rangaswami Iyengar as Assistant Editor. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar worked to rescue The Hindu by increasing advertisements and terminating subscriptions to customers who did not pay in advance. The tactic proved successful and Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was able to clear-off his debts by 1910. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar subscribed to the ReuterReuter
-Persons that bear the name Reuter:* Christian Reuter , writer* Edzard Reuter , former Daimler-Benz manager, son of Ernst Reuter* Enzio Rafael Reuter ,entomologist* Erich Fritz Reuter , sculptor in Berlin...
's news service and allotted space for weather reports, court cases, trade and commerce
Trade and Commerce
In Canadian constitutional law, section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867 provides the federal government with the authority to legislate on matters related to the regulation of Trade and Commerce...
and sports. In 1905, The Hindu, in its editorial, demanded complete independence for India. It also strongly criticized Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
and her Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
, including her lavish promotional campaign of J. Krishnamurti as the Maitreya Buddha. However, The Hindu offered its enthusiastic support to her Home Rule Movement
Home Rule Movement
The All India Home Rule League was a national political organization founded in 1916 to lead the national demand for self-government, termed Home Rule, and to obtain the status of a Dominion within the British Empire as enjoyed by Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland at the...
and protested her internment at the orders of Lord Pentland
John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland
John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, GCSI, GCIE was a Scottish Liberal Party politician, soldier, peer, administrator and Privy Councillor who served as the Secretary of Scotland from 1905 to 1912 and the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919.Baron Pentland was born John Sinclair to Sir John...
. It also strongly condemned the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre , also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer...
.
Death
Kasturi Ranga Iyengar died 0n December 12, 1923, three days before his 64th birthday. He was succeeded as editor by his nephew, S. Rangaswami. and as Managing-Director of The Hindu by his eldest son, K. SrinivasanK. Srinivasan
Kasturi Srinivasan was an Indian journalist and businessman. He was the eldest son of S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar.- Biography :...
.
Legacy
Prior to Kasturi Ranga Iyengar's purchase of The Hindu, he was not much interested in entering public life. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar had the courage to buy a struggling newspaper and embark upon a new enterprise he had no experience in. He was also comparatively new to politics when he made a plunge into the political scenario; yet he was extremely successful for a newcomer.Being the younger brother of an Anglophile, there was always the concern that at some point or the other, he might abandon his anti-British and Indian nationalist attitude. However, this estimation proved to be false. Contemporaries assert that he was as much intelligent and talented as his illustrious brother.
During his tenure as Managing -Director, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar locked horns with V. Krishnaswami Iyer
V. Krishnaswamy Iyer
Venkatarama Iyer Krishnaswamy Iyer was an Indian lawyer and High Court judge of Madras. He was involved in the prosecution of a partner of the British banking Company Arbuthnot & Co after the bank crashed on 22 October 1906...
, Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
and Sir Valentine Chirol to whom he gave the rejoinder: "I am not here to learn journalistic etiquette from you", when the former made rude comments on the latter. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar also fought with Governors Sir Arthur Lawley and Lord Pentland
John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland
John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, GCSI, GCIE was a Scottish Liberal Party politician, soldier, peer, administrator and Privy Councillor who served as the Secretary of Scotland from 1905 to 1912 and the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919.Baron Pentland was born John Sinclair to Sir John...
.
Iyengar exerted as much influence by his fabulous wealth as he did with his writing. Instead of being chastised and compelled to undergo ritual cleansing on his arrival from England, he was instead given a grand welcome with all honours by the Vaishnavite orthodoxy.