When Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, a lawyer who hailed from the village of Kumbakonam, bought ‘The Hindu’ in April, 1905, its circulation was down to around 800 copies. He was without any experience in Journalism and his friends tried to dissuade him from going ahead.
When he died in December, 1923, he left the newspaper with a circulation of 17,000 and more importantly, with the advertising revenues that made it viable.
He installed the first Rotary printing press in Chennai, kick-starting a tradition of technological innovation that ‘The Hindu’ still follows today. A champion of the freedom of the Press, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar established ‘The Hindu’ as THE voice of the people. He also helped sharpen its newsgathering approach, increase coverage and improve distribution. Much of his hard-hitting journalistic style now seems uncharacteristic of ‘The Hindu’ today, but it was his drive that made ‘The Hindu’ a benchmark for the nation. Today, the paper has a circulation of over 7,00,000 copies and a readership of over 3 million.
Ill-health and slowness of speech reinforced his natural reticence. But the strength of his work made him one of the most admired Editors of his time.