‘The Hindu Tamil has a great tradition to uphold’

Judge recalls the battles and the cases that the parent paper fought in the past

September 16, 2017 12:55 am | Updated 12:55 am IST - CHENNAI

Gracing the occasion:  Hyderabad High Court judge V. Ramasubramanian; actor Kamal Haasan;  The Hind u Tamil   Editor K. Asokan; Director, Kasturi & Sons, Ltd., Akila Iyengar; and Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., N. Ram, at Yaathum Tamizhe, in Chennai on Friday.

Gracing the occasion: Hyderabad High Court judge V. Ramasubramanian; actor Kamal Haasan; The Hind u Tamil Editor K. Asokan; Director, Kasturi & Sons, Ltd., Akila Iyengar; and Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., N. Ram, at Yaathum Tamizhe, in Chennai on Friday.

Pointing out that it was difficult to be a son of a famed father, Judge of the Hyderabad High Court Justice V. Ramasubramanian said, “Even the slightest mistake would not be tolerated.”

Comparing The Hindu and The Hindu Tamil, he said the paper had a great tradition to uphold and safeguard even though it was a child born to an old parent. The Hindu Tamil was launched when The Hindu was 134 years old.

Recalling the close association between The Hindu and the judiciary, he said the paper was started to raise its voice in support of Justice T.S. Muthuswamy Iyer’s appointment to the bench of the Madras High Court when an Anglo-Indian newspaper opposed it.

He said facing contempt of court was also nothing new to The Hindu, and Annie Besant had filed a contempt of court charge against it in connection with her adoption of Jiddu Krishnamurti and his brother. “But Justice Bakewell made it clear that The Hindu also published the views expressed by Annie Besant in the case filed against Krishnamurti’s father Narayaniah,” he said.

Justice Ramasubramanian said when The Times selected The Hindu as one of the 10 best newspapers in the world, it said, “It was the nation’s voice with a southern accent.”

To reiterate the role of newspapers in a democracy, he recalled Thomas Jefferson’s words, “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

Awards presented

“Newspapers educate those who cannot afford to attend school,” he said, citing James Augustus Hicky, the editor of Bengal Gazette.

Mr. Ramasubramanian, along with actor Kamal Haasan gave away the Tamizh Thiru awards launched by The Hindu Tamil . The recipients included Iravatham Mahadevan, Tamil writer Ki. Rajanarayanan, ‘villu paatu’ artiste Subbu Arumugam, educationist Prabha Kalvimani and space scientist N. Valarmathi. A small video film on the awardees and a theme song penned by lyricist Karky were released.

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