The Hindu : Thursday, October 2, 2003

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, October 2, 2003

The Mahatma and THE HINDU

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The Hindu offers its readers, as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations, an eight-page Special Release on "The Mahatma and The Hindu" -- A representation of the coverage of an epoch-maker by a newspaper of record, 1896-1948.

(The site has been presented in pdf format)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), whose birth preceded the founding of The Hindu by nine years, is by universal consent the greatest Indian of the modern era. As a newspaper born in the freedom struggle, The Hindu grasped the qualities and significance of Gandhian politics virtually from the time it began. The first editorial on the public activities of the remarkable Indian barrister in South Africa appeared on August 20, 1896. In turn, Gandhiji, the consummate politician and master communicator, fed the newspaper with his communications on the struggle in South Africa, resulting in some ‘exclusives’.

The bond — issue-based and personal — was special and unbreakable, despite the newspaper’s differences with his non-cooperation tactics, his — merciless logic — and his habit of — imposing on his following conditions the rigour of which is greater than it can bear — (to quote from an editorial of September 4, 1920). This special relationship continued over more than half a century, through the ebb and .ow, the ups and downs of the freedom struggle as it progressed towards Independence.

In this 125th Anniversary Special Release, The Hindu pays tribute to the Mahatma by offering a representation of its coverage of his life and work. The eight pages cover various phases and milestones in the Mahatma’s larger-than-life career. Three of the pages (3, 6 and 7) are reproduced as they were. Three of the pages (2, 4 and 5) are made up of thematically organised news reports and editorials.Pages 1 and 8 offer images from the newspaper’s archives. Over much of its history, The Hindu published photographs and text on separate pages but we have meshed, in the contemporary fashion, photographs with the text in the made-up pages. The selection, digitisation, layout and production of the material represented here from a treasure trove of over a million pages is the result of the combined efforts of the editorial, index, graphics and production departments of The Hindu.

N. Ram
Editor-in-Chief
The Hindu

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