Saturday, Sep 13, 2003
Saturday, Sep 13, 2003 |
| The Hindu & me | ||||
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The Hindu & me
By Lakshmi Krishnamurti
Satyamurti (second from left) and friends.
The sole objective of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was to put forth the nationalist cause by giving wide and full coverage of the movement. The Hindu created an awareness amongst the English speaking citizenry about the oppression of the British rulers. The Rowlatt Act of March 1919 in the Punjab precipitated the Jallianwalabagh tragedy of April 13. The Congress decided to send a delegation to place the nationalist view before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (of the U.K) on the Montague reforms. Thirty-two-year-old S. Satyamurti, my father, was chosen to go as the delegation's secretary. Satyamurti sought the advice of his mentor, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, and friends. The delegation was to set sail from Bombay on June 29. Satyamurti was given 24 hours to decide which he did and left by Bombay Mail on June 27. Amongst those seeing him off at the station, The Hindu reported, "were Mr. Kasturiranga Iyengar, A. Rangaswami Iyengar and V. Bhashyam Iyengar." Again, in 1925, at the invitation of the Independent Labour Party, Satyamurti went as a member of the Swarajya Party (a party within the Congress led by Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru). It was Kasturi Ranga Iyengar who gave the party a loan of Rs. 30,000 (a princely sum in those days) as the Swarajya Party had no funds ready. The loan was duly repaid. While Satyamurti was in the U.K. he was asked to deputise for the London Correspondent of The Hindu who happened to take 10 days leave. In 1932, The Hindu published a detailed report on the four men from the then United Province accused of terrorism, who had named Satyamurti as their advocate, though they were strangers. The Hindu report on the trial (the City Bomb case) reads like a thriller. When Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was no more and was succeeded by Kasturi Srinivasan, Satyamurti's link with The Hindu continued. In 1937-38, the Khadi Village Industries exhibition went up in flames causing irreparable damage and great loss to the stall holders. Satyamurti appealed for funds through The Hindu. The fund started with a cheque for Rs. 5,000 from S.S. Vasan of Ananda Vikatan. Quite a sizeable amount was collected.
Satyamurti's life and The Hindu were so intertwined. The saga continued all through his Parliamentary career and when his Mayoralty ended in 1940, The Hindu wrote a leader, "Mayoralty of such a dynamic person who laid the foundation for the Poondi reservoir ensuring water supply to the city, amongst other improvements, should not be restricted to one year but extended to two years." Like all good things, this also came to an end. Satyamurti, detained during the Quit India Movement, passed away virtually a prisoner in March 1943. The Hindu dedicated a full column to Satyamurti under the caption "Tribune of the People." It said, "He was a born fighter, a "leamine" fighter as the Scots would say to whom the fight was the thing." It described him further as a "very Rupert of Debate, master of scintillating repartee — The punch that deflates without leaving a sting — he shone supreme as a gladiator in the Parliamentary Arena." The Hindu carries on its task stoutly supporting all National causes generation after generation. We can all look back with honest pride on the services of this great media icon.
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