| Sesha Iyengar Kasturi Ranga Iyengar | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1859 Kumbakonam, Madras Presidency |
| Died | December 12, 1923 (aged 63) Madras, British India |
| Occupation | lawyer, journalist |
| Known for | journalism, political activism |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Children | K. Srinivasan, K. Gopalan |
Sesha Iyengar Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (Tamil: சேஷ அய்யங்கார் கஸ்தூரி ரங்க அய்யங்கார்) (December 15, 1859–December 12, 1923) was an Indian 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.
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Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was born in a Vaishnavite Brahmin family.[1] His ancestors had served as high-ranking officials in the courts of Vijayanagar and Thanjavur.[1] His brother, Diwan Bahadur S. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar, C. I. E, served as the Inspector General of Registration in the Madras Presidency.[2] 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.[2]
Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was born on December 15, 1859 in a village in Kumbakonam. On completion of his education, he moved to Coimbatore in order to commence practice as a lawyer.[2] He set up a prosperous vocation and moved to Madras in order to try his luck there.[2] He was not as successful in Madras as he had been in Coimbatore.[2] Eventually, in 1895, he became a legal correspondent with The Hindu which was run by G. Subramania Iyer.[2] He wrote a well known column in the newspaper The Coimbatore Letters.[2] During this period, he also got ample encouragement from C. Karunakara Menon.[2] The rich and prosperous Kasturi Ranga Iyengar purchased the newspaper for a price of Rs. 75,000 on April 1, 1905.[1]
In July 1905, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar appointed his nephew A. Rangaswami Iyengar as Assistant Editor.[1] Kasturi Ranga Iyengar worked to rescue The Hindu by increasing advertisements and terminating subscriptions to customers who did not pay in advance.[1] The tactic proved successful and Kasturi Ranga Iyengar was able to clear-off his debts by 1910.[1] Kasturi Ranga Iyengar subscribed to the Reuter's news service and allotted space for weather reports, court cases, trade and commerce and sports.[1] In 1905, The Hindu, in its editorial, demanded complete independence for India.[1] It also strongly criticized Annie Besant and her Theosophical Society, including her lavish promotional campaign of J. Krishnamurti as the Maitreya Buddha.[1] However, The Hindu offered its enthusiastic support to her Home Rule Movement and protested her internment at the orders of Lord Pentland.[1] It also strongly condemned the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.[1]
Kasturi Ranga Iyengar died 0n December 12, 1923, three days before his 64th birthday.[3][4] He was succeeded as editor by his nephew, S. Rangaswami.[3] and as Managing-Director of The Hindu by his eldest son, K. Srinivasan.
Prior to Kasturi Ranga Iyengar's purchase of The Hindu, he was not much interested in entering public life.[5] Kasturi Ranga Iyengar had the courage to buy a struggling newspaper and embark upon a new enterprise he had no experience in.[5] He was also comparatively new to politics when he made a plunge into the political scenario; yet he was extremely successful for a newcomer.[5]
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.[5] However, this estimation proved to be false.[5] Contemporaries assert that he was as much intelligent and talented as his illustrious brother.[5]
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.[6][7] Kasturi Ranga Iyengar also fought with Governors Sir Arthur Lawley and Lord Pentland.[7]
Iyengar exerted as much influence by his fabulous wealth as he did with his writing.[8] 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.[8]
| Preceded by M. Veeraraghavachariar |
Managing-Director of The Hindu 1905 - 1923 |
Succeeded by K. Srinivasan |
| Preceded by C. Karunakara Menon |
Editor of The Hindu 1905 - 1923 |
Succeeded by S. Rangaswami Iyengar |