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A pioneer of journalism
THIRUVAIYARU IN Thanjavur district is well known for being the place where saint composer Sri Thyagaraja, one of the music trinities, lived. It is also the birthplace of G. Subramanya Aiyer.
The founder editor of The Hindu and editor of Swadesa Mitran, a Tamil daily.
To commemorate his memory, the Bharathi Iyakkam of Thiruvaiyaru and Bharathi Sangam of Thanjavur organised his 150th birth anniversary celebrations at Thiruvaiyaru on January 19.
V.S. Ramalingam, a senior advocate of Thanjavur, who has been doing yeomen service by organising meetings on scholars to introduce them to the younger generation, spoke on Aiyer's life.
Aiyer was born to Ganapathy Aiyer, a government pleader at Thiruvaiyaru, on January 19, 1855. He was schooled at Thiruvaiyaru and completed his B.A degree.
"Aiyer was a man in a million. He was a great reformist. His service-mindedness and desire to reform the society stemmed from his love for the people," Mr. Ramalingam said and classified him as a rare political leader who took to social reforms also.
The biggest service Aiyer rendered to the society was the introduction of Mahakavi Subramani Bharathi to the people through Swadesa Mitran, where Bharathi worked as an assistant editor.
Aiyer started The Hindu in 1878 along with five other persons. The name was chosen to indicate the importance of being an Indian and had nothing to do with the religion.
He was responsible for starting the Congress party in 1885. G. Subramanya Aiyer was the first Congress leader from Tamil Nadu.
He moved the first resolution at the Congress conference that was held in Mumbai. His speech at the conference was reported under the headline, "India pesiyathu" (India spoke) in Swadesa Mitran by Bharathi.
The headline held a lot of significance because till then, Indians had remained slaves without even opening their mouths to speak against the British. Aiyer introduced the `Swadeshi' ideology.
His reformist thinking was evident when he arranged for the remarriage of his young widowed daughter.
He was afflicted with leprosy when he was old. Mahatma Gandhi, who visited him, nursed him using his towel and assured to uphold his service. Mr. Ramalingam said, Aiyer was committed to the growth and development of Tamil and insisted that Tamil be used in all places and on all occasions.
Gopalan of the Bharathi Iyakkam described Aiyer as a pioneer of Indian politics, journalism, social reforms and service to society and Tamil.
From G. Srinivasan
in Tiruchi,
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Life
Bangalore
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Coimbatore
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