Press Freedom

The Crescent, first Indian-owned newspaper in Madras

The Crescent, launched by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty, was the Madras Presidency's first newspaper under Indian ownership.

The Madras Mail newspaper founded

Charles Lawson and Henry Cornish started The Madras Mail, an English-language evening daily that was published until 1981.

The Hindu newspaper founded

Founded in Madras as a weekly, The Hindu was started by the Triplicane Six, among them G. Subramania Iyer and M. Veeraraghavachariar.

The Hindu becomes a daily newspaper

The Hindu, founded as a weekly in 1878 by the 'Triplicane Six', began publishing daily in 1889.

Kasturi Ranga Iyengar acquires The Hindu

S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar bought The Hindu in 1905; it has remained with his family since.

Subramania Bharati goes into exile in Pondicherry

Facing an arrest warrant, the poet and journalist Subramania Bharati moved to French-ruled Pondicherry, where he lived for about ten years.

Annie Besant interned

The Madras government interned Annie Besant at a hill station for her Home Rule activities, provoking protests across India.

Periyar launches Kudi Arasu

E. V. Ramasamy began publishing the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu, which became the main voice of the Self-Respect Movement.

Kudi Arasu editorial on Bhagat Singh's execution

Writing in Kudi Arasu, Periyar faulted Gandhi over Bhagat Singh's execution, a sign of the journal's increasingly leftist stance.

The Indian Express founded in Madras

P. Varadarajulu Naidu started the English daily The Indian Express in Madras; it was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka.

Dinamani launched

The Tamil daily Dinamani published its first edition on 11 September; it later became part of the Indian Express group.

Tamil translation of 'Why I am an Atheist' banned

Bhagat Singh's 'Why I am an Atheist' in Tamil was banned by the Madras government, which also arrested the translator and the publisher.

Daily Thanthi founded at Madurai

S. P. Adithanar founded the Tamil daily Dina Thanthi in Madurai; it became the largest-circulating Tamil newspaper.

National Emergency declared

Indira Gandhi's government declared a national Emergency; the DMK government in Tamil Nadu opposed it.

Investigative magazine Nakkheeran launched

The Tamil biweekly Nakkheeran, founded and edited by Nakkheeran Gopal, published its first issue.

Attack on the Dinakaran office in Madurai

After Dinakaran ran a survey on Karunanidhi's political heir, its Madurai office was firebombed and three people were killed.