History
'Hindustan Times' was founded in 1924 by Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, founder-father of the Akali movement and the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. S Mangal Singh Gill (Tesildar) and S. Chanchal Singh (Jandiala, Jalandhar) were made in charge of the newspaper. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Master Tara Singh were among the members of the Managing Committee. The Managing Chairman and Chief Patron was Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri.
K. M. Panikkar was its first editor with Devdas Gandhi (son of Mahatma Gandhi) on the editor's panel. The opening ceremony was performed by Mahatma Gandhi on 26 September 1924. The first issue was published from Naya Bazar, Delhi (now Swami Sharda Nand Marg). It contained writings and articles from C. F. Andrews, St. Nihal Singh, Maulana Mohammad Ali, C. R. Reddy (Dr. Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy), T. L. Vaswani, Ruchi Ram Sahni, Bernard Haton, Harinder Nath Chattopadhyaya, Dr Saifuddin Kichlu and Rubi Waston etc.
"Sadar Panikkar launched the Hindustan Times as a serious nationalist newspaper. As an Oxonian, historian, and litterateur, Panikkar must have hoped to make his paper eventually more than an Akali sheet. He became the editor and funds flowed freely from activist Akali patrons. He exerted himself strenuously, but the paper made very little headway. In two years Panikkar could not take the print order any higher than 3,000. By then the Akali movement appeared to lose steam and funds dried up. The paper was saved from an untimely demise when Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya stepped in to realise his vision of a newspaper in Delhi." - TJS George, Lessons in Journalism, 2007, Viva Books, New Delhi.
Malaviya raised Rs. 50,000 rupees to acquire the Hindustan Times along with the help of nationalist leaders Lajpat Rai and M. R. Jayakar and industrialist G. D. Birla, who paid most of the cash. Birla took full control of the paper in 1933. The paper continues to be owned by the Birla family.
It has its roots in the Indian independence movement of the first half of the twentieth century and even faced the noted "Hindustan Times Contempt Case (August–November, 1941)" at Allahabad High Court. It was edited at times by many important people in India, including Devdas Gandhi and Khushwant Singh. Sanjoy Narayan, has been appointed the editor in chief of the paper and was due to take over in August 2008. Recently the editorial page has seen a major makeover and has been named "comment" to bring in more flexibility and some-what less seriousness to the page.
Read more about this topic: Hindustan Times
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of this country was made largely by people who wanted to be left alone. Those who could not thrive when left to themselves never felt at ease in America.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)