The Mahatma and The Hindu

Special edition ebook

This is a digital version of a special supplement, titled 'The Mahatma and The Hindu,' which was put together to celebrate the
125th anniversary of The Hindu in 2003. This special edition is being made available to subscribers of www.thehindu.com as an ebook.
 A 125th Anniversary Special Release

The Mahatma and

A representation of the coverage of an epoch-maker by a newspaper of record, 1896-1948

Reading his correspondence, Mani Bhavan, Bombay, 1934. During the Kheda Satyagraha in 1918.

On a morning walk, Juhu Beach, Bombay, May 25, 1944.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), whose birth preceded
the founding of The Hindu by nine years, is by universal consent the
greatest Indian of the modern era. As a newspaper born in the
freedom struggle, The Hindu grasped the qualities and significance
of Gandhian politics virtually from the time it began. The first editorial
on the public activities of the remarkable Indian barrister in South
Africa appeared on August 20, 1896. In turn, Gandhiji, the consum-
mate politician and master communicator, fed the newspaper with
his communications on the struggle in South Africa, resulting in
some ‘exclusives’.
The bond — issue-based and personal — was special and un-
breakable, despite the newspaper’s differences with his non-coop-
eration tactics, his “merciless logic” and his habit of “imposing on his
following conditions the rigour of which is greater than it can bear”
(to quote from an editorial of September 4, 1920). This special
relationship continued over more than half a century, through the
ebb and flow, the ups and downs of the freedom struggle as it
progressed towards Independence.
In this 125th Anniversary Special Release, The Hindu pays tribute
to the Mahatma by offering a representation of its coverage of his life
and work. The eight pages cover various phases and milestones in
the Mahatma’s larger-than-life career. Three of the pages (3, 6 and
7) are reproduced as they were. Three of the pages (2, 4 and 5) are
made up of thematically organised news reports and editorials.
Pages 1 and 8 offer images from the newspaper’s archives. Over
much of its history, The Hindu published photographs and text on
separate pages but we have meshed, in the contemporary fashion,
photographs with the text in the made-up pages. The selection,
digitisation, layout and production of the material represented here
from a treasure trove of over a million pages is the result of the
combined efforts of the editorial, index, graphics and production
departments of The Hindu.
N. Ram
Editor-in-Chief
The Hindu
2 A 125th Anniversary Special Release

Gandhiji in South Africa

As a practising attorney in South Africa, 1905.

 A 125th Anniversary Special Release 3

A full year in jail

4 A 125th Anniversary Special Release

The Salt Satyagraha

Arriving at Dandi, April 1930.

 A 125th Anniversary Special Release 5

Quit India

With Jawaharlal Nehru during the Quit India movement.

With Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

6 A 125th Anniversary Special Release

Independence
 A 125th Anniversary Special Release 7

Assassination
8 A 125th Anniversary Special Release

From our archives

On his way to meet political prisoners.

Leading the leader.

With millworkers in Lancashire, 1931. Collecting contributions for Dalits during a south India tour, February 1946.