T. V. Ramasubbaiyer

T. V. Ramasubbaiyer, popularly known as T.V.R. was a freedom fighter philanthropist and founder of popular daily newspaper Dinamalar whose impact on Tamil Nadu has been profound. Through his missionary zeal he has been able to bring to the fore the social issues of education, poverty and discrimination and through his principled and sustained effort has been able to bring about remarkable social, educational and policy transmissions. He was a man of indomitable spirit, uncanny sense of purpose and unwavering commitment to a cause.

Born on 2nd October 1908 at a place called Tazhuviyamahalevar Kovil, in the erstwhile princely State of Travancore, Ramasubbayer even as a young man was a socially enlightened person who worked for the rights and upliftments of socially downtrodden classes and the poor. The present literacy rate of 95% in Kanyakumari is traced to Ramasubbayer. A Committee under him managed to construct 50 schools in the area with public and private support at a time when compulsory education was tottering in other areas of Travancore. It was his systematic and sustained campaign that led to the merger of Kanyakumari, a part of erstwhile Travancore State, with Tamil Nadu.

The most significant contribution of T.V. Ramasubbayer has been the publication of the famous Tamil Daily Dinamalar. This newspaper has, over the years, become the major voice of the rural populace in Tamil Nadu. TVR’s great social commitment led him to start Dinamalar, following an unconventional wisdom. The name “Dinamalar” literally means “Daily Flower”. The first edition was printed from Thiruvananthapuram on September 6, 1951.The found editor, TVR, was a man of purpose and an uncanny sense of direction. Despite warnings from figures such as Rajaji against starting a daily newspaper, he followed his instinct with extreme perseverance. His dedication, initial hiccups, and financial hardships ultimately led to its success. TVR ensured that his daily newspaper hit the stands and reached homes without fail by 7 A.M. every morning. His hard work, meticulous planning, native economic wisdom, and dedication to the cause contributed to the rise in popularity of Dinamalar in Tamil Nadu daily life. Today, Dinamalar stands as a colossus, playing an important role as a “fourth estate” in shaping the fortunes of Tamil Nadu.

With the creation of Tamil Nadu, he shifted the edition published from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of erstwhile Travancore princely state, to Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu in 1957. Bouyed by the initial success of the paper, he decided to start another edition of the paper from Trichurappalli in 1966. Another example of his unconventional wisdom was that most newspapers expanded from larger cities to smaller towns. Dinamalar expanded from small town to big cities. After consolidating the gains, editions from other centres were started like from Chennai in 1970, Madurai 1980, Erode 1984, Pondicherry 1991, Coimbatore 1992, Vellore 1993, Nagercoil 1996, Salem 2000.

It was TVR’s vision to connect India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari by Rail link. His sustained campaign for long number of years through Dinamalar bore fruit finally in 1978 when Kanyakumari was linked by Rail to rest of India. Kanyakumari was brought on the tourist map of India and the economic and social benefits are for all to see.

T.V. Ramasubbaiyer was a visionary, a social reformer, a prolific writer, a campaigner for social causes and a champion of downtrodden. He single handedly shaped the course of events on large number of issues — be it education or civic facilities or social upliftment of the downtrodden. He was the voice of the voiceless and face of the faceless. He made Dinamalar an instrument for social, political and economic transformation. His contributions will always occupy a place of eminence in Tamil Nadu.