Dinamalar is a Tamil daily founded by T. V. Ramasubbaiyer on 6 September 1951 in Thiruvananthapuram. It backed Kanyakumari's 1956 merger with Madras State, mov…
T. V. Ramasubbaiyer launched Dinamalar in the Travancore-Cochin capital. The first issue led on the Zamindari Abolition Bill.
Dinamalar campaigned for south Travancore's Tamil-majority taluks to join Madras State. The merger came on 1 November 1956.
With the border redrawn, Dinamalar moved to Tirunelveli. By its own account it brought the town its first teleprinter.
A second edition opened in Tiruchirappalli, as front pages tracked the anti-Hindi agitation and Annadurai's rise.
Editor R. Krishnamurthy printed Periyar's simplified Tamil script in 1977. The state adopted it in 1978-79.
The Chennai edition opened on 29 April 1979 and the head office moved to the capital. Madurai followed in 1980.
Dinamalar says it was the first Tamil daily on offset. Computer typesetting and colour followed from 1983.
Erode opened in March 1984. Four months later T. V. Ramasubbaiyer died, aged 75, and his sons took over.
Puducherry, Coimbatore, Vellore, Nagercoil and finally Salem in August 2000 made ten printing centres.
Dinamalar dates its online service to 1999, built first for Tamils abroad.
A family partnership of the founder's sons. After disputes from 1999, each partner managed specific editions.
In 2005 Dinamalar put a page-by-page replica of the print paper online. It calls it the first Tamil e-paper.
Apps for Android and iPhone, the iPaper replica, video and podcasts turned a daily into a 24x7 service.
Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan released a commemorative stamp. An exhibition showed 111 historic front pages.
Read the complete story, FAQs and key facts.