The story of the Daily Thanthi (Dina Thanthi) is the stuff of legend. Founder SP Adithanar was practising law in Singapore, when the island nation was invaded by Japan. He returned to India and set up weekly Tamizhan and months later daily Dina Thanthi, in 1942.
Born in the midst of World War II, the newspaper took upon itself the responsibility of disseminating news from across the world and across India in a language that the common Tamilian could understand. It was rewarded with popularity and loyalty that holds to this day. The story is that Adithanar drew inspiration from the Daily Mirror, which he was introduced to while studying law in London, to launch what remains the largest selling Tamil daily.
While its rise can be attributed to catering to the masses, Dina Thanthi takes pride in speaking only the truth and being rooted in facts. Besides which, the group and its leaders are credited with creating several recognitions for Tamil literature, supporting temple renovation, education and more.
From Madurai, Dina Thanthi expanded to launch more editions. From Dina Thanthi, the group launched eveninger Malai Malar and news channel Thanthi TV. It forayed into radio with Hello FM and more recently, English daily DT Next that started off as a supplement with Dina Thanthi. Online, it launched DailyThanthi.com as early as 1999.
Expanding across borders, Dina Thanthi became the first Tamil publication to launch an edition in Dubai, in 2014.
In November 2017, the group commemorated its 75th anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chief Guest.
After SP Adithanar and his son Sivanthi Adithan, the founder’s grandson Balasubramanian Adityan holds fort today, with the next generation not just waiting in the wings but cutting its teeth in different areas of the media behemoth.
