Art and Culture

Pioneering column

The Religion column of The Hindu, a dream-come-true for the then Publisher, Kasturi Gopalan, will complete 40 years next April. The column, on religious discourses rather than on religion as such, first appeared on Sri Rama Navami in April 1964. It has continued uninterrupted. The objective, from the very beginning, was to place before the readers the ideas on moral values as depicted in the scriptures and explained in lectures by scholars and speakers proficient in scriptural literature.

Kasturi Gopalan was uncompromising in his view that all the directives for the development of an integrated personality were available in the two epics and the Puranas. He was also keen on the choice of the most qualified scholars whose lectures were reported in the column.

The topics were later widened to cover lectures by eminent experts on saints, the Bhagavad Gita and the Peria Puranam. Over the years, the column also began to publish reports on the religious significance of important occasions such as Guru Nanak Day, Mahaveer Jayanthi, Christmas and Meelad-un Nabi.

The column which The Hindu pioneered became overwhelmingly popular. In response, a collection of the published reports on discourses from the year of introduction till 1994 has been brought out in book form titled, "The Hindu Speaks On Religious Values."

D.V. Vasudevan

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu