❖In ancient times, the kings used to announce and inform the people through the Drum(Murasu) from the palace.
❖ In the past, all the announcements, plans, news, etc. were written on palm leaves and silk cloth, and they were read and made known to the people by the palace servants.
❖ After that, the Tamil magazine ‘Swadesamitran’ was started in 1882 with the aim of educating the public to gain political awareness by the learned scholars and leading them to excel in their individual lives.
❖ The magazines themselves were a great inspiration and guide in making the people aware of political consciousness, social consciousness, and national consciousness, and in learning about their mother tongue Tamil, their homeland Tamil Nadu, and society.
❖ Later, 18 magazines were published by government departments, some of which were weekly, monthly and quarterly magazines, and some were given away for free, and people read and benefited from them.
❖ Later, requests were made to the government to consolidate all these journals and publish them as the single official journal of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
❖ In accordance with that request, with the good intention of bringing public welfare services to the people of the country, the Government undertook the work of merging the various magazines that were being run by all departments and converting them into a single magazine under the name ‘Tamilarasu’ on behalf of the Department of Information and Public Relations.
❖ Accordingly, on the evening of 30 July 1970, the “Tamilarasu” magazine was released on behalf of the Department of Information and Public Relations at the Seerani function held at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
❖ A government order was issued stating that the Director of Information and Public Relations would act as the editor of both the Tamil version and the English version of this magazine, and the work began and it has been published as a bi-monthly magazine under the name ‘Tamilarasu’ as a publication of the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Government of Tamil Nadu on 01.07.1970.
❖ Subsequently, the “Tamilarasu” magazine began publishing a wide range of content for the benefit of the public, including events attended by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, welfare schemes, Government Orders, press releases, announcements, events attended by the Hon’ble Ministers, district-level programmes, stories, articles, literature, grammar, interviews with beneficiaries of welfare schemes, and the golden words of leaders and the history of the sacrifices of national leaders. These contents were printed in black and white so as to enable the public to read and benefit from them and thereby kindle their interest in reading.
❖ Since 1970, only the front and back covers were printed in offset printing, and the inside pages of the magazine were printed in letter press printing. Since 1974, the cover pages and all pages have been published in offset format.
❖ Based on the demands of the Department of Information and Public Relations to set up a separate ‘printing press’ and office for the ‘Tamilarasu’, which was emerging in this way, the new Tamilarasu office and printing press building, built at an estimated cost of Rs. 6.53 crore, began functioning from 2015 in Taramani, Chennai.
❖ Furthermore, a four-color web offset machine with new technology was purchased for Rs. 4 crore for the new Tamilarasu printing press, giving the magazine Tamilarasu a new look.
❖ The ‘Tamilarasu’ magazine, which had black and white pages, is now printed and published in multi-colour with a new look that kindles the interest of readers.
❖ The ‘Tamilarasu’ magazine, which initially began with a circulation of 30,000 copies, steadily increased its circulation to 40,000 and then to 50,000 copies, and subsequently achieved the milestone of reaching the target of one lakh subscribers.
❖ The Tamilarasu magazine published by the Information and Public Relations Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu is the only Government magazine purchased and read by the public. This Tamilarasu magazine is rendering immense service to the development of Tamil literature and the Tamil language.
❖ Currently, the Tamilarasu monthly magazine is widely read by the public, Government offices, readers of Government libraries, and political party functionaries. Moreover, school and college students preparing for competitive examinations conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission directly visit the Tamilarasu office, purchase the Tamilarasu magazine, and benefit from it.
❖ Efforts are underway to convert such a special Tamilarasu magazine into an e-book so that the people can benefit more easily in the future.
❖ In accordance with the latest technological facilities, arrangements have been made for readers to download the Tamilarasu App from the Play Store on their mobile phones, become subscribers, and read and benefit from the magazine.
❖ Furthermore, arrangements have been made to subscribe to the Tamilarasu magazine by paying the subscription fee at all government e-service centres of the Tamil Nadu and Arasu Cable TV Corporation.
❖ The very name of the magazine is ‘Tamilarasu’, and true to its name, Tamilarasu has adopted and is implementing the ideal of “Tamil everywhere, Tamil in everything”. It may be said that newspapers and magazines play an important role in the development of the Tamil language. Among the magazines published by the Government, the Tamilarasu magazine of the Information and Public Relations Department has a special place.
❖ The Tamilarasu magazine, which is marching ahead with vigour in its 57th year, will undoubtedly continue to grow even after crossing the centenary, discharging all its responsibilities within its purview, earning praise across the world and achieving further success.
Thank you…Regards
