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Tamil Murasu

This article is about the newspaper in Singapore. For the unrelated newspaper in India, see Tamil Murasu (India).
Tamil Murasu
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)SPH Media
Founded2 May 1936; 88 years ago (1936-05-02)
LanguageTamil
Websitetamilmurasu.com.sg

Tamil Murasu (Tamil: தமிழ் முரசு) is a Singapore-based Tamil-language newspaper officially launched on 2 May 1936 by Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani, Tamil Murasu is Singapore's only Tamil-language newspaper. It is one of the sixteen newspapers in Singapore.

Market Coverage

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Readership* 154,000 (Print + Digital)
Circulation^ 16,000 (Mon-Sun)
* Media Nielsen Research Media Index 2013 ^ Average Circulation Jan-Nov 2013

History

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Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani officially launched Tamil Murasu on 2 May 1936 as his second publication (after Seerthirutham (Reform) in 1929 and before Munnetram (Progress) in 1939) pricing it at 1 cent per copy to accommodate the lower economic status of the Tamil community at the time. Starting as a weekly from 1937 onward it was published daily. A reformist, Sarangapani advocated for positions similar to Periyar, decrying discrimination from the British and Malays as well as calling for increased labor rights for workers and changing the political state of Tamils in Singapore. Tamil Murasu reduced the dominance of English-educated upper-class Brahmins in Singaporean Tamil journalism.[1][2]

1952: Student supplement Manavar Murasu is launched.

1963: Labour unrest disrupts operations for the first time since the Japanese Occupation.[3]

1991: Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) takes over distribution of Tamil Murasu.

1993: Hipro Printing, Tamil Murasu's family-owned publisher, is incorporated

1995: SPH and Times Publishing buy Hipro Printing.[4] This makes Tamil Murasu the last daily paper in Singapore that was not owned by SPH.[5]

1999: Youth page Ilyar Murasu is launched.

2000: Tamil Murasu webpage is launched.

2004: SPH buys Times Publishing's share of Hipro, making it a wholly owned SPH subsidiary.

2005: Hirpo Printing is renamed Tamil Murasu.

2006: Tamil Murasu celebrates its 70th anniversary.

2008: Weekly English tabloid tabla! is launched.

2011: Tamil Murasu celebrates its 75th anniversary.

2016: Tamil Murasu celebrates its 80th anniversary.

2017: Balar Murasu, a fortnightly supplement for pre-schoolers, is launched.[6] Tamil Murasu becomes part of SPH's English/Malay/Tamil Media Group.

2019: The Tamil Murasu website receives a revamp.

2021: Tamil Murasu celebrates its 85th anniversary and starts distributing copies of their "Manavar Murasu" supplement to all schools in Singapore.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mani, A.; Prakash, Pravin; Selvarajan, Shanthini (2017-10-31). "6: Tamil Community and Culture in Singapore". In Mathews, Mathew (ed.). The Singapore Ethnic Mosaic: Many Cultures, One People. World Scientific. pp. 201–202. ISBN 978-981-323-475-8.
  2. ^ Balachandran, Lavanya (29 July 2021). Tamils, Social Capital and Educational Marginalization in Singapore: Labouring to Learn. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-63843-5.
  3. ^ Pillai, Gopinath; Kesavapany, K. (4 July 2016). 50 Years Of Indian Community In Singapore. World Scientific. p. 52. ISBN 978-981-314-060-8.
  4. ^ Tommy Thong Bee Koh; Timothy Auger; Jimmy Yap; Wei Chian Ng (2006). Singapore: The Encyclopedia. Continental Sales, Incorporated. p. 533. ISBN 978-981-4155-63-2.
  5. ^ Williams, Louise; Rich, Roland (2014-01-10). Losing Control: Freedom of the Press in Asia. ANU E Press. ISBN 978-1-925021-44-8.
  6. ^ Dass, Camillia Deborah (25 April 2017). "Tamil Murasu launches new magazine for preschoolers". The Straits Times. Singapore. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
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