Former editor of The Hindu, G Kasturi, died at the age of 87 in Chennai on Friday. Kasturi, who passed away in his sleep, was active till the very end. He even attended the 134th anniversary of the newspaper on Thursday.
He played a leading role in The Hindu's expansion and modernisation and was its longest-serving editor, having headed its editorial teams for nearly 26 years from 1965-91.
Kasturi is survived by his wife Kamala, two sons - K Balaji, former managing director of Kasturi & Sons Ltd, and K Venugopal, director and former joint editor of The Hindu and Business Line, and daughter Lakshmi Srinath. All three are directors of Kasturi and Sons Ltd.
Kasturi joined the family's publishing firm Kasturi and Sons Ltd in 1944 at the age of 20 after attaining a post-graduate degree in Economics from Presidency College, Madras (now Chennai).
N Ram, former editor-in-chief of The Hindu, in a tribute to his uncle described Kasturi as a major figure in the history of post-Independence journalism and said he was ahead of his media contemporaries in foreseeing the need for the newspaper industry to embrace technology and adapt it to Indian conditions while preserving the core of journalism.
Kasturi was also associated with leading industry bodies and headed the Press Trust of India and the Indian Newspaper Society. He was chairman of Samachar when the news agencies came under one umbrella in 1976.
{{/usCountry}}Kasturi was also associated with leading industry bodies and headed the Press Trust of India and the Indian Newspaper Society. He was chairman of Samachar when the news agencies came under one umbrella in 1976.
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