Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
Southern India's English Daily
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (headquarters) · 41 editions across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Odisha
The New Indian Express is the leading English-language broadsheet daily newspaper of southern India — a publication with roots stretching back to 1932 and a heritage defined by one of the most consequential figures in the history of Indian press freedom, Ramnath Goenka. It is the southern successor to the Indian Express Group that Goenka built over five decades into one of India's most powerful independent media empires, and it carries forward the Express tradition of political independence and accountability journalism that Goenka defended most dramatically in 1975, when his publications defied Indira Gandhi's Emergency by printing blank editorial pages in protest against censorship — an act of institutional courage that permanently shaped the paper's identity and reputation.
The New Indian Express (TNIE) has operated independently since August 13, 1999, when the formal split of the Goenka publishing empire — initially negotiated between his grandsons following his death in 1991 and formalized by the Madras High Court in March 1995 — took effect. The southern editions, headquartered in Chennai under Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, formally adopted the new masthead on that date. The paper currently publishes 41 editions, prints from 28 centers, and operates across six states and territories in southern India, with a combined print circulation of approximately 700,000 copies daily as of 2025. Its digital platform, newindianexpress.com, launched in 2011 and now reaches a predominantly young, urban, educated readership — digital analytics showing 71.86% male and 28.14% female readership, with the largest cohort in the 25–34 age group.
The Indian Express was first published on September 5, 1932, in Madras (now Chennai) by P. Varadarajulu Naidu — an Ayurvedic doctor and Indian National Congress member who printed the paper on the same press where he ran a Tamil weekly. Financial difficulties forced him to sell to S. Sadanand, founder of The Free Press Journal, who opened a second Express office in Madurai in 1933 and launched the Tamil daily Dinamani on September 11, 1934. Sadanand introduced price reductions and editorial innovations but could not stabilize the business, and when The Free Press Journal went into financial decline in 1935, he lost control of the Indian Express to Ramnath Goenka following a protracted court battle in which, according to historical accounts, blows were exchanged in the courtroom.
Goenka, a Rajasthani businessman and Indian National Congress supporter, transformed the Indian Express from a struggling regional newspaper into one of India's major national press groups over the following five decades — expanding from Chennai and Madurai to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Delhi, Bombay, Chandigarh, Pune, and Gujarat. By the time of his death on October 5, 1991, the Indian Express Group was valued at approximately Rs 220 crore and comprised newspaper titles, magazine publications, property interests, and one of the largest printing operations in Asia.
The defining moment of the Indian Express Group's history — and the foundation of The New Indian Express's institutional identity — occurred on June 28, 1975, the day after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency that suspended civil liberties, imposed press censorship, and jailed opposition leaders across India. The Indian Express responded to the government's censorship directives by printing a blank editorial page — a silent protest that was immediately understood by readers as a statement of defiance that the newspaper could not safely articulate in words. Most other major Indian newspapers complied with government censorship requirements or self-censored; the Indian Express's blank page became the iconic image of press resistance during the Emergency period.
Goenka's willingness to confront the Gandhi government's censorship did not end there. The Express continued to publish material critical of the Emergency government through its Southern editions, suffered government retaliation including adverse newsprint allocation decisions, and maintained its editorial independence through sustained institutional pressure that made Goenka one of the most celebrated press freedom figures in Indian history. The 1975 Emergency legacy — and the blank editorial page in particular — remains central to how The New Indian Express understands and presents its own journalism identity, referenced repeatedly in institutional communications and editorial introductions. Newsjunkie has previously profiled Goenka in the context of the 1975 Emergency and its press freedom implications.
Goenka's death on November 5, 1991, triggered a complex and contested succession dispute between two of his grandsons. Manoj Kumar Sonthalia — son of Goenka's daughter Radhadevi — had managed the southern editions including Madras, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Cochin. Viveck Goenka — whom Ramnath Goenka had formally adopted — had managed the northern editions including Delhi, Chandigarh, Bombay, Pune, and Gujarat. Goenka's will allocated 62.72% of shares to Viveck and 33.12% to Manoj, with the balance held by Radha Sonthalia.
Legal challenges filed by Manoj and others in the Madras High Court were resolved in a settlement formalized on March 9, 1995. Sonthalia took charge of the southern editions under the shared Indian Express masthead while Viveck retained the northern editions and the Financial Express. The two groups initially continued to share the Indian Express title and quote combined circulation figures. On August 13, 1999, the formal split became operative: the northern editions, headquartered in Mumbai, retained The Indian Express name; the southern editions, headquartered in Chennai, became The New Indian Express. The Madras High Court settlement also created a perpetual trust for the benefit of Manoj's elder brother Anil Kumar Sonthalia, who has an intellectual disability, with N. Ram (then editor of Frontline) and senior advocate N.R. Chandran appointed as trustees.
English · Daily
The New Indian Express
Flagship daily broadsheet covering Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Odisha. 41 editions, 28 print centers. ~700,000 daily print circulation (2025).
English · Weekly
The Sunday Express
Sunday broadsheet edition under the New Indian Express Group masthead. Broader features and supplements alongside news coverage.
English · Delhi editions
The Morning Standard / Sunday Standard
Delhi-based English editions published by The New Indian Express Group, overseen by Editor-in-Chief Santwana Bhattacharya alongside the southern flagship editions.
Tamil · Daily
Dinamani
Tamil-language daily newspaper founded September 11, 1934 — one of the oldest Tamil dailies. Prints from 10 centers including Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tirunelveli.
Kannada · Daily
Kannada Prabha
Kannada-language daily newspaper published through Kannada Prabha Publications Ltd., a subsidiary of Express Publications (Madurai) Ltd. Covers Karnataka.
Malayalam · Periodical
Samakalika Malayalam
Malayalam-language periodical published by the New Indian Express Group for Kerala readership.
English · Entertainment
Cinema Express
Tamil-language cinema and entertainment publication covering the South Indian film industry. One of the most widely read film publications in Tamil Nadu.
English · Lifestyle / Digital
Indulge Express / Edex Live
Lifestyle and education digital platforms under the New Indian Express digital umbrella. Edex Live focuses on education news and career guidance for Indian students.
Manoj Kumar Sonthalia serves as Chairman and Managing Director of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Limited, the publishing entity for the New Indian Express Group. Grandson of Ramnath Goenka through his daughter Radhadevi, he has led the group since the 1995 partition settlement. In a 1995 open letter to readers at the time of the split, Sonthalia stated the publication would "toe no political line because we owe no allegiance to parties or ideologies" — a declaration of editorial independence that has framed the paper's institutional positioning in the decades since. His son Siddharth Sonthalia is listed as a fourth-generation media executive serving in group operations.
Santwana Bhattacharya was appointed Editor-in-Chief of The New Indian Express Group on July 1, 2022, succeeding G.S. Vasu. She had served as Resident Editor for Karnataka since December 2020, based in Bengaluru. Born and raised in Kolkata, she began her journalism career in Delhi in 1992, covering politics, parliament, elections, and policy across more than three decades of print journalism. She previously served as Political Editor at TNIE before becoming Resident Editor. Her responsibilities span the flagship daily, The Sunday Express, and the Delhi-based Morning Standard and Sunday Standard imprints. She is described on her professional profiles as following the principle that "RT not endorsement." Prabhu Chawla serves as Editorial Director of the New Indian Express Group.
The New Indian Express website at newindianexpress.com provides free access to digital content with registration available for enhanced features. The ePaper edition is available for subscribers with archival access to past issues. Education platform Edex Live is at edexlive.com; lifestyle platform Indulge Express at indulgexpress.com. The Tamil daily Dinamani is at dinamani.com.