Panchjanya (magazine)

Summary

Panchjanya is an Indian weekly magazine published by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Hindi. It was launched by RSS pracharak Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1948 in Lucknow.[1][2][3] RSS is a right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation that is widely regarded as the parent organisation of the ruling party of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party.[4][5][6][7]

Panchjanya
EditorHitesh Shankar
Managing EditorBharat Bhushan Arora
Former editorsAtal Bihari Vajpayee
K.R. Malkani
CategoriesNews, Politics, Science, Sport, History
FrequencyWeekly
PublisherBharat Prakashan Delhi Limited
First issue1947; 77 years ago (1947)
CountryIndia
Based in2322, Sanskriti Bhavan, Laxmi Narain Street, Paharganj, New Delhi
LanguageHindi
Websitewww.panchjanya.com

History edit

The weekly was launched on 14 January 1948, the day of Makara Sankranthi. Its first editor was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The inaugural cover page carried a picture of Lord Krishna with its objective to pursue idealism based on patriotism and to uphold the cultural heritage of India.

Chief Editors have included K. R. Malkani.[8]

It is now edited by Hitesh Shankar, who was formerly an editor of Hindustan.[9] He is also the member of IIMC's new executive council.[10]

In 1995, the Audit Bureau of Circulation credited the magazine with a circulation of 85,000 copies, a figure which Tarun Vijay claimed that it has crossed the 1 lakh. However, its 2013 circulation was 50,000 copies.[9]

Controversy edit

Panchjanya in its 2015 October 25 edition carried a cover story [Is Utpat ke Us paar’ (The other side of this disturbance)’ by Hindi writer Tufail Chaturvedi] in which it justifies the Dadri incident, saying 'the Vedas order that a sinner who slaughters a cow must be killed. For a lot of us, this is a question of life and death'.[11][12]

In September 2021, it published a 4 page cover story criticising the glitches in GST Tax Portal developed by Infosys. The article questioned if any "anti-national power is trying to hurt India's economic interests through it".[13] This article caused a lot of controversy in Indian politics and IT industry. Later, the communications chief of RSS clarified that "Panchajanya is not a mouthpiece of the RSS and the said article or opinions expressed in it should not be linked with the Sangh".[14]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Jaffrelot 1996, p. 124.
  2. ^ "Deendayal Upadhyaya". Bharatiya Janata party. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Editors of two RSS weeklies lose jobs over pro-Modi stand". Times of India. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  4. ^ McLeod, John (2002). The history of India. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 209–. ISBN 978-0-313-31459-9. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  5. ^ Andersen & Damle 1987, p. 111.
  6. ^ Horowitz, Donald L. (2001). The Deadly Ethnic Riot. University of California Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0520224476.
  7. ^ Jeff Haynes (2 September 2003). Democracy and Political Change in the Third World. Routledge. pp. 168–. ISBN 978-1-134-54184-3.
  8. ^ Sharma, Unnati (19 November 2020). "KR Malkani — RSS ideologue, journalist and politician who predicted Emergency". ThePrint. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b New editor for RSS Hindi weekly Indian Express, 15 February 2013
  10. ^ "Panchajanya editor in IIMC's new executive council". hindustantimes.com/. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  11. ^ "RSS mouthpiece defends Dadri lynching: Vedas order killing of sinners who kill cows". The Indian Express. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. ^ "पाञ्चजन्य". Panchjanya. 17 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  13. ^ Hebbar, Nistula (3 September 2021). "Panchajanya attacks Infosys on Income Tax portal glitches". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  14. ^ Phadnis, Aditi (6 September 2021). "RSS distances itself from 'Panchajanya' article targeting Infosys". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 September 2021.

Sources

  • Andersen, Walter K.; Damle, Shridhar D. (1987), The Brotherhood in Saffron: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism, Delhi: Vistaar Publications, ISBN 9788170360537
  • Jaffrelot, Christophe (1996). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 978-1850653011.

External links edit

  • Panchjanya
  • History of Panchjanya