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] On many occasions, it shares fake and false news and is known for Islamophobic content.[8]

Panchjanya
EditorHitesh Shankar
Managing EditorArun Kumar Goyal
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

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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.[9]

It is now edited by Hitesh Shankar, who was formerly an editor of Hindustan.[10] He is also the member of IIMC's new executive council.[11]

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.[10]

Controversy

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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'.[12][13]

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".[14] 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".[15]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ Bhattacharya, Oishani (7 November 2024). "OpIndia, Sudarshan News, Panchjanya falsely report Muslims were caught in Surat posing as sadhus". Alt News. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  9. ^ Sharma, Unnati (19 November 2020). "KR Malkani — RSS ideologue, journalist and politician who predicted Emergency". ThePrint. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b New editor for RSS Hindi weekly Indian Express, 15 February 2013
  11. ^ "Panchajanya editor in IIMC's new executive council". hindustantimes.com/. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  12. ^ "RSS mouthpiece defends Dadri lynching: Vedas order killing of sinners who kill cows". The Indian Express. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  13. ^ "पाञ्चजन्य". Panchjanya. 17 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  14. ^ Hebbar, Nistula (3 September 2021). "Panchajanya attacks Infosys on Income Tax portal glitches". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  15. ^ Phadnis, Aditi (6 September 2021). "RSS distances itself from 'Panchajanya' article targeting Infosys". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 September 2021.

Sources

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