In the event Panchjanya@75, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sah Sarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal said Panchjanya has performed the task of cautioning the governments about the impending crises.
When China had attacked Tibet, Panchjanya was the only newsmagazine to caution the government of the day about the crisis, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sah Sarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal said on Saturday (January 15).
“Through many articles, Panchjanya warned the Nehru government about the impending crisis when China attacked Tibet. It tried to impress upon the government that India should militarily help Tibet and stop China from capturing it but unfortunately, the government did not pay any attention,” Dr Gopal said.
He was addressing a virtual event, Panchjanya@75 Saturday (January 15) evening. The journey of Panchjanya has been long and glorious since its inception in 1948.
Immediately after the Independence, when the Pakistan army, disguised as tribal, and attacked India in Kashmir, the government in Delhi was found wanting. Dr Gopal said that it was Panchjanya which cautioned the government that this was no tribal attack but the disguised Pakistan army attack.
In its glorious journey of more than seven decades, Dr Gopal said, there is not one issue of national importance about which the magazine did not try to educate the masses. It also always impressed upon the government what was right for the country.
Dr Gopal Said, “Panchjanya is not just a ‘samacharpatra’ but also a ‘vicharpatra’. It not only provided the people with news but also in-depth analysis of the situation.”
Founded in 1948 under the guidance of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, Atal Bihari Vajpayee steered the glorious journey of the magazine. It faced many ups and downs but never stopped from spreading nationalistic views and educating the masses about the problems facing the country.
“People eventually realised how big a mistake Article 370 was. It took the country more than seven decades to abolish it. But Panchjanya was raising the voice against since the very beginning”, Dr Gopal said.
When India got Independence, many people were not even aware that Goa and Pondicherry were still under foreign rule. Pondicherry was ruled by the French, and Goa was ruled by the Portuguese. Panchjanya kept raising the issue and even raised the slogan ‘Lathi Goli Khayenge, Fir Bhi Goa Jayenge’.
Vested interests made many attempts to shut down the nationalistic magazine. Some governments even used the might of the government to shut Panchjanya forever. It not only survived but flourished.
After the Independence, states were reorganised based on language. Dr Gopal said, “Panchjanya was the first to oppose this, arguing reorganising states on the basis of language was not a good idea.” He said that now there are two states for Telugu speaking people, Telangana and Andhra. Similarly, there had been talks of division of Maharashtra for administrative convenience.
Panchjanya Editor Hitesh Shankar said it is continuing its glorious journey of over seven decades and has adapted well to changing times. It has a very strong presence in multiple digital mediums. Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Ltd MD Bharat Bhushan Arora thanked Dr Krishna Gopal for his guidance and also thanked the readers for continuing their support.
