Tarun Vijay

Tarun Vijay
MP of Rajya Sabha for Uttarakhand
In office
July 2010 – July 2016
Succeeded by Pradeep Tamta
Constituency Uttarakhand
Personal details
Born 1961 (age 56–57)
Occupation Journalism, author, social worker, Politician

Tarun Vijay (born 1961) is an Indian author, social worker and journalist. He was the editor of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) weekly in Hindi, Panchajanya, from 1986 to February 2008. He also writes for the Daily Pioneer.[1]

He was also elected member of Rajya Sabha till his Term ended in July 2016, of the upper house of Indian Parliament "RajyaSabha" and president of Parliamentary Group on India China Friendship. He is also member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence Ministry and Parliamentary Consultative Committee on External Affairs. He is also a member of Board of Governors, Parliamentary Network on World Bank and IMF.

Career

Tarun Vijay joined Panchajanya in 1986 as executive editor, after a decade of freelance journalism and work among the tribal people in Dadra and Nagar Haveli as a pracharak of Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. This last-mentioned sojourn, in fact, had attracted him to the attention of noted film-makers Basu Bhattacharya and William Greaves, who featured him in a documentary.

Vijay was appointed director of the BJP's newly created think-tank the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Research foundation. In 1995, the Audit Bureau of Circulation credited the magazine with a circulation of 85,000, a figure which Vijay claims has crossed the 1 lakh mark today.

Vijay joined Panchjanya in 1979. He has been Chief Editor for 20 years. The first editor of the 60-year-old Panchjanya was former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vijay has also been inducted as a special invitee to the BJP national executive. He has been asked by the RSS top brass to form the think-tank on the ideological lines of nationalism "uncompromising and unapologetic".

A journalist since 1976, he began his career with Russi Karanjia at the Mumbai-based tabloid Blitz and then as a freelance journalist for major dailies and magazines before spending five years as an RSS activist in the country's tribal areas. He was the youngest member of the then home minister's Hindi Language advisory committee during Indira Gandhi's government before joining Panchjanya.

An avid photographer he has covered the Himalayan region extensively and his pictorial book An Odyssey in Tibet has been well received. His photographs on the river Indus had been exhibited in Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. He also led the first Indus expedition from Demchok to Batalik.

In the years as editor of Panchajanya, he has visited various parts of the country, and various countries.[2]

Tarun Vijay, on 4 April 2013, first raised the issue by writing to the Survey of India about what he claimed was a "major threat to national security." Mr. Vijay said Google has already provided maps where many "strategic locations" have been marked like Parliament, Sena Bhawan, and various ministries. "A criminal case should be registered against Google for violating Indian defence regulations."[3]

He is an ardent follower of Tirukkural. He often makes references from it and gifts people with Tiruvalluvar statues and photographs.

In May 2016, Vijay was attacked by a mob for leading a group of Dalits to the Silgur Devta Temple in the Punah village which is nearly 180 km from Dehradun. As per reports, trouble started when Vijay and his group touched the Devi Doli, which according to local belief should not be touched by someone from a local caste. The violence that erupted caused Vijay injuries to his head and ears. The mob also damaged his car by pushing it down a nearby gorge.[4]

He is actively contributing for many newspapers and websites as a freelance columnist, and Prabhasakshi[5] a hindi-based news portal is one of them.

Books

  • An Odyssey in Tibet: Pilgrimage of Kailash Mansarovar, Ritwik Prakashan, Jan 2001, ISBN 81-900571-2-X
  • Saffron Surge, India's Re-emergence on the Global Scene and Hindu Ethos, Har Anand, Nov 2008, ISBN 978-81-241-1338-7.

Awards

  • Vijay became the first non Tamil to receive the prestigious 'Aruntamizh Aarvalar Award' by Kamban Academy.[6]

Controversy

Following mob attacks on African students in India,[7] Vijay gave an interview to Al Jazeera English, He made a few controversial comments on INDIA, which were widely criticized. News channels like NDTV, had conducted several debates regarding this issue. Soon after giving a racist justification, again to defend his words against racism, he took a turn and tweeted 'I have Tamils and Bengalis in my family'. Which was widely criticized.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "DSMRF online".
  2. ↑ Looking back at history The Hindu - 16 February 2007, 2003
  3. ↑ Srivas, Anuj. "India is not a Google Republic: BJP MP Tarun Vijay on the Geospatial Bill - The Wire". thewire.in. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  4. ↑ "Tarun Vijay, Dalits pelted with stone for defying temple ban - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  5. ↑ Vijay, Tarun (11 Jan 2018). "Columns by Tarun Vijay". www.prabhasakshi.com (online news portal).
  6. ↑ "BJP MP Tarun Vijay becomes first north Indian to get Kamban Acedemy award - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  7. ↑ Anand, Geeta; Raj, Suhasini (2017-03-29). "Attacks Against African Students Rise in India, Rights Advocates Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  8. ↑ Al Jazeera April 2017 interview
  9. ↑ Scroll.in 7 April 2017
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