Russi Karanjia

Rustom Khurshedji Karanjia (September 15, 1912 – February 1, 2008) was an Indian journalist and editor. He typically signed his reports as "R. K. Karanjia". He founded the Blitz, a weekly tabloid with focus on investigative journalism in 1941, and ran it for the next four decades.

Early life and background

Karanjia was born in Quetta, now in Pakistan.^[1]

Career

Karanjia began writing while still in college,^[2] and during the 1930s Karanjia was employed an assistant editor at The Times of India.^[3][4] He left The Times of India in 1941 to launch Blitz (newspaper), a weekly tabloid with a focus on investigative journalism.^[3][4] Karanjia served as a war correspondent during the Japanese Burma offensive in World War II, reporting on the action in Burma and Assam.^[2] Blitz folded during the mid-1990s and Karanjia retired from public life.^[4]

Karanjia died at his home, a seafront flat along Marine Drive, in Mumbai at the age of 95 on 1 February 2008.^[1][3] In a "departure from Parsi tradition, as per his wishes,"^[2] his funeral was held in Chandanvadi crematorium, in south Mumbai.^[3] Karanjia was survived by one daughter, Rita Mehta,^[3] the founder and first Editor-in-chief of Cine Blitz magazine. His brother, Burjor, was also a journalist, albeit in the film industry, editor of Filmfare.^[3]

Owner editor of Blitz

Karanjia was founder and owner editor of Blitz, a tabloid weekly published from Mumbai. Kulkarni narrates that the decision to launch Blitz was taken over a cup of tea, by three patriotic journalists B. V. Nadkarni, Benjamin Horniman and Karanjia at Wayside Inn, a restaurant near Kala Ghoda, in Mumbai.The first issue of Blitz was published on 1 February 1941 (the same day that Karanjia died in 2008). Kulkarni calls his journalism irreverent, investigative, courageous and a little titillating. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, writer and film maker, and P. Sainath, Magsaysay award winning journalist, were associated with Blitz. Blitz was radical and idealist, left leaning and pro-Soviet. Karanjia attacked the Congress party, and yet was friendly with Congress leaders Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Karanjia became disillusioned with communism and its anti-Hindu secularism. He became a strong sympathiser of BJP and the Ayodhya movement. Kulkarni claims that thus P. Sainath as deputy editor was replaced with him by Karanjia.^[1]

Devotee of Satya Saibaba

In 1976 Karanjia became a devotee of Satya Sai Baba.^[1]

Books

Dr.Karanjia wrote a book on yoga.^[1] Dr.Karanjia also wrote a book about Satya Sai Baba, called "God Lives In India".

References