New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS): Devendra Swarup, an RSS ideologue who started his career in journalism under later Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and became Editor of RSS mouthpiece 'Panchjanya', died here on Monday.

Swarup (93) was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on December 30 due to age-related diseases and breathed his last at 5.24 p.m. on Monday after multi organ failure, doctors said.

Born in 1926 in a small town of Kanth in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh, he became a whole-time RSS pracharak after completing his graduation.

Swarup's journey in journalism started in 1948 from a Hindi magazine 'Chetna' published from Banaras as an associate of its Editor Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He also worked under Vajpayee in 'Panchjanya' and later became its Editor.

An RSS statement said that Swarup was a "moving encyclopedia" and worked closely with all the RSS chiefs from M.S. Golwalkar, also known as Guru Golwalkar, to K.C. Sudarshan.

It said that he was jailed for six months during the ban on RSS after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

He headed the Deendayal Research Institute and was also associated with the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) as a historian. He authored books like "Integral Humanism, Politics of Conversion" and the "RSS, Politics and Media".