| Bajrang Dal | |
| Formation: | (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Purpose: | Militant youth wing of Vishva Hindu Parishad |
| Headquarters: | New Delhi, India |
| Region Served: | India |
| Language: | Hindi |
| Leader Title: | Head |
| Leader Name: | Neeraj Doneria |
| Parent Organisation: | Vishva Hindu Parishad |
| Affiliation: | Sangh Parivar |
Bajrang Dal (Hindi: बजरंग दल||Brigade of [[Hanuman|Bajrangbali]]) is a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing Sangh Parivar.[1] The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva.[2] [3] It was founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, and began spreading more in the 2010s throughout India,[4] although its most significant base remains the northern and central portions of the country.
The group runs about 2,500 akhadas, similar to the shakhas (branches) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The name "Bajrang" is a reference to the Hindu deity Hanuman. The Bajrang Dal's slogan is Seva, Suraksha, Sanskar or Service, Safety and Culture. Some of the main goals of the Dal is to build Ram temple at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya and the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura, and also to expand the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, which are currently disputed places of worship. The Bajrang Dal opposes Muslim demographic growth,[5] Christian conversion,[6] cow slaughter, and western influence in Hindu culture.[7]
Bajrang Dal is a right-wing organisation.[8] [9] [10] Together with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the organisation has spoken out against Islamic terrorism in India and have announced that they will carry out awareness campaigns across the nation. They have stated that Islamic terrorists are hiding among the general population in India and mean to expose them.[11] Convener Prakash Sharma stressed that they were not targeting any particular community, but were trying to "wake up" the people of India, particularly its youth, to the dangers of terrorism in the light of the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack perpetrated by terrorists linked to the militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba.[12] [13] Bajrang Dal shares the VHP's position against cow slaughter and has supported proposals for banning it.[14] The Gujarat branch is at the forefront of anti-beauty contest agitation. Another of its objectives is preventing Hindu-Muslim marriages.[15]
Bajrang Dal is active on social media. Facebook's security team has tagged it along with right wing organisations Sanatan Sanstha and Sri Ram Sena, as a potentially dangerous organisation that supports violence against minorities across India.[16] Regardless the organisation has been allowed to spread on Facebook due to political and safety considerations. Facebook has avoided acting against Bajrang Dal as it has ties with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and because "cracking down on Bajrang Dal might endanger both the company's business prospects and its staff in India", The Wall Street Journal newspaper wrote, reaffirming its reportage earlier this year on the subject.[17] [18]
Bajrang Dal was banned in 1992 by the Rao government following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, but the ban was revoked one year later.[4] Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported the involvement of Bajrang Dal during the 1998 attacks on Christians in southeastern Gujarat where dozens of Churches and Prayer halls were burnt down by Sangh Parivar outfits.[19] According to HRW, Bajrang Dal had been involved in riots against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.[20]
In April 2006, two Bajrang Dal activists were killed in Nanded in the process of bomb-making. The same group of activists was also suspected of perpetrating the 2003 Parbhani mosque blasts.[21] Those arrested told interrogators they wanted to avenge several blasts across the country.[22] New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) subsequently accused the police of a coverup in Nanded.[23] A report by the Secular Citizen's Forum and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Nagpur claimed to have found maps of mosques at the home of one of the deceased,[24] [25] on 24 August 2008 in Kanpur.[26]
The VHP leader, Pravin Togadia, was arrested in April 2003 after distributing tridents to Bajrang Dal activists in Ajmer, defying a ban and prohibitory orders. He asserted that the coming Assembly polls in the Indian state of Rajasthan would be fought on the issue of tridents and attacked the ruling Indian National Congress Party for "placating" Muslims for electoral gains. He expressed satisfaction at the publicity received due to the incident.[27]
The Bajrang Dal has been accused of not allowing Muslims to own land in parts of Gujarat by attacking traders who sell to Muslims, attacking Muslim homes and forcing the sale of the house or flat. This creates a ghettoisation of large cities in Gujarat, like Ahmedabad and Vadodara.[28]
In June 2006, Bajrang Dal activists allegedly stormed a press meet, where 2 Christian rape victims were stating about their ordeal, accompanied by MP State Minorities Commission (MPSMC) member and prominent Christian leader Indira Iyengar. The district Convener Devendra Rawat had threatened the women about naming the right wing Hindu organizations, whose members were involved in the gruesome crime.[29] In April 2017, Bajrang Dal goons issued threats of rape and acid attacks against Assam based activist Bondita Acharya for condemning arrests of 3 people for possession of beef.[30]
On several occasions, acting as "Social Police", the activists of Bajrang Dal have indulged in moral policing and harassed un-married couples on Valentine's Day and forced them to apply sindoor or tie rakhis against their wishes. The activists have often indulged in violence, invading gift shops and restaurants and threatening couples on Valentine's Day.[31] [32] [33] Bajrang Dal activists have also targeted and moral policed women for wearing clothes like Bikini, Crop top, tube top, and sleeveless dresses, as they display vulgarity and are not a part of Indian culture.
In September 2008, a fresh wave of attacks in Karnataka were directed against the Newlife Christian churches and prayer halls by the Bajrang Dal as a protest against defaming Hindu gods and religious conversion carried on by the Newlife Missionaries. Later, convenor Mahendra Kumar was arrested even after he publicly announced that they were not responsible for the attacks after the Federal Government of India had strongly criticised the State Government. In addition, the National Commission for Minorities has also blamed them for the religious violence in the BJP-ruled states of Karnataka and Odisha.[34] While some police reports claim that the Bajrang Dal was not involved per se and that the attacks were carried out by splinter groups, the testimonies of their activists showed exactly the opposite, as they described the attacks and openly warned of more violence.[35]
On 24 January 2009, members of Sri Ram Sene, a Bajrang Dal affiliate, attacked young men and women after dragged them out of a pub in Mangalore.[36] [37] [38] [39] A group of 40 activists of the Sena barged into the pub "Amnesia — The Lounge" and beat up a group of young women and men, claiming the women were violating traditional Indian values. Two of the women were hospitalized. The video of the incident has become one of the most watched clips on YouTube, though how the TV crew happened to be ready at the 'unannounced' attack is not known.[40]
Starting 14 February 2011, there was a fresh wave of violence directed at people celebrating Valentine's Day in Kanpur city, in the province of Uttar Pradesh. "Offenders", so called, are forced to hold their ears and do sit-ups as punishment for being caught celebrating the "Western holiday". Police were called in to calm the sectarian violence and discrimination.[41]
On 2 November 2014, during the Kiss of Love protest against moral policing, members of Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and many other right wing groups opposed and attacked protestors and threatened to strip protestors for kissing on the streets. These opposing groups claimed that public display of affection is against both Indian culture and the law of the land (under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code), though according to the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, kissing in public is not a criminal offence.[42] [43] Police took many of the Kiss of Love protestors into custody to save their lives, but were blamed for giving a free hand to counter protestors of the right wing groups.[44]
| access-date=2021-10-17 | website=The Times of India | language=en |