Bajrang Dal
Formation8 October 1984 (39 years ago) (1984-10-08)
PurposeMilitant[1] youth wing of Vishva Hindu Parishad
HeadquartersNew Delhi, India
Region served
India
Official language
Hindi
Head
Rajesh Pandey
Parent organisation
Vishva Hindu Parishad
Websitevhp.org/vhp-at-glance/youth/bajrang-dal/

The Bajrang Dal (transl. Brigade of Hanuman)[2] is a Hindu nationalist militant[1] organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing RSS family of organisations.[22] The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva.[23][24] Founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, it has since spread throughout India,[25] 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 'Sevā Surakṣā Sanskṛti' or "service, safety and culture." One of the main goals of the Dal is to build the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, the Krishnajanmabhoomi temple in Mathura and the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, which are currently disputed places of worship. The Bajrang Dal opposes Muslim demographic growth,[26] Christian conversion,[27] and cow slaughter.[28]

Ideology and agenda

Bajrang Dal members protesting at St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru
Bajrang Dal members protesting at St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru
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Bajrang Dal is a right-wing organisation.[29][30][31] Among the goals of the Bajrang Dal in modern India is a reversing of the Islamic Invasions and British imperialism. They include demands to convert historical monuments currently disputed into temples.[citation needed]

Bajrang Dal, together with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), 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.[32] Convener Prakash Sharma stressed that they were not targeting any particular community, but were trying to "wake up" the people of India, particularly it's 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.[33][34]

Bajrang Dal shares the VHP's position against cow slaughter and has supported proposals for banning it.[35] The Gujarat branch is at the forefront of anti-beauty contest agitation. Another of its objectives is preventing Hindu-Muslim marriages.[36]

The US Central Intelligence Agency has classified the VHP and Bajrang Dal as religious militant organisations.[37][38]

Social media presence

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.[30][31][39] 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.[40][41]

Controversies

Reception

The United States Department of State's annual report on international religious freedom for 2000 and World Report (2000) by the Human Rights Watch labelled this organisation as a Hindu extremist group.[58][59] Paul R. Brass, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and South Asian Studies at the University of Washington, described the Bajrang Dal as Indian equivalent of Nazi Germany's Sturmabteilung.[60]

Bajrang Dal has also received criticism from other Hindu nationalist organisations such as the Hindu Mahasabha. Bajrang Dal has been criticised for adopting the same violent methods as the Islamic fundamentalists in their attempt to curb the spread of Islamic terrorism, a move deemed by the Mahasabha to be counterproductive.[61] In addition, the Bharatiya Janata Party member and former prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee have also come out in criticism of Bajrang Dal. Vajpayee said that the Bajrang Dal "only embarrassed the BJP" and urged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to "rein them in".[62] After the religious violence in Odisha, the Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Ministerial candidate L. K. Advani advised the Bajrang Dal to cease association with violence, concerned with the fact that it took pressure off the UPA government in Delhi.[63]

Demand for ban

List of presidents

See also

References

  1. ^ a b [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
  2. ^ a b Eko, Lyombe (29 April 2016). "Regulation of Sex-Themed Visual Imagery in India". The Regulation of Sex-Themed Visual Imagery: From Clay Tablets to Tablet Computers. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 77–86. doi:10.1057/9781137550989_6. ISBN 978-1-137-55098-9. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via ResearchGate. The Bajrang Dal (the Brigade of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god) is a militant, Hindu nationalist organization in India. It is famous for its cow protection activities (i.e., saving cows, which are considered sacred in Hinduism, from slaughter).
  3. ^ Valiani, Arafaat A. (11 November 2011). Militant publics in India: Physical culture and violence in the making of a modern polity. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-230-37063-0. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. In 2002, almost 2,000 Muslims were killed in carefully planned attacks by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. The state was governed by the BJP in 2002, and some BJP representatives brazenly justified and abetted the violence.
  4. ^ Parashar, Swati (5 March 2014). Women and Militant Wars: The politics of injury. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-134-11606-5. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via Google Books. The Sangh Parivar (literally known as the Sangh family) includes groups such as the Rashtriye Swayamsewak Sangh, the Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. They articulate a militant Hindu nationalist politics, opposing the Muslim 'other'.
  5. ^ Alter, Joseph S. (1994). "Somatic Nationalism: Indian Wrestling and Militant Hinduism". Modern Asian Studies. 28 (3): 557–588. ISSN 0026-749X. JSTOR 313044. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via JSTOR. It would be anathema for the leaders of such militant groups as the RSS, Shiva Sena, and Bajrang Dal, to let a Muslim 'voice' speak to the issue of what is lacking among Hindus, much less turn—even nominally—to an Islamic model of civility to define the terms of Hindu self development.
  6. ^ Anand, Dibyesh (May 2007). "Anxious Sexualities: Masculinity, Nationalism and Violence". British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 9 (2): 257–269. doi:10.1111/j.1467-856x.2007.00282.x. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via Academia.edu. Amrish Ji, a leader of a militant organisation Bajrang Dal, in a public speech accused Muslims of treating 'Bharat Mata' ('Mother India') as a 'dayan' ('witch') (Amrish Ji 2005).
  7. ^ Jerryson, Michael (15 July 2020). Religious Violence Today: Faith and Conflict in the Modern World. ABC-CLIO. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-4408-5991-5. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via Google Books. The magazine Tehelka carried out a six-month undercover investigation in 2007 that resulted in video evidence that the riots were organized and supported by Gujarat police and Chief Minister Modi. The video also implicated several members of the Bajrang Dal (a militant Hindu nationalist group) and the BJP (one of India's main political parties).
  8. ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2010). Religion, Caste, and Politics in India. Primus Books. ISBN 9789380607047. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. In May–June, the VHP provided itself with an organization, which assembled young Hindu militants, the Bajrang Dal. Its founder, Vinay Katiyar, had until then been a pracharak of the RSS. However, the Bajrang Dal proved to be less disciplined than the RSS and its violent utterances as well as actions were to precipitate many communal riots.
  9. ^ Joshy, P. M.; Seethi, K. M. (15 September 2015). State and Civil Society under Siege: Hindutva, Security and Militarism in India. SAGE. p. 119. ISBN 9789351503835. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. Perhaps the most recent and controversial one emerged in the Sangh family is Bajrang Dal. The VHP was instrumental in the creation of the Bajrang Dal, which is a militant organisation based on the ideology of Hindutva.
  10. ^ Ludden, David (1 April 1996). Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 47. ISBN 0812215850. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. Conspicuous in all coverage of the Rath Yatra were young men holding primitive weapons like bows and tridents. Here it was the young militants of the youth wing of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, who challenged the BJP elders.
  11. ^ Katju, Manjari (2003). Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics. Orient Blackswan. p. 52. ISBN 978-81-250-2476-7. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. The local-level activism involving the Bajrang Dal took different forms, ranging from a visible presence and participation in public rituals like Durga pooja and Dussehera, to socio-religious policing. Its aggressive participation in the Ayodhya dispute as a subsidiary of the VHP brought it forward as a militant organisation.
  12. ^ Wilkinson, Steven (2005). Religious Politics and Communal Violence. Oxford University Press. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-19-567237-4. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. In the summer of 1984, Vinay Katiya, an RSS pracharak, formed the Bajrang Dal in Uttar Pradesh as a militant youth wing of the VHP, with the intention of recruiting young underemployed men from the lower castes for militant and daring action in conjunction with the ensuing battle for the Hindu nation that the VHP envisaged.
  13. ^ Hardgrave, Jr., Robert L. (2005). "Hindu Nationalism and the BJP: Transforming Religion and Politics in India". In Dossani, Rafiq; Rowen, Henry S. (eds.). Prospects for Peace in South Asia. Stanford University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-8047-5085-1. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. Construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya might remain the focus of the VHP, but the destruction of the mosque and the violence that followed alarmed many among the BJP's middle-class supporters. Fearing both alienation of major segments in its base of support and domination by the increasingly militant VHP and Bajrang Dal, the BJP once again shifted emphasis in its strategies of pragmatism and mobilization.
  14. ^ Buss, Terry F.; Redburn, F. Stevens; Guo, Kristina (2006). Modernizing Democracy: Innovations in Citizen Participation. M. E. Sharpe. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-7656-2180-1. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. Bajrang Dal. Militant youth organization associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
  15. ^ Lubin, Timothy; Davis Jr, Donald R.; Krishnan, Jayanth K. (21 October 2010). Hinduism and Law: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-139-49358-1 – via Google Books. The Bajrang Dal is the militant youth wing of the VHP and was formed in 1984.
  16. ^ Bauman, Chad M. (2 February 2015). Pentecostals, Proselytization, and Anti-Christian Violence in Contemporary India. Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-19-026631-8. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. The most important of these, in terms of conflict between Hindus and Christians, are the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, or ABVKA ("All-India Forest-Dweller's Welfare Center," founded in 1952), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or VHP ("World Hindu Council," founded in 1964), the VHP's militant youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, or ("Bajrang Party," founded in 1984), and the political party that became, in 1980, the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP ("Indian People's Party").
  17. ^ Basu, Amrita (30 June 2015). Violent Conjunctures in Democratic India. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-107-08963-1. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. There was an unprecedented convergence of forces that heightened Hindu nationalist militancy and violence: an active RSS presence within civil society; high levels of coordination between the RSS, VHP, BJP, and militant Bajrang Dal; a cohesive political party; a BJP state government with ties to the bureaucracy and law enforcement agencies; and an NDA government at the center.
  18. ^ Mankekar, Purnima (1999). Screening Culture, Viewing Politics: An Ethnography of Television, Womanhood, and Nation in Postcolonial India. Duke University Press. p. 179. ISBN 0-8223-2390-7. Retrieved 17 February 2021 – via Google Books. Militant organizations such as the Bajrang Dal, with its loyal following among the lumpen proletariat, further widened the class base of right-wing organizations such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, traditionally a stronghold of the urban petite bourgeoisie.
  19. ^ Kochanek, Stanley A.; Hardgrave, Robert L. (30 January 2007). India: Government and Politics in a Developing Nation. Cengage Learning. p. 206. ISBN 0-495-00749-8. Distinct from both the RSS and the VHP, the militant Bajrang Dal has been closely associated with the VHP in the movement to "liberate" Hindu holy shrines at Ayodhya and other sites where mosques now stand. The Dal is one of many senas, the armed gangs that have been described as the face of Hindu fascism.
  20. ^ "India" (PDF). Human Rights Watch World Report, 2003. Human Rights Watch. 2003. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-56432-285-2. Retrieved 17 February 2021. The groups most directly responsible for this violence against Muslims included the VHP, the Bajrang Dal (the militant youth wing of the VHP), and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps, RSS), collectively forming the sangh parivar (or "family" of Hindu nationalist groups).
  21. ^ "Inside a far-right Hindu 'self defence' training camp". BBC News. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2020. They are conducted by the Bajrang Dal, a militant Hindu organisation that traces its origins from the days of the infamous Babri Mosque demolition movement in the temple town of Ayodhya.
  22. ^ See:
  23. ^ Anand, Dibyesh (2007). "Anxious sexualities: Masculinity, nationalism and violence". The British Journal of Politics & International Relations. 9 (2): 257–269. doi:10.1111/j.1467-856x.2007.00282.x. S2CID 143765766.
  24. ^ Deshpande, Rajeev (30 September 2008). "Bajrang Dal: The militant face of the saffron family?". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  25. ^ a b "Dal v state". 3 September 2015.
  26. ^ Anand, Dibyesh (26 October 2011). Hindu Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-33954-5.
  27. ^ Fernandes, Leela (April 2011). "Unsettled Territories: State, Civil Society, and the Politics of Religious Conversion in India". Politics and Religion. 4 (1). Cambridge University Press: 108–135. doi:10.1017/S1755048310000490. Retrieved 16 February 2021 – via Academia.edu.
  28. ^ Ahuja, Juhi (18 October 2019). "Protecting holy cows". Vigilantism against Migrants and Minorities (PDF). Routledge. pp. 55–68. doi:10.4324/9780429485619-4. ISBN 9780429485619. Retrieved 16 February 2021 – via OAPEN.
  29. ^ ""Will Be Beaten": Right-Wing Group's Christmas Threat For Hindus In Assam". NDTV.com. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  30. ^ a b Staff, Scroll (14 December 2021). "Facebook did not ban Bajrang Dal due to concern for employees' safety, business prospects: Report". Scroll.in. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  31. ^ a b "Why Facebook is on the fence about banning Bajrang Dal". Deccan Herald. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  32. ^ Terror:VHP plans awareness jatha,Deccan Herald
  33. ^ Bajrang Dal launches campaign,The Tribune
  34. ^ "Three get death for Akshardham attack". The Times of India. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  35. ^ Cow slaughter: Bajrang Dal dubs Forum’s stand anti-Hindu,Deccan Herald
  36. ^ "Cover Story: Bajrang Dal: Loonies at Large". india-today.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  37. ^ Rohan Dua (15 June 2018). "VHP a militant religious outfit, RSS nationalist: CIA factbook". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 August 2020. US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has classified VHP and Bajrang Dal as "militant religious outfits" and called RSS a nationalist organisation.
  38. ^ CIA calls VHP, Bajrang Dal ‘religious militant organisations’, The Tribune, 15 June 2018.
  39. ^ Gupta, Sonal; Goel, Kritika (20 December 2020). "Hate & Misinformation – Inside Bajrang Dal Pages on Facebook". TheQuint. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  40. ^ Purnell, Jeff Horwitz and Newley (13 December 2020). "WSJ News Exclusive, In India, Facebook Fears Crackdown on Hate Groups Could Backfire on Its Staff". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  41. ^ "Facebook Went Soft On Bajrang Dal To Protect Business, Staff: Report". NDTV.com. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  42. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Refworld | Politics by Other Means: Attacks Against Christians in India". Refworld. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  43. ^ State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in Gujarat Human Rights Watch – June 2002
  44. ^ Malegaon the road to perdition,The Hindu
  45. ^ Malegaon blasts: Is it Bajrang or Lashkar? Times of India
  46. ^ Police cover up Nanded blast,NDTV.com.
  47. ^ A report on bomb blast at the house of prominent RSS activist in Nanded, Maharashtra Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine,pucl.org
  48. ^ Security agencies pursue Bajrang Dal, Bangla links to Malegaon DNAIndia – 6 September 2006
  49. ^ Bajrang Dal plotted ‘revenge blasts’ in Kanpur: UP police Indian Express – 28 August 2008
  50. ^ Togadia defies ban, distributes tridents,The Hindu
  51. ^ "Organised intolerance". hinduonnet.com.
  52. ^ Gupta, Suchandana (15 February 2008). "On V-Day, Bajrang Dal men force couple to get 'married'". The Times of India.
  53. ^ "Sena, Bajrang Dal act spoilers on Valentine's Day". Rediff.com. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  54. ^ "Bajrang Dal protests against Valentine's Day". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 February 2008.
  55. ^ Christians: The Sangh Parivar's new target The Economic Times – 20 September 2008
  56. ^ http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080066428 BJP, Dal talk in two voices over Karnataka] NDTV – 23 September 2008
  57. ^ Bajrang Dal activists threaten couples celebrating Valentine's Day in Kanpur DailyIndia.com – 14 February 2011
  58. ^ Barbara Larkin (July 2001). Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2000. p. 508. ISBN 0-7567-1229-7.
  59. ^ Human Rights Watch World Report 2000. Human Rights Watch. 1999. p. 188. ISBN 1-56432-238-6.
  60. ^ Paul R. Brass (1997). Theft of an Idol: Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence. Princeton University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-691-02650-5.
  61. ^ Bajarangis – Do not become Hindu Jihadis,hindutva.org
  62. ^ Rein in Parivar outfits, PM tells RSS,The Tribune
  63. ^ Bajrang deaf to BJP sermon The Telegraph, Calcutta – 3 October 2008
  64. ^ "Bajrang Dal ban: A case of political divide". rediff.com.
  65. ^ "No ban on Bajrang Dal now: NSA". rediff.com.
  66. ^ "Zee News: Latest News Headlines, Current Live Breaking News from India & World". zeenews.com.
  67. ^ "Congress demands ban on Bajrang Dal". The Times of India.
  68. ^ "Muslim cleric demands ban on Bajrang Dal".
  69. ^ "Call for immediate ban on Bajrang Dal, VHP". The Hindu. 30 August 2008.
  70. ^ "Zee News: Latest News Headlines, Current Live Breaking News from India & World". zeenews.com.
  71. ^ Gowda, Maya demand ban on Bajrang Dal Archived 17 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Times of India, 22 September 2008
  72. ^ Paswan seeks ban on Bajrang Dal, VHP The Hindu, 20 September 2008
  73. ^ Congress seeks ban on VHP, Bajrang Dal Archived 20 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Sify News, 20 September 2008
  74. ^ Ban Bajrang Dal, says national minorities panel CNN-IBN, 6 October 2008
  75. ^ "BJP flays minorities panel report on Karnataka". rediff.com.
  76. ^ Cabinet to discuss Bajrang, VHP ban The Telegraph
  77. ^ "Bajrang Dal Minister Fights Staines Controversy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 August 2019.

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