Bajrang dal

Even as the local ‘Pradhan Sangathan’ in Purola town of Uttarkashi after a meeting with the district administration confirmed that they will not organise the proposed mahapanchayat to discuss “ The mahapanchayat is scheduled to take place in Purola on June 15 and will be attended by several other organisations including the Pradhan Sanagthan and the local Vyapar Mandal. Wasim Ahmad, media in-charge of Muslim Seva Sangathan said that a mahapanchayat of Muslim religious leaders is being organised under the leadership of Dehradun Shehar Qazi Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi on June 18 in Dehradun to discuss the current atmosphere of hatred against Muslims across Uttarakhand. “With the recent incidents where Muslims were forced to leave their respective towns, we want to put pressure on the state government that the whole community should not be targeted,” he said.

IMAGE: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. Photograph:ANI Photo "Let us not discuss issues on emotions, let us only discuss issues of development. Emotional issues do not have any value and we must remember that India is a land of diversity. We don't want to go to any polarisation issue and we leave that chapter to BJP," he told reporters inIndore on his way to Ujjain. On the issue of whether chapters related to the first Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Keshav Baliram Hedgewar are being removed in Karnataka, he said India is a land of diversity. Queried on whether the land given to RSS and its affiliated organisations by the previous BJP government in Karnataka would be taken back, he said, "Such issues are looked into by the minister of the concerned department. Who all are eligible, who all are doing good charitable works will be looked into." Responding to a query on the poll promise by Karnataka on banning Bajrang Dal-like organisations, he said, "Any organisation which tries to bring unrest, destroy the peace of the state...we are looking into them and we will set an example. No moral policing will be allowed and no one should unnecessarily create confusion in the minds of the people. Karnataka is a developing state and we would restore peace." He didn't respond to the query on a statement by a BJP leader who said that by keeping a beard like Osama Bin Laden, Rahul Gandhi wants to become like prime minister Narendra Modi. The Karnataka deputy CM said he ...

By Dolly Chingakham: Bajrang Dal is at the crossroads in the Karnataka elections after the Congress manifesto mentioned that the law cannot be violated by individuals and organisations like Bajrang Dal, banned Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) and others. The Congress in its manifesto also said that it might "impose a ban" on such organisations. Equating Bajrang Dal with Islamic outfit PFI has kicked up a storm with Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) lashing out at the Congress. In light of the latest controversy, let us have a look at the controversies surrounding the group in Karnataka. 2008 church attack A series of attacks on churches and Christian institutions in coastal Karnataka took place in September 2008, shortly after the BJP came to power in the state. The BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa had set up the Justice BK Somashekhara commission to investigate the attacks. Also Read | In an interim report placed before the then-government in September 2009, the commission found involvement of right-wing groups like the Bajrang Dal in the attacks since Bajrang Dal leaders had held a press conference to claim responsibility for vandalizing churches in the Mangalore region. April 1, 2022: Five Bajrang Dal activists were arrested in Shivamogga district in Karnataka for allegedly attacking a Muslim trader for selling halal meat, even as the 'Boycott halal products' campaign by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal intensified in the state. January 18, 2022: A 20-year...

Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia, one of the three central figures in the ongoing wrestlers' protest against national wrestling federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over alleged sexual harassment of female grapplers, found himself in the middle of a controversy after he put up a post on Instagram expressing support for the right-wing group Bajrang Dal. Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik address a news conference as they take part in a sit-in protest demanding arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief. (Reuters) Also Read | “I am Bajrangi. I support Bajrang Dal. Jai Shri Ram,” the post read. The post, which featured an illustration of Lord Hanuman (Bajrang Bali/Bajrangi), also had a caption appealing the user to keep the Lord Hanuman illustration as their WhatsApp status and display picture. Bajrang Punia's Instagram post which he deleted after outrage. Punia, however, deleted the post after a section of social media users, primarily those who oppose the umbrella Sangh Parivar, of which Bajrang Dal is a part, expressed outrage over his support for a group considered by many as a ‘militant organisation.’ What is the Bajrang Dal controversy? Founded in 1984, Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a member of the Sangh Parivar. In recent years, it has attained notoriety mostly due to activities such as moral policing, including in Karnataka, which will elect its new government on May 10. Accordingly, the Con...

A young man was allegedly lynched by six members of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal (RBD) on the suspicion that he was carrying illegal cattle in Nashik, Maharashtra. They are currently in police custody till June 17. On June 10, a body of a 23-year-old man was found deep in Camel Valley near the Mumbai-Agra national highway. The road on the highway leads to Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg. The deceased was identified as Lukman Suleman Ansari, a resident of Padgha, Bhiwandi. Ansari, along with two others, Pappu Atiq Paddi (36) and Aqueel Gulam Gavandi (25) was carrying two cows, a bullock and a calf from Karegaon district. They stopped to drink water at one Paghare’s house, where the cow vigilantes were alerted and they arrived there. According to Gavandi, the RBD members started hitting them with bamboo sticks and demanded money but he managed to run away. However, Ansari and Paddi were taken in by RBD members in a private car where Paddi said he was hit on the head and he fell unconscious. He was in the hospital for a day. The Igatpuri police arrested six accused on June 11 and charged them with murder. They were produced before a Magistrate and remanded to police custody till June 17. “The accused were arrested the next day, the investigation is still going on and we can add more charges on them. There are marks on Ansari’s body which indicate that he may have been dragged. We don’t know yet if they were carrying legal or illegal cattle,” said the i...

The high-profile Hindutva issues raised by the ruling BJPduring its tenure in Karnataka, including the Congress’s promise of action against the Bajrang Dal, failed to resonate with voters in Karnataka. The only exception was the coastal region, where the party anyway remains a dominant force. During the campaign, the BJP initially treaded carefully over issues such as ban on hijab and halal meat that were raised during its government. However, later, as things appeared to be going tough for the party, it latched on to the Congress manifesto promiseto crack down on organisations that disrupt communal harmony, putting the radical Islamist outfit Popular Front of India and Bajrang Dal in the same bracket. The linked the Congress’s promise to it seeking to “imprison Hanuman”. Thereafter, the party further raised the pitch, asking voters to chant “Jai Bajrang Bali” when they went to vote. But, at the end of the day, Udupi, where the hijab issue came to the fore early 2022, was the only district in the state where the BJP won all the five seats. Cow vigilante-turned-politician Yashpal Suvarna, who had spearheaded the campaign for banning hijab on the premises of pre-university colleges, secured a comfortable win by around 32,000 votes against Congress candidate Prasadraj Kanchan. Suvarna was among the fresh faces fielded by the BJP in the election. He replaced sitting MLA K Raghupathi Bhat, who had reluctantly agreed to vacate the seat and back Suvarna. In Dakshina Kannada distr...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unprecedented call to Karnataka voters to chant “Jai Bajrangbali” while voting in the assembly polls on May 10 should hardly come as a surprise. It was in response to the Congress’ manifesto promise to “take decisive action as per law, including imposing a ban” on organisations like the Bajrang Dal and Popular Front of India (PFI). In equating the Bajrang Dal with Lord Hanuman, however, PM’s imploration — with no parallel in the annals of the BJP’s election campaigns, where religion and politics often blend — is a matter of great curiosity. It also brings Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) fraught relationship with Sangh parivar outfit, Bajrang Dal, into sharper focus.

The We will take decisive action as per law including imposing a ban on any such organisations, read the Congress manifesto released by party chief M. Mallikarjun Kharge in the presence of former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, the KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar and Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Launching a blistering attack on Congress, Prime Minister On Wednesday, PM Modi began his speech with ‘Bajrang Bali’ chants during a poll rally in Mudbidri, Karnataka. After raising ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogan, PM Modi said,”Bajrang Bali Ki” and the crowd responded with “jai”. While the saffron party claimed that Congress had insulted Lord Hanuman and the people of Karnataka will give them a befitting reply in the elections, the Congress retorted saying that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had hurt religious sentiments and insulted the deity by “equating” him with the Bajrang Dal, and demanded an apology from him. On Tuesday, “If the Congress bans it, it will be a challenge to Hinduism,” the Minister said, adding: “We will face the ban and will also retain the Bajrang Dal”. The minister said that as the Union government has already banned the PFI, there is no question of banning it again. Speaking to reporters, VHP spokesperson Vijay Shankar Tiwari said that the Bajrang Dal is an outfit which ignites the flame of nationalism, saves the modesty of lakhs of women, protects gau mata (mother cow) from slaughter and donates blood to save lakhs...