Inside the Bajrang Dal

INSIDE THE BAJRANG DAL
By Prayaag Akbar

Since its first meeting in 1996 in Karnataka, a state that has only recently seen the emergence of saffron politics, how has the Bajrang Dal reached a position of such strength that it can leave the law and order of the area in a shambles? The slow rise of this amorphous, shadowy organisation in various parts of the country has been accompanied by bouts of fierce violence. The Bajrang Dal has more than fifty thousand units all over the country, each with at least 10 members. It is just one of the 52 organisations that comprise the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) controlled Sangh Parivar. But the Dal is the militant face of the Parivar, utilised when and where required and shunned when their violence garners too much criticism.

Unlike the other Sangh Parivar groups, the organisational structure of the Dal is with limited leadership, with only a convenor and co-convenor for every unit, and one convenor at the national level. This allows for them to operate as a lumpen force, the stormtroopers of the Hindutva brigade. However, the RSS influence over all the organisations in the Sangh Parivar cannot be discounted. At present, any activities of the VHP and Bajrang Dal must be sanctioned by Bhaiyaji Joshi, who is the prachari sent by the RSS. But this limited independence can sometimes lead to a power struggle between the organisations.

The genesis of the Bajrang Dal owes to the mobilisation surrounding the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement, when they escorted the rath yatra through North India to ensure its security. Soon after this became the youth wing of the VHP, committed to propagating Hindutva ideology amongst the younger generation. Prakash Sharma told Covert, “Our tradition is at stake. The youth is under the influence of Daaru, Disco and Drugs. Our goddesses are insulted. Cows are being slaughtered. We are the victims of terrorism. We are here to prepare our youth to combat these situations.”

The Dal uses a very specific strategy that combines religious pride and nationalism to mobilise support in a new area. Relying on the power of religious belief in India, Bajrangis hold weekly meetings, called Saptahik Milaks, in which bhajans and patriotic songs are sung which attract large crowds of people, especially the youth. After establishing trust within the community these meetings often acquire a political dynamic. Literature proclaiming the virtues of Hindu Rashtra and portraying minorities as threats to the integrity of the nation is then distributed. Activist Shabnam Hashmi described the operational strategy of the Bajrang Dal: “These meetings are part of a slow process of organisation. After the bhajans and patriotic songs, a local religious figure, usually associated with the VHP, will speak about the need to protect Hindu women from Muslim usurpers or the increasing numbers of conversions by Christian missionaries. The aggressive content of the speeches and pamphlets are tempered with the spirituality of the religious songs, making the meetings acceptable to the larger community while igniting the passions of young, underprivileged youth.”

Martial training is an important aspect of the Bajrang Dal curriculum. As Sharma told Covert, “volunteers are trained, usually on a daily basis, to shoot using air guns and are given basic lessons in self-defence by retired servicemen and police officers. One major camp happens every year in each state bringing volunteers together from all over the state.” There also seems to be an economic incentive for full-time Bajrang Dal activists. Sharma says, “if someone devotes all their time to our cause we take care of all of their daily needs, providing them with accommodation, food, clothes, kharcha-paani – but only if those workers cannot make ends meet.”

The refusal of our security forces and police to control the more violent agitations of the Bajrangis stems from political protection. RB Sreekumar, chief of Gujarat Intelligence Bureau during the 2002 riots, pointed out “people do not engage in such violence unless they are sure nothing will happen to them. Police monitoring mechanisms will know immediately if tomorrow Naveen Patnaik goes somewhere and his security is not adequate. But somehow they can’t tell when a church goes up in flames in front of a police station and the police does nothing. The destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya was the trigger for most of the support you see amongst Muslims for SIMI today. If we watch and do nothing while the same thing is done to the Christians we will have the same problem on our hands.”

Box 1:
RISE OF THE BAJRANG DAL

- 1984: Began during the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation as a method of moblisiing the Hindu youth of Uttar Pradesh for the VHP-orchestrated Ram-Janaki Rath Yatra.
- 1984: Was formally recognised as the youth wing of the VHP.
- 1986: Began to spread into other states of North India.
- 1992: Complicit in violence surrounding the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
- 1994: Successfully established units all over North India.
- 1996: Efforts began to establish their presence in South India. First meeting in Karnataka.
- 1999: Implicated in the brutal burning of Graham Staines and his sons.
- 2002: Implicated in the killing of Muslims during the Gujarat pogrom.
- 2007: Implicated in attacks on churches in Orissa
- 2008: Accused of widespread attacks on Christian groups in Orissa and Karnataka.

Box 2:
Prakash Sharma

- Began as an RSS pracharak in 1984 in Kanpur.
- Was made Kanpur convenor of the Bajrang Dal after its formation.
- In 1992 was put in charge of coordinating Bajrang Dal activities across the North Indian states.
- Made national co-convenor in 1996.
- Made convenor on 12 June 2002.