The recent violence in Haryana’s Nuh, following the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, sometimes referred to as Shobha Yatra, in which six people were killed and 70 others injured, has shifted the spotlight, once again, on the Bajrang Dal, an offshoot of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Members of the Bajrang Dal made up large parts of the Yatra and among those killed in the violence that followed between two clashing sides was a Dal activist. Each side blamed the other for the provocation and the Haryana Police have filed 139 FIRs in relation to the violence. The incident has also led to fissures within the BJP’s ruling coalition in Haryana, with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), led by Dushyant Chautala.
For the Bajrang Dal, which is a part of the larger Sangh Parivar led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), this is not the first brush with such incidents and headlines. The Bajrang Dal was set up during the Ram temple movement and represents the muscle behind the aggressive Hindutva agenda, which includes issues such as cow protection, anti-conversion activities and mobilising support against ‘Love Jihad’.
