Durga Vahini
Encyclopedia
The Durga Vahini or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
) is the women's wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad
Vishva Hindu Parishad
' , which is usually known more simply as the VHP, is an international Hindu organization, which was founded in India in 1964. Its slogan is "धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ", which is supposed to mean "Dharma protects its protector"...
(VHP). It was established in 1991 and its founding chairperson is Sadhvi Rithambara. The Vishva Hindu Parishad states the purpose of the Durga Vahini is to encourage more women to participate in prayer meetings and in cultural activities. Kalpana Vyash, a senior leader of the organization, said that the Durga Vahini members dedicate themselves "to physical, mental and knowledge development". The aim of the organization is to establish Hindu solidarity by helping Hindu families during the time of hardship and by providing social services. According to Vyash, the total membership of the group is 8,000 as of 2002, and 1,000 members are from Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
.
Controversies
- The Durga Vahini is often considered to be the female face of the hardliner Bajrang DalBajrang DalThe Bajrang Dal , a hardline and militant Hindu organization in India, is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and is based on the ideology of Hindutva. Founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, India, it has since spread throughout India...
and have been accused of actively contributing to instigating violence against religious minorities. The organization is described as a militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
outfit, right-wing religious fundamentalist group and a proto-fascistic young women's wing.
- The Durga Vahini aggressively recruits young women from low-income earning and lower caste families. Members learn karateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and lathiLathiLathi means stick and also refers to an Indian martial art based on cane-fighting. The word is used in Hindi, Bengali and various other Indian languages. The lathi typically measures 6 to and may be tipped with metal. It commonly used as a crowd control device by the Indian Police and other South...
, and receive ideological education. The organization especially recruits young girls for carrying risky tasks of militant activism in which much physical strength is required, for example confronting MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
people who they view as enemy and to fight on the front lines in places like Ayodhya.
- In the BijnorBijnorBijnor variously spelt as Bijnaur and Bijnour, is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India...
riot in 1990, activists belonging to the Durga Vahini organized a procession of Hindu men through the Muslim quarters of Bijor shouting provocative slogans which started violence.
- On 16 March 2002, Durga Vahini activists wielding tridents and sporting saffron headbands ransacked the Orissa Assembly along with VHP and Bajrang Dal members.
- The Durga Vahini participated in the 2002 Gujarat violence2002 Gujarat violenceThe 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked by a large Muslim mob in a conspiracy. But some authentic sources deny the claim...
. Regarding the Durga Vahini's role in the riots, VHP spokesman Kaushikbahi Mehta said, "We in the VHP had nothing to do with the violence except to take care of widows and victims of the Godhra mayhemGodhra Train BurningThe Godhra train burning was an incident in which a sleeper coach on a passenger train was set on fire in 2002 by Muslims in Godhra, Gujarat, India in a conspiracy...
. So was the case with the Durga Vahini". But many people claimed that white-churidar clad girls were involved in the violence. A senior police official said, "They were found providing healing touch to the male activists, information back-up and if the ethnic cleansing theory is true, I have a feeling they played a significant role in intelligence network as well. While it will be very difficult to prove their direct involvement, women Sanghis had definitely scrutinised voters’ list or the traders’ licence papers to screen the minorities with an innocuous intention".
- Six members of the Durga Vahini were arrested in Gwalior in March 2004 for blackening the face of Neetu Sapra, director of the play Kal Aaj Aur Kal. The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal claimed the play depicted RamaRamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, SitaSITASITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
, LaxmanLaxmanLaxman pronounced as Lakshmana, brother of Rama in the Indian epic RamayanaLaxman is a given name or surname, and may also refer to:* Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Indian cricketer and commentator* V. V. S. Laxman, Indian cricketer, batsman...
and HanumanHanumanHanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
in "indecent" way. The activists also damaged the furnitures in Sapra's home.