Shiv Sena: A Cause of Civil Unrest in India
By Caleb
Inspired by his reading of Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Inspired by his reading of Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Its 1992, and you’re standing in the back of a crowd, shouting protests towards the riot police standing in front of the Babri Mosque, “Jai Sri Ram!” (“Hail Lord Ram!”) is all you hear. The protest is going perfect, and you seem to be making public headway. Suddenly, there are men with weapons running towards the police. Now there’s man on top of the Mosque and the crowd’s attention is drawn towards him, at this, they are becoming wild and are charging the building. The police flee in terror, and you are caught in the middle of a mob that’s tearing apart the Mosque. This could be the perspective of several protesters in the Babri Mosque Demolition. One of the political components of this riot, was Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena is a political activist group in India that has been a central cause of civil unrest, especially in the Bombay Riots in 1992 and 1993.
In the early 1990’s, there was a period of severe civil and religious unrest in India. The main source of this civil turmoil was the demolition of a mosque in Ayodhya (a city in India). There were several Hindu groups that supported anti Muslim violence like this, one of which was Shiv Sena. The location of this mosque was located where the Hindus believed one of their gods, Rama, was born. The story of Rama is described in the ancient Hindu text called the Ramayana, which specifically says that Rama was born in Ayodhya. One of the most important supporters for the demolition of this Mosque was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who wanted to construct a temple to Rama. “This was the day the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations supporting it were to begin work on building the temple, but they had given a commitment to the government and the courts that it would only be a symbolic start, a religious ceremony and no damage would be done to the mosque.” (Tully, December 5, 2002). A crowd gathered for this ceremonial beginning of the construction of the temple, but this ceremony turned into a mob, that escalated into the demolition of the Mosque. The BJP is one of Shiv Sena’s close political allies, and when the mosque demolished, Shiv Sena began to incite violence between Muslims and Hindus in the massive city of Mumbai.
The violence in Mumbai started as the Muslims, receiving news of the demolition of the Babri Mosque, began rioting. Hindus reacted in the same way, and rioting between Muslims and Hindus raged in the city. Though Shiv Sena was accused for the violence against Muslims, they denied it. But later, the leader of the Shiv Sena party said that he had made speeches that were bound to incite anger between Muslims and Hindus. You can even see the legacy that Shiv Sena has left in Mumbai in modern literature. For example, in Rohinton Mistry’s novel, Family Matters, characters often speak of the Bombay riots and the suspected perpetrator, “’Everything was on the point of being exposed: Shiv Sena involvement in looting and burning, police helping rioters, withholding assistance in Muslim localities.’” In this piece of literature, Shiv Sena is shown as being a corrupt, terrorist organization. Though this view could be biased, it is efficient evidence to show that the common view is that Shiv Sena is to blame for the Bombay Riots. The party has also had some more current engagements.
More recently, Shiv Sena has been involved in India\Pakistan relations. In 2015, a famous Pakistani artist was going to hold a concert in Mumbai. But, Shiv Sena “…had threatened to disrupt ghazal singer Ghulam Ali's performance…” says the BBC. The show ended up being cancelled. Shiv Sena’s reasoning for doing this was based on accusations of Indians being shot by Pakistanis in the ceasefire area of Kashmir. Since Pakistan is a Muslim nation, it seems to fit in with Shiv Sena’s anti-Islamic actions of the 1990’s.
Shiv Sena has been actively involved in pro Hindu violence in India. They were allied with the party that played a major role in the demolition of the Babri Mosque. The bases for the actions of right wing Hindus in Ayodhya can be seen in the Ramayana. Shiv Sena has been officially blamed for the Bombay Riots and their direct involvement in Mumbai can be seen in modern literature. They have recently caused cultural events to cancel over political tensions. Shiv Sena continues to stand for pro-Hindu policy, and is an active political party in India.
Sources:
In the early 1990’s, there was a period of severe civil and religious unrest in India. The main source of this civil turmoil was the demolition of a mosque in Ayodhya (a city in India). There were several Hindu groups that supported anti Muslim violence like this, one of which was Shiv Sena. The location of this mosque was located where the Hindus believed one of their gods, Rama, was born. The story of Rama is described in the ancient Hindu text called the Ramayana, which specifically says that Rama was born in Ayodhya. One of the most important supporters for the demolition of this Mosque was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who wanted to construct a temple to Rama. “This was the day the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations supporting it were to begin work on building the temple, but they had given a commitment to the government and the courts that it would only be a symbolic start, a religious ceremony and no damage would be done to the mosque.” (Tully, December 5, 2002). A crowd gathered for this ceremonial beginning of the construction of the temple, but this ceremony turned into a mob, that escalated into the demolition of the Mosque. The BJP is one of Shiv Sena’s close political allies, and when the mosque demolished, Shiv Sena began to incite violence between Muslims and Hindus in the massive city of Mumbai.
The violence in Mumbai started as the Muslims, receiving news of the demolition of the Babri Mosque, began rioting. Hindus reacted in the same way, and rioting between Muslims and Hindus raged in the city. Though Shiv Sena was accused for the violence against Muslims, they denied it. But later, the leader of the Shiv Sena party said that he had made speeches that were bound to incite anger between Muslims and Hindus. You can even see the legacy that Shiv Sena has left in Mumbai in modern literature. For example, in Rohinton Mistry’s novel, Family Matters, characters often speak of the Bombay riots and the suspected perpetrator, “’Everything was on the point of being exposed: Shiv Sena involvement in looting and burning, police helping rioters, withholding assistance in Muslim localities.’” In this piece of literature, Shiv Sena is shown as being a corrupt, terrorist organization. Though this view could be biased, it is efficient evidence to show that the common view is that Shiv Sena is to blame for the Bombay Riots. The party has also had some more current engagements.
More recently, Shiv Sena has been involved in India\Pakistan relations. In 2015, a famous Pakistani artist was going to hold a concert in Mumbai. But, Shiv Sena “…had threatened to disrupt ghazal singer Ghulam Ali's performance…” says the BBC. The show ended up being cancelled. Shiv Sena’s reasoning for doing this was based on accusations of Indians being shot by Pakistanis in the ceasefire area of Kashmir. Since Pakistan is a Muslim nation, it seems to fit in with Shiv Sena’s anti-Islamic actions of the 1990’s.
Shiv Sena has been actively involved in pro Hindu violence in India. They were allied with the party that played a major role in the demolition of the Babri Mosque. The bases for the actions of right wing Hindus in Ayodhya can be seen in the Ramayana. Shiv Sena has been officially blamed for the Bombay Riots and their direct involvement in Mumbai can be seen in modern literature. They have recently caused cultural events to cancel over political tensions. Shiv Sena continues to stand for pro-Hindu policy, and is an active political party in India.
Sources:
- Wikipedia contributors. "Shiv Sena." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Dec. 2016. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
- Wikipedia contributors. "Demolition of the Babri Masjid." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Dec. 2016. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
- Wikipedia contributors. "Bombay riots." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Dec. 2016. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.
- Mistry, Rohinton. Family Matters. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Print.
- Gargan, Edward. “Hindu Militants Destroy Mosque, Setting Off a New Crisis in India.” The New York Times, 7 December. 1992. Web. December 1 2016
- Tully, Mark. “Tearing down the Babri Masjid.” BBC News, World Edition, December 5, 2002. Web. December 1, 2016
- “World: South Asia Report on Bombay riots criticized.” BBC News, August 6. 1998. Web. 4 December 2016.
- “World: South Asia Hindu leader admits incitment during Bombay riots.” BBC News, August 7.1998. Web. 4 December 2016
- “The Ramayana:A Telling Of the Ancient Indian Epic” Syracuse University: Maxwell School. Web. Dec 7, 2016
- “Pakistani singer Guhlam Ali’s India show cancelled after protests.” BBS News. 8 October, 2015. Web. 8 Dec, 2016