| 2001 Odisha Assembly attack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bhubaneshwar, India |
| Date | 16 December 2001 (UTC+05:30) |
| Target | Orissa Assembly building |
Attack type | rioting, arson, assault and damaging government property. |
| Injured | Many, including Biju Janata Dal legislator Ashok Panigrahi and some policemen. |
The 2001 Odisha Assembly attack was a high-profile attack by Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Durga Vahini.
On 16 December 2001, the activists of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Durga Vahini who had been on a protest about 300 metres from the Assembly building, surged forth minutes after the House was adjourned for lunch. The protest was held to demand the handing over of the land in Ayodhya to the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas for the construction of Hindu temple, the release of Giriraj Kishore and the withdrawal of "anti-VHP" comments made by some MLAs in the Orissa Assembly one day earlier. [1]
The activists of these organisations stormed the Odisha Assembly building through the main entrance. Sporting saffron headbands and chanting "Jai Sriram" and "Atal Behari Vajpayee zindabad", the trident- lathi-wielding men rushed inside, indulging in vandalism for over 30 minutes, beating every individual they came across, including Biju Janata Dal legislator Ashok Panigrahi and several journalists and policemen. They broke glass doors and window panes, smashed flowerpots placed along the corridors, and ransacked the library and the chambers of ministers. The security personnel posted in and around the high-security complex failed to control the mob. [1]
The day after the unprecedented attack on the Assembly the State government suspended 20 police personnel for dereliction of duty. Sixty-seven people, including Bipin Bihari Rath, Pratap Sarangi, who was the then State unit president of the Bajrang Dal, and nine women were arrested on charges of rioting, arson, assault and damaging government property. The attack on the Assembly has further weakened the BJD-BJP coalition arrangement in Odisha which finally ended in 2009. [1] [2]
The Congress and Communists demanded banning of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. From the Sangh Parivar whose frontal organisations are alleged to be involved in the incident, Balbir K Punj, BJP MP, wrote on the website of the Hindu Vivek Kendra, a self-claimed resource center for the promotion of Hindutva, that vandalism, even though condemnable, could not be equated with terrorism. He asserted that 16 December attack on Odisha Assembly should not be equated with the 13 December attack as asserted by the Congress and the Marxists. He cited two similar incidents of Odisha Assembly attacks in the past – one by agitating students with Leftist leaning forcing into the State Assembly in 1964 when Biren Mitra headed a Congress Government in the state and another in 1978 when during the Chief Ministership of Nilamani Routray of Janata Party the Congress activists stormed the assembly prompted by the arrest of Indira Gandhi. [3]
Bajrang Dal is a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing Sangh Parivar. The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva. It was founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, and began spreading more in the 2010s throughout India, although its most significant base remains the northern and central portions of the country.
The Sangh Parivar refers, as an umbrella term, to the collection of Hindutva organisations spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which remain affiliated to it. These include the political party Bharatiya Janata Party, religious organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad, students union Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), religious militant organisation Bajrang Dal that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), and the worker's union Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. It is also often taken to include allied organisations such as the Shiv Sena, which share the ideology of the RSS.
The Odisha Gana Parishad, was an Indian political party in the Indian state of Odisha, a splinter group of Biju Janata Dal. The party was founded on October 29, 2000. The president of OGP was Bijoy Mohapatra. Mahapatra had been expelled from BJD in February 2000. Mahapatra had come into conflict with BJD leader Navin Patnaik over the election of Dilip Ray to the Rajya Sabha.
Durga Vahini Dahegam prakhand - nagar is the women's wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (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 empower women, encourage more women to participate in spiritual and cultural activities. Kalpana Vyash, a senior leader of the organization, said that the Durga Vahini members dedicate themselves "to physical, mental and intellectual 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.
The politics of Odisha are part of India's federal parliamentary representative democracy, where the union government exercises sovereign rights. Certain powers are reserved to the states, including Odisha. The state has a multi-party system, in which the two main parties are the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the regional, socialist Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The Indian National Congress (INC) has also significant presence.
The 2009 Odisha Legislative Assembly election took place in April 2009, concurrently with the general election. The elections were held in the state in two phases. The results were declared on 16 May. Despite having recently separated from the Bharatiya Janata Party after an eleven-year partnership, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) retained power in the Odisha State Assembly with a more convincing majority. Party chief Naveen Patnaik was formally re-elected as the BJD Legislature party leader on 19 May, thus paving the way for his third consecutive term as the Chief Minister of Odisha.
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is an Indian right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to organise, consolidate the Hindu society and to serve and protect the Hindu Dharma". It was established to construct and renovate Hindu temples, and deal with matters of cow slaughter and religious conversion. The VHP is a member of the Sangh Parivar group, the family of Hindu nationalist organisations led by the RSS.
Sambalpur is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Sambalpur district, Odisha, India. This constituency includes Sambalpur, Hirakud and Burla.
Deogarh is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Debagarh district.
Anandapur is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Kendujhar district. Area of this constituency includes Anandapur, Hatadihi block and 14 GPs of Anandapur block.
Keonjhar is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Kendujhar district. Area of this constituency includes Keonjhar, 12 GPs of Jhumpura block and 5 GPs of Banspal block.
Balasore is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Balasore district, Odisha.
Kamakhyanagar is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Dhenkanal district, Odisha.
Pallahara is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Angul district, Odisha.
Loisingha is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Balangir district, Odisha.
Malkangiri is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Malkangiri district, Odisha.
Gunupur is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Rayagada district, Odisha.
Pratap Chandra Sarangi, was the Minister of State in the Government of India for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He is a Politician from Balasore, Odisha and serves as a National Executive member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He won Odisha Legislative Assembly, two times: from 2004 to 2009 and from 2009 to 2014, both times from Nilagiri constituency.
The 2008 Kandhamal violence refers to widespread violence against Christians purportedly incited by Hindutva organisations in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, India, in August 2008 after the murder of the Hindu monk Lakshmanananda Saraswati. According to government reports the violence resulted in at least 39 Christians killed and 3906 Christian houses completely destroyed. Reports state, more than 395 churches were razed or burnt down, over 5,600 – 6,500 houses plundered or burnt down, over 600 villages ransacked and more than 60,000 – 75,000 people left homeless. Other reports put the death toll at nearly 100 and suggested more than 40 women were sexually assaulted. Unofficial reports placed the number of those killed to more than 500. Many Christian families were burnt alive. Thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism under threat of violence. Many Hindu families were also assaulted in some places because they supported the Indian National Congress (INC) party. This violence was led by the Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the VHP.
The 2007 Christmas violence in Kandhamal violence refers to the violence that occurred during the Christmas of 2007 between the groups led by Sangh Parivar together with the Sangh-affiliated Kui Samaj and the Christians in the Kandhamal district of Odisha.