Editorial
Probe Sanstha’s links
THE conviction of Sanatan Sanstha activists, Ramesh Gadkari and Vikram Bhave, for planting explosives at the Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium, Thane, and the Vishnu Das Bhave auditorium in Vashi, in Maharashtra, is significant. Though the duo has been acquitted of terror charges, this case has nailed the involvement of the right wing Hindu organisation in unlawful activities.
In October 2009, Sanatan Sanstha activist Malgounda Patil was killed and another injured, while trying to transport an improvised explosive device near Margao in Goa.
Nine criminal cases have been registered in Maharashtra against people and organisations affiliated to the Sanstha.
Though the Maharashtra government had earlier in the year initiated proceedings to ban the organisation, more efforts are needed to map its modus operandi and its possible linkages with Hindutva terror groups like the Abhinav Bharat.
The organisation’s overground activities present a slightly different picture. For instance, the Sanstha launched a drive to restore sobriety in Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations by opposing DJs and music.
We need to understand how this cultural puritanism assumed the form of violent extremism that drove Gadkari and Bhave to plant explosives at auditoriums screening the Bollywood movie Jodha Akbar and the controversial Marathi play Amhi Pachputhe .
