Ranvir Sena
Encyclopedia
Ranvir Sena is a Right-wing upper-caste landlord militia mainly based in Bihar
, India
. This group is thought to be formed by Bhumihar
landlords. It carries out actions against Dalit
s and other members of the scheduled caste community as well as the Naxalite
s. The Ranvir Sena have been connected to many murders, rapes and thefts. It has, on several occasions, been accused of human rights abuses. It is regarded as a terrorist group and classified accordingly by the Government of India. Normally, the Ranvir Sena say themselves that they committed their crimes. The Ranvir Sena has committed violent acts against Naxalite sympathisers and other members of the militant communist party. The Bihar State government banned the Ranvir Sena in July 1995 and since then the Ranvir Sena remains proscribed.
word (origin: Sanskrit
sena, meaning 'army
'). As the legend goes, during the late 19th century, Ranvir Baba, a retired military man and a resident of Belaur village in Bhojpur district, protected the rights of the Bhumihars brahmins against the Rajputs. It is believed that Bhumihars asserted their power in Bhojpur
because of his efforts. This gave the Ranvir Sena its name when it was founded decades later under the leadership of Brahmeshwar Singh 'Mukhiya'.
It is claimed by the Ranvir Sena, that it came into existence primarily to counter the influence of various Naxalite
groups and the Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) Liberation
in central Bihar. However the Indian government considers the group a right-wing extremist group, who serve the needs of wealthy landowners. It was founded in September 1994 in Belaur village of Udwantnagar block, Bhojpur district following the merger of private caste armies like Savarna Liberation Army and the Sunlight Sena. The forerunners to the Ranvir Sena in Bhojpur district were the Brahmarshi Sena and Kuer Sena, Kisan Morcha and Ganga Sena. These groups were smaller in size and operated with a limited area. They could not sustain for long and had withered away due to repeated Naxalite onslaughts.
BRAHMESHWAR SINGH] of [KHOPIRA founded Ranvir Sena. Its founding and continuing commander is Brahmeshwar Singh of Khopira village.
During the 1995 Bihar state elections, they killed 50 people.
They killed 10 workers in Haibaspur on the 23 March 1997. They wrote the name of the organisation in blood on the village well before they left. Most of the people Ranvir Sena killed that night belonged to families allegedly supporting Party Unity, a communist group.
They killed 16 children, 27 women and 18 men with guns on the 1 December 1997. The same night,disfigured and shot to death 5 teenage girls.
Ranvir Sena said about the killings:
After, they killed 8 low caste people who had ferried them across the river after the attack.
On 25 January 1999, there was a massacre of 22 dalit men, women and children by Ranvir Sena in the village of Shankarbigha, Jehanabad
due to their alleged Naxalite allegiance. There was another massacre two weeks later in the neighbouring village of Narayanpur
, where Ranvir Sena killed twelve lower-caste people.
Member of Parliament for Arrah put legalising the Ranvir Sena as one of his campaign points in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
, Patna
, Rohtas
, Aurangabad
, Gaya
, Bhabhua and Buxar
districts. It mobilises the landed gentry in these districts against the People's War Group (PWG), the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the CPI-ML (Liberation).
Ranvir Sena cadres are militarily better-organised and are better-paid than any of the private armies of the past. The cadres operate mostly underground while their leaders are believed to be living in towns.
Brahmeshwar Singh 'Mukhiya', the founder chief of the Ranvir Sena, on whose head the authorities had placed a reward of half a million Indian rupees, was the Supreme Commander of the Ranvir Sena until he was arrested in Patna on August 29, 2002 to face a large number of criminal cases, which included those related to massacres. Initial reports said that Shamsher Bahadur Singh was, on September 7, 2002, appointed new chief of the Ranvir Sena. However, according to a report of December 25, 2002, the chief of the Ranvir Sena was Bhuar Thakur until he was arrested with his two associates on December 24, 2002 near Karnol bridge on the Patna
-Sasaram
road in Charpokhri, Bhojpur
.
Ranvir Kisan Maha Sangh is the political wing that tried to take part in the 2004 elections. The Ranvir Mahila Sangh, a women's wing, has also been created. Its members too have been trained in arms use.
The centre is in Jehanabad.
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. This group is thought to be formed by Bhumihar
Bhumihar
Bhumihar or Babhan or Bhuin-har is a Brahmin Hindu community mainly found in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.- Varna status :...
landlords. It carries out actions against Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
s and other members of the scheduled caste community as well as the Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
s. The Ranvir Sena have been connected to many murders, rapes and thefts. It has, on several occasions, been accused of human rights abuses. It is regarded as a terrorist group and classified accordingly by the Government of India. Normally, the Ranvir Sena say themselves that they committed their crimes. The Ranvir Sena has committed violent acts against Naxalite sympathisers and other members of the militant communist party. The Bihar State government banned the Ranvir Sena in July 1995 and since then the Ranvir Sena remains proscribed.
History
The name Ranvir comes from Ranvir Baba, a supposed mythical figure, and Sena is a HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
word (origin: Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
sena, meaning 'army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
'). As the legend goes, during the late 19th century, Ranvir Baba, a retired military man and a resident of Belaur village in Bhojpur district, protected the rights of the Bhumihars brahmins against the Rajputs. It is believed that Bhumihars asserted their power in Bhojpur
Bhojpur district, Bihar
Bhojpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Arrah town is the administrative headquarters of this district.-History:...
because of his efforts. This gave the Ranvir Sena its name when it was founded decades later under the leadership of Brahmeshwar Singh 'Mukhiya'.
It is claimed by the Ranvir Sena, that it came into existence primarily to counter the influence of various Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
groups and the Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) Liberation
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation
Communist Party of India Liberation is a communist political party in India.Communist Party of India was formed in 1969 by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries, who had split from Communist Party of India in 1967...
in central Bihar. However the Indian government considers the group a right-wing extremist group, who serve the needs of wealthy landowners. It was founded in September 1994 in Belaur village of Udwantnagar block, Bhojpur district following the merger of private caste armies like Savarna Liberation Army and the Sunlight Sena. The forerunners to the Ranvir Sena in Bhojpur district were the Brahmarshi Sena and Kuer Sena, Kisan Morcha and Ganga Sena. These groups were smaller in size and operated with a limited area. They could not sustain for long and had withered away due to repeated Naxalite onslaughts.
BRAHMESHWAR SINGH] of [KHOPIRA founded Ranvir Sena. Its founding and continuing commander is Brahmeshwar Singh of Khopira village.
During the 1995 Bihar state elections, they killed 50 people.
They killed 10 workers in Haibaspur on the 23 March 1997. They wrote the name of the organisation in blood on the village well before they left. Most of the people Ranvir Sena killed that night belonged to families allegedly supporting Party Unity, a communist group.
They killed 16 children, 27 women and 18 men with guns on the 1 December 1997. The same night,disfigured and shot to death 5 teenage girls.
Ranvir Sena said about the killings:
"We kill children because they will grow up to become
Naxalites. We kill women because they will give birth to Naxalites."
After, they killed 8 low caste people who had ferried them across the river after the attack.
On 25 January 1999, there was a massacre of 22 dalit men, women and children by Ranvir Sena in the village of Shankarbigha, Jehanabad
Jehanabad
Jehanabad is a city and a municipality in and the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Earlier, Jehanabad was part of Gaya district. It is 50 km away from both Patna and Gaya.-Demographics:...
due to their alleged Naxalite allegiance. There was another massacre two weeks later in the neighbouring village of Narayanpur
Narayanpur
Narayanpur is a town located in Lakhimpur district of the north eastern Indian state Assam. It falls under Bihpuria constituency of Assam Legislative Assembly and under Narayanpur Police Station. Narayanpur is also the name of the development block....
, where Ranvir Sena killed twelve lower-caste people.
Police and politician involvement
Some politicians are members of Ranvir Sena and some policemen have helped them on their raids. For example, in a Ranvir Sena raid in Ekwari, a village in Bihar, in April 1997, policemen opened the doors of Dalit villagers so the Ranvir Sena could go inside instead of protecting the villagers as they were supposed to. Once inside, the Sena members killed 8 Dalits. Chandradev Verma, former member of Janata DalJanata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
Member of Parliament for Arrah put legalising the Ranvir Sena as one of his campaign points in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
Area of Operation
From Bhojpur district where it was formed, over a period of time, the Ranvir Sena spread to JahanabadJahanabad
Jahanabad is one of the neighbourhoods of SITE Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.There are several ethnic groups in Jahanabad including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim...
, Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Rohtas
Rohtas
Rohtas can refer to:*Rohtas, Pakistan, a village located in Rohtas Fort, Pakistan*Rohtas Fort, Pakistan*Rohtas District, a district in Bihar, India*Rohtas Plateau in north-western Bihar...
, Aurangabad
Aurangabad District, Bihar
Aurangabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.-History:Aurangabad features in traditional records...
, Gaya
Gaya, India
Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...
, Bhabhua and Buxar
Buxar
Buxar district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. The district headquarters are located at Buxar.-Mythology:This place was also known as "Siddhashram", "Vedgarbhapuri", "Karush", "Tapovan", "Chaitrath", "VyaghraSar", "Buxar" in ancient history. The History of Buxar dates...
districts. It mobilises the landed gentry in these districts against the People's War Group (PWG), the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the CPI-ML (Liberation).
Organisation
The Ranvir Sena is highly organized, has extensive influence among landowners in its areas of operation, and is supposedly well-endowed with financial resources.Ranvir Sena cadres are militarily better-organised and are better-paid than any of the private armies of the past. The cadres operate mostly underground while their leaders are believed to be living in towns.
Brahmeshwar Singh 'Mukhiya', the founder chief of the Ranvir Sena, on whose head the authorities had placed a reward of half a million Indian rupees, was the Supreme Commander of the Ranvir Sena until he was arrested in Patna on August 29, 2002 to face a large number of criminal cases, which included those related to massacres. Initial reports said that Shamsher Bahadur Singh was, on September 7, 2002, appointed new chief of the Ranvir Sena. However, according to a report of December 25, 2002, the chief of the Ranvir Sena was Bhuar Thakur until he was arrested with his two associates on December 24, 2002 near Karnol bridge on the Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
-Sasaram
Sasaram
Sasaram , sometimes also spelled as Sahasram, is the administrative headquarters of the Rohtas district in the Indian state of Bihar.It is one of the oldest cities in India, and is famous for production of stone chips and for the local quarrying industry...
road in Charpokhri, Bhojpur
Bhojpur district, Bihar
Bhojpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Arrah town is the administrative headquarters of this district.-History:...
.
Ranvir Kisan Maha Sangh is the political wing that tried to take part in the 2004 elections. The Ranvir Mahila Sangh, a women's wing, has also been created. Its members too have been trained in arms use.
The centre is in Jehanabad.