Ranvir Sena is an upper-caste landlord militia[1] mainly based in Bihar, India. This group is thought to be formed by Bhumihar landlords. It carries out actions against Dalits and other members of the scheduled caste community as well as the Naxalites. The Ranvir Sena have been connected to many murders, rapes and thefts.[2] It has, on several occasions, been accused of human rights abuses.[3] It is regarded as a terrorist group and classified accordingly by the Government of India.[4] Normally, the Ranvir Sena say themselves that they committed their crimes.[2]
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 Hindi 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 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[citation needed]
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.
Brahmeshwar Singh of Khopira founded Ranvir Sena.[5] Its founding and continuing commander is Brahmeshwar Singh of Khopira village.[citation needed].
Brahmeshwar Singh was killed by unidentified gunmen on 01 June 2012 at Bhojpur
(Bihar) while he was on his morning walk. Singh was facing life
imprisonment in various massacres - was acquitted and released from jail
in April 2012. [6]
A day-long curfew was clamped on the district headquarter town in
Bhojpur district as tension escalated following the gunning down of
Brahmeshwar Singh. Prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC were also
enforced in the district. [7]
Mass Killings
During the 1995 Bihar state elections, they killed 50 people.[1]
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.[2]
On 11 July 1996, 21 Dalits were slaughtered by the Ranvir Sena in Bathani Tola,Bhojpur in Bihar in 11 July 1996.[8]
Among the dead were 11 women, six children and three infants. Ranvir
Sena mob killed Women and Children in particular as per the design so as
to demolish any future resistance which they foresaw. [9]
On 1 December 1997, they killed 61 Dalits, which includes - 16 children, 27 women and 18 men with guns.[1][2] The same night,disfigured and shot to death 5 teenage girls.[2] 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.[2]
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.[2]
Membership
The core group of membership of the Ranvir Sena is formed of Bhumihars.
Police and politician involvement
Some politicians are members of Ranvir Sena and some policemen have helped them on their raids.[citation needed] 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.[1] Chandradev Verma, former member of Janata Dal Member of Parliament for Arrah put legalising the Ranvir Sena as one of his campaign points in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.[5]
Area of Operation
From Bhojpur district where it was formed, over a period of time, the Ranvir Sena spread to Jahanabad, 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).
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.[citation needed]
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 , 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.[11]
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.[12]
On 8th July 2011, Brahmeshwar Singh was released on bail after
serving 9 years in jail for 17 cases, including those related to Dalit
carnages in Bihar, after he was arrested from Patna in 2002. He was
earlier granted bail in 16 other cases. [13]
Ranvir Kisan Maha Sangh is the political wing that tried to take part in the 2004 elections.[5] The Ranvir Mahila Sangh, a women's wing, has also been created. Its members too have been trained in arms use.[5] The centre is in Jehanabad.[citation needed]
On 5 May 2012, the founder of Ranvir Sena Brahmeshwar Mukhiya, floated a non-political outfit Akhil Bharatiya Rashtravadi Kisan Sangathan.[14]
On 1 June 2012, Ranvir Sena Chief Brahmeshwar Singh was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Bihar’s Ara Town. [15]
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
