The Brigade is openly asking for recruitment of Hindu 'yoddhas' [warriors]. Hundreds of posters have been found in each city in Central and Northern India.
However, there is little action yet. The organisation 'Bhagwa Brigade' is also based in Indore, the City which seems to be the den of Hindutva-linked forces and terror outfits like Abhinav Bharat.
Interestingly, the organisation chief Rajesh Bidkar told media persons that he needed only 'kattar' [fundamentalist] Hindus as members in his organisation. Recently, a group Jago Hindu had also come up with provocative messages.
When Journalists Union for Civil Society (JUCS) contacted the outfit leader, he said that he aimed to recruit 10,000 members and his group would not act as other Hindutva groups that merely resort to 'minor acts' like 'road blockade, 'protests' and 'burning of effigies' but would issue 'firmans' [diktats] that the Muslims would have to follow. [JUCS interview has been published on popular Indian media website bhadas4media.com]
Indore has been a breeding ground for fundamentalists. Here Hindu and Muslim fanatics have been active in the past. While Madhya Pradesh police under the BJP regime had conducted a crackdown on SIMI, it didn't seem to pursue groups like Abhinav Bharat that were involved in planning and conducting terrorist attacks, with a similar zeal.
One after the other, new groups keep cropping up in Indore. So here is another fringe group that seems to be dissatisfied with RSS and wants to outdo other Saffron outfits including VHP, Bajrand Dal and Shiv Sena among others.
As Centre and other state governments get extra cautions and stern on organisations and fanatics, it is surprising that no serious action has been taken in Madhya Pradesh. At some places, alert SPs have taken suo moto action.
Or the authorities are giving them a long rope! In sharp contrast, UP Chief Minister Mayawati has ensured that fundamentalists of any hue are taken to task. Fanatics have been arrested for spreading hateful messages and booked for inciting hatred.
See an earlier post on this blog about Indore's emergence as a fundamentalist hub.
