ISO
ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization.
ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance
* Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007
* Iso ...
: Durgā Vāhinī ) (''Army of
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around co ...
'') is the women's wing of the
Vishva Hindu Parishad
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization 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 ...
(VHP). It was established in 1991 and its founding chairperson is
Sadhvi Rithambara
Sadhvi Nisha Rithambara is a Hindu nationalist ideologue and the founder-chairperson of Durga Vahini.
Early life
Sadhvi Rithambhara was born as Nisha Ritambara in at Doraha town in Ludhiana district of Punjab.
She got her diksha from ''Swami ...
. 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
Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
.
Activities and ideology
The Durga Vahini is often considered to be the female face of the
Bajrang Dal
The 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 ...
The organization is wrongly described as a
militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
outfit, right-wing
religious fundamentalist
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...
group.
The Durga Vahini actively recruits young women from low-income earning families. Members learn
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
and '' lathi'', and receive ideological education. The organization especially recruits young girls for carrying tasks in which much physical strength is required, for example confronting
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
people committing blasphemy and to fight on the front lines in places like
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
.
In the
Bijnor
Bijnor is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India
On 16 March 2002, Durga Vahini activists wielding tridents and sporting saffron headbands arrived at the Orissa Assembly along with VHP and Bajrang Dal members.
The Durga Vahini was alleged to have participated in the 2002 Gujarat violence. Durga Vahini has denied such allegations. Regarding the Durga Vahini's role in the riots, VHP spokesman Kaushikbahi Mehta said, "We in the VHP had nothing to do with the violence except to take care of widows and victims of the Godhra mayhem. So was the case with the Durga Vahini". But many people claimed that white-churidar clad girls were involved in the violence. A senior police official said, "They were found providing healing touch to the male activists, information back-up and if the ethnic cleansing theory is true, I have a feeling they played a significant role in intelligence network as well. While it will be very difficult to prove their direct involvement, women Sanghis had definitely scrutinised voters’ list or the traders’ licence papers to screen the minorities with an innocuous intention".
Six members of the Durga Vahini were arrested in
Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...
in March 2004 for blackening the face of Neetu Sapra, director of the play ''Kal Aaj Aur Kal''. The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal claimed the play depicted
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
,
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
,
Laxman
Lakshman or Laxman is a common Indian name, most commonly used as a masculine given name. It derives from Lakshmana, the character of the Ramayana epic.
Given name
* Lakshmana (Chahamana dynasty), 10th century Indian king
* Lakshman Kadirgamar, ...
and
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
in "indecent" way. The activists also damaged the furnitures in Sapra's home.
In July 2017, Durga Vahini organized a training camp for self-defence in Jammu & Kashmir, girls from 17 border towns of the state participated in the camp.
See also
*
The World Before Her
''The World Before Her'' is a 2012 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Nisha Pahuja and produced by Toronto's Emmy Award winning Storyline Entertainment. The film explores the complex and conflicting environment for young girls in I ...
, a documentary partly chronicling the training at a Durga Vahini camp
*
Rashtra Sevika Samiti
The Rashtra Sevika Samiti (''National Women Volunteers Committee'') is a Hindu nationalist women's organisation that parallels the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for men. Even though it is often referred to as the " Sister" of the RSS, the o ...