The 2001 Odisha Assembly attack was a high-profile attack by

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 ...

Vishwa 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 "t ...

and Durga Vahini.

Background

On 16 December 2001, the activists of

and Durga Vahini who had been on a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

about 300 metres from the Assembly building, surged forth minutes after the House was adjourned for lunch. The protest was held to demand the handing over of the land in

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

to the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas for the construction of Hindu temple, the release of Giriraj Kishore and the withdrawal of "anti-VHP" comments made by some MLAs in the Orissa Assembly one day earlier.

Attack

The activists of these organisations stormed the Odisha Assembly building through the main entrance. Sporting saffron headbands and chanting " Jai Sriram" and " Atal Behari Vajpayee

zindabad Zindabad (, , জিন্দাবাদ, , , ) is a suffix in Odia, Punjabi, Bengali, and Urdu of Persian origin which is used as a shout of encouragement or as a cheer, and literally means "Long live dea or person. It is often used as a politic ...

", the

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

- lathi-wielding men rushed inside, indulging in

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and #Defacement, defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owne ...

for over 30 minutes, beating every individual they came across, including

Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the par ...

legislator Ashok Panigrahi and several journalists and policemen. They broke glass doors and window panes, smashed flowerpots placed along the corridors, and ransacked the library and the chambers of ministers. The security personnel posted in and around the high-security complex failed to control the mob.

Aftermath

The day after the unprecedented attack on the Assembly the State government suspended 20 police personnel for dereliction of duty. Sixty-seven people, including Bipin Bihari Rath, Pratap Sarangi, who was the then State unit president of the

, and nine women were arrested on charges of

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property target ...

ing, arson, assault and damaging government property. The attack on the Assembly has further weakened the BJD-

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

coalition arrangement in Odisha which finally ended in 2009.

Political reactions

The

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and Communists demanded banning of

and

. From the

Sangh Parivar The Sangh Parivar (translation: "Family of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh" or the "RSS family") refers, as an umbrella term, to the collection of Hindu nationalist organisations spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which rem ...

whose frontal organisations are alleged to be involved in the incident, Balbir K Punj,

MP, wrote on the website of the Hindu Vivek Kendra,a self-claimed resource center for the promotion of

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), t ...

, that

, even though condemnable, could not be equated with terrorism. He asserted that 16 December attack on Odisha Assembly should not be equated with the 13 December attack as asserted by the

and the Marxists. He cited two similar incidents of Odisha Assembly attacks in the past – one by agitating students with Leftist leaning forcing into the State Assembly in 1964 when Biren Mitra headed a

Government in the state and another in 1978 when during the Chief Ministership of Nilamani Routray of

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nat ...

the

activists stormed the assembly prompted by the arrest of Indira Gandhi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odisha Assembly attack Attacks on legislatures Hinduism-motivated violence in India 2000s in Orissa Odisha Legislature Odisha Legislative Assembly Attacks on buildings and structures in 2001 Attacks on buildings and structures in India Political violence in India 2001 in India 2001 crimes in India Crime in Odisha

Background

Attack

Aftermath

Political reactions

See also

References