Brahmeshwar Singh (13 March 1947– 1 June 2012) also known as Brahmeshwar Mukhiya or Mukhiyaji, was the founder of an
Anti-naxalite militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
functioning as an upper caste landlord militant group
Ranvir Sena in
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
, India. On 1 June 2012, he was assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
Ranvir Sena, arrest, and acquittal
Brahmeshwar Mukhiya was born in a
Bhumihar
Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, a Hindu Indian caste system, caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila (region), Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya ...
family and later on became the leader of the Ranvir Sena soon after it was formed in 1994.
Mukhiyaji was suspected of involvement in the killings of hundreds of
Naxalites
Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology.
Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic ...
who recruited people from poor and
Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
backgrounds.
In 2002, Singh was arrested on "carnage" charges, for which he faced the possibility of life imprisonment.
He spent nine years in jail awaiting trial and was released on bail and then later acquitted for insufficient evidence.
Politics
On 5 May 2012, Singh founded the
Akhil Bharatiya Rashtravadi Kisan Sangathan, an organization that Singh said would assist farmers and other manual labourers.
Death
On 1 June 2012, Brahmeshwar Singh was on a morning walk near his home in
Arrah, Bihar. Reportedly, around six armed men shot Singh several times. The assassination of Mukhiyaji resulted in public unrest and severe rioting. Several thousand people burnt the
circuit house,
Block Development Officer
A block is an administrative division of some South Asian countries.
Bhutan
In Bhutan, a block is called a gewog. It is essentially for oil a group of villages. Gewogs are official administrative units of Bhutan. The country is composed of ...
's office, and several government vehicles; damaged railway offices; and stopped the trains on the
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
-
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
route. The death of Mukhiyaji caused chaos in Bihar on a very large scale.
See also
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Jagdish Mahto
Jagdish Mahto was an Indian communist activist. He was a naxal leader who led the 1970 Bhojpur uprising in the landlord-dominated Bhojpur region of Bihar. He was a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), an organisation wh ...
*
Ashok Mahto gang
*
Ajay Kanu
References
External links
* ,
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...
* ,
CNN-IBN
CNN News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides international coverage for the c ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Brahmeshwar
2012 deaths
Deaths by firearm in India
People from Bihar
People from Bhojpur district, India
1947 births
Place of birth missing
People murdered in Bihar
Indian far-right politicians
Criminals from Bihar