Sunlight Sena was a

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

-based

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 ...

formed by

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

and Upper-Caste

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

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 ...

to take on the ultra-left wing groups of

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)L) is a communist political party in India. The party is represented in Bihar and Jharkhand Legislative Assemblies. Since 2023, the party is also a member of the INDIA bloc ...

and the

Maoist Communist Centre The Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) was one of the largest two armed Maoist groups in India, and fused with the other, the People's War Group in September 2004, to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Dakshin Desh When the Communist Part ...

and their

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 ...

supporters. Its primary aim was to protect the vast stretches of land owned by

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

elements from these two social groups. The founder leaders of the Sena were two

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

landlords – Ranjit Singh of Raniganj and Vinod Singh of Bisrampur, but later on, they handed over the leadership to the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

landlords, the

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

s and

Khans Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

. According to police records, however, the Sunlight Sena was brought into existence by the Muslim landlords in Dumharia village of the

Gaya Gaya may refer to: Geography Czech Republic *Kyjov, a town called Gaya in German and Latin Guinea * Gaya or Gayah, a town India *Gaya, India, a city in Bihar **Gaya Airport *Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya *Gaya district, Bihar Niger *G ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Bihar. Shaney Ali is said to be the founder leader in these records. It is also claimed that the activities of the Sena later expanded to

Palamu Palamu may refer to: * Palamu division, a division of Jharkhand state, India * Palamu district, a district in Palamu division * Palamu Fort, forts in the forests of the Palamau Tiger Reserve * Palamu (Lok Sabha constituency) a parliamentary const ...

region of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

too. The date of its launch is said to be 1987 or 1988.

History

The upper-caste Muslims have enjoyed comfortable relationships with the feudal elements of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

society particularly the

s and the

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 ...

landlords. Over the years,

s and Rajputs have enjoyed good relationship. The upper caste Muslims thus cultivated an alliance with these social groups among Hindus and targeted the Backward Castes among Muslims like Ansaris, Qureshis and Mansooris.

References

Private armies Far-right politics in India Paramilitary organisations based in India Caste-related violence in India Anti-communist terrorism Anti-communist organizations in India Non-military counterinsurgency organizations Indigenous counterinsurgency forces 1987 establishments in Bihar Military units and formations established in 1987 Caste-related violence in Bihar {{Paramilitary-org-stub