The Sanathan Sanstha issue has again been raked up but this time, a ban on the organization that is ‘allegedly’ using religion to spread terror has been shot down
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On September 16, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the February 2015 murder of Communist leader and social activist Govind Pansare made its first arrest in the case. Samir Gaikwad, the accused, is a member of highly controversial right-wing organization known as Sanatan Sanstha. SIT also suspects the involvement of two more Sanstha members who are absconding since the 2009 Margaon blast. Besides this clinching evidence, investigations suggest that the Sanstha is also behind the August 2013 murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune and the murder of outspoken Kannadiga scholar M M Kalaburgi last month in Dharwad.
There is reason for immediate alarm, alert and counter-action from still-sane citizens who can think beyond the smokescreen of religion – any religion. Sanathan Sanstha – which has demonstrated a propensity to carry out violent attacks on anyone who speaks up against their personal notions of Hinduism - is headquartered in Ponda, Goa.
The Sanatan Sanstha website claims Samir Gaikwad is innocent. But then, this claim of innocence seems highly suspect when it is weighed against the numerous irrational, illogical and exaggerated claims on religion and lifestyle made on the website.
In Goa, chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar showed reluctance and sympathy when rejecting the possibility of banning Sanatan Sanstha because he claims “an organization cannot be punished because of the wrong-doing of a single individual.” Parsekar shunted the blame-game and said it is the Maharashtra government’s prerogative to take action.
The BJP-led Maharashtra government, however, is tight-lipped and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has refused to comment. His Congress predecessor Prithviraj Chavan claims he had recommended to the Centre in 2008 that Sanathan Sanstha be banned. While St. Andre BJP MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh has compared Sanathan Sanstha to the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and is quite vocal that it be banned immediately, BJP’s ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader and Marcaim MLA Sudin Dhavalikar has admitted on TV that he – in capacity as PWD minister – and his family have regularly funded the organization. Sudin Dhavalikar’s brother, Priol MLA Deepak Dhavalikar is also linked to the Sanstha. Deepak’s wife Lata is reportedly to be an active saadhika. In April 2015, she made news for all the wrong reasons when she declared that aping western culture has triggered instances of rape in India, insisted that Hindu men should sport a tilak while leaving home and besides other things, urged that Hindus should stop sending their children to convent schools. Fancy ideas, these.
When it comes to religious brainwashing, common sense is the single-most important existential element that is first wiped out systematically to cultivate dangerous scatterbrains. While many families deliberately groom unquestioning generations because it is easier to reign in youth that way, many families also unknowingly curb intellect when the elders insist on children following rituals without giving reasons. “It has always been like that,” or “Because God says so,” is not enough to convince a child who has still not killed her curiosity. Irrespective of the variant ideologies of different religions, only the dharma of commonsense, kindness and logic can sustain them in the true sense.
The Sanathan Sanstha, founded in 1990 by Jayant Balaji Athavle, aims to spread spirituality in a scientific manner. With such polarized goals to begin with, it is not surprising that the organization has spawned confused followers and misguided souls. According to several news reports, including one recently published in FirstPost, two Sanatan Sanstha members were arrested in connection with a 2008 blast at a cinema theatre in Panvel that was screening Jodha Akbar and at a Thane auditorium that was staging the Marathi play Aamhi Pachpute. The duo was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in 2011, but was released on bail two years later.
In 2009, six Sanathan Sanstha members were arrested in connection with a bomb blast behind Margao’s Grace Church. Alleged Sanstha members Malgonda Patil and Yogesh Naik were killed in this blast because the IED they were planning to plant detonated accidently. In December 2013, the six accused were acquitted by a special court.
In December 2011, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by a group of social activists in Raigad that sought a ban on Sanathan Sanstha by accusing it of indulging in terrorist activities, waging war against the nation and practicing Ericksonian Hypnosis. The petitioners submitted that the organization has already been declared as a terrorist organization in Serbia.
The above list should be sufficient to ban Sanathan Sanstha in India as well under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act according to which a terrorist activity is any act to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of the nation or to strike terror by using bombs or other means to cause, or likely to cause, death or injury, damage or destruction of property, disruption of any supplies or services essential to the life of the community.
Remorse or anger against organizations like Sanathan Sanstha after a free thinker is murdered is as useless as death itself. We need to stand up for our free thinkers and the time is now. Senior journalist Nikhil Wagle of the Marathi news channel IBN-Lokmat has allegedly been receiving threats from Sanathan Sanstha for the past four years. This week, Wagle has sought police protection because he claims the nature of the threats has become more intense.
