Abhinav Bharat can refer to two organizations one of which is an Hindu nationalist organisation based mainly in Maharashtra in India. The Hindu nationalist organization gained prominence when its members were arrested for allegedly perpetrating the Malegoan bombing. The other Abhinav Bharat is a Public Charitable Trust[1] which is in no way connected with any act of violence or any illegal activity of any kind. Abhinav Bharat - the Trust has filed a WP PIL 02 of 2009 in Bombay High Court against the use of name "Abhinav Bharat" by the Hindu nationalist organization.
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In its first appearance, the group, born before Independence, was led by Vinayak Savarkar. In this form, it called for an "armed struggle" against the British Indian state.[2] After independence, the group was dissolved by Savarkar stating that its aim has been achieved and it is no more needed.
The group was born again in another form decades after partition. Abhinav Bharat - the Trust was formed in January 2002. Details of the Trust are available on www.abhinavbharat.org. Abhinav Bharat - the Hindu nationalist organization was born in 2007. There is no connection of any kind between the two organizations. Abhinav Bharat - the Trust works for a Plural, Peaceful Just and Humane society. The Hindu nationalist organization is led and presided by Savarkar's granddaughter, Himani Savarkar. She is also related to Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated M K Gandhi on 30 January 1948.[3]
All references to "Abhinav Bharat" in the article hereafter are to the Hindu nationalist organization and not to "Abhinav Bharat" - the Trust.
Sangh Parivar representatives have distanced themselves from Abhinav Bharat, and stated that Abhinav Bharat and other groups operated on the periphery of Hindu nationalism.[4] Praveen Togadia, head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), was afraid Abhinav Bharat was weaning away radicals from the VHP, from where much of the Abhinav Bharat membership originated.[5] Amongst these included Sameer Kulkarni, the pointman for Abhinav Bharat in Madhya Pradesh, who was also expelled from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in June 2008 for not following protocol within the organization.[6] Abhinav Bharat has also been accused of plotting to kill senior RSS leaders who they thought "weren’t doing enough for Hindutva.".[7] These plots include allegations from an arrested Abhinav Bharat member in June 2010 that members were involved in a plot to kill President Mohan Bhagwat.[8]
Following the arrest and investigation of several of its functionaries in connection with the Malegaon bombing, the group became the target of sustained investigations for its alleged role in several other terror attacks across the country.[9] Several serving and retired army officers are also believed to have hastened the radicalisation of the group.[6] However, Swapan Dasgupta notes that the group seemed little more "than a letterhead or part of a fantasy world"[10] ... Following the investigation, the group's website was mysteriously shut down.[11]....