Padmaavat controversy: 10 things to know about Karni Sena — and why BJP and Congress are afraid of it
The outfit was set up in 2006 to oppose any injustice meted out with the Rajput community.
The controversy over Padmaavat has brought the Rajput Karni Sena to national prominence, albeit for the wrong reasons. From offering a bounty of Rs 5 crore to chop off the nose of Deepika Padukone, who is essaying the role of Rani Padmini, to vandalising property at a Madhya Pradesh school where students were performing on "Ghoomar", a song from the movie, the right wing fringe group has become synonymous with outrageous community pride.
While it has been in the news for quite some time now, here are ten facts about the Karni Sena.
The outfit is named after Karni mata
Karni mata is worshipped by the erstwhile royal families of Jodhpur and Bikaner. It was said that at their request, she laid the foundation stones of the Bikaner and Mehrangarh forts. After her mysterious disappearance, a temple was set up at Deshnoke near Bikaner, famous for its white rats. Members of Karni Sena are primarily worshippers of Karni mata.
A group to promote Rajput unity
Though their claim to fame (notoriety) has been the unrelenting demand to ban Sanjay Leela Bhanshali film, which forced it to change its name from Padmavati to Padmaavat, the group was set up in 2006 to oppose any injustice meted out with the Rajput community — be it social, historical or political. The outfit was committed to unite the various factions of the Rajput community as well.
Senas under different banners
A unit committed to promote Rajput unity did not take much time to give in to internal conflicts. It now exists under three different banners – Shree Rajput Karni Sena, Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena and Shree Rajput Karni Sena Samity. While on the Padmaavat issue, all the splintered groups stand united, Shree Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) — or commonly known as the Rajput Karni Sena — is spearheading the protests.
Foot soldiers of the community
The Karni Sainiks consider themselves the foot soldiers of the community as there are many organisations fighting for Rajput rights, such as Shri Rajput Sabha (1939). In a marked distinction, they proclaim themselves the sole representatives of the larger Rajput fold.
Members are below 40
Most of the SRKS members are college students and no one older than 40 years can become a member of SRKS. They can only serve the outfit as part of the advisory committee.
First rift over Congress ticket?
According to reports, Ajeet Singh Mamdoli, the co-founder of the group, and Lokendra Singh Kalvi, credited with founding the group parted ways. Mamdoli was reportedly promised a Congress ticket as, at the time, Karni Sena had pledged allegiance to the Congress.
Lokendra Singh Kalvi is the son of late Kalyan Singh Kalvi, who was agriculture minister in the Congress-led Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government.
While the two branches – Shree Rajput Karni Sena, headed by Kalvi and Shree Rajput Karni Sena Samiti, headed by Mamdoli – struggled to prove their importance in the state's politics, the third branch came to existence in 2015 after state president of Shree Rajput Karni Sena (the Kalvi faction) was ousted from the group and he formed another outfit, the Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena.
Karni Sena stalled release of Jodhaa Akbar in Rajasthan
In 2008, Asutosh Gowarikar’s period drama Jodhaa Akbar, too, faced the wrath of the Senas. Alleging that the movie had distorted history, the activists claimed that the portrayal of Jodha Bai in the movie was not true to facts, Jodha Bai, a princess of Jodhpur, was not married to Akbar, they said.
After the release of the movie, they wrote letters in blood and sent it to theatre owners of the state against screening the movie. Eventually, the movie was not released in Rajasthan. The Sena leaders also urged the Rajput organisations in other states not to screen the movie.
Protest against TV serial Jodha Akbar
In 2014, a group of Sena activists barged into a session of Jaipur Literature Festival while it was being addressed by Ekta Kapoor, the show's producer.
Reservation for Rajputs
Though this was not a new demand raised by the Sena, early last year, during the Patidar quota agitations in Gujarat, the group attempted to catapult themselves into prominence once again by urging the Centre to make economic status the primary criterion of granting reservation benefits.
In 2013, too, they raised the demand and threatened to confront then Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the party’s "Chintan Shivir".
Why Karni Sena is so powerful
The Karni Sena is not a political group. But they vowed to support any Rajput affiliated with any political party. Accordingly, its political allegiance wavered from time to time. When it was set up, it was close to the Congress. After BJP came to power, the fringe group stood by the party. In 2012, the Karni Sena supported BJP’s Jaipur Bandh — marked to protest the arrest of Rajendra Singh Rathore — over a fake encounter case.
While Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje wrote to the Centre, urging for a ban on the movie, BJP MLA Divya Kumari, also a former royal, led a signature campaign against the movie. Rajputs make up about 12 per cent of Rajasthan’s population and Karni Sena represents the Rajput sentiment in the state, which explains why both the ruling party and the Congress — with the latter witnessing a drub in the last Assembly election — can’t afford to cross swords with the Karni Senas.