Ranvir Sena- Most Dreaded Private Militia of The World

In the twilight of the 1960s, a revolutionary tempest rose from the heart of West Bengal, spiralling out and setting the entire landscape of Bihar ablaze by the 1980s. This storm bore a name that seeped dread into the hearts of many – the Naxalite movement. Born from the seeds of class struggle, this radical leftist movement swiftly veered towards a bloodthirsty journey of caste carnage. The innocent became the lamb on the altar of their struggle – a nightmarish reality that was keenly felt in Bihar, where landlords, predominantly from Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs, bore the brunt of the carnage. Tragically, the flame of this hatred spared no one, consuming even the OBCs like the Kurmis.

Bihar, a land scarred by caste conflicts since its pre-Independence era, was no stranger to bloodshed. The ominous echo of massacres reverberated through its history, the most infamous being the chilling Belchhi massacre of 1977. It was a horrific event that forced the hand of Indira Gandhi to personally visit the grieving families, a catalyst that breathed life back into her political career.

As night fell on the rural plains of Bihar, the spectre of Naxalites rose, spreading terror and death. Its foot soldiers, culled from ‘backward’ castes, SCs, and STs, did not discriminate – their war was against all upper castes, with certain OBCs too falling prey. This relentless onslaught of violence birthed a desperate, lawless landscape, ripe for the emergence of caste armies and private militias.

The state’s law and order had disintegrated, the police’s futile attempts at protection swallowed by the vast, isolated expanses of rural Bihar. Night, the supposed shield of safety, transformed into a cloak for the gruesome slaughter committed by the Naxals. The terrible spectre of death was amplified by their twisted choice of killing – throats slit in cold blood, rather than merciful bullets.

However, the militias formed to resist the Naxalites, such as the Sunlight Sena of the Kurmi caste and the Rajput Sena, were mere shadows in the face of the expansive, well-coordinated Naxalite movement that loomed over five states. Stories circulated of sophisticated weaponry flowing in from China and ISI, smuggled through insurgency-ridden states like Assam and Nagaland.

With the Mandal agitation setting the stage, the state’s leadership fell into the hands of Lalu Yadav. His government rode the wave of OBC castes’ polarization against the upper castes, and discrimination amplified. Amidst this political turmoil, the Bhumihar caste found themselves facing two fronts of relentless assault: from Lalu’s political machinery and the ruthless Naxalites.

A grim reality unfolded as caste-based massacres spiralled out of control. Farmers, under the shadow of the Naxalite threat, could not reap the harvest they sowed. Public transportation became a lottery of life and death, as Naxalites stormed trains, questioning passengers’ caste. Bhumihar passengers found their journeys ending in cold-blooded murder.

1992 painted a harrowing tableau when 37 Bhumihars fell victim to the Naxalite violence in Bara. The sluggish response and apparent political protection of the ruling Janta Dal party leaders exacerbated public resentment against the state’s blatant failure to stem the Naxalite tide.

The Bhumihar community, especially in Bhojpur and its neighbouring districts, was cornered into a grim, desperate choice – act or perish. From this crucible of fear emerged a beacon of resistance – Brahmeshwar Mukhiya, a Bhumihar by caste and the Mukhiya of Khopira village. Pushed to the brink, he sold most of his land, rallied a committee, and took a step down an uncertain path, launching the Ranvir Sena, an illegal caste-based militia.

As the sun set on the ’90s, Bihar was a boiling cauldron of chaos. The monstrous visage of a rich and well-equipped illegal militia, the ceaseless spread of Naxalism, caste polarization, and the failure of state machinery created a terrifying cocktail that plunged the state into turmoil and mayhem.

Caste-based massacres echoed across the state as the calendar pages turned. The brutal tit-for-tat between the Ranvir Sena and the Naxalites led to the decimation of innocents on both sides. Villages lay in ruins, the silence of abandoned houses deafening. This ruthless dance of death compelled people to abandon their ancestral lands for the safer confines of cities. Yet, the bloodletting continued unabated, with the private army usurping the state’s responsibility to combat Naxalism.

The Ranvir Sena, a force to be reckoned with, its shadow spread fear among the villages that sheltered Naxalites. It is said that the funds for the militia were collected even from overseas, like Mauritius which has a substantial Bhumihar population. Crores of rupees were collected, and modern weapons were procured illegally. The turning tide of the early 2000s saw a marked reduction in Naxalism, the disturbed regions of Gaya-Nawada-Jehanabad inching towards normalcy by 2005. The echo of the massacres gradually fell silent after 2003, save for a few sporadic sparks of caste-based murders.

Brahmeshwar Mukhiya, the head of the Ranvir Sena, allegedly orchestrated his ‘arrest’, serving a decade-long sentence. Following his release, he was prepping for a political career when the grim spectre of death descended on him during his morning walk in 2012. His murder ignited a wave of shock and fear, yet the state managed to return to normalcy, the last embers of Patna’s riotous fires from Mukhiya’s funeral procession finally dying out. The investigation into his murder remains shrouded in mystery, the echoes of his death a chilling testament to Bihar’s turbulent era.