Inside the Sanstha
From how to take a bath, what clothes men should wear, what ornaments women should wear, to how saints will establish a 'Hindu Rashtra', the controversial right-wing group teaches it all. The Sanatan Sanstha claims to teach spirituality and says it is non-violent and only wants to propound its causes with petitions and constitutional provisions.
According to its website, the Sanatan Sanstha was founded by Jayant Balaji Athavale, a hypnotherapist, in 1999 with an aim to impart spiritual knowledge, inculcate religious behaviour and provide personal guidance to seekers for their spiritual upliftment.
Sanatan Sanstha has a wide base in at least four states -- Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh -- with its headquarters in Ponda in Goa, and ashrams in Sangli and Panvel in Maharashtra. The Sanstha claims it has no figures on membership but says it is in lakhs.
The group has recently been in the news following the recovery of explosives from the Nalasopara house of Vaibhav Raut, alleged to be a Sanstha member. The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad believes the men planned to carry out blasts at Pune's Sunburn Music festival organised last December.
Maharashtra police also arrested Sharad Kalaskar and Raut in Nalasopara and Sudhanva Gondalekar in Pune. Sachin Andure was later arrested. The agencies are probing their involvement in the high-profile murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, and their alleged links with the Sanstha.
In 2008, alleged members of the Sanstha as well as the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) were arrested for allegedly carrying out a bomb blast at an auditorium to protest against a play that made fun of Hindu mythological characters. The Sanstha was also under scanner following two blasts at auditoriums at Panvel and Navi Mumbai during the screening of the film Jodhaa Akbar in 2008.
In 2011, the Maharashtra government recommended a ban on Sanatan Sanstha but it was turned down by the Centre. In August 2015, the state government said it has sent some more documents to the Centre in support of the ban.