The Vishva Hindu Parishad has been involved in several controversies. This includes violence against minority religious groups as well as scheduled caste/tribe communities. The Vishva Hindu Parishad has also faced flak for acts of moral policing. In 2002, following the
Godhra train burning, VHP demanded a statewide bandh in the state of Gujarat. Several VHP leaders were involved in the
2002 Gujarat riots that followed, targeting Muslim communities statewide. The VHP leader,
Pravin Togadia, was arrested in April 2003 after distributing tridents to Bajrang Dal activists in Ajmer, defying a ban and prohibitory orders. He asserted that the coming Assembly polls in the Indian state of
Rajasthan would be fought on the issue of tridents and attacked the ruling
Indian National Congress Party for "placating" Muslims for electoral gains. He expressed satisfaction at the publicity received due to the incident. The VHP has been criticised for moral policing against couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Calling it a western attack on Indian culture, the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists have been accused of threatening and intimidating couples for celebrating Valentine's Day. In August 2013, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad came out in support of
Asaram, a spiritual leader, after he was arrested for the rape of a minor.
Ashok Singhal and
Pravin Togadia, presidents of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, deemed the arrest to be an attack on Hindu religious sentiments, and along with
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the ruling party and the
Hindu Jagruti Manch, organised violent demonstrations across the country, in protest. The family of the victim alleged then that they received threats from Asaram's followers and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists wanting the charges against him dropped, while also intimidating witnesses and eventually murdering them. Asaram was convicted in April 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment on the charges of rape. On 2 November 2014, during the
Kiss of Love protest against moral policing, members of
Bajrang Dal,
Shiv Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and many other right wing groups opposed and attacked protestors and threatened to strip protestors for kissing on the streets. These opposing groups claimed that
public display of affection is against both Indian culture and the law of the land (under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code), though according to the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, kissing in public is not a criminal offence. Police took many of the Kiss of Love protestors into custody to save their lives, but were blamed for giving a free hand to counter protestors of the right wing groups. From 2015,
Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been accused of promoting and indulging in
Cow vigilantism, apparently targeting Muslims and lower caste Hindus, mostly
Dalits. Human rights groups have slammed several state Governments for promoting and supporting such acts, even turning a blind eye. Police officers have been threatened by members of cow protection groups for intervening in such cases or arresting cow vigilantes. Following the
Una Flogging incident in Gujarat, where four dalits were brutally thrashed by Bajrang Dal goons and vigilantes when they were skinning dead cow carcasses, the victims converted to
Buddhism. The conversion irked some perpetrators, who attacked the victims for the second time after being out on bail. On 15 August 2022, the eleven men sentenced to life imprisonment in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case, which occurred during the
2002 Gujarat riots, were released from a Godhra jail by the Gujarat government. Following their release, the rapists were allegedly greeted with garlands from members of
Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad. The release and felicitation was criticised by several activists and members of opposition, and the release itself is controversial, because the convicts were released as per the old 1992 Remission Policy instead of the aggressive 2014 Policy. The challenge to release the rapists, which was pending in Supreme Court after a review petition was filed, was dismissed in December 2022, earning criticism from women's safety activists. The Supreme Court, however, redirected the Bombay High Court to look into the case. On 8 January 2024, the Supreme Court bench, led by Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, reversed the Gujarat Government's decision and canceled the remission, noting that the convicts were freed erroneously. In its judgement, the bench noted several frauds committed by one of the convicts Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah, also known as Lala Vakil, who had filed the petition for remission, as he did not declare earlier remission petitions submitted to the Maharashtra State Government, as the trial was transferred to the High Court in Mumbai—the remissions were denied on the recommendation of
CBI, as well as the magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Dahod, Gujarat. The Supreme Court eventually ordered the convicts to surrender within two weeks to carry out the remainder of their life sentences. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been a major opponent of LGTBQ rights and describes homosexuality as mental disease. Several VHP activists have violently targeted LGBTQ parades across the country. Following the Supreme Court's judgement in April 2023 on same sex marriages, the VHP welcomed the decision, calling it a Western attack on Indian culture. Following the decision to add caste as a form of discrimination by the city of
Seattle and the state of
California in the United States in 2023, VHP leaders and supporters criticised this decision and attempted to stop the legislations to pass the bill. The decision was taken after caste-based discrimination issues in
Silicon Valley came to the surface in 2020 with a lawsuit by the State of
California against
Cisco Systems filed by the
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH, later named Civil Rights Department). The Department sued Cisco and two of its senior engineers for discrimination against a Dalit engineer (identified as "John Doe"), who alleged that he received lower wages and fewer opportunities because of his caste. On 10 April 2023, the California Civil Rights Department dismissed its case in Superior Court against the two senior engineers. On 14 February 2024, the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal intimidated and targeted couples who were celebrating Valentine's Day. Several activists and leaders threatened resort to violence if clubs, pubs and corporate hotels across Hyderabad did not cancel celebrations for Valentine's Day. The activists instead asked the youngsters to pay tribute to the soldiers and service-members who were killed in the
2019 Pulwama attack, which was perpetrated by
Pakistan-based
Islamist terrorist group
Jaish-e-Mohammed. On 2 December 2024, members of Hindu Sangharsh Samity, an organisation affiliated to Vishva Hindu Parishad,
attacked the Bangladeshi Assistant High Commission in
Agartala,
Tripura, vandalising the mission building and desecrating the
Bangladeshi flag. On 25 December 2024, members of Vishu Hindu Parishad targeted the South International School to celebrate Christmas. == References ==