Pravin Togadia

Togadia (born on 12 December 1956) in a Gujarati Jain family moved to Ahmedabad at age 10 and joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) soon after. He received a bachelor's degree in medicine (MBBS) followed by a master's degree (MS) in surgical oncology. He practised as a surgeon for fourteen years and established a hospital, Dhanvantri Hospital, in Ahmedabad. He was born in a farmer family and belongs to Patel community. ==Activism==

Togadia was an RSS swayamsevak in Ahmedabad, and a colleague of Narendra Modi. He was drafted into VHP in 1983 and Modi was drafted into the BJP in 1984. The two remained colleagues during the rise of BJP to power in 1995. When Shankersinh Vaghela fell out with BJP and became a Chief Minister with the help of the Indian National Congress party, he imprisoned Togadia for an alleged assault on BJP politicians. Modi campaigned for his release. However, he continued to be active in Gujarat. Express India credits his legacy in Gujarat for "bearing fruit" in the 2002 Gujarat riots. In October 2003, Ashok Singhal signalled his retirement due to ill health and Togadia was informally appointed as the leader of VHP. The formal appointment as the International Working President (the top executive position) was made in 2011. Togadia is frequently noted for making inflammatory speeches and holding trishul deeksha (trident distribution) ceremonies for VHP and Bajrang Dal activists. In April 2010, he launched the Hindu Helpline network, which is reported to have grown to 50 cities by August 2014. Togadia resigned as international working president of the VHP in April 2018, after a candidate he supported lost an internal election to the post of VHP President. He then launched a new organisation, the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad, with a stated commitment to an ideology based on Hindu nationalism. According to the Hindustan Times, sources within the Sangh Parivar stated that Togadia's frequent criticism of Modi and of the Modi government had caused people within the Sangh Parivar to agitate for his removal. ==Controversies ==

Togadia was arrested in April 2003 after distributing tridents to Bajrang Dal activists in Ajmer, in a ceremony termed "trishul deeksha," defying a state government ban. He was released on bail on the condition that he would not distribute tridents. However, he continued to distribute them in other states. As of August 2013, Togadia had faced 19 criminal cases for making hate speeches, the highest number of such cases for any one in the country. He was arrested in August 2013 from Ayodhya along with other VHP leaders by the Uttar Pradesh Police before the planned 'Chaurasi Kosi Parikrama Yatra' that was banned over fears of communal flareup. In April 2014, a First Information Report was registered against Togadia in Bhavnagar after an alleged hate speech instructing Hindus to evict Muslims from their neighbourhoods. Since the statements were made in the midst of general elections, when the 'model code of conduct' was in force, the Election Commission directed the district administration to take action. Togadia denied having made such statements and RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav backed him, stating "No swayamsevak thinks on such divisive lines. They think of all people as one. One people, one nation." However, video recordings of his speech were soon aired on television channels. Narendra Modi disapproved the statements on Twitter, calling them "petty statements by those claiming to be BJP's well wishers". In June 2014, a local court ordered the police to submit an 'action taken' report for the case. ==References==