Bharatya Janata Party

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Bharatya Janata Party. Indian political party committed to the preservation of Hindu identity. Committed to the Constitution, it has nevertheless run the risk of being taken over on the streets by far more extreme groups, e.g. Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS), founded as a self-defence militia in pre-Independence days; and Viśva Hindu Paraśad (VHP), which has tried to give ‘Hinduism’ a more systematic ideology. These and other groups were involved in the destruction of the Ayodhyā mosque.