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Shanti Sena (Indian Peace Brigade) intervenes in Baroda language riots, 1965

Summary

In 1965, a 32-Sainik Shanti Sena platoon — using fraternization, rumor-fighting, silent marches, and patrolling — stopped Hindu-Muslim language riots in Baroda, Gujarat, during the Indo-Pakistani war. [source: nv-database]

Tactics used

Background

The Shanti Sena (“Peace Army”) was conceived by Gandhi in 1947-48 as a Gandhian force to contain Hindu-Muslim rioting; his assassination postponed formation. [source: nv-database] Vinoba Bhave revived the idea in 1957 alongside his Bhoodan land-gifting movement, and by the mid-1960s the Shanti Sena — under Jayaprakash Narayan and Narayan Desai — numbered about 6,000 Sainiks drawn from rural Sarvodaya workers and students. [source: nv-database]

What happened

The trigger event was the eruption of “language riots” in Gujarat in 1965, intertwined with communal tensions and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. [source: nv-database] Sainiks chose Baroda over Ahmedabad because it was smaller, was the cultural capital, hosted existing Nagar Padayatra volunteers, and housed the Bhoomiputra Bhoodan periodical that could amplify their work. [source: nv-database]

The Shanti Sena and Sarvodaya movement issued a public declaration of nonpartisan intent and then formed a 32-Sainik “Jattha” (platoon) of five women and 27 men under Shri Harish Vyas, applying three interlocking tactics: meeting public-opinion leaders, rumor-fighting, and patrolling. [source: nv-database]

Sainiks first approached the city police to negotiate an end to firearms use and proposed crowd-management alternatives; they then met the local Congress leader — initially scornful of nonviolent methods — and convinced him that a curfew would protect Baroda’s reputation. [source: nv-database] They separately persuaded the Socialists (whose support base would suffer politically from the violence) and the Communists (whose leader was already on an indefinite anti-violence fast) to sign a joint peace appeal. [source: nv-database]

Daily bulletins featuring on-the-ground Sainik reports countered inflammatory rumors; on the third day Sainiks and residents marched silently through the streets with placards. [source: nv-database] Patrol units obtained curfew passes from the government, stationed fixed posts at flashpoints and roving squads between them, mediated between stone-throwing crowds and police wielding lathees, and physically intervened in violent confrontations. [source: nv-database] Even after most Sainiks judged the work complete, police officers and political leaders asked them to remain. [source: nv-database] As a closing initiative, the Shanti Sena organized small and large community meetings to seed permanent peace committees. [source: nv-database]

Key people & organizations

  • Shri Harish Vyas (platoon head) [source: nv-database]
  • Narayan Desai; Vinoba Bhave; Jayaprakash Narayan (Shanti Sena leadership) [source: nv-database]
  • Ravishankar Maharaj [source: nv-database]
  • Sarvodaya movement and Nagar Padayatra volunteers [source: nv-database]
  • Bhoomiputra periodical network [source: nv-database]

Outcome

Verdict: won. (10/10 on the GNVAD scale.)

Sainiks succeeded in halting the rioting in Baroda; even police officers and political leaders asked them to remain after their self-assessed work was complete; the Shanti Sena seeded permanent peace committees. [source: nv-database]

Lessons

  • A pre-existing cadre of trained, ideologically committed peace workers (the Shanti Sena) can interpose effectively in ethno-communal rioting that overwhelms under-equipped local police [source: nv-database]
  • Fraternization with every interested party — including those whose tactics are unsympathetic (Socialists, Communists) — broadens the constituency for nonviolence and reduces the space for political backlash against it [source: nv-database]
  • Rumor-fighting with daily bulletins of on-the-ground reports counters weaponized misinformation faster than mainstream press can respond [source: nv-database]
  • Silent marches carry political weight precisely because they refuse the violent register the conflict demands; visibility with restraint wins sympathy without escalation [source: nv-database]

Sources

Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.

Sources & verification

  • nv-database — grounding: primary — license: link-only

Last verified: 2026-07-09