Who is Pragya Thakur? From ABVP, RSS to Malegaon blast accused to BJP MP, long journey of Hindutva icon

After former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur was acquitted in the Malegaon blast case Thursday, she said that it changed her life. She was living the life of a sage, but she was accused, arrested, and tortured. One of the prime suspects in the case, she said, "people had defamed 'bhagwa' (saffron), which has won, and Hindutva has emerged as a winner, and God will punish those who are guilty." Who is this firebrand lady of the Hindutva brigade? 

Pragya Singh Thakur joins ABVP

Born on September 2, 1970, Pragya Singh Thakur, or Sadhvi Pragya as she was called, imbibed the politics of Hindutva early in her life and joined the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in her college days and later the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the fountainhead of the Hindutva outfits. A tomboy since her childhood, she kept short hair and dressed like boys. 

Motorcycle leads to Pragya's arrest

Like boys of her day, Pragya Thakur loved riding motorcycles and owned one when she grew up. It was the motorcycle registered in her name that led to her arrest in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in which six people were killed and a hundred were injured. However, in its verdict on Thursday, the NIA court said that though the prosecution had proved that the blast occurred, it had failed to prove that the explosive was fitted on the motorcycle allegedly belonging to Pragya Thakur.

Pragya Thakur works for RSS, Bajrang Dal

She worked for many Hindutva organisations like Rashtrawadi Sena, the Hindu Jagran Manch and Durga Vahini, the women's wing of  Bajrang Dal. She is a founder member of Vande Mataram Jan Kalyan Samiti, an organisation connected to the RSS. However, Pragya Thakur, who became the poster-girl of the saffron brigade, shocked political pundits when she defeated former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Congress candidate, Digvijaya Singh, in the 2019 general election from Bhopal. 

Sadhvi Pragya triggers Godse controversy

The BJP appointed Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur to the 21-member parliamentary consultative committee on defence, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. She stirred the hornets' nest once again by calling Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, a patriot. Coming under pressure from various parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that he would never pardon her by heart, as he said, "Main dil se unhe kabhi maaf nahi kar paunga". She was sacked from the committee on defence as well as the BJP parliamentary party meetings on November 28.