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RAJASTHAN, INDIA - 2015/11/19: A child standing with a sword in hand during the sunset at the annual cattle fair in Pushkar, western Rajasthan state. Pushkar is a popular Hindu pilgrimage spot that is also frequented by foreign tourists who come to the town for its annual cattle fair. (Photo by Shaukat Ahmed/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In an apparent response to the Islamic State, a Hindu outfit is training thousands of people — some of them children as young as eight years old — to fight with guns, swords, and rocket launchers. In two years, the Hindu Swabhiman has prepared 15,000 such fighters as part of their "dharma sena".
A Times of India investigation found that there are 50 such training camps across western Uttar Pradesh, who are preparing to fight the ISIS, which they believe will take over the area by 2020. One leader described their motto for training people as "catch them young" — where after the first six months of training, children begin learning how to use guns.
At the centre of the group's efforts is Swami Narsinghanand Saraswati (born Deepak Tyagi), a Hindu ascetic on whose ideology this 'army' is being built. He told TOI that he fully supports an extremist Hindu outfit as an answer to ISIS to "fight fire with fire". He called for support from Hindus all over the country to help them get access to more weapons.
In fact, they have already started reaching out to Hindus in the country by speaking to two panchayats a month, propagating the idea that people should die fighting against "the enemy".
"At the panchayats, I ask my Hindu lions to be brave and make sure they keep weapons with them at all times," Saraswati told TOI. "During the Muzaffarnagar riots, we went to the ground and asked people to be armed. All these politicians, who claim credit for saving Hindus, are lying."
This species is classified as Critically Endangered as it is apparently undergoing a extremely rapid population decline, as measured by numbers on both the breeding and wintering grounds. (Source: http://www.birdlife.org) (credit:MikeLane45 via Getty Images)
Siberian Cranes(02 of10)
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This critically endangered species is now only found in two populations, the eastern and western. A central population of Siberian Cranes once nested in western Siberia and wintered in India. (Source: www.savingcranes.org) In 2002, the last two Siberian cranes of the central flock failed to return to India. Their winter home, Keoladeo National Park, reeled under a drought and there was no water to house the birds. They were not reported from anywhere else in the country. Two more winters passed, and the birds still did not show up. It is now suspected that they are extinct (Source: http://www.wpsi-india.org). (credit:China Photos via Getty Images)
Spoon-billed Sandpiper(03 of10)
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Most researchers believe that two factors are responsible for the Spoon-billed Sandpipers population decline: the elimination of migratory stopover habitat, particularly in the Yellow Sea region, and subsistence hunting on the wintering grounds. (Source: http://www.birds.cornell.edu) (credit:AP)
Whitebellied-Heron(04 of10)
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With roughly 200 White-Bellied Herons (Ardea Insignis) in the world today, herons are among the 50 rarest bird species on earth. Herons mostly dwell in Southeast Asian countries and presumably Bhutan shelters a little over 30 herons in the nation. (Source:WWF) (credit:De Agostini Picture Library via Getty Images)
Bengal Florican(05 of10)
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This bustard has a very small, declining population; a trend that has recently become extremely rapid and is predicted to continue in the near future, largely as a result of the widespread and on-going conversion of its grassland habitat for agriculture. It therefore qualifies as Critically Endangered. (Source: http://www.birdlife.org) (credit:Lip Kee/Flickr)
Great Indian Bustard(06 of10)
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Two years after the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) talked about launching a special conservation programme for the Great Indian Bustard, a critically endangered species, experts are warning that the bird is in danger of becoming extinct. Lack of funds means the central government has made no progress at all on what many say is a critical matter. (Source: LiveMint March 12, 2015 news report) (credit:Koshyk/Flickr)
Sociable Lapwing(07 of10)
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This species is listed as Critically Endangered because its population has undergone a very rapid reduction, for reasons that are poorly understood; this decline is projected to continue and increase in the future. (Source: www.birdlife.org) (credit:UNDP in Europe and Central Asia/Flickr)
Forest Owlet(08 of10)
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Researchers have found the critically endangered ‘Forest Owlet’ in the northern part of the Western Ghats, 100 km from Mumbai. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has named this bird as the one facing a high risk of extinction. Till now, Forest Owlet was known endemic to Satpuda mountain ranges in central India. Its discovery in the Western Ghats has brought new hope about its survival. (Source: The Hindu on Nov 14., 2014) (credit:AndrijaDjuketic via Getty Images)
Indian Vulture(09 of10)
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This species is classified as Critically Endangered because it has suffered an extremely rapid population decline as a result of mortality from feeding on carcasses of animals treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac. (Source: www.birdlife.org) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
Red headed vulture(10 of10)
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This species has suffered an extremely rapid population reduction in the recent past which is likely to continue into the near future, probably largely as a result of feeding on carcasses of animals treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac, perhaps in combination with other causes. For this reason it is classified as Critically Endangered. (Source: www.birdlife.org) (credit:Jasperboer via Getty Images)
-- This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which
closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions
or concerns about this article, please contact
indiasupport@huffpost.com.