On January 31, 2019, when the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), representative body of various akharas, the militant orders of Hindu monasticism, decided to boycott the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) two-day “Dharma Sansad”, a shock wave ran through the Sangh Parivar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-led conglomerate of Hindutva outfits. The decision was a rarity; never in the past had ABAP openly tried to stop sadhus from attending VHP events. The new circumstances bewildered