Uma Bharti (born May 3, 1959, Madhya Pradesh, India) is an Indian politician. She is from the Bharatiya Janata Party. She was the first woman to be the Chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

She was suspended from the party on November 10, 2004. The reason cited was bad conduct. She was accused of making public differences of opinion with other party workers. However, her side of the story was she was only showing her frustration at being sidelined by other party workers after the Idgah controversy.

Uma Bharati was forced give up the chief minister's post after a Karnataka court ordered her arrest in a 10-year-old case of riots that erupted after she hoisted the national flag at a disputed ground. The case against Uma Bharati according to the court chatges is about inciting mob violence, murder and arson. The court alleges she went to an Idgah (a Muslim prayer ground) in Karnataka to hoist the national flag.

Uma Bharti, a militant leader, has always courted controversy. A self-styled sanyasin, or Hindu ascetic, she's been at the forefront of the Hindu nationalist BJP's most confrontational anti-Muslim maneuvers in recent years.

According to a letter by Time magazine journalists Jefferson Penberthy and Anita Pratap to the judical Liberhan commission set up to investigate the destruction of the Babri Masjid Uma Bharati was part of the triumvirate which also consisted of Sadhvi Ritambhara and Achraya Dharmendra all of the Bharatiya Janata Party who dominated the 'show' at the demolation of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on December 6,1992. Bharati in her several turns at the microphone gave the crowds two slogans, 'Ram nam satya hai, Babri Masjid dhvasth hai,' (True is the name of Ram; the Babri Masjid has been demolished) and 'Ek dhakka aur do, Babri masjid tod do' (Give one more push, and break the Babri Masjid). - - Realising that Muslim houses in the city were being attacked by the karsevaks Uma Bharti quickly began to urge the authorities on the public address system to stop the 'Mussalmans from burning their own homes'. She was joined by Achraya Dharmendra, who shouted that some 'outlaws' were setting fire to their own huts to make a fast buck and give the innocent karsevaks a bad name.

Ms. Uma Bharti faced a setback when she came across some agitated Christians who held a demonstration criticising her 'Tiranga yatra' in Punjab. The activists of the Punjab Christian Movement, opposing the 'Tiranga Yatra', raised slogans, go back Uma Bharti.

Mr Masih said the 'Tiranga yatra' of Ms Bharti was not a 'yatra' to spread message of peace but was aimed at fanning communalism and hatred in the country

See also

• Ayodhya
• Ram Janmabhoomi movement
• Vishwa Hindu Parishad
• Hindutva

External links

• BBC article on Uma Bharti's suspension http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3998315.stm