[5][6][7][8] According to Nikita Saxena writing for The Caravan, the term "Hindu terrorism" gained traction in the wake of the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings and 2008 Malegaon blasts.
[10][11][12][Note 1] While the perpetrators have consistently justified these acts by their Hindu faith, some writers prefer to use the term "Hindutva terrorism".
[16] The term "saffron terror" was coined in 2002 by the Indian journalist Praveen Swami after the 2002 Gujarat riots,[17][18] and gained popularity in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 attacks which targeted Pakistanis and Muslims and were reportedly instigated by people affiliated with Hindu nationalist organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Abhinav Bharat.
[23][6][7] Kanchan Gupta and Swapan Dasgupta have said that investigators of the attacks were using the term "saffron terror" in their statements to the media to promote the agenda of the Congress.
[24][25] Former Home Minister of India and Congress member P. Chidambaram urged Indians to beware of "saffron terror" during an August 2010 meeting of state police chiefs in New Delhi;[26] his remark met with backlash from politicians and Hindu religious figures.
[48] On 8 March 2017, a special National Investigation Agency court in Jaipur found guilty three accused, Bhavesh Patel, Devendra Gupta, and Sunil Joshi (who was murdered in 2007).
[55] NIA, National Investigation Agency, has found no evidence against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and it has recommended the court to drop all charges against her.
[64] Members of Abhinav Bharat have been alleged to have been involved in a plot to kill Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh President Mohan Bhagwat,[65][66] Headlines Today released a recorded video tested by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory which indicated the uncovering of an alleged plot to assassinate the Vice President of India Hamid Ansari.
[68] The Indian Home Secretary R. K. Singh said that at least 10 people having close links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organisations were named accused in various acts of terror across India.