Inking and politics: the times when famous people got their faces blackened

Shiv Sena activists on the morning of 12 October smeared ink on the face of former BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni. Kulkarni was attacked for organising a book launch for former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.

With the incident, Kulkarni has joined the league of men whose faces were blackened by the people who did not agree with them.

1) Arvind Kejriwal

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In November 2013, a man, claiming to be a supporter of Anna Hazare and the BJP, had thrown black ink at Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference. Shouting 'Arvind Kejriwal Murdabad', Nachiketa, who claimed to be BJP general secretary of the Ahmednagar unit in Maharashtra, entered the venue and threw a can full of ink at him.

Kejriwal was also attacked with eggs and ink during his Varanasi rally in March 2014.

2) Baba Ramdev

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In January 2012, Yoga guru Ramdev had become the target of an ink attack. A man, identified as Kamran Siddiqui, threw black ink on his face at a press conference where he was speaking about a campaign against black money.

Seated beside Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy at the Constitution Club in the heart of the capital, Ramdev was seen with a blackened right eye.

3) Subroto Roy

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The chairman of Sahara India Pariwar Subrato Roy's face was blackened outside the Supreme Court a day before he was sent to jail in connection with a financial scam. Roy has been in jail since March 2014.

4) Pramod Muthalik

In 2010, Hindutva leader and Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik's face was blackened by some youths while he was participating in a Valentine's Day interactive session organised by a Kannada TV channel.

Muthalik is known for his threats to marry off young people found together on Valentine's Day.

Of punches and slaps

• Another former leader of the AAP, Prashant Bhushan was also attacked by a gang called Bhagat Singh Krantikari Sena at his lawyers chambers opposite the Supreme Court. He was repeatedly punched in the face.
• In 2009, the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram faced a shoe thrower at a press conference in New Delhi. The shoe-thrower journalist Jarnail Singh is now an AAP MLA in Delhi.
• Former union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was also repeatedly slapped by an angry young man at a function in New Delhi.