Psychology: Exploring Sanjay Dutt's Case and Mumbai Bomb Blasts

This essay delves into the psychological dimensions of Sanjay Dutt's case, focusing on his alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts. The paper begins with an introduction to Sanjay Dutt, his background, and the events surrounding the blasts. It then explores relevant psychological theories including social psychological influences, theories of emotion, personality disorders, and conditioning and learning, explaining how these theories apply to Dutt's behavior. The essay examines how Dutt's actions, such as illegally possessing weapons, can be understood through the lens of these psychological frameworks. It also discusses the emotional impact of the blasts and how cognitive, physiological, and neurological models of emotion can be applied. Additionally, the essay analyzes how Dutt's history of drug abuse and associations with criminals may reflect personality disorders. The paper concludes by summarizing the key findings and the applicability of these psychological theories to understand the complexities of Sanjay Dutt's case within the context of the Mumbai Bomb Blasts.

Running head: PYSCHOLOGY 1
Psychology: The 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blast
Student Name
Institution

PYSCHOLOGY 2
Introduction
Sanjay Dutt is an Indian film actor and producer born in July 29th, 1959 known for his
work in Hindi cinema. Sanjay made his acting debut in Rocky (1981) and since then, he has
appeared in over 187 Hindi Films. Sanjay Dutt is among the most controversial India’s
celebrities in history. His addiction to alcohol and drug abuse, accusations of having illegal
weapons and other alleged illegal affairs, and most damningly his conviction in the Mumbai
Bomb blasts and other terror cases have all been avidly documented (Kamal, 2013). The 1993
Mumbai Bomb blasts involved a series of twelve bomb explosives that occurred in Mumbai,
India. The 1993 Bombay Blasts were coordinated, and were done as an act of revenge for prior
Bombay riots where many people were killed. Prior to the 1993 Bombay Blasts, Sanjay Dutt
illegally possessed multiple weapons such as 3 AK 56s and a few hand grenades. Other
weaponries illegally possessed by Sanjay were 3.5 tons of RDX and an AK-47 rifle. These
harmful weapons were found in Dutt’s house after the 1993 blasts. Sanjay had stored arms
smuggled into India in his house, this possession was not licensed. His failure to inform the
police about the illegal weaponry led to the 1993 Mumbai Bomb blasts (Menon, 2012). The
selection of Sanjay Dutt’s case perfectly suits in this paper. Coordination of the attacks and
Sanjay’s failure to inform the police about these harmful weapons makes the instances too
controversial. This paper discusses Sanjay Dutt’s case in the context of psychology. Explanation
of relevant theories applicable to this case will also be undertaken.
Explanation of Relevant Theories
Sanjay was arrested of illegally possessing AK- 56 and got charged under the TADA Act,
subsequent to a legal fight for several years. The TADA court gave Sanjay a clean chit by stating

PYSCHOLOGY 3
that he kept the armed weapons for purposes of self-defense; nevertheless, Dutt got jailed for 5
years under the Arms Act. Sanjay’s case fits in psychology and his behavior is closely associated
with psychological issues. Theories of emotion, social psychological influences, conditioning
and learning, and personality disorders perfectly fit in this case. These theories are hereby
explained:
Social psychological influences theory
In his movies, Sanjay Dutt was a psychological thriller. But, what exactly was his role in
the 1993 Mumbai Blasts that claimed 257 lives and left 713 people with injuries? In social
psychological influence theory, the study of how various ways of attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs
of people get influence by other people is done (Shuchi, 2018). People’s behaviors, attitudes, and
beliefs get influence by three social levels. These social influences include individual
socialization, social institutions, and interactions with other people. This theory is relevant to the
case of Sanjay since his behavior was greatly influenced by the people whom he interacted with.
The degree at which people remain open to social influence depends on how they are socialized.
The ideas people hold, the means by which we behave, and the language we use to speak are
products of socialization. People’s negative behaviors, attitudes, and believes are a product of
habit.
Emotions theories
Emotional theory of psychology is complex and features subjective experiences
accompanied by behavioral and biological transformations. Emotion involves thinking, feeling,
behavioral changes, psychological transformations, and nervous system activation. People either
have positive or negative emotions that relate to an event or an object. In this case, emotions are

PYSCHOLOGY 4
related to the Mumbai 1993 blasts. The motivation, mood, and temperament behind an event
differ from one individual to another (Bhattacharya, 2012). When emotions occur, they impose
powerful force on human behavior and moods. Strong emotions to an event’s aftermath cause
people to take actions that may not lead to avoidance of such situations. In this case of Sanjay,
the main theories of motivation manifest are neurological, physiological, and cognitive models.
Cognitive theory postulates that mental thoughts cultivate greatly in forming emotions.
Physiological models argue that body responses are responsible for emotions. Finally,
neurological theory suggests that activities within human brain contribute to emotional
responses.
Personality disorders and/or stress theory
Many people struggle with mental disorders. As per this theory, personality disorders
refer to the long-lived behavioral patterns that create problems with an individual’s relationships
or work. The theory suitably fits in Sanjay’s case since his decision to illegally keep AK- 56
weapon caused him problems after the Mumbai 1993 blasts. Personality explains the blend of
attributes that bring uniqueness to an individual (Vicziany, 2013). In this theory, every person
has a unique psychological characteristic unpossessed by the other people. Personality disorder
has a huge link with stress, for both bring about mental problems to an individual. People who
suffer from personality disorders have lower tolerance to stress, elevated stress reactions, and
prolonged recovery times from any stressful instance. As a result, personality disorder people
drink alcohol and abuse drugs as well as other negative behavioral patterns while in the society.
Conditioning and learning theories

PYSCHOLOGY 5
The other theory relevant to Sanjay Dutt’s case is conditioning and learning. Basic
learning principles always operate to influence human behavior. Conditioning and learning are a
behavioral theory, whose impact in psychology cannot go unnoticed. Conditioning theory of
psychology helps in predicting human behavior for people trained to behave in a certain manner.
Through operant conditioning, people create an association between their certain behavior and its
consequence. In general terms, conditioning and learning are together linked in order to give a
new learned response to an individual (Rabasa, Blackwill, & Chalk, 2009). Predicting people’s
behavior requires a person to understand how learning occurs and how people learn to
understand. As per the theory, learning is any relative change that permanently transforms
human behavior that happen as a fruit of experience.
Theories of Emotion
Emotional theory of psychology is complex and features subjective experiences
accompanied by behavioral and biological transformations. Emotion involves thinking, feeling,
behavioral changes, psychological transformations, and nervous system activation. People either
have positive or negative emotions that relate to an event or an object. In this case, emotions are
related to the Mumbai 1993 blasts (Gupta & Kumaraguru, 2012). The motivation, mood, and
temperament behind an event differ from one individual to another. When emotions occur, they
impose powerful force on human behavior and moods. Strong emotions to an event’s aftermath
cause people to taje actions that may not lead to avoidance of such situations. In this case of
Sanjay, the main theories of motivation manifest are neurological, physiological, and cognitive
models (Vivek, 2013). Cognitive theory postulates that mental thoughts cultivate greatly in
forming emotions. Physiological models argue that body responses are responsible for emotions.

PYSCHOLOGY 6
Finally, neurological theory suggests that activities within human brain contribute to emotional
responses.
Relevance and Application of Theories to the Case
In the context of psychology, the theories of emotion, social psychological influences,
conditioning and learning, and personality disorders perfectly suit in the case of Sanjay Dutt and
his role in the 1993 blasts (Roy, 2016). In the judgement, Sanjay was convicted of illegally
possessing Arms, and this is what exonerated him of any involvement in the conspiracy of the
Bombay blasts. The applicability of these theories in the context of Sanjay Dutt’s case is
explained below:
Application of Social psychological influences
In reference to the social psychological influences theory, Sanjay Dutt’s illegal possession of
AK-56 weapon was encouraged by his personal behavior, beliefs and attitudes. As a movie actor,
Sanjay was used to using guns, hand grenades, and other bombing materials for this was normal
in his profession. His close association with other colleagues’ actors always discussed about new
movies and ideas to take his career to the next level. In the social psychological influence model,
his possession of illegal weaponry was not abnormal. And this is according to his beliefs
(Bhandarwar et al., 2012). Sanjay believes that AK-56 and other armed weapons are part of his
profession. Also, Sanjay Dutt kept the weapons to support his family. However, keeping harmful
weapons without a license caused him troubles when the Mumbai blast occurred. The police
believed that Sanjay had a possible connection with the crime perpetrators given the time period
when the blasts occurred. Dutt was believed to have played a key role to conspire the plot to

PYSCHOLOGY 7
bomb Mumbai. In this case, social psychological influences are evidenced given the linkage
between Sanjay, the blast perpetrators, and his personal believes.
Application of Theories of Emotion
Emotionally, the Mumbai blast affected most families who lost their members – the
Mumbai 1993 blast amassed to 257 deaths and left 713 people with major injuries. The
emotional state at India in this period greatly left many people with fearful feelings, nervous
system deactivation, and negative psychological issues. In reference to the theories of emotion
and their applicability in psychology, Sanjay Dutt’s mental thoughts, body responses, and brain
activities catapulted to his decision to illegally keep the weapons (Mishra, 2009). What
motivated him to possess the weaponry illegally and confidently keep them in his house even
after the Mumbai blasts was highly questioned. In cognitive theory of emotion, the metal
thoughts of Sanjay contributed to this. On his arrest, Sanjay cried, showing how emotional the
allegations caused him. As per the physiological model of emotion, Sanjay Dutt’s body response
when he was accused of participating in the blasts forced the police to arrest him (Sassen, 2010).
Lastly, neurological theory of emotion is also applicable in Sanjay Dutt and Mumbai blast’s case
for these happenings suggests that the state of his brain contributed to his emotional responses on
the arrest time.
Application of Conditioning and learning
The conditioning and learning theories of motivation perfectly fit in the Mumbai blast
case together with Sanjay’s role in the blast. In reference to the conditioning and learning theory,
Sanjay Dutt’s behavior can be highly predicted on the basis of his behavior (Jenkins, 2009). As
an actor, Sanjay was highly trained to use weapons and cause massive crimes despite it being

PYSCHOLOGY 8
just a career of his life. In this essence, Sanjay can be said to have established an association
between his acting behaviors when bombing with the consequences of the actual aftermaths of
his behavior. Generally, Sanjay had learned how to use guns and hand grenades- and this
potentially exposed him to other gangsters whom he could have possibly conspired with before
the Bombay blasts took place. In psychology, it is very easy to predict Sanjay’s behavior in the
film industry, a behavior that could easily be transferred to other crime perpetrators in the Indian
society (Wolf et al., 2009). This reasoning is highly supported by the case when Abu Salem is
proved to have transported the weapons to Dutt’s house from Gujarat, and the accounts of Abu
Salem clearly complete the chain of events linking the weapons to the blast.
Application of Personality disorders and/or stress
In psychology, personality disorders are caused by childhood experience and the
environment in which people relate, associate, and socialize with others. Most people with
personality disorders struggle with mental disorders and encounter a lot of stress. People with
personality disorders show behaviors that expose them to long-life problems. Sanjay’s decision
to illegally store AK-56 and other hand grenades is a behavior that is difficult to explain and
understand, and this causes him jail problems after the 1993 Bombay blast (Gordon, 2008).
Reportedly, Sanjay started abusing drugs and alcohol since his secondary education. Also,
Sanjay enjoyed a hobnobbed relationship with India’s most-wanted criminals whose private lives
was a constant headline and subject to question by the government and the media. In personality
disorders theory, this means that Sanjay had personality disorder, thus lacked company in the
society- as he only associated with criminals. Therefore, the realization that Sanjay was a drug
trafficker for long, and that he associated with the most-wanted Indian criminals surprised many-
creating stress on his side for his future in the film industry.

PYSCHOLOGY 9
Conclusion
To summarize, the Mumbai Bomb blasts is the most-destructive bomb explosion in the
Indian history. The Bombay blast claimed 257 lives and left 713 people highly injured.
Emotionally, the whole country was in a mess- leaving politicians and Sanjay’s millions of fans
surprised. The cause of the Bombay blast was revenge for past Bombay riots in which many
Indians were killed. Psychologically, the Mumbai case and Sanjay’s behavior analysis helped
explain his role in the 1993 blasts. Sanjay illegally kept weaponry; this exonerated him for
involvement in the blasts conspiracy. The film actor maintained an excellent relationship with
India’s most-wanted criminals and con-conspirators of the Bombay blast. Loved by many,
Sanjay’s behavior is seen to be influenced by the social friends whom he interacted with- to a
person who helps gangsters in perpetrating crime. In reference to psychoanalysis theory, the
behavior of Sanjay was influenced by his childhood experiences, the environment in which he
stayed and interacted with colleagues in the film sector.

PYSCHOLOGY 10
References
Bhandarwar, A. H., Bakhshi, G. D., Tayade, M. B., Chavan, G. S., Shenoy, S. S., & Nair, A. S.
(2012). Mortality pattern of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Journal of Trauma and
Acute Care Surgery, 72(5), 1329-1334.
Bhattacharya, S. (2012). In the Name of Mera Shahar: The Spectre of Terror in the Mumbai
‘Disaster-scape’. Journal of Creative Communications, 7(1-2), 53-66.
Gordon, S. (2008). Policing terrorism in India. Crime, law and social change, 50(1-2), 111-124.
Gupta, A., & Kumaraguru, P. (2012). Twitter explodes with activity in mumbai blasts! a lifeline
or an unmonitored daemon in the lurking?.
Jenkins, B. M. (2009). Terrorists Can Think Strategically-Lessons Learned From the Mumbai
Attacks (No. RAND-CT-316). RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA.
Kamal, L. (2013). Should Indian actor Sanjay Dutt be pardoned? Quora, 1-12. Retrieved from:
https://www.quora.com/Should-Indian-actor-Sanjay-Dutt-be-pardoned
Menon, M. (2012). Riots and after in Mumbai: Chronicles of Truth and Reconciliation. SAGE
Publications India.
Mishra, J. (2009). Decriminalizing Indian politics: a comment on Sanjay Dutt v. state of
Maharashtra. Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 51(4), 523-530.

PYSCHOLOGY 11
Rabasa, A., Blackwill, R. D., & Chalk, P. (2009). The lessons of Mumbai (Vol. 249). Rand
Corporation.
Roy, R. (2016). A screen history of the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts. Salaam Bollywood:
Representations and interpretations, 191.
Sassen, S. (2010). When the city itself becomes a technology of war. Theory, Culture &
Society, 27(6), 33-50.
Shuchi, B. (2018). Here is why the Journo who broke Sanjay Dutt’s AK-56 story does not want
to watch Sanju. RVCJ, 1-8. Retrieved from: https://www.rvcj.com/heres-why-the-journo-
who-broke-sanjay-dutts-ak-56-story-doesnt-want-to-watch-sanju/
Usman, Y. (2018). Sanjay Dutt: The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood's Bad Boy. Juggernaut
Books.
Vicziany, M. (2013). Understanding the 1993 Mumbai Bombings: Madrassa s and the Hierarchy
of Terror. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 30(1), 43-73.
Vivek, K. (2013). What exactly was Sanjay Dutt’s role in the 1993 blasts? Quora, 1(2), 1-10.
Retrieved from: https://www.quora.com/What-exactly-was-Sanjay-Dutts-role-in-the-
1993-blasts
Wolf, S. J., Bebarta, V. S., Bonnett, C. J., Pons, P. T., & Cantrill, S. V. (2009). Blast
injuries. The Lancet, 374(9687), 405-415.

PYSCHOLOGY 12