Why this monograPh?

Riots have been a recurring phenomenon in lndia claiming hundreds of human lives as and

when they occur. Yet, the factual data gathering about riots, analysis of the reasons behind and

critical review of post-riot situation continue to be ignored from time to time. Besides, as has

been the experience, intellectual and political discourse about riots and the overall communal

situation has always been acutely lopsided against a particular community or a particular

ideological group. This occasional paper of Public Policy Research Centre has tried to see hard

facts related to major riots in lndia with an objective to have dispassionate and objective

analysis of the communal riots in lndia. The objective behind this monograph is to help

objective researchers and analysts.

Background

lndia has a long history of communal strife between various communities. Before

lndependence, the countryhad witnessed worst communal violence.One of the first major

communal riots took place in August 1893 in Mumbai in which about a hundred people were

killed and g00 injured. The period between L92L and 1940 marked a particularly difficult phase.

lndependent lndia witnessed its worst communal riots in l-948 after the partition. Post-Partition

the scale of communal violence had come down considerably in the first decade. But during the

19G0s, the politics of vote bank and appeasement changed this relative peace into a violent

phase. A long-term study of communal violence in independent lndia would show that they

became a permanent phenomenon after the 1950s. The graph remained high since the

Jabalpur Riots, 1961. ln 1964, there were 1,070 incidents - in 1960 there were only 26.

Riot After Riot

o About 58 major communal riots in 47 places since 1967.

o Ten in South lndia, l-2 in East, 16 in West,20in North lndia

o Ahmedabad has seen five major riots; Hyderabad, four; Calcutta, none since'64*

o The 1990s saw the most riots in the last five decades: 23

o The 1970s saw seven riots, the 1980s, 14; the 2000s have seen 13

o Totaltoll: 12,828 (South 597, West 3,426, East 3,581, North 5,2241'

* ln'64, a wave of rioting in Calcutta, Jamshedpur and Rourkela killed 2,500.

Note: Only riots with a toll of five or more included; deaths due to bomb blasts not included

Data: Alka Gupta, Outlook (March 5, ?012)

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Riots & Politics:

Who ruled the state when more than riots -1967 onwards

'1967

',,, tL:96;9

L970

1979

1980

1983

1984

1984

-. 45,

'1989

,',1990:

1990

1ego

",:,1992

':tggZ'1992

,' ,,',r:I993,

:2A02

Hatia Ranchi

Ahmedabad:

Jalgaon

Jamshedpur

Moradabad

Nellie, Assam

Bhiwandir.,'

Oelhi'

'Ahmedabad

Bhagalpur

; ,Delhi"' :,.,

Hyderabad

,Aligarh', .

Surat

KanPur .',

Bhopal

Mumbai

Gujarat

183

,.312100

L20

1500

1819

1,46

2733

300

1161

.100,

365

,150 't,

r52'2s4. '

143

872

L267

Jana Kranti Dal

Congress

Congress

Janata Party

Congress

President's Rule

Congress

Congress (UT)

Congress

Congress

', tJnion Territory

Congress

Janata Daf

Congress+JD(G)+JD

President's Rule

President's Rule

Congress

BJP

MP Sinha

Hitendra K Desai

VasantraoNaik

Karpoori Thakur

VasantdadaPatil

Rajiv Gandhi

SN Singh

VP Singh

Chenna Reddy

Mulayam Singh Yadav

Chimanbhai patel

sudhaloriabwaik

NarendraModiOf the L8 riots mentioned,

o 10 took place under Congress/Allies ruleo 3 under president,s Rule,o 4 under other parties ando L under BJp rule.

President's rule includes Kanpur and Bhopal, after BJp ruled Uttar pradesh & MadhyaPradesh state governments were dismissed aftermath of the events of 6 December 1992.During JL Nehru's rule (From 1950 to Lg64) -243 communal violence incidences weredocumented in 16 states. (Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in lndia,1950-1995, Version 2)During lndira Gandhi's rule (L966-77 &1980-84) - 337 communal violence incidences weredocumented in 15 states, including the Neilli Massacre of 1gg3.(varshney-wilkinsonDataset on Hindu-Musrim viorence in rndia, 1950-r_995, Version 2)lndira by far takes the shield for being the worst administrator of lndia when it comes todomestic security of its citizensDuring Rajiv Gandhi's rule (1984-89) - 291 communal violence incidences documented in16 states, including the barbaric sikh Pogrom of 1984.(Varshney-wilkinson Dataset onHindu-Muslim Violence in lndia, 1950_1995, Version 2)

100 people died in

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o There were 1,194 communal communal violence incidencesdocumented in lndia from1950-1995. Out of these 87L or 72.95% were during Nehru, lndira & Rajiv's pM-ship!(Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in lndia, 1950-1995, Version 2)

Communal incidents during UPA rule

5s2t 1851.3(Source:www.niticentral. Annual Reports, Ministry of Home Affairs)

o The Sonia - Manmohan led UPA regime witnessedS,g?.t Communal lncidents casing 943deaths.The Congress ruled Assam witnessed bloodiest violence in Bodoland territorial districts inJuly-August 201,2. The local bodos clashed with illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Anestimated 97 people have lost their lives; nearly 500,000 people were being forced to takeshelter in273 temporary refugee camps around 500 villages were burnt down in less than amonth.The Congress' alliance partner Samajwadi Party ruled Uttar Pradesh witnessed 27 incidentsof communal violence since the Samajwadi Party (SP) formed government in the state.Among them three incidents were big - which occurred at Mathura, Bareilly and Faizabad.

GUJARAT

Gujarat reported 244 communal violence incidences since 1950 till 1995 with a casualty of1601. (Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in lndia, l-950-1995, Version2)

The city of Ahmedabad, reported 7L Communal Violence incidences with a total casualtyof L07L since 1950 till 1995. (Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence inlndia, 1950-L995, Version 2)

Some of Major Riots:o Sept-Oct 1969 Ahmedabad - More than 5L2 Killed in the city. 3000 to 15OOO range

in the entire state, Riots for 6 months, Ruling party happened to be congresso April 1985 Ahmedabad - At least 300 Killed, Ruling party congresso July 1986 Ahmedabad - 59 Killed, Ruling party Congresso Dec 1992 Surat - At least 175 killed, Ruling party Congress.

E

The above facts and figures show that communal riots were also happened before ZoO2.On the background of such communal history, Sabarmati Express was torched by miscreantsnear Godhra railway station on the morning of 27 February ZOOZ, in which 59 peopleincluding 25 women and j.5 children were burnt to death.

' The news spread instantly through television channels and telephones.' The first incidents of retaliatory mob violence were reported on February 2g, They

continued in full intensity on lst and 2nd March. By 3rd March situation wasbrought under control firmly.

' The entire police force of 6000 is deployed in sensitive areas of Gujarat on the veryfirst day, Feb 27,2002.

' Army is called and the first aircraft carrying army personnel lands at Ahmedabad bymidnight of 28th February.13 Columns of Army deployed to assist the State Civiladministration.

' Curfew was imposed in Godhra and other potential trouble spots from Feb 27,2012.Shoot- at- Sight order was issued on lstMarch, that is, within a day after the riotsbroke out on 28th February.

' The Defence Minister personally supervised the deployment of the army whichcommenced on the morning of 1st.

' During the riots, police fired 1.03,559 rounds of bullets. More than half fired in thefirstT2 hours;

' Through the period of disturbances, in all 66,268 Hindus and 10,gG1 Muslims weretaken into custody under preventive detention laws.

statements by shri Narendra Modijust after the incidents.

Feb 27,2002: .'.This government will not allow anyone involved to go scot-free and is takingfool-proof steps.'.The Government will not be lacking in discharging duty...No efforts will bespared in ensuring law and order.Feb 28, 2002: ..'Come, let us serve Gujarat through peace and self-control,and let usstrengthen the arms of law...lt is our responsibility that the lives of innocent are not put atstake...ver verthi shomtu nothi(Hatred is never won over by hatred)...Mar 1, 2oo2: Kriyo pratikriyo ki chain chal rahi hai. Hum chhohote hoin ki no kriya ho aur noprotikriya (A chain of action-reaction has set in. We wish to see an end to both action andreaction) (Zee TV lnterview with Sudhir Chowdhary, Gandhinagar. SIT lnvestigationestablished that Zee TV deleted the last line to give the impression that Modi was justifying"reaction" by way of mob violence to avenge the killings of Godhra.)Mat 2,2002:State Government is committed to pacify the wide spread anger amongst thepeople and restore law and order with strong political will.Mar 3, 2002: Government cannot shy away from its moral duty of maintaining law andorder in the state...all sections of the society too have a role to play in restoring peacequickly... I appeal to people to cooperate with the security staff in order to maintain iaw andorder and in performance of their duties...

{Source: Madhu Kishwar's Modinama at www.manushi.in)

2002 Riot & Others

Feb 18, 1983 (9 AM to3 PM - Just 6 Hours)

May be Anti-Bangladeshi

sentiments

l"Disti:itt, 14 Village-s

near the river Kopili.Uhctear the'iinrnediate."ason, i

r18'1,9:,people.,ALL,'Muslirns. Acase ofsuspected planned '

genocide

Congress -:,Presidentls

fUIg I r, :. ) ,.',

Gyani Zail Singh(President) and lndiraGandhi (PM). Asomwas under President'srule

Not ONE rioter orkiller conVicted titl

:

date. Folice Filed688criminal cases, of l

which 378 cases wereclosed due to 'lack ofevidence'. 310 cases

were chargesheeted,but Rajiv Gandhidropped cases againstALL in 1985

Oct 31, 1984 to Nov3,1984

Killing of PrimeMinister lndiraGandhi by her Sikh

security guards

Mostly Delhi, Someparts of North lndia

2733. Mostly Sikh. Acase of Pogrom.

Sept - Oct 1969

Tensions w re'nn ,r,

rise during,,,1.960t,

Some local incidentwas the immedlatereasons for 1969violence.

Ahmedabad City

512,,Out of which430,were Muslims

Congress ,

Rajiv Gandhi (PM)

Ccngr€ssboth,atState and'Centre

lndira eandh,i {PM)and Hitendra Desai(cM)

Many of the primaryaccused wereacquitted or neverbeen charge-sheeted. Recently,

Sajjan Kumar is alsoacquitted.

Feb 27,2002 toMarch 3,2A02

58 Hindu Pilgrimswere.burned alive ina train by Muslimmob at GodhraStation :

L5L towns and 993

villages in 1"6

districts out of the25 districts.L267. Hindus &Muslims.. 223 morepeople werereporteo mrsslng.

B.fP at State and NDA

at the Centre

Atal BihariVajpayee(PM) and NarendraModi (CM)

249 convictions tillnow in 19 cases. 1"84

Hindus,65 Muslims(31for Godhra and34for post-Godhra)

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600 Page official;.Itwafl Lommrsslonreport-Only3copiesexist today. Asom'sCongress CMHiteshwarSaikiadecided not to makethem public

Ten commissionsand committeeshave so far enquired

Marwah Commission(1984) to NanavatiComrnission {2005)

The JusticeJaganmohan Reddy

LOmmlsston oT

Enqurry was set upby the Governrnentof Gujarat's HomeDepartrnent. ltpublished a report in1g71, questioningthe police's role inthe riots.

***

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3.

I

t1l

References

L. Riots after riots: Outlook article 'A Beast Asleep?' by Saba Naqvi, Smruti Koppikar of March 5,20L2.(http ://www.outlooki n d ia.com/a rticle.aspx?280032)

2. Riots and politics: Outlook article 'A Beast Asleep?' by Saba Naqvi, Smruti Koppikar of March 5, ZO!2.(http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?280032)

Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in lndia, L950-1995, Version 2: Accessed herehttp ://swd. ucsd. ed u/i ndia.xls

Analysis from Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in lndia, 1950-1995, Version 2

taken from Kiran Kumar S article 'Gujarat saw many bloodier riots before 2OO2' alhttp://www.voxindica.net/2012l02lmanv-previous-riots-too-euiarat-in.html

Communal incidents during UPA rule: Data from Priyadarshi Dutta's article 'Communal lies and secularstatistics' on April 24,2013 in Niti Central at http://www.niticentral.com/2013/04/24lcommunal-lies-a nd-secu I a r-statistics-69885. htm I

Statement by Shri Narendra Modi: Collected from Modinama by Smt Madhu Kishwar's Modinama athttp://www.manushi.inl. Alternatively, can also be accessed here http://www.niticentral.com/wp-content/u ploads/modinama.pdf.

2002 Riot & Others: The comparative analysis is built over Niti Central article The 'worst ever' anti-Muslim riot was not post-Godhra' by Kiran Kumar. (http://www.niticentral.com/2013/03/06/the-worst-ever-a nti-m usl i m-riot-was-not-eod h ra-52385. htm I )

Firstpost article 'Not just Modi: Guide to riots before 2OO2 and after' by Sanjiv Nayyar

re-2OO2

,4.

5.

6.

7.

688714.htm1)

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