Violence against Muslims in India

Manifestation

Violence against Muslims is frequently in the form of mob attacks on Muslims by Hindus. These attacks are referred to as communal riots in India and are seen to be part of a pattern of sporadic sectarian violence between the majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities, and have also been connected to a rise in Islamophobia throughout the 20th century. Most incidents have occurred in the northern and western states of India, whereas communalist sentiment in the south and east is less pronounced. Among the largest incidents were Great Calcutta killings in 1946, Bihar and Garmukhteshwar in 1946 after Noakhali riot in East Bengal, the massacre of Muslims in Jammu in 1947, large-scale killing of Muslims following the Operation Polo in Hyderabad, anti-Muslim riots in Kolkata in the aftermath of 1950 Barisal Riots and 1964 East-Pakistan riots, 1969 Gujarat riots, 1984 Bhiwandi riot, 1985 Gujarat riots, 1989 Bhagalpur riots, Bombay riots, Nellie in 1983 and Gujarat riot in 2002 and 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. These patterns of violence have been well-established since partition, with dozens of studies documenting instances of mass violence against minority groups. Over 10,000 people have been killed in Hindu-Muslim communal violence since 1950. According to official figures, there were 6,933 instances of communal violence between 1954 and 1982 and, between 1968 and 1980, there were 530 Hindus and 1,598 Muslims killed in a total of 3,949 instances of mass violence. In 1989, there were incidents of mass violence throughout the north of India. Praveen Swami believes these periodic acts of violence have "scarred India's post independence history" and have also hindered India's cause in Jammu and Kashmir with regard to the Kashmir conflict.

Causes and effects

The roots of this violence lie in India's history, stemming from lingering resentment toward the Islamic domination of India during the Middle Ages, policies established by the country's British colonizers, the violent partition of India into a Muslim Pakistan, and a secular India with a large but minority Muslim population. Some scholars have described incidents of anti-Muslim violence as politically motivated and organized and called them pogroms or acts of genocide, or a form of state terrorism with "organized political massacres" rather than mere "riots". Others argue that, although their community faces discrimination and violence, some Muslims have been highly successful, that the violence is not as widespread as it appears, but is restricted to certain urban areas because of local socio-political conditions, and there are many cities where Muslims and Hindus live peacefully together with almost no incidences of sectarian violence. In anti-Muslim riots in India there are three Muslims killed for one Hindu. The economic competition between Hindus and Muslims also results in planned riots where Muslim businesses are specifically targeted.

Role of political parties

Many social scientists feel that many of these acts of violence are institutionally supported, particularly by political parties and organizations connected to the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In particular, scholars fault the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena for complicity in these incidents of violence and of using violence against Muslims as a part of a larger electoral strategy. For example, research by Raheel Dhattiwala and Michael Biggs has stated that killings are far higher in areas where the BJP faces stiff electoral opposition than in areas in which it is already strong. In 1989, the north of India saw an increase in orchestrated attacks on Muslims, and the BJP had further success in the local and state elections. The social anthropologist Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah concludes that the violence in Bhagalpur in 1989, Hashimpura in 1987 and in Moradabad 1980 were organised killings. According to Ram Puniyani, the Shiv Sena were victorious in the elections due to the violence in the 1990s, and the BJP in Gujarat after the 2002 violence. Gyan Prakash, however, cautions that the BJP's actions in Gujarat do not equate to the entirety of India, and it remains to be seen if the Hindutva movement has been successful in the deployment of this strategy nationwide.

Economic and cultural factors

Hindu nationalists use the historical subjugation of India by Muslims as an excuse for violence. Their view is that these conquerors had raped Hindu women and destroyed places of worship. They feel that, since the Partition, Indian Muslims are allied to Pakistan and are possible terrorists and, therefore, the Hindus must take revenge for these past wrongs and reassert their pride. The higher fertility rate among Muslims has been a recurring theme in the Hindu Right's rhetoric. They claim that the higher birth rate among Muslims is part of a plan to turn the Hindus into a minority within their own country.

Another reason given for these outbreaks of violence is the upward mobility of the lower castes caused by the expansion of the economy. The violence has become a substitute for class tensions. Nationalists, rather than deal with the claims from the lower class, instead view Muslims and Christians as not "fully Indian" due to their religion, and portray those who carry out these attacks as "heroes" that defended the majority from "anti-nationals". Muslims are viewed as suspect and their loyalty to the state is questioned because of the ill-will still prevalent after the violence during partition. According to Omar Khalidi:

Anti-Muslim violence is planned and executed to render Muslims economically and socially crippled and, as a final outcome of that economic and social backwardness, assimilating them into lower rungs of Hindu society.

Cultural nationalism has also been given as a reason for instances of violence carried out by Shiv Sena which initially claimed to speak for the people of Maharashtra, but quickly turned their rhetoric to inciting violence against Muslims. The Shiv Sena were complicit in the violence in 1984 in the town of Bhiwandi, and again in the violence in Bombay in 1992 and 1993. In both of these instances, Sena had help from the police and local officials. Violence has been incited by Sena in 1971 and 1986. According to Sudipta Kaviraj, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) are still engaged in the religious conflicts which began in the medieval times.

Anti-Muslim violence creates a security risk for Hindus residing outside of India. Since the 1950s, there have been retaliatory attacks on Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh in response to anti-Muslim violence in India. After the 1992 violence in Bombay, Hindu temples were attacked in Britain, Dubai and Thailand. This recurring violence has become a rigidly conventional pattern which has created a divide between the Muslim and Hindu communities.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has spoken out against these communal clashes, as it believes that the violence not only impacts upon Muslims, but India as a whole, and that these riots are damaging to India's progress. In Gujarat, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) was used in incidents pertaining to communal violence in 1992 and 1993. The majority of those arrested under the act were Muslim. Conversely, TADA was not used after the violence carried out against Muslims during the Bombay riots.

Demographics

The BJP politicians, as well as those of other parties, argue that demographics play an essential role in Indian elections. The BJP believe that the higher the number of Muslims within a constituency, the higher are the chances of centrist parties to acquiesce to minority groups' requests, which lowers the chances of Muslims "building bridges" with their Hindu neighbours. As such, according to this argument "Muslim appeasement" is the root cause of communal violence. Susanne and Lloyd Rudolph argue that the economic disparity is a reason for the aggression shown towards Muslims by Hindus. As India's economy expanded due to globalization and investment from overseas companies, the expectations of the Hindu population were not matched by the opportunities. Hindu nationalists then encouraged the perception of Muslims as the source of the Hindus' troubles.

The actions of anti-Hindu and anti-India militant groups in Kashmir and Pakistan have reinforced anti-Muslim feelings in India, which has strengthened the Hindu Right. The Hindutva discourse portrays Muslims as traitors and state enemies, whose patriotism is suspected. Sumit Ganguly argues that the rise in terrorism cannot only be attributed to socioeconomic factors, but also to the violence perpetrated by Hindutva forces.

1964 Kolkata

Riots between Hindus and Muslims had left over a hundred people dead, 438 people were injured. Over 7000 people were arrested. 70000 Muslims have fled their homes and 55000 were provided protection by the Indian army. Muslims in Kolkata became more ghettoized than ever before in the aftermath of this riot. The riot was believed to be instigated by violence against Hindus in East Pakistan(now Bangladesh) and the flow of refugees from there. Violence was also seen in rural West Bengal.

1983 Nellie massacre

In the state of Assam in 1983 the Nellie massacre occurred. Nearly 1,800 Muslims of Bengali origin were slaughtered by Lalung tribespeople (also known as Tiwa) at a village called Nellie. It has been described as one of the most severe massacre since World War II with the majority of victims being women and children, as a result of the actions of the Assam Movement.

One reason cited for this incident is that it resulted from a build-up of resentment over immigration. The Assam movement insisted on striking the names of illegal immigrants from the electoral register and their deportation from the state. There was widespread support for the movement, which tapered off between 1981 and 1982.

The movement demanded that anyone who had entered the state illegally since 1951 be deported. The central government, however, insisted on a cutoff date of 1971. Towards the end of 1982, the central government called elections and the movement called for people to boycott it, which led to the widespread violence.

The official Tiwari Commission report on the Nellie massacre is still a closely guarded secret (only three copies exist). The 600-page report was submitted to the Assam Government in 1984 and the Congress Government (headed by Hiteswar Saikia) decided not to make it public, and subsequent Governments followed suit. Assam United Democratic Front and others are making legal efforts to make Tiwari Commission report public, so that reasonable justice is delivered to victims, at least after 25 years after the incident.

Since, then there have been no instances of communal violence in Upper Assam.

1969 to 1989

During the 1969 Gujarat riots, it is estimated that 630 people lost their lives. The 1970 Bhiwandi Riots was an instance of anti-Muslim violence which occurred between 7 and 8 May in the Indian towns of Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad. There were large amounts of arson and vandalism of Muslim-owned properties. In 1980 in Moradabad, an estimated 2,500 people were killed. The official estimate is 400 and other observers estimate between 1,500 and 2,000. Local police were directly implicated in planning the violence. In 1989 in Bhagalpur, it is estimated nearly 1,000 people lost their lives in violent attacks, believed to be a result of tensions raised over the Ayodhya dispute and the processions carried out by VHP activists, which were to be a show of strength and to serve as a warning to the minority communities.

1987 Hashimpura massacre

Hashimpura massacre happened on 22 May 1987, during the Hindu-Muslim riots in Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh state, India, when 19 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) allegedly rounded up 42 Muslim youth from the Hashimpura mohalla (locality) of the city, took them in truck to the outskirts, near Murad Nagar, in Ghaziabad district, where they were shot and their bodies were dumped in water canals. A few days later dead bodies were found floating in the canals. In May 2000, 16 of the 19 accused surrendered, and were later released on bail, while 3 were already dead. The trial of the case was transferred by the Supreme Court of India in 2002 from Ghaziabad to a Sessions Court at the Tis Hazari complex in Delhi, where it is the oldest pending case.

1992 Bombay riots

The destruction of the Babri Mosque by Hindu nationalists led directly to the 1992 Bombay Riots. BBC correspondent Toral Varia called the riots "a pre-planned pogrom," that had been in the making since 1990, and stated that the destruction of the mosque was "the final provocation".

Several scholars have likewise concluded that the riots must have been pre-planned, and that Hindu rioters had been given access to information about the locations of Muslim homes and businesses from non-public sources. This violence is widely reported as having been orchestrated by Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist group led by Bal Thackeray. A high-ranking member of the special branch, V. Deshmukh, gave evidence to the commission tasked with probing the riots. He said the failures in intelligence and prevention had been due to political assurances that the mosque in Ayodhya would be protected, that the police were fully aware of the Shiv Sena's capabilities to commit acts of violence, and that they had incited hate against the minority communities.

2002 Gujarat violence

Since partition, Muslim community has been subject to and engaged in sectarian violence in Gujarat. In 2002, in an incident described as an act of "fascistic state terror," Hindu extremists carried out acts of violence against the Muslim minority population, in retaliation to on going sectarian violence and persecution by radicalised Islamists, often backed by the Pakistan Intelligence services, with increasing support amongst the local Muslim population. The starting point for the incident was the Godhra train burning which was allegedly done by Muslims. During the incident, young girls were sexually assaulted, burned or hacked to death. These rapes were condoned by the ruling BJP, whose refusal to intervene lead to the displacement of 200,000. Death toll figures range from the official estimate of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus killed, to 2,000 Muslims killed. Then Chief Minister Narendra Modi has also been accused of initiating and condoning the violence, as have the police and government officials who took part, as they directed the rioters and gave lists of Muslim-owned properties to the extremists.

Mallika Sarabhai, who had complained over state complicity in the violence, was harassed, intimidated and falsely accused of human trafficking by the BJP. Three police officers were given punitive transfers by the BJP after they had successfully put down the rioting in their wards, so as not to interfere further in preventing the violence. According to Brass, the only conclusion from the evidence which is available points to a methodical pogrom, which was carried out with "exceptional brutality and was highly coordinated".

In 2007, Tehelka magazine released "The Truth: Gujarat 2002," a report which implicated the state government in the violence, and claimed that what had been called a spontaneous act of revenge was, in reality, a "state-sanctioned pogrom". According to Human Rights Watch, the violence in Gujarat in 2002 was pre-planned, and the police and state government participated in the violence. In 2012, Modi was cleared of complicity in the violence by a Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court. The Muslim community is reported to have reacted with "anger and disbelief," and activist Teesta Setalvad has said the legal fight was not yet over, as they had the right to appeal. Human Rights Watch has reported on acts of exceptional heroism by Hindus, Dalits and tribals, who tried to protect Muslims from the violence.

Depictions

The film Parzania, which is based on the Gulbarg Society massacre which occurred during the 2002 violence, was boycotted by cinemas in Gujarat over fear of sparking another riot. The film documents atrocities such as families being burned alive in their homes by Hindu extremists, women being set on fire after being gang-raped, and children being hacked to pieces.

Final Solution by Rakesh Sharma is considered one of the better documentaries which covers the violence in Gujarat in 2002. The Central Board of Film Certification had tried to ban the film but, in 2004, chairman Anupam Kher granted a certificate which allowed an uncut version to be screened.