India communal riots
Communal riots near New Delhi have raised more questions over India’s ability to ensure the safety of religious minorities, or even maintain public security in general. The violence began on Monday after the militant Vishva Hindu Parishad and its affiliate Bajrang Dal held a rally in a Muslim-majority neighbourhood in Nuh, about 75 km from New Delhi.
In the days before the rally, a few local members of the organisations had reportedly uploaded some videos that were offensive to Muslims. The militant Hindu groups successfully baited the Muslim community in Nuh into a fight, with mob violence breaking out and some cars also getting burnt. Hours later, the violence spread to Gurugram, one of the country’s most economically important cities. Arson and violence took place near the Indian headquarters of major international companies such as Samsung, Siemens, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and BMW. At least five people were killed as mobs of 200-plus people chanting slogans associated with Hindutva militants looted shops and set fire to others. Over 100 people have been arrested, but curiously, Bajrang Dal leader Monu Manesar, who some new reports suggest was the main instigator, is still not being aggressively pursued, nor has there been any questioning as to why Manesar, who is already an absconder in the lynching of two Muslim men in another state, is allowed to maintain a social media presence.
Another interesting perspective came from Shivpal Yadav, a leader in the leftist Samajwadi Party. Yadav said the BJP indulges in conspiracies and arranges riots to rile up the Hindutva base. Several experts have previously noted that tensions with Pakistan also rise ahead of elections — the most glaring example is the Pulwama attack, where at least 11 warnings of an attack by Jaish-e-Muhammad militants were ‘ignored’. After the attack, however, the BJP and RSS relentlessly mobilised national emotions, and even though they took India to the brink of a disastrous war with Pakistan, it did win Modi another election.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2023.
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