Why India’s Muslims Are in Grave Danger – By Ravi Agrawal
India has been jolted by the deadliest communal violence in New Delhi in decades. The fighting began on Sunday, Feb. 23 – just before U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in the country for meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – and quickly escalated into mass riots, with Hindu mobs targeting Muslim homes in the city’s northeast. At least 45 [now 49] people were killed – mostly Muslims.
Ashutosh Varshney, a Brown University professor and author of the prize-winning Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India, believes last week’s riots in Delhi bear some of the hallmarks of an organized pogrom. India has been there before: In 2002, in Gujarat, when Modi was the state’s chief minister, more than 1,000 people were killed in religious riots. Most were Muslims.
…And in 1984, again in Delhi, an estimated 3,000 Sikhs were targeted and killed after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. In both cases, experts say, riots could not have been conducted without some complicity on the part of the police. Varshney believes last week’s deadly clashes could be repeated in other parts of the country – and that Muslims are particularly vulnerable.…
ALSO SEE
The Real Objective of Mob Violence against Muslims in India – By Isaac Chotiner (Feb 28, 2020, New Yorker)
The Roots of the Delhi Riots: A Fiery Speech and an Ultimatum – By Jeffrey Gettleman, Suhasini Raj and Sameer Yasir (Feb 26, 2020, New York Times)
Why the root of Delhi’s Hindu-Muslim riots is a malevolent creeper planted by Supreme Court – By Shekhar Gupta (Feb 29, 2020, The Print)
In India, Modi’s Policies Have Lit a Fuse – By Jeffrey Gettleman and Maria Abi-Habib (Mar 2, 2020, New York Times)
