1970 Bhiwandi riots

The 1970 Bhiwandi riots were instances of anti-Muslim violence which occurred between 7 and 8 May in the Indian towns of Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad.[1] There were large amounts of arson and vandalism of Muslim-owned properties. and caused the deaths of over 250 people.[2]

The riots

There had been a prolonged period of tension between Hindu nationalist groups such as the RSS, Jana Sangh and Shiv Sena and the Muslim groups Jamaat-i-Islami, the Muslim League and Majlis Tameer-e-Millat.[3] The Rashtriya Utsav Mandal had campaigned for permission to have a procession to celebrate the birthday of the Maratha warrior-King Shivaji, which would pass through an area where the residents were predominantly Muslims, and by a mosque. Permission was given over the protests of Muslim leaders and on 7 May the procession began.[1]

The procession was organised by Shiv Sena and supporters of the Hindu right, who, it was reported, arrived armed with lathis and were abusive towards Muslims along the path of the procession with the police taking no action. However once the anti-Muslim violence began the police opened fire several times, but only targeted Muslims.[4][5] Between 3,000 and 4,000 people had travelled from villages close to Bhiwandi, and once the procession had started some Muslims threw stones which triggered the violence.[6] An indefinite curfew was declared by the police at 10:00 p.m. (IST) that night. As violence ensued, fire engines and ambulances were brought in from Bombay, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, Ambarnath and other nearby places. The Indian Express reported that "knives and acid bulbs were freely used in the places".[7]

Subsequently, a 24-hour curfew was imposed also in the neighbouring town of Jalgaon, where 50 were reportedly injured by 8 May. The official figures put the total death toll at 21. The Indian Army was called in the same day to the two towns to bring the situation under control.[8] It was reported that towns returned to "normalcy" the following day.[9]

Aftermath

Following the incident the Indian government formed a Commission headed by Justice Dinshah Pirosha Madon. The final report from the commission ran to seven volumes and was highly critical of the police for their failure to prevent the riots, the report was also highly critical of Shiv Sena for their part in the violence.[2]

According to the Madon report of those arrested during the violence 324 were Hindu and 2183 were Muslim.[10] The Madon report was highly critical of the police, stating that their action showed a clear "anti-Muslim bias".[11] According to K. Jaishankar, of those arrested for clearly identifiable crimes during the violence in 1970, 21 were Hindu and 901 were Muslim, a figure disproportionate to the numbers of casualties (which Jaishankar gives as 17 Hindus and 59 Muslims).[12]

Economic costs for the riots in Bhiwandi, according to the Madon and police reports ran to Rs 15,320,163. In Jalgaon 112 Muslim properties and been attacked by arsonists, with 87 of these being razed to the ground. There was looting of 250 properties and another 28 had been damaged. Economic costs for the violence in Jalgaon ran to ₹3,474,722 with the costs to Muslims being ₹3,390,997.[13]

The commission gave a death toll of 164 in Bhiwandi alone, 142 Muslims and 20 Hindus, and in the nearby villages of Khoni and Nagaon the commission stated that there had been 78 deaths, 17 Hindus and 50 Muslims.[1]

References
  1. Graff & Galonnier 2013, p. 15-33.
  2. Engineer 2003, p. 8.
  3. Hansen 2001, p. 74.
  4. Horowitz 2001, p. 364.
  5. Banerjee 2005, p. 101.
  6. Graff & Galonnier 2013, p. 15–33.
  7. "Curfew in town near Bombay: 10 die in riots". The Indian Express. 8 May 1970. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  8. "Army Called Out in Maharashtra Town". The Indian Express. 9 May 1970. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  9. "Riot towns limp to normalcy". The Indian Express. 10 May 1970. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  10. Robinson 2005, p. 103.
  11. Hansen 2001, p. 75.
  12. Jaishankar 2010, p. 211.
  13. Robinson 2005, pp. 101–102.

Bibliography
  • Banerjee, Sikata (2005). Make Me a Man!: Masculinity, Hinduism, and Nationalism in India. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0791463680.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Engineer, Asgharali (2003). "Introduction". In Asgharali Engineer (ed.). The Gujarat Carnage. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-8125024965.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Graff, Violette; Galonnier, Juliette (2013). "Hindu-Muslim Communal Riots in India I (1947–1986)". Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence. ISSN 1961-9898.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Horowitz, Donald L. (2001). The Deadly Ethnic Riot. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520224476.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hansen, Thomas Blom (2001). Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Postcolonial Bombay. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691088402.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jaishankar, K. (2010). "Patterns of Communal Violence Victimization in South Asia". In Shlomo Giora Shoham; Paul Knepper; Martin Kett (eds.). International Handbook of Victimology. CRC Press. pp. 182–213. ISBN 978-1420085471.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Robinson, Rowena (2005). Tremors of Violence: Muslim Survivors of Ethnic Strife in Western India. SAGE. ISBN 978-0761934080.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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