India’s national capital saw its worst Hindu-Muslim violence in seven decades in February, with two and a half days of rioting leaving at l...
India’s national capital saw its worst Hindu-Muslim violence in seven decades in February, with two and a half days of rioting leaving at least 53 dead, many more injured and thousands affected. While accurate information about the violence was hard to access initially – in part because violent mobs that were running freely in the area even targeted journalists – subsequent reporting has given us a clearer idea of what exactly took place.
Here is what we know about the Delhi violence now:
What set off the riots?
It is impossible to point to one moment and say this is what sparked the riot. Eyewitness and reporting from the area offer a few clues.
First there were the broader tensions:
Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government passed amendments to India’s citizenship law in December 2019, there has been fear and panic around the country about its potential effects.
Muslims, clearly the target of the laws, have been most on edge, concerned that the government may take away their citizenship on flimsy pretexts. But the poor and marginalised everywhere have panicked, attempting to get documents in place so that they too are not discriminated against.
This fear turned into a large protest movement in December, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets...
