Starting February 23, for nearly a week, law and order collapsed in the north eastern district of the Indian capital as it was gripped by c...
Starting February 23, for nearly a week, law and order collapsed in the north eastern district of the Indian capital as it was gripped by communal violence. Delhi witnessed the familiar Indian pattern of communal violence as mobs ransacked areas and the police colluded with rioters to attack minority neighbourhoods. According to political scientist Ashutosh Varshney, this qualifies the Delhi violence to be categorised as a pogrom.
Given this blatant administrative communalism, the rioting saw Muslims suffer grievously, with most of the dead, injured and property damaged belonging to the minority community.
However, the prejudice did not restrict itself to outright violence. Even after the riots, the messaging in the media as well as by the administrative machinery maintained a strong majoritarian bias.
Although much of the violence occurred against Muslims, there is little focus on that facet of the riot. Instead, there is an inordinate emphasis on Muslims accused of violence.
The media has concentrated on Aam Aadmi Partry councillor Tahir Hussain’s role, with some outlets even going so far as to call him the “kingpin” behind the violence. This is the case even though a Scroll.in report found that even in Hussain’s own neighbourhood, Muslim property was the primary target of mob attacks.
In one egregious example, even when the Delhi Police...
