1927 Nagpur riots

Last updated

1927 Nagpur riots
Date4 September 1927
Location
Nagpur, Bombay Presidency, British Raj
Casualties
Death(s)22
Injuries100+

The Nagpur riots of 1927 were part of series of riots taking place across various cities in British India during the 1920s. Nagpur was then the capital of Central Provinces and Berar (CP&B) state of British India which covered most of the central India. The riots occurred on 4 September 1927. [1] On that day, there was a procession for Mahalakshmi, which is said to have been blocked by Muslims when it came to the Mahal neighbourhood. In the afternoon, there was rioting near the Hindu houses of the neighbourhood, which continued for three days. [2]

Contents

Background

K. B. Hedgewar founded Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after the 1923 riots. Dr. Hedgevar.jpg
K. B. Hedgewar founded Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after the 1923 riots.

The mutual trust between Hindu and Muslim communities had reached a low in the 1920s, and riots were seen frequently across many cities of India. In 1923, India witnessed eleven riots, in 1924 there were eighteen riots, in 1925 there were sixteen riots, and in 1926 there were thirty five riots. [3] In the twelve months from May 1926 to April 1926, 40 more riots occurred across various cities. They mostly occurred in Bengal, Punjab and United Provinces (UP). Lahore riots of August 1927 were the most deadly recorded riots in this series. [1]

The earlier riot of 1923 was caused when the members of Hindu Mahasabha took out a procession and passed in front of a mosque, playing loud music. The Muslim community objected, starting a skirmish between the two parties. [3] These riots had a profound impact on K. B. Hedgewar, prompting him to form, in 1925, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization and one of the largest Hindu organizations in the world. [4] Christophe Jaffrelot in his book The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics records a testimony saying that Hedgewar led the Ganesha procession in 1927, beating the drums in defiance of the usual practice not to pass in front of the mosque with music. [5] All these events acted as a catalyst building up the tensions between two communities.

Riots

On the morning of 4 September, the day of Lakshmi Puja, Hindus took out a procession like every year, and passed in front of a mosque in the Mahal area of Nagpur. However, the Muslims stopped the procession this time around and did not allow it to pass through the area. In the afternoon, when the Hindus were resting after the morning procession, Muslim youths took out a procession shouting Allahu Akbar, armed with weapons like javelins, daggers and knives. [2]

Muslim youths threw stones at the house of Hedgewar, who was then away from Nagpur. [6] RSS cadres, sensing the mood of the procession, came out in the narrow lanes of the Mahal area and reciprocated with lathis, further intensifying the riots. [2] Liaquat Ali Khan, in his book Pakistan – The Heart of Asia, also describes a major arson incident during the riot that seemed pre-meditated with explosives gathered well before the riots began. [1]

The Washington Post reported 22 had been killed and more than 100 injured in riots that continued for two days. [7]

Later, the government ordered troops into the city to restore peace. [8] During the riots, the RSS had grouped its cadres in 16 shakhas, spread out across the city to protect the Hindu communities. [9]

Aftermath

Many Hindu homes and temples had been vandalized and Hindus had also been killed in large numbers including 13 RSS members who were lynched by a furious Muslim mob. RSS had showcased its role in defending Hindus during the riots. [10] The popularity of the organization grew as the news of the incident spread across the country, and it saw a spurt in its membership. [6] [11] By 1929, the organization formed an elaborate hierarchical structure. Between 1931–1939, the number of its branches grew from 60 to 500. The membership count had reached 60,000 by this time. [9]

Related Research Articles

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Hindu nationalist organisation in India

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar, which have presence in all facets of the Indian society. RSS was founded on 27 September 1925. As of 2014, it has a membership of 5–6 million.

Hindutva (transl. Hinduness) is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. As a political ideology, the term Hindutva was articulated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is championed by the Hindu Nationalist volunteer organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar.

The Sangh Parivar refers, as an umbrella term, to the collection of Hindu nationalist organisations spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which remain affiliated to it. These include the political party Bharatiya Janata Party, religious organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad, students union Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), religious militant organisation Bajrang Dal that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), and the worker's union Bharatiya Kishan Sangh. It is also often taken to include allied organisations such as the Shiv Sena, which share the ideology of the RSS. The Sangh Parivar represents the Hindu nationalist movement of India.

K. B. Hedgewar Founding leader and first Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, also known by his moniker Doctorji, was an Indian Surgeon and the founding Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Hedgewar founded the RSS in Nagpur in 1925, based on the ideology of Hindutva with the intention of creating a Hindu Rashtra.

M. S. Golwalkar Second Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar was the second Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He has been widely noted to be the most prominent theorist of Hindutva. He was known for his intellectual commentary on Indian politics and religion. Golwalkar is considered one of the most influential and prominent figures among Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was the first person to put forward the concept of a cultural nation called "Hindu Rashtra" which is believed to have evolved into the concept of the "Akhand Bharat Theory", united nations for Bharatiyas. Golwalkar was one of the early Hindu nationalist thinkers in India. Golwalkar authored the book We, or Our Nationhood Defined. Bunch of Thoughts is a compilation of his speeches.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Overseas branch of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh is a sister organization to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for supporting and mobilising Hindus living outside India. It was founded in 1940s in Kenya, it is currently active in 156 countries and estimates 3289 branches.

<i>Organiser</i> (magazine) Magazine

Organiser is an affiliated publication of the right wing, Hindutva organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), launched as a newspaper in 1947 in the weeks before the Partition of India. Despite its professed claims of independence, it is regarded by scholars as an official organ of the RSS. The newspaper has been edited by A. R. Nair, K. R. Malkani, L. K. Advani, V. P. Bhatia, Seshadri Chari and Dr R. Balashanker. The current editor is Prafulla Ketkar. Organiser was relaunched in a magazine format since the edition of 1 April 2014.

Balakrishna Shivram Moonje was a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha in India.

Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras Third Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras, popularly known as Balasaheb Deoras, was the third Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Rashtra Sevika Samiti

The Rashtra Sevika Samiti is a Hindu nationalist women's organisation that parallels the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for men. Even though it is often referred to as the " Sister" of the RSS, the organisation claims that it is independent of the RSS while sharing its ideology. Membership and leadership is embraced to women and its activities are directed to nationalist devotion and mobilisation of Hindu women.

Eknath Ranade Social activist, reformer, leader and organiser of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Eknath Ramkrishna Ranade, popularly referred to as Eknathji, was a social activist and leader, motivated by the twin spirits of nationalism and spiritualism, and known for his great organisational abilities.

Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. Defenders of Hindu nationalism have tried to avoid the label "nationalism" by arguing that the use of the term "Hindu nationalism" to refer to Hindū rāṣṭravāda is a simplistic translation and is better described by the term "Hindu polity".

1969 Gujarat riots

The 1969 Gujarat riots refer to the communal violence between Hindus and Muslims during September–October 1969, in Gujarat, India. The violence was Gujarat's first major riot that involved massacre, arson and looting on a large scale. It was the most deadly Hindu-Muslim violence since the partition of India in 1947, and remained so until the 1989 Bhagalpur violence.

|side1b= Jana Sangh|detentions=324 Hindu and 2183 Muslim|casualties2=192 deaths|casualties1=37 deaths|side2b= IUML|side2a= Jamaat-e-Islami|side1c= Shiv Sena|side1a= RSS|title=1970 Bhiwandi violence|side2='Muslims|side1=Hindus

Laxman Vasudev Paranjape was a member of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), along with its first Sarsanghchalak Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. Paranjpe also served as the Acting Sarsanghchalak (1930–1931) when Hedgewar went to jail during the Forest Satyagraha.

Umakant Keshav Apte, popularly known as Babasaheb Apte, was one of the first pracharaks of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), taking initiation from its founder K. B. Hedgewar. Upon his death, the Babasaheb Apte Smarak Samiti was set up in his honour by RSS pracharak Moropant Pingle, which has been active in commissioning and publishing research on the history of ancient India.

Prabhakar Balwant Dani was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization in India. He served as a pracharak of the organization. He served in senior positions of the RSS and played a large role in spreading the RSS network in the erstwhile Indian state of Madhya Bharat.

These are the references for further information regarding the Sangh Parivar.

Hedgewar Smruti Mandir

Hedgewar Smruti Mandir (HSM) is a memorial in Reshimbagh, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India dedicated to K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar, who were the first two leaders of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It was inaugurated in 1962. It was granted tourism status on the recommendation of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in 2017, but this decision is mired in controversy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Khan, Liaquat Ali (2007). Pakistan – The Heart of Asia. READ BOOKS. pp. 157–159. ISBN   978-1-4067-4352-4.
  2. 1 2 3 Chitkara, M. G. (2004). Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. APH Publishing. pp. 249–250. ISBN   978-81-7648-465-7.
  3. 1 2 Hardiman, David (2003). Gandhi in His Time and Ours. Orient Blackswan. pp. 165–166. ISBN   978-81-7824-114-2.
  4. ↑ Ahmad, Aijaz (2002). Lineages of the Present. Verso. p. 291. ISBN   978-1-85984-765-7.
  5. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (1996). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 40. ISBN   978-1-85065-301-1.
  6. 1 2 Basu, Tapan; Sarkar, Tanika (1993). Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags. Orient Blackswan. pp. 19–20. ISBN   978-0-86311-383-3.
  7. ↑ "HINDU-MOSLEM RIOTS RESULT IN 22 KILLED". The Washington Post (1877–1954). 8 September 1927. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  8. ↑ "25 DEAD, 180 INJURED IN CREED RIOTS IN INDIA; Troops Are Called to Quell TwoDay Hindu-Moslem Fight at Nagpur". The New York Times. 8 September 1927. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  9. 1 2 Marty, Martin E.; Appleby, F. Scott; Appleby, R. Scott (1991). Fundamentalisms and the State. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. University of Chicago Press. p. 241. ISBN   978-0-226-50884-9.
  10. ↑ Ayres, Alyssa; Oldenburg, Philip (2005). India Briefing . M.E. Sharpe. pp.  118–119. ISBN   978-0-7656-1593-0. nagpur riots.
  11. ↑ Puniyani, Ram (2005). Religion, Power & Violence. SAGE. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-7619-3338-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.