| 2021 Kawardha riots and unrest | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of religious violence in India | |||||||||
| Date | 3 October 2021 [1] | ||||||||
| Location | 22°01′N81°15′E / 22.02°N 81.25°E | ||||||||
| Goals | Arson, stoning, civil unrest and rioting | ||||||||
| Resulted in |
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| Parties | |||||||||
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| Lead figures | |||||||||
The 2021 Kawardha riots were incidents of religious violence between Hindus and Muslims that occurred in Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, India, between 3 and 7 October 2021.[ citation needed ]
Kawardha is a small city in the Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh. It is the home of former state Chief Minister Raman Singh and Forest Minister Mohammad Akbar. [2] The district is 92.4% Hindu and 7.76% Muslim. [3]
On Sunday, 3 October 2021, a group of Muslims and Hindus had an argument over the placement of religious flags in Loahara Naka Chowk in the town of Kawardha. [4] [5] [2] [6] [1] An eyewitness claimed that following the altercation, a green flag had been torn down, and some hours later, a saffron flag was removed in retaliation. [2] [1] Two days later, right-wing organisations, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, held a rally protesting the flag removal. The rally led to civil unrest in the region, including arson and rioting. The police conducted a lathi charge to disperse the protestors, [7] [1] invoked Section 144 (barring unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, and imposed a curfew in the region. [8] [9] [10] [7]
The police stated that the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal had promised peaceful protests. [1] They registered a First Information Reports against several people, including Santosh Pandey, a Member of Parliament, and Abhishek Singh, a former Member of Parliament, both of whom were from the Bharatiya Janata Party. [2]
Bajrang Dal is a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing Sangh Parivar. The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva. It was founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, and began spreading more in the 2010s throughout India, although its most significant base remains the northern and central portions of the country.
The Sangh Parivar refers, as an umbrella term, to the collection of Hindutva 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 Kisan Sangh.
Raman Singh is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2023. Formerly, he served as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh and holding the position for three consecutive times. He is also a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly representing Rajnandgaon since 2008 and from Dongargaon from 2004 to 2008.
Pravin Togadia is an Indian doctor, cancer surgeon and an advocate for Hindu nationalism, coming from the state of Gujarat. He was the former International Working President of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and a cancer surgeon by qualification. He is Founder and Current President of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad. He had a falling-out with the Sangh Parivar and is a vocal critic of Narendra Modi.
Durga Vahini is the women's wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It was established in 1991 and its founding chairperson is Sadhvi Rithambara. The Vishva Hindu Parishad states the purpose of the Durga Vahini is to empower women, encourage more women to participate in spiritual and cultural activities. Kalpana Vyash, a senior leader of the organization, said that the Durga Vahini members dedicate themselves "to physical, mental and intellectual development". The aim of the organization is to establish Hindu solidarity by helping Hindu families during the time of hardship and by providing social services. According to Vyash, the total membership of the group is 8,000 as of 2002, and 1,000 members are from Ahmedabad.
Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and Muslims.
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is an Indian right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to organise, consolidate the Hindu society and to serve and protect the Hindu Dharma". It was established to construct and renovate Hindu temples, and deal with matters of cow slaughter and religious conversion. The VHP is a member of the Sangh Parivar group, the family of Hindu nationalist organisations led by the RSS.
The Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya, was destroyed on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The mosque had been the subject of a lengthy socio-political dispute, and was targeted after a political rally organised by Hindu nationalist organisations turned violent.
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The clashes between the Jat and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India Total death is 162 mostly and injured 930 and left more than 50,000 people displaced. By date 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn.
Kawardha is one of the 90 Legislative Assembly constituencies of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is in Kabirdham district and is a segment of Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat. The seat used to be part of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly when Chhattisgarh was part of MP.
Rinku Sharma was a hospital technician and a member of Bajrang Dal who was killed by stabbing in Mangolpuri, Delhi, on 10 February 2021.
The 2021 Tripura riots happened in the eponymous state of north-eastern India.
Rama Navami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Rama. It falls on the 9th day of the Chaitra month every year in the Hindu calendar, usually during the months of March–April. At least since 1979, if not earlier, this festival has involved carrying out processions throughout the cities, which also enters into Muslim dominated areas sometimes as a way to show Hindu strength. These procession by Hindus, often considered offensive by the Muslims, have repeatedly led to violence between Hindu and Muslim communities.
Hindu–Muslim sectarian violence occurred in the town of Karauli on 2 April 2022, when a Hindu New Year bike-rally organised by Sangh Parivar organisations passed through a Muslim locality with inflammatory slogans and music. Stone-pelting from surrounding houses, local people attacking with sticks and arson, resulted in injuries to 20 people, including policemen, and damage to properties of 80 people of both communities.
A Hindu–Muslim clash occurred in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area on 16 April 2022, in the midst of a Hindu procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The clash took place during the last of three processions organised that day by Bajrang Dal, a right wing Hindu group nationalist organization. The procession, whose members were reportedly brandishing swords and pistols, halted near a mosque where Muslims were holding Ramadan prayers, while blasting music from loudspeakers and shouting abusive slogans. A conflict broke out, during which both groups pelted the other with stones and other objects; a few shots were fired as well. A number of people were injured, including a police officer. Twenty three people were arrested, including two juveniles.
Bulldozer justice is a term referring to the use of the bulldozer, an industrial machine, as a political tool and symbol in Indian politics, particularly in the politics of Uttar Pradesh, starting in 2017. This trend of bulldozer justice has seen heavy machinery being deployed to demolish houses of those who have protested and have been accused of rioting. Houses, shops and small establishments have been bulldozed in India, disproportionately targeting Muslims in the Hindu-majority country. The bulldozer has become a symbol for Hindu nationalist politicians.
On 10 April 2022, a clash between Hindus and Muslims occurred in the city of Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. It took place between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm, in the midst of a Ram Navami procession organised by a Hindu nationalist organisation allied to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At 5:00 pm, when Muslims were gathering for evening prayers at the neighbouring Jama Masjid, the procession had not yet departed from the city's central Talab Chowk area.
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