1990; April–October: Gujarat

89% Hindus, 9% Muslims

Chief Minister of Gujarat: Chimanbhai Patel, Congress Party, March 1990–February 1994

Violence took place in the communally-sensitive state of Gujarat. In Ahmedabad, several persons lost their lives in April and in October (between 30 and 40 victims). The spark for these riots was provided by the L. K. Advani-led Ram Rath Yatra, which started in the town of Somnath on September 25 and ignited violence in several towns in Gujarat along the way.

In September, violence also engulfed the towns of Baroda, Anand, and Surat on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Ganapati (or Ganesh Chaturthi). In Baroda, riots erupted when the Ganapati procession, led by the BJP Health Minister of Gujarat, crossed a Muslim locality. The crowd went on the rampage looting Muslim shops. The BJP minister prevented any police intervention. Eight persons were killed. In Anand, on September 4, the same scenario was repeated and three lives were lost when a Ganesh procession shouted anti-Muslim slogans while passing through a Muslim area. On the same day, in Surat, one person was stabbed to death during the Ganapati festivities.

***(Engineer 1990a); **(Varshney and Wilkinson 2004; database); *(Rajeshwari 2004)