57% Hindus, 41% Muslims
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal, December 1989–June 1991
Large riots broke out again in the city of Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh). Communal tensions had been rising in the city since October 30, when kar sevaks were shot dead by the police in the city of Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), some 500 kilometers from Aligarh. Devotees carrying the ashes of the dead travelled throughout the state, including to Aligarh, thereby arousing tensions between the communities.
Riots erupted on December 7. Some versions say that Muslims attacked two Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) jawans (soldiers) after provocative speeches made in a mosque in the area of Upper Kot and that the PAC retaliated by killing Muslims. Other versions claim that a bomb exploded near a mosque in the area of Sarai Sultani. Muslims gathered to protest and stole a rifle from a PAC jawan. The PAC subsequently fired, killing three Muslims.
No matter which version is correct, what is clear is that large-scale rioting took place in the city and continued unabated for several days. On December 8, the Gomti Express train was attacked by a Hindu mob, resulting in the deaths of between 4 and 15 Muslim passengers. On the same day, 17 Muslims were burned to death in the locality of Jogiwara near the Sasni Gate police station. In all, over 50 people died on December 8. Violence intensified on December 10 after a false rumor (that 28 patients had been killed in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital of the Aligarh Muslim University) was printed in the Hindi vernacular press. Attacks on Muslims by Hindu mobs multiplied after this rumor was broadcast. According to the PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) report, the PAC also killed a large number of Muslims.
The total number of deaths is uncertain. The media reported 75 deaths. Official accounts put the death toll at 92; two-thirds of whom were Muslims. Muslim organizations listed 100 deaths in the Muslim community alone. A report by the PUCL claimed the death toll to be 150 or 200. The Aligarh Muslim University student union claimed 500 dead, but this figure is probably overestimated.
**(The Times of India 16/12/1990); ***(Engineer 1991c); ***(Brass 2003: 116–125)