1990, September 30: Colonelganj (Uttar Pradesh)

81% Hindus, 19% Muslims

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal, December 1989–June 1991

Serious riots broke out in the tehsil (sub-district) of Colonelganj (Uttar Pradesh) and in nearby villages in the Gonda district. The atmosphere had been tense in Colonelganj since the first week of September when a BJP leader, Kalyan Singh, addressed a meeting about the Ram temple in Ayodhya attended by five thousand people.

A riot took place on September 30 after Muslims threw stones and petrol bombs at a Durga Puja procession that was shouting slogans in support of the Ram temple. After the stoning occurred, Hindu mobs attacked Muslim houses. Violence also spread to rural areas of the district. The official death toll amounted to 42, but unofficial sources reported around 100 deaths and other sources more than 300. The villages of Pandey Chaura (with 12 dead officially counted) and Kanje Mau (with six dead) were also particularly affected.

**(Frontline 27/10–09/11/1990b); **(Sunday 14–20/10/1990b); **(India Today 31/10/1990); ***(Engineer, 1990a); ***(Jaffrelot 1996: 419)