1992; December 6–13: Karnataka

84% Hindus, 12% Muslims

Chief Minister of Karnataka: M. Veerappa Moily, Congress Party, November 1992–December 1994

The state of Karnataka was the worst hit of the four southern states by the post-demolition (Babri Masjid) violence. Violence flared up in the districts and towns that had already experienced communal troubles in 1990 during the Ram Rath Yatra of L. K. Advani. The media reported 73 deaths in the state. Muslim anger, in the days following the destruction of the Babri Masjid, led to a strong Hindu backlash. There were 19 deaths in Bangalore, most of them in police firing, after Muslim demonstrations incited the BJP to call for a bandh (strike). Nine deaths were reported in Gulbarga following the attack on a police station in a Muslim majority area. In Bidar, Hindu–Muslim troubles claimed ten lives, half of them in police firing. In the twin cities of Hubli and Dharwad, stray stabbing incidents and attacks on individual houses claimed an additional seven lives.

**(Sunday 20–26/12/1992); **(Frontline 01/01/1993)