1992; December 7–15: Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

68% Hindus, 27% Muslims

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Sunderlal Patwa, BJP, March 1990–15December 1992

The demolition of the Babri Masjid also triggered large-scale riots in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), a city which had generally been spared by communal violence. The atmosphere had been increasingly tense for quite some time because of the influence of Hindu communal activists. On December 6, a victory procession led by the Bajrang Dal through the old city (Muslim populated) and BBC reports about the demolition further inflamed communal passions. Bands of angered Muslim youths targeted government buildings and Hindu residents in the old town. The spread of sensational rumors by the Hindi press and agitation by Hindu nationalist activists led to widespread communal rioting. The main victims were poor Muslims who had already suffered during the 1984 gas catastrophe and middle-class Muslims from the BHEL industry (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited). Four thousand families were rendered homeless by the violence. The police were accused of connivance with Hindu communal groups. The BJP state government demonstrated little effort in attempting to control the violence. The media reported more than 175 deaths. The Justice K. K. Dubey Commission of Inquiry established that 142 people died in these riots-thirty-four shot dead by the police.

**(Frontline 15/01/1993); ***(Jaffrelot 1996: 460–463); *(Rajeshwari 2004)