2005; October 13–14: Mau (Uttar Pradesh)

42% Hindus, 58% Muslims

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party, August 2003–May 2007

A serious riot took place in Mau or Maunath Bhanjan (Uttar Pradesh) on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Dussehra, which coincided with the Muslim month of Ramzan. In this town dominated by Muslim weavers, tensions arose when Hindus performing the Ramayana scene of Bharat Milap used a loudspeaker near a mosque while Ramzan prayers were being said. This violated a long-standing agreement between the two communities. Muslims protested and the Hindus agreed to stop. But on the following day, activists of the Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), a youth militia founded by the aggressive BJP MP of the nearby Gorakhpur constituency, Yogi Adityanath, came near the mosque and started using the loudspeaker again. Muslims riposted. HYV activists fired. Muslims attacked Hindu shops in retaliation, encouraged by the independent Muslim MLA Mukhtar Ansari, known for his criminal background. Muslims, particularly the weavers of Alinagar Colony, were then heavily targeted by Hindu groups. The police did not intervene. The Hindi local media played a dirty role by alleging that Mukthar Ansari was the sole instigator of the riots. Official reports registered nine deaths. Newspapers reported 14 casualties.

**(Verma and Khan 2005); ***(Engineer 2006)