New Delhi protests: how the Indian capital’s streets became a battleground
Muslims forced to flee as sectarian violence erupts again over citizenship law
At least 23 people have been killed in clashes between Muslims and Hindus in New Delhi, in the worst religion violence seen in the Indian capital for decades.
The Guardian reports that many Muslims have “fled from their homes, and several mosques in the capital smouldered after being attacked by Hindu mobs”, following a fresh outbreak of violence on Sunday.
More than 200 people have been admitted to hospitals for “injuries which ranged from gunshot wounds, to acid burns, stabbings and wounds from beatings and stone pelting”, says the newspaper, which adds that several of those who died “had jumped from high buildings” to escape violent crowds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tweeted a plea for Delhi’s citizens to “maintain peace and brotherhood at all times” - but many critics claim that his deeply divisive rhetoric has fuelled tensions within the country.
How did this all start?
Religious tensions have been bubbling since 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was partitioned into two independent nation states, Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. But subsequent wars between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh were followed by years of relative stability until Modi, a Hindu nationalist (or “Hindutva”), came to power.
Modi has introduced a series of exclusionary policies that have seen Muslims marginalised in Indian society. The resulting tensions between Hindus and Muslims finally reached boiling point in December, with the passage of a controversial citizenship bill that triggered violent protests in cities nationwide including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grants citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants who have entered the country illegally from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Undocumented immigrants from these neighbouring nations are being offered an effective amnesty - provided they are members of a religious minority. All three countries are Muslim majority, so the bill applies to Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis, but not Muslims.
India’s governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has presented the legislation as a benevolent move to help religious minorities facing persecution in South Asia. But critics claim that the bill’s passage is the latest step to cement primacy for India’s Hindu population, at the expense of the nation’s 200 million Muslims.
What happened this week?
Violence erupted once again in New Delhi in the wake of a tweeted threat by BJP leader Kapil Mishra against protesters opposing the citizenship law.
On Sunday, he posted an online call for supporters to join him at a rally against Muslim protesters blocking roads in the city’s Jaffrabad area. “In his tweet, he told the Delhi police they had three days to clear the protest sites and warned of consequences if they failed to do so,” says the BBC.
The first reports of clashes emerged hours later.
The fighting initially appeared to be between factions for and against the CAA, but the the clashes have “since taken on communal overtones, with reports of people being attacked based on their religion”, the broadcaster continues.
“Photographs, videos and accounts on social media paint a chilling image of the last few days - of mobs beating unarmed men, including journalists; of groups of men with sticks, iron rods and stones wandering the streets; and of Hindus and Muslims facing off.”
The Delhi High Court is hearing petitions about the violence.
The judges have insisted: “We can't allow a repeat of 1984 in this city” - a reference to the massacre of as many as 17,000 Sikh civilians nationwide by vigilante Hindu mobs following the assassination of Hindu PM Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published