India: One Dead as Violence Erupts at Hindu Festival

Facts

• Indian authorities deployed hundreds of riot police and internet service was cut Saturday after violence erupted in the country's east during a Hindu religious festival. Police say at least one person, a minor, was killed in the town of Bihar Sharif in Bihar state’s Nalanda district.¹
• The violence began Thursday, with mobs fighting battles and setting fire to shops and homes, with nearly 100 people being detained after thousands of Hindus rallied on the streets and paraded through Muslim-dominated areas.²
• Violence erupted in seven other states, as well, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where vehicles and shops were set on fire. Dozens were injured and hundreds were arrested across 13 towns and cities.³
• Hindu festivals regularly feature hundreds of people — often brandishing swords, guns, and tridents — provocatively marching through Muslim neighborhoods with religious music playing through powerful sound systems.²
• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused PM Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating the violence, with Modi critics arguing Hindu nationalists have been emboldened since he took power in 2014. Similar violence was reported in Modi's home state of Gujarat.⁴
• Similar incidents were also reported last year across several cities on Ram Navami, including in the national capital New Delhi and in the eastern state of Jharkhand where one person was killed.¹

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²The star, ³Barrons and ⁴The straits times.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Al Jazeera. Given that PM Modi's Hindu nationalist government officially sanctions the demolition of mosques throughout the country, violence against Muslim neighborhoods and property is not surprising. The BJP uses a faulty far-right nationalist historical belief that Muslims violently overtook Hindu structures and land as its premise for such acts, and the Hindu-majority media feel no inclination to report on these atrocities.
• Narrative B, as provided by Opindia. Despite what secularists may believe, Muslims in India are actually very violent towards Hindus and are often the ones who throw the first stones. Muslim areas of the country, including Delhi, have created no-go zones for Hindus due to constant threats of violence. The so-called marginalized minority wields far more power than is reported, but it's the BJP and proud Hindus who are accused of perpetrating oppression and violence.