One dead as sectarian clashes rock parts of India
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During clashes between Hindus and Muslims, Indian police reported that one person was shot and killed on Saturday in the Nalanda district of Bihar State.
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Hindus participate in a religious procession to mark the Hanuman Jayanti festival in Hyderabad, India, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP)
After violent clashes broke out in at least eight states during a Hindu religious festival on Sunday, authorities sent in hundreds of riot police and shut down mobile internet in some areas of eastern India.
Following the clashes in the town of Biharsharif between a majority of Hindus and a minority of Muslims, police reported that one person was shot and killed on Saturday in the Nalanda district of Bihar state. This occurred the day after frenzied public Ram Navami celebrations, in which mobs engaged in running battles and set fire to residences and businesses.
Hindu festivals frequently involve large crowds of people provocatively marching through Muslim neighborhoods, while loud sound systems pulse with religious music, occasionally brandishing swords, guns, and tridents.
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The head of the Biharsharif police department, Shibli Nomani, said that almost 100 people have been detained as a result of the violence that broke out on Thursday after thousands of Hindus took to the streets and marched through Muslim-dominated areas.
"The situation is under control. We are patrolling the area and ensuring no gatherings are allowed," he told AFP, adding that the unrest was being investigated.
Similar communal flare-ups were reported in two other cities in Bihar, where authorities shut mobile internet services in some areas and clamped down on public movement.
Additionally, six people were injured in an explosion inside a home where two men were allegedly making a bomb in Rohtas, another violent district where police detained dozens. According to a tweet from the Bihar Police, the explosion did not initially seem to be connected to the recent unrest, as there are times when local mining operations use homemade explosives.
As extremism against Muslims rages on in #India, the government is dismissing repetitive threats to cleanse India's minorities.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 19, 2022
More dangerously, experts warn of signs of a potential genocide that could happen soon against #Muslims who constitute 15% of India's population. pic.twitter.com/zoqmybWmoh
Following the Hindu festival on Thursday, sectarian violence also affected seven other states, leaving dozens injured and hundreds detained in at least 13 towns and cities.
This included the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and the Howrah region of West Bengal, where mobs went on the rampage on Thursday and set shops and vehicles on fire.
The violence was allegedly planned by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, according to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while the BJP alleged she was targeting Hindus.
Clashes were reported on Thursday in Vadodara and Aurangabad in the western region of Maharashtra, and similar violence was reported in Modi's home state of Gujarat.
Critics claim that since Modi was elected prime minister in 2014—and was the chief minister of Gujarat State during massive riots there in 2002—hardline Hindu groups have gained confidence.
Similar clashes on Ram Navami were reported in several cities the previous year, including New Delhi and Jharkhand in eastern India, where one person was killed.
