NEW DELHI: Over 40 people lost their lives in increasing communal and caste violence over the week in India. 18 died in Kota town of Rajasthan as communal clashes erupted over the weekend. At least 22 persons died when high caste Hindus attacked scheduled caste communities in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. The police had to open fire to disperse rioters in which six persons were killed. Curfew has been imposed in Kota town to prevent reoccurrence of violence and the police is conducting house to house searches to seize weapons. Kota has a small Sikh population but the big minority group is the Muslims. There have been sporadic Hindu Muslim clashed in almost every Indian town where there is a sizable Muslim community. The PAC notorious for its brutal methods is usually called in to “teach the Muslims a lesson.”
A high court judge has been appointed to probe the Madurai riots where three battalions of armed police are patrolling streets ostensibly to keep “anti-social elements from taking advantage of the situation.”
Observers feel that things will get worse so long as Hindu chauvinism is not checked.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 22, 1989
