1997 Coimbatore riots

Last updated
1997 Coimbatore riots
Date29 November 1997 – 1 December 1997
Location
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Caused byReligious tensions, Murder of a Police constable
MethodsArson, looting, Murder
Casualties
Death(s)18 Muslims, 2 Hindus

The 1997 Coimbatore riots occurred between 29 November 1997 and 1 December 1997 in Coimbatore triggered by a murder of a police constable allegedly by some Muslim youth over a dispute of detention of Al-Ummah functionaries by the police. The policemen revolted in response to the murder of the constable and in concert with the members of the Hindu Munnani and the Hindu Makkal Katchi, attacked Muslims and Muslim-owned properties. Clashes erupted between both the communities and the police reportedly opened fire targeting the Muslims killing ten. Many Muslim youth were beaten to death or burnt alive. Muslim-owned businesses in different parts of the city were looted and burnt down. At the end of the riots, 18 Muslims and 2 Hindus lost their lives.

Contents

Background

Communal divisions

According to the 1991 census the Coimbatore city had a population of 1.1 million. [1] Until 1997, Tamil Nadu was seen as a communal haven and communal violence was seen as a North Indian phenomenon. In Kerala the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were attempting to get a hold, the Hindu Munnani and Muslim fundamentalist organisation Al-ummah were spreading their wings in Tamil Nadu. [2] The activities of the Hindu Munnani, the Hindu Makkal Katchi, and the RSS escalated but went unchallenged during the Jayalalitha government. Al-Umma and the Jihad Committee emerged as fundamentalist responses to this. [3] The Hindutva organisations had been engaged in a concerted effort to spread Hindu nationalism as a political mobilization tactic for a decade before the violence. The Hindu Munnani and other Sangh Parivar groups have tried to gain political influence by increasing violence on Tamil Nadu's minority communities in Coimbatore and other southern districts. The Muslim fundamentalist organisations were also accused of receiving assistance from foreign forces detrimental to the unity of the country. [1] After the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, Islamic outfits strengthened their ranks. [4] The Hindu Munnani urged Hindus not to shop in Muslim-owned business, Muslim businesses felt intimidated. The Hindu Munnani formed associations of Hindu traders. Reportedly, there were stabbings and counter-stabbings between the youth of Hindu Munnani and Al-Ummah. This communally polarized the city. [3] The Hindu Munnani and Al-Umma grew, feeding on each other's mischief. [3] The city's environment was communalized as a result of the Sangh Parivar's communal propaganda and the Muslim fundamentalist reaction, this damaged the city's history of class-based campaigns and liberal heritage. [1]

Over the years, a portion of the police force in Coimbatore became communalized. [1] Chief minister M. Karunanidhi claimed that 50-60 people were murdered in the past 10 years before the violence and he blamed the extremist elements in both the sides. [2]

Constable murder

After an altercation between the Al-Ummah State secretary and a sub-inspector over the detention of an Al-ummah office bear who did not carry a license, a traffic constable was murdered at Kottaimedu on November 29, 1998, allegedly by Muslim youth. [5] [6]

Riots

On November 29, around 15 traffic policemen destroyed fruit and vegetable pushcarts run by Muslim vendors in Ukkadam. Hindu fundamentalists joined the policemen and started looting small businesses. [5]

On November 30, policemen in charge of traffic and those in charge of the control room all abandoned their posts. They sat in a dharna, wearing black badges and raising slogans. They declined the officers orders to come back to work. Wives and children of police officers marched from the Police Training School to the Police Commissioner's headquarters, shouting slogans. Violence exploded in several parts of the city shortly after. Muslims and Hindus clashed, tossing stones, petrol bombs and soda bottles at each other. Officers began shooting, supposedly targeting at Muslims which led to a total of 10 Muslim youth were killed. Many Muslim youth were beaten to death or burnt alive. [3] Muslim-owned businesses in different parts of the city were targeted in an organized attack. Many Muslim shops and businesses were burned down. The looters sold the things that they had looted from the shops and they piled up the things which they could not take with them on the street and set them ablaze. Pavement stalls had been damaged. Mosques and temples were also attacked. [5]

A huge crowd of policemen gathered outside of the hospital where the constable's body was kept. Activists from Hindu Makkal Katchi and Hindu Munnani were present outside the hospital in large numbers. When the DMK MLA for Coimbatore West, C. T. Dhandapani and his son arrived in the hospital, they were attacked by a mob of Hindu fundamentalists as the police stood by and watched. He was admitted to the hospital with head injuries. His car was set on fire, along with another car. Arjun Sampath, a former general secretary of BJP in Coimbatore and the founder of Hindu Makkal Katchi was jailed in the Vellore central prison for attempted murder of C.T. Dhandapani. [3] The mob also attacked Muslim youth who came to the hospital injured in the police firing, several Muslims were stabbed and lynched to death, one was doused in petrol and was set on fire. [5]

On the night of November 30, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Army reached the city. Criminals continued robbing shops that night till the next morning, playing hide and seek with the Army. [5]

On December 2, the bodies of 17 Muslims were buried. On December 4, the situation returned to normalcy. [5]

A total of 18 Muslims and 2 Hindus were killed. [7] [3] [5] Properties valued over ₹500 crore was destroyed, according to the executive director of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Coimbatore chapter. [6]

Investigation by People's Union for Civil Liberties

As per the human rights organisation People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), police used the civil disturbance to take revenge on Muslim merchants who had avoided paying bribes. Houses and shops owned by Muslims were robbed and set on fire in front of police, and riot victims were hacked to death at the general hospital by police and Hindu rioters. [8] [9] The report said that a group of the police force, in collusion with Hindu fundamentalists, acted in an outrageously sectarian and unconstitutional manner for which no official effort has been made to bring them to justice. A police officer and 20 other officers were seen firing at Muslims without having instructions to do so. Muslim boys who fled to see the shops of their relatives or friends being ransacked or burned were shot without a purpose. [3]

Aftermath

The 1998 Coimbatore bombings by Al-Ummah were considered as a response to the riots. [10] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK), literally meaning Hindu People's Party, also pronounced as Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK), is a right-wing, Hindu nationalist party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Coimbatore bombings</span> Bombings in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

The 1998 Coimbatore bombings occurred on Saturday, 14 February 1998, in the city of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 58 people were killed and over 200 injured in the 12 bomb attacks in 11 places, all within a 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) radius. The explosives used were found to be gelatin sticks activated by timer devices and were concealed in cars, motorcycles, bicycles, sideboxes of two-wheelers, denim and rexine bags, and fruit carts. Several bombs that failed to detonate were defused by bomb disposal squads of the Army, National Security Guards and Tamil Nadu Commando School. The bombings were apparently in retaliation to the 1997 Coimbatore riots during November – December the previous year, when Hindu fundamentalists groups killed 18 Muslims and 2 Hindus and looted several thousands of properties of Muslims following the murder of a traffic policeman named Selvaraj, by a member of the radical Islamist group Al Ummah. The main conspirator was found to be S A Basha, the founder of Al Ummah, an Islamic fundamentalist body. Investigators found out that the blasts were a part of larger conspiracy to target L.K.Advani, the leader of Bharatiya Janata Party on that day at 4 p.m in his election meeting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 anti-Tamil pogrom</span> Second islandwide Sinhalese-Tamil clash in Sri Lanka

The 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom in Sri Lanka followed the 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka where the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalistic Tamil United Liberation Front won a plurality of minority Sri Lankan Tamil votes. In the elections, the party stood for secession. An official government estimate put the death toll at 125, whereas other sources estimate that around 300 Tamils were killed by Sinhalese mobs. Human rights groups, such as the UTHR-J, accused the newly elected UNP-led government of orchestrating the violence.

Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam or TMMK is a Muslim non-governmental organisation established in the state of Tamil Nadu in India in 1995. The TMMK has described itself in news releases as "a mass based" organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindu Munnani</span> Indian political party

Hindu Munnani is a right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation based in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hindu Munnani was set up by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) The organisation was founded in 1980 by Ramagopalan, a member of RSS and since its formation served as the platform for RSS and its subsidiaries known as the Sangh Parivar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against Christians in India</span> Anti-Christian violence in India

Anti-Christian violence in India is religiously motivated violence against Christians in India. Human Rights Watch has classified violence against Christians in India as a tactic used by the right-wing Sangh Parivar organizations to encourage and exploit communal violence in furtherance of their political ends. The acts of violence include arson of churches, conversion of Christians by force, physical violence, sexual assaults, murders, rapes, and the destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Gujarat riots</span> Indian sectarian violence

The 1969 Gujarat riots involved communal violence between Hindus and Muslims during September–October 1969, in Gujarat, India. The violence was Gujarat's first major riot that involved massacre, arson, and looting on a large scale. It was the most deadly Hindu-Muslim violence since the partition of India in 1947, and remained so until the 1989 Bhagalpur violence.

The 2013 Canning riots were anti Bengali Hindu riots in state of West Bengal on 21 February 2013. The riots occurred in the Canning subdivision, after a Muslim cleric was stopped and killed by half dozen unidentified assailants near Nalekhali. Following this incident, over 200 homes burned down in the villages of Naliakhali, Herobhanga, Gopalpur and Goladogra villages in the Canning police station area. Several shops were looted in Jaynagar Majilpur police station area under Baruipur subdivision. Incidents of violence were reported from Canning, Jaynagar, Kultali and Basanti police station areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Moradabad riots</span> Religious clashes in Uttar Pradesh, India

The 1980 Moradabad riots, also known as the Moradabad Muslim Massacre, refers to violence that happened in the Indian city of Moradabad during August–November 1980. When a pig entered the local Idgah during the Eid festival prayer on 13 August, local Muslims asked the police to remove the pig, but the police refused to do so. This led to a confrontation between the police and the Muslims. The police responded with indiscriminate firing, which led to over one hundred deaths. This was followed by a series of violent incidents which became religious in nature, and led to arson, looting and murders.

The Ranchi-Hatia riots of 1967 were communal riots which occurred in 1967 in and around Ranchi in present-day Jharkhand, India. The riots happened between 22 and 29 August 1967. 184 people were reported killed and 195 shops were looted and set on fire.

Al Ummah is a radical extremist terrorist organisation mainly based in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was banned by the Government of Tamil Nadu for perpetrating the 1998 Coimbatore bombings.

The 1987 Meerut Riots were a series of violent communal disturbances between Hindus and Muslims in the northern Uttar Pradesh town Meerut which occurred from March to June 1987, which resulted in the death of more than 350 people. Nearly half of that number was made up of almost 150 Muslims from Hashimpura and Maliana who were killed by members of the UP Provincial Armed Constabulary in actions after the initial rioting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Radhakrishnan (police officer)</span> Indian Police Service Officer

Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, IPS is an Indian Police Service Officer of the batch of 1983, belonging to the Tamil Nadu Cadre. Currently, he is serving as the Director General of Police of the Civil Supplies, CID department of Tamil Nadu. Dr. K. Radhakrishnan did his PhD from the Department of Criminology from the University of Madras for seminal research on 'Tactical and Strategic Police Response to Communal Violence: Coimbatore, a case study', in October 2009. He received the Queen's Award for Innovation in Police Training and Development in 2002 and 2004.

The 2016 Coimbatore riots refers to the riots that took place in Coimbatore from September 22 to September 24, 2016, by members of the Hindu Munnani after the murder of the outfit's district spokesperson, C Sasikumar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Delhi riots</span> 2020 series of riots in Delhi, India

The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and brought about chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims who were shot, slashed with repeated blows, or set on fire. The dead also included over a dozen Hindus, who were shot or assaulted. More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded were languishing in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains. By mid-March many Muslims had remained missing.

The 2019 Ponparappi violence happened on April 18, 2019, during the polling day for the 2019 Indian general election in the village of Ponparappi, Tamil Nadu. The violence reportedly started as scuffles and agitations between the supporters of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the members of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) together with the members of Hindu Munnani, which reportedly led to violence by the members of the PMK on a Dalit colony. 60 to115 Dalit houses were damaged and Dalits were assaulted.

During the 1990 Madras riots, violence broke out between Muslims and Hindus during a Hindu religious procession near a Mosque in September 1997 in Triplicane, Tamil Nadu. Three Muslims were reported to be killed in the violence. Unofficial reports place the death toll to five to six. Muslim owned stores were burned down and looted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Navami riots</span> Communal clashes during Rama Navami rallies

Rama Navami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Rama. It falls on the 9th day of the Chaitra month every year in the Hindu calendar, usually during the months of March–April. At least since 1979, if not earlier, This festival often involves processions of Hindu worshipers through cities, including Muslim-majority regions. These displays, often considered provocative, have repeatedly led to violence between Hindu and Muslim communities. Scholar Paul Brass states that Rama himself has been turned into a political emblem of the RSS family of organisations, and the Rama Navami processions are "led by or turned into provocative displays" by Hindutva organisations such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. However, he fails to mention that Ram Navami processions were common in India, and other parts of the world where Hindus reside. These processions occurred much before VHP and Bajrang Dal even existed.

The 1964 Calcutta riot was a religious riot that occurred in January 1964 and spread throughout the city of Calcutta. The violence primarily targeted Muslims and was perpetrated by members of the Hindu community. This event was the first intense religious violence in the city since the 1946 riots.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Coimbatore, T. S. SUBRAMANIAN in. "Behind the Coimbatore tragedy". Frontline. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  2. 1 2 Engineer 1998, p. 11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SUBRAMANIAN, T. S. "A time of troubles". Frontline. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  4. ↑ "Communal flashpoint Coimbatore: Is the TN government doing enough to prevent violence?". The News Minute. 2016-09-25. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Confrontation in Coimbatore". Frontline. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  6. 1 2 Jagadheesan, lR. (15 Dec 1997). "Coimbatore becomes a communal minefield, Karunanidhi calls in Army to quell violence". India Today. Archived from the original on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  7. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  8. ↑ "Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999: India". 1997-2001.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  9. ↑ United States Department of State 2000, p. 411.
  10. ↑ "Rediff On The NeT Special: Scarred for life". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  11. ↑ SUBRAMANIAN, T. S. "Found guilty". Frontline. Retrieved 2021-04-01.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.