Bombay Riots

Although numerous riots have occurred in the City of Mumbai, India (Bombay) since Independence, the Bombay Riots usually refers to the riots in Mumbai, in December 1992 and January 1993, in which 900 people died. This was followed by the 12 March 1993 Bombay Bombings, allegedly orchestrated by ganglord Dawood Ibrahim and his D-Company syndicate, in which 250 people died.

History

The riots started as a result of communal tension prevailing in the city after the Babri Mosque demolition on 6 December 1992. It is commonly believed that the riots occurred in two phases. The first was mainly a Muslim backlash as a result of the Babri Masjid demolition in the week immediately succeeding 6 December 1992 led by Hindu hard-line elements in the city of Ayodhya.

The second phase was a Hindu backlash occurring as a result of the killings of Hindu Mathadi Kamgar (workers) by Muslims in Dongri (an area of South Bombay). This phase occurred in January 1993 with most incidents reported between 6 January to 20 January.^{[citation needed]}

It is believed around 650 Muslims and 300 Hindus died in the riots. Arson, killings and the destruction of property occurred in an array of areas. The areas of Jogeshwari, Pydhonie, Dongri, Agripada, Gamdevi, V.P. Road, Byculla, Bhoiwada,Nagpada, Kherwadi, Nehru Nagar, Dharavi, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Deonar, Trombay, Bandra and Vakola were among the worst affected^{[citation needed]}. Violence affected not only slums but also apartment blocks and chawls.

As a direct result of the riots a large number of Muslims migrated from Hindu majority areas to Muslim majority areas in the city and vice versa: demographics of areas of the city changed drastically on a religious basis. Reports widely indicate more than 200,000 people, most of them Muslim, fled the city or their homes during the time of the riots.^{[citation needed]} A large number of them relocated back due to economic compulsions. However separation and mistrust between the people on religious grounds was widely believed and reported until more than a year after the riots.

Justice B.N. Srikrishna Commission

Justice Srikrishna, then a relatively junior Judge of the Bombay High Court, accepted the task of investigating the causes of the riots, something that many of his colleagues had turned down^{[citation needed]}. For five years until 1998, he examined victims, witnesses and alleged perpetrators. Detractors came initially from left-secular quarters who were wary of a judge who was a devout and practicing Hindu^[1]. The Commission was disbanded by the Shiv Sena led government in January 1996 and on public opposition was later reconstituted on 28 May 1996; though when it was reconstituted its terms of reference were extended to include the Mumbai bomb blasts that followed in March 1993.

The report of the commission stated that the tolerant and secular foundations of the city were holding even if a little shakily. Justice Srikrishna indicted those he alleged as largely responsible for the second phase of the bloodshed and to some extent the first, the Shiv Sena.

The report was criticized as “politically motivated”. For a while, its contents were a closely guarded secret and no copies were available. The Shiv Sena government rejected its recommendations. Since under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, an Inquiry is not a court of law (even if it conducts proceedings like a court of law) and the report of an inquiry is not binding on Governments, Srikrishna's recommendations cannot be directly enforced. To date, the recommendations of the Commission have neither been accepted nor acted upon by the Maharashtra Government.^{[citation needed]} Many indicted policemen were promoted by the government and indicted politicians continue to hold high political office even today.^{[citation needed]}

On July 10, 2008, a Mumbai court sentenced former Shiv Sena MP Madhukar Sarpotdar and two other party activists to a year's rigorous imprisonment in connection with the riots[1].

Bombay (film)

The brutal events of this year are an important part of the plot of the film Bombay.

Black Friday (film)

Black Friday is a film about the events leading to the riots and the aftermath which led to the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts, and related investigations, told through the different stories of the people involved -- police, conspirators, victims, middlemen.

Slumdog Millionaire (film)

The brutal events of this year are an instrumental part of the plot of the film Slumdog Millionaire. The protagonist's mother is among those murdered in the riots. However events shown in this film are not an accurate portrayal of the riots.

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009)

• Full Report of the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission (Sabrang Publishers, with commentary) (This link may not be Firefox-safe)
• Official Supreme Court of India Biography, available at http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/sitting/bns.htm
• Justice B.N. Srikrishna, "Skinning a Cat", (2005) 8 SCC (Jour) 3, available at http://www.ebc-india.com/lawyer/articles/2005_8_3.htm (a critique of judicial activism in India).
• Justice B.N. Srikrishna, "Maxwell versus Mimamsa", (2004) 6 SCC (Jour) 49, available at:

http://www.ebc-india.com/lawyer/articles/2004v6a5.htm (a critique of Indian and Western interpretative techniques).

• Praveen Swami, "A welter of evidence: How Thackeray and Co. figure in the Srikrishna Commission Report", 17(16) FRONTLINE (Aug. 5-18, 2000), available at http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1716/17160110.htm (examining the Justice Srikrishna Commission's indictment of Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena).
• Draupadi Rohera, "The sacred space of Justice Srikrishna", Sunday Times (Aug. 16, 1998) (discussing Justice Srikrishna's Hindu beliefs and his work with the Commission).
• Suketu Mehta, "Maximum City: Bombay lost and found", (2004), Part I Ch. II.