India saw 84% rise in communal riots in 2024; Maharashtra, UP, Bihar among worst affected: Report
New Delhi: India witnessed a sharp increase in communal riots in 2024, with 59 incidents reported, an 84 percent rise from the 32 riots in 2023, according to a new report by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism.
The report, titled Hegemony and Demolitions: The Tale of Communal Riots in India in 2024, highlighted that Maharashtra recorded the highest number of communal riots, with 12 out of the total 59 incidents. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar followed closely with seven riots each. The riots resulted in 13 deaths, of which 10 were Muslims and three Hindus.
Authored by human rights activists Irfan Engineer, Neha Dabhade, and Mithila Raut, the findings are based on reports from the Mumbai editions of five newspapers: The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express, Shahafat, and The Inquilab.
The report, as cited by Scroll, noted that the surge in the number of communal riots in India last year can partly be attributed to the general elections that were held in April/ May.
It also pointed out that a significant portion of the communal riots, 26 out of 59, occurred during religious festivals or processions. Four of these riots coincided with the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in January 2024. Seven riots occurred during Saraswati Puja idol immersions, four during Ganesh festivals, and two during Bakri Eid.
“This data highlights how religious celebrations are increasingly being used to fuel communal tensions and political mobilisation,” the report mentioned.
Additionally, six riots were related to contested places of worship, with Hindutva groups claiming that mosques and dargahs were illegal or constructed after demolishing Hindu religious sites.
The authors also pointed out a troubling trend of the government disproportionately targeting the Muslim community in cases of communal riots in recent years. “These actions include using bulldozers to demolish properties owned by Muslims, causing significant economic damage. Additionally, the state has slapped cases and implicated the members of the Muslim community, even in instances where they are victims of violence during communal riots,” they said.
The authors further noted that while the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Crime Records Bureau maintain comprehensive records of communal riots in India, both agencies have stopped publishing the data regularly.
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
