3400 cases, 8500 arrests: How India has been dealing with communal violence over the past few years

The Raja Singh episode has Hyderabad on tenterhooks. Bloodthirsty mobs have taken over the streets, raising provocative slogans and adding to the undercurrent of communal tension prevailing across the country after the Udaipur and Amravati killings.

The last few weeks have seen communal flareups in several parts of Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh among others, fuelled by provocative speeches by political and religious leaders, and mischievous acts by individuals.

India is no stranger to religious violence. A total of 3,399 cases relating to communal violence were registered between 2016 and 2020, the last year for which data is available. Between 2018 and 2020, a total of 8,565 arrests were made in these cases. Lok Sabha data shows 4,097 arrests in 2018; 2,405 arrests in 2019; and 2,063 arrests in 2020. The conviction rate, however, is below 9 per cent, lending credence to accusations of random arrests in cases of communal violence.

Delhi with 521 cases and Bihar with 419 cases together account for over half the cases registered in the country from 2018-20. When it comes to arrests, Bihar (2,777) and Maharashtra (1,332) lead the way, with the former accounting for a third of total arrests in India in the same period. Almost all the cases in Delhi are in the relation to the infamous 2020 riots in the north-eastern part of the Capital.

Bihar, on the other hand, witnessed major rioting in 2018 which started with a Ram Navami procession in Bhagalpur. The violence gradually spread to neighbouring districts and even to parts of Bengal, most notably Asansol. The following years also witnessed sporadic clashes between communities in various parts of Bihar.

The only silver lining is cases registered for religious violence form only 1.23 per cent of the total 276,273 cases filed in India for all forms of rioting from 2016-20.

Over 1,000 arrests are also made every year on charges of hurting religious sentiments. Data shows a total of 4,794 arrests from 2018-20 on this count – 1,716 in 2018; 1,315 in 2019; and 1,763 the following year. Uttar Pradesh with 628 arrests, Tamil Nadu with 613 arrests and Kerala with 552 arrests together account for almost 40 per cent of the total arrests in this period.

From 2017-22, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also taken up 17 cases relating to promoting enmity between different groups.