“The Mumbai riots of 1992-93 were not spontaneous. They were organized by political leaders who used communal hatred for electoral gain.” — Srikrishna Commission Report
Communal violence has scarred India since partition. This chapter examines the major riots of the 1980s and early 1990s—from the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms to the Ayodhya movement and the destruction of the Babri Masjid—and the rise of Hindu nationalism as a political force.
Following Indira Gandhi’s assassination, organized mobs attacked Sikhs across North India. Delhi was worst affected. For three days, Sikhs were hunted, burned alive, and killed while police stood by. Over 3,000 died.
Evidence pointed to Congress leaders organizing the violence. Voter lists were used to identify Sikh homes. Killers arrived in trucks. Yet major prosecutions were rare. Justice remained elusive for decades.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, formed in 1980 from the Jan Sangh, initially struggled electorally. But under L.K. Advani’s leadership, it found an issue that would transform Indian politics: the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Advani recognized that Hindu nationalism needed an emotional issue. The claim that a mosque in Ayodhya stood on Ram’s birthplace—and should be replaced by a temple—provided it. The Ram Janmabhoomi campaign galvanized Hindu sentiment.
The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, built in the 16th century, stood on a site Hindus claimed was Ram’s birthplace. Hindu activists demanded the mosque be demolished and a temple built. The issue had simmered for decades; now it exploded.
Timeline:
In 1990, L.K. Advani undertook a “rath yatra” (chariot procession) from Somnath to Ayodhya to mobilize support for the temple. The procession left a trail of communal violence. Hundreds died in riots along the route.
The rath yatra deliberately inflamed Hindu-Muslim tensions. Each riot produced a Hindu backlash that benefited the BJP. V.P. Singh’s government arrested Advani, but the damage was done. Hindu nationalism was now a mass movement.
On December 6, 1992, a mob of Hindu activists (kar sevaks) demolished the Babri Masjid while BJP leaders watched. The demolition violated court orders and government assurances. It triggered riots across India that killed over 2,000.
The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government had promised to protect the mosque. The central government had intelligence about the demolition plan. Yet neither acted effectively. The state’s failure to prevent the demolition remains a constitutional scandal.
Following the demolition, Mumbai (then Bombay) exploded in communal violence—first Muslim attacks on Hindus, then organized Hindu retaliation. The police were complicit. The Shiv Sena’s role was documented but rarely prosecuted.
The Ayodhya movement transformed Indian politics. The BJP emerged as a major national party. Hindu-Muslim relations were damaged for a generation. The demolition remains a source of legal battles and political controversy.
The Ram Janmabhoomi movement made Hindu nationalism electorally viable. It also deepened Muslim insecurity and alienation. The demolition violated the secular compact on which India was founded. Its wounds have not healed.