2021 Kawardha riots

2021 Kawardha riots and unrest
Part of religious violence in India
Date	3 October 2021; 5 months ago (3 October 2021)[1]
Location	Kawardha, Chhattisgarh 22°01′N 81°15′E / 22.02°N 81.25°E / 22.02; 81.25Coordinates: 22°01′N 81°15′E / 22.02°N 81.25°E / 22.02; 81.25
Goals	Arson, stoning, civil unrest and rioting
Resulted in	Police flag march Re-opening of the region
Parties to the civil conflict
Authority Protestors Chhattisgarh state BJP Chhattisgarh Police Bajrang Dal CRPF VHP
Lead figures
Ramesh Sharma (IAS) Abhishek Singh Sandip Garg (IPS)

The 2021 Kawardha riots were incidents of religious violence between Hindus and Muslims that occurred in Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, India, between 3 and 7 October 2021.

Background[]

Kawardha is a small city in the Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh. It is the home of former state Chief Minister Raman Singh and Forest Minister Mohammad Akbar.^[2] The district is 92.4% Hindu and 7.76% Muslim.^[3]

Incident[]

On Sunday, 3 October 2021, a group of Muslims and Hindus had an argument over the placement of religious flags in Loahara Naka Chowk in the town of Kawardha.^{[4][5][2][6][1]} An eyewitness claimed that following the altercation, a green flag had been torn down, and some hours later, a saffron flag was removed in retaliation.^[2][1] Two days later, right-wing organisations, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, held a rally protesting the flag removal. The rally led to civil unrest in the region, including arson and rioting. The police conducted a lathi charge to disperse the protestors,^[7][1] invoked Section 144 (barring unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, and imposed a curfew in the region.^{[8][9][10][7]}

The police stated that the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal had promised peaceful protests.^[1] They registered a First Information Reports against several people, including Santosh Pandey, a Member of Parliament, and Abhishek Singh, a former Member of Parliament, both of whom were from the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[2]

References[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

• Tiwari, Vishnukant (9 October 2021). "After Communal Tensions in Chhattisgarh's Kawardha, Cops Book Over 90 People". The Quint.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• "FIRs registered against thousands including former, current MP in Kawardha riots, says SP Mohit Garg". ANI News. 10 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• "FIR against Raman Singh's son, BJP MP for clashes in Kawardha". The Times of India. 9 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• Verma, Gargi (6 October 2021). "Argument over flags erupts in communal violence in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham". Indian Express.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• Mishra, Ritesh (7 October 2021). "Uneasy calm in Chhattisgarh's violence-hit Kawardha town". The Hindustan Times.
• "Chhattisgarh Police targeting only BJP people, alleges MP Santosh Pandey". Times Now. 11 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• "Kawardha Population, Caste Data Kabirdham Chhattisgarh". Census of India. 2015.

External links[]

• Disturbing visuals coming from Kawardha. Free Press Journal. 2021 – via YouTube.