The Nagpur riots of 1927 were part of series of riots taking place across various cities in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
during the 1920s.
Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...
was then the capital of
Central Provinces and Berar (CP&B) state of British India which covered most of the central India. The riots occurred on 4 September 1927.
On that day, there was a procession for
Mahalakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...
, which was blocked by Muslims when it came to the Mahal neighbourhood. In the afternoon, there was rioting near the Hindu houses of the neighbourhood, which continued for three days.
Background
The mutual trust between Hindu and Muslim communities had reached a low in the 1920s, and riots were seen frequently across many cities of India. In 1923, India witnessed eleven riots, in 1924 there were eighteen riots, in 1925 there were sixteen riots, and in 1926 there were thirty five riots.
In the twelve months from May 1926 to April 1926, 40 more riots occurred across various cities. They mostly occurred in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
,
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...
and
United Provinces.
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
riots of August 1927 were the most deadly recorded riots in this series.
The earlier riot of 1923 was caused when the members of
Hindu Mahasabha took out a procession and passed in front of a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, playing loud music. The Muslim community objected, starting a skirmish between the two parties.
These riots had a profound impact on
K. B. Hedgewar, prompting him to form, in 1925, the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
(RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization and one of the largest Hindu organizations in the world.
Christophe Jaffrelot in his book ''The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics'' records a testimony saying that Hedgewar led the
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
procession in 1927, beating the drums in defiance of the usual practice not to pass in front of the mosque with music.
All these events acted as a catalyst building up the tensions between two communities.
Riots
On the morning of 4 September, the day of
Lakshmi Puja
Lakshmi Puja () is a Hindu occasion for the veneration of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and the supreme goddess of Vaishnavism. The occasion is celebrated on the amavasya (new moon day) in the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar month of Ashwa ...
, Hindus took out a procession like every year, and passed in front of a mosque in the
Mahal area of Nagpur. However, the Muslims stopped the procession this time around and did not allow it to pass through the area. In the afternoon, when the Hindus were resting after the morning procession, Muslim youths took out a procession shouting ''
Allahu Akbar
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...
,'' armed with weapons like
javelins,
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
s and
knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
.
Muslim youths threw stones at the house of Hedgewar, who was then away from Nagpur.
RSS cadres, sensing the mood of the procession, came out in the narrow lanes of the Mahal area and reciprocated with ''
lathis,'' further intensifying the riots.
Liaquat Ali Khan
Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...
, in his book ''Pakistan – The Heart of Asia,'' also describes a major
arson incident during the riot that seemed pre-meditated with explosives gathered well before the riots began.
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported 22 had been killed and more than 100 injured in riots that continued for two days.
Later, the government ordered troops into the city to restore peace.
During the riots, the RSS had grouped its cadres in 16 ''shakhas, ''spread out across the city to protect the Hindu communities.
Aftermath
Many Hindu homes and temples had been vandalized and Hindus had also been killed in large numbers including 13 RSS members who were lynched by a furious Muslim mob. RSS had showcased its role in defending Hindus during the riots.
The popularity of the organization grew as the news of the incident spread across the country, and it saw a spurt in its membership.
By 1929, the organization formed an elaborate hierarchical structure. Between 1931–1939, the number of its branches grew from 60 to 500. The membership count had reached 60,000 by this time.
References
{{Nagpur
History of Nagpur
Riots and civil disorder in India
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Nagpur riots
Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...
Crime in Maharashtra
Nagpur riots