India is a country which is being hailed globally as an emerging economy and a force to reckon with. Going by this observation, Indian states should be competing with each other in terms of progress. But in reality, it is anything but that.
In what can be considered a new low, the National Crime Records Bureau (NRCB) has separately ranked nations by number of communal incidents, for the first time ever.
Although, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have been in news for a long time, it’s Jharkhand that is at the top of the list, with six states being ranked as under.
1. Jharkhand: 349 incidents of communal violence.
While the recent violence towards the end of September grabbed headlines, Jharkhand saw 349 such incidents with equal number of deaths.
2. Haryana: 207 incidents of communal violence.
As the state is on boil after deaths of Dalit children , Haryana saw 207 deaths in 207 communally charged incidents in 2014, while three attempts to instigate hatred were recorded.
3. Tamil Nadu: 120 incidents of communal violence.
Although not being in the news as much as UP, Tamil Nadu does rank third with 121 people being killed in 120 incidents of communal clashes. Apart from that efforts to promote tensions were made 16 times.
4. Maharashtra: 99 incidents of communal violence.
Maharashtra which is home to India’s economic capital and one of the most developed states in India, has seen 99 such events when communal tensions got violent, and 355 people lost their lives. With Shiv Sena being active in the state, 31 incidents of promoting hatred are not at all surprising.
5. Bihar: 59 incidents of communal violence.
Despite communal violence in Bihar being widely reported, it stands at number five with 125 people being killed in 59 incidents.
6. Uttar Pradesh: 51 incidents of communal violence.
One of the most crucial regions for Indian politics, Uttar Pradesh saw a surge of violence with Muzaffarnagar riots and the recent lynching in Dadri being the most notable ones. Despite having the least number of communal incidents, the state saw the most deaths with 356 people being slaughtered. Home to motormouths like Sangeet Som and Yogi Adityanath, UP saw 25 incidents of hate speech.
Although, Maharashtra and UP rank at fourth and sixth position respectively, the number of deaths is much higher and the intensity of riots makes both these states as the most communally charged in the country.
