The 1970 Bhiwandiriots were instances of anti-Muslim violence which occurred between 7 and 8 May in the Indian towns of Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad. There were large amounts of arson and vandalism of Muslim-owned properties. and caused the deaths of over 250 people.
The riots
There had been a prolonged period of tension between Hindu nationalist groups such as the RSS, Jana Sangh and Shiv Sena and the Muslim groups Jamaat-i-Islami, the Muslim League and Majlis Tameer-e-Millat. The Rashtriya Utsav Mandal had campaigned for permission to have a procession to celebrate the birthday of the Maratha warrior-King Shivaji, which would pass through an area where the residents were predominantly Muslims, and by a mosque. Permission was given over the protests of Muslim leaders and on 7 May the procession began. The procession was organised by Shiv Sena and supporters of the Hindu right, who, it was reported, arrived armed with lathis and were abusive towards Muslims along the path of the procession with the police taking no action. However once the anti-Muslim violence began the police opened fire several times, but only targeted Muslims. Between 3,000 and 4,000 people had travelled from villages close to Bhiwandi, and once the procession had started some Muslims threw stones which triggered the violence. An indefinite curfew was declared by the police at 10:00 p.m. that night. As violence ensued, fire engines and ambulances were brought in from Bombay, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, Ambarnath and other nearby places. The Indian Express reported that "knives and acid bulbs were freely used in the places". Subsequently, a 24-hour curfew was imposed also in the neighbouring town of Jalgaon, where 50 were reportedly injured by 8 May. The official figures put the total death toll at 21. The Indian Army was called in the same day to the two towns to bring the situation under control. It was reported that towns returned to "normalcy" the following day.
Aftermath
Following the incident the Indian government formed a Commission headed by Justice Dinshah Pirosha Madon. The final report from the commission ran to seven volumes and was highly critical of the police for their failure to prevent the riots, the report was also highly critical of Shiv Sena for their part in the violence. According to the Madon report of those arrested during the violence 324 were Hindu and 2183 were Muslim. The Madon report was highly critical of the police, stating that their action showed a clear "anti-Muslim bias". According to K. Jaishankar, of those arrested for clearly identifiable crimes during the violence in 1970, 21 were Hindu and 901 were Muslim, a figure disproportionate to the numbers of casualties. Economic costs for the riots in Bhiwandi, according to the Madon and police reports ran to Rs. In Jalgaon 112 Muslim properties and been attacked by arsonists, with 87 of these being razed to the ground. There was looting of 250 properties and another 28 had been damaged. Economic costs for the violence in Jalgaon ran to with the costs to Muslims being . The commission gave a death toll of 164 in Bhiwandi alone, 142 Muslims and 20 Hindus, and in the nearby villages of Khoni and Nagaon the commission stated that there had been 78 deaths, 17 Hindus and 50 Muslims.
