Pogroms in Delhi. During the three nights of clashes between Muslims and Hindus, 27 people died

In Delhi, pogroms of areas where Muslims live continued for three nights, killing 27 people. There were no clashes in the Indian capital on Wednesday, but the situation remains tense.

Authorities are sending police and troops to unrest areas. There have been no such events in Delhi for several decades.

The clashes began on Sunday. In all likelihood, they were caused by threats from Kapil Mishra, one of the leaders of the Hindu nationalist party, Bharatiya Janata Parti, which is the ruling party in India.

Mishra spoke at a rally of his supporters and urged them to gather in the Delhi region, populated mainly by Muslims, to prevent a protest from taking place there against amendments to the citizenship law.

Indian authorities are proposing to grant citizenship in an accelerated manner to refugees and migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh – but only on condition that they are not Muslims. At the same time, in many states, local Muslims are offered to prove that they are in fact citizens of India. If they fail to do so, they will be deported.

The bill provoked the anger of members of the Muslim community who began to hold mass protests against discrimination. The Indian authorities deny that the innovations are directed against Muslims, and insist that the new procedure for granting citizenship is designed to protect minorities from persecution.

The first reports of attacks began to arrive shortly after Mishra said that the police must stop Muslim protests within three days — and if this does not happen, people will take to the streets.

Over the past three days, a lot of photos and videos have appeared that show how crowds, mostly composed of members of the Hindu community, beat unarmed people, including journalists. On the streets of the city walk groups of men armed with armatures, sticks and stones. Clashes are taking place between Muslims and Hindus.

According to the local hospital, where they provide assistance to the injured, 189 people were injured.

Refugees

The last time religious unrest occurred in Delhi in 1984, when Hindus attacked the Sikhs. Then more than 3 thousand people died.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on his Twitter to calm and peace, adding that the police are restoring order.

Riots occur in predominantly Muslim areas in northeast Delhi. Access to these areas is limited.

The streets there are full of stones and broken glass. Burned cars are visible everywhere. Many houses were burned.

The BBC correspondent reports that many locals are leaving their homes with property for fear of escalating violence.

Many, including journalists, report on groups of people who demanded that passers-by say what religion they profess. One of the photojournalists said that he was forced to lower his underpants to demonstrate that he was not circumcised, and, accordingly, not a Muslim. A similar thing happened during previous religious clashes in India.

The country’s authorities claim that they are taking control of the situation in Delhi and sending the right amount of military and police to the areas where the clashes took place.

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