India saw 59 communal riots in 2024, an 84% increase from 2023 when 32 such incidents were reported in the country, according to a new report by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism.

The report, titled Hegemony and Demolitions: The Tale of Communal Riots in India in 2024, was authored by human rights activists Irfan Engineer, Neha Dabhade and Mithila Raut.

Their findings are based on reports from the Mumbai editions of five newspapers – The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express, Shahafat and The Inquilab.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs and National Crime Records Bureau maintain comprehensive records of communal riots in India but have stopped publishing its data regularly,” the authors noted.

According to the report, Maharashtra reported the most number of communal riots – 12 out of the total 59. This was followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which reported seven riots each.

The riots led to the death of 13 persons, of which 10 were Muslims and three Hindus.

“The spike in the number of communal riots in India in the year 2024 can partly be attributed to the general elections that were held in April/ May, 2024,” said the report.

It also highlighted that most communal riots – 26 out of 59 – were triggered during religious festivals or processions, including four coinciding with the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in January 2024.

Seven riots were reported during Saraswati Puja idol immersions, four during Ganesh festivals and two during Bakri Eid.

“This data highlights how religious celebrations are increasingly being used to fuel communal tensions and political mobilization,” said the reports.

Of the total, six incidents were related to contested places of worship, with Hindutva groups claiming that mosques and dargahs were illegal or constructed after demolishing Hindu religious sites.

There are presently at least 18 suits pending in courts across the country concerning 10 mosques and shrines, including the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the Shahi Eidgah mosque in Mathura and the Atala Mosque in Jaunpur. Hindu litigants in the cases have claimed that these structures were built after demolishing ancient Hindu temples.

The authors stated that they had noted a trend of the government “disproportionately targeting the Muslim community” in cases of communal riots in recent years.

“These actions include using bulldozers to demolish properties owned by Muslims, causing significant economic damage,” they said. “Additionally, the state has slapped cases and implicated the members of the Muslim community, even in instances where they are victims of violence during communal riots.”

Scroll has reported that until September, claims that structures were built on government land were used to demolish 19 properties belonging to Muslims in an area that witnessed communal clashes in Maharashtra, a mosque in Delhi, a madrasa in Uttarakhand, the makeshift homes of thousands of Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam, 11 houses belonging to alleged beef smugglers in Madhya Pradesh and the rented home of a Muslim teenager accused of stabbing his Hindu classmate in Rajasthan.

Additionally, the study found that there were 13 cases of mob lynching in 2024 that resulted in 11 deaths – one Hindu, one Christian and nine Muslims. “While this marks a decline from the 21 incidents of mob lynching recorded in 2023, the continued occurrence of such attacks remains a serious concern,” the report said.

Of the total, seven cases of mob lynching were linked to cow vigilantism or accusations of cow slaughter, while the remaining were due to “accusations of interfaith relationships and assaults targeting Muslims for their religious identity”.

“This increase in the number of communal riots belies the narrative of the state that India is free from communal riots as there are no communal tensions and the state has maintained communal harmony,” the report stated.