View source for 1927 Nagpur riots

{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title            = 1927 Nagpur riots
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| date             = 4 September 1927
| place            = [[Nagpur]], [[Central Provinces and Berar]], [[British Raj]]
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| fatalities       = 22
| injuries         = 100+
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The '''Nagpur riots of 1927''' were part of series of riots taking place across various cities in [[British Raj|British India]] during the 1920s. [[Nagpur]] 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.<ref name="Pakistan – The Heart of Asia">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12gUo6OkvjEC&q=nagpur+riots&pg=PA159 | title=Pakistan – The Heart of Asia | publisher=READ BOOKS | author=Khan, Liaquat Ali | year=2007 | pages=157–159 | isbn=978-1-4067-4352-4 | authorlink=Liaquat Ali Khan}}</ref> On that day, there was a procession for [[Mahalakshmi]], which was blocked by [[Muslims]] when it came to the Mahal neighbourhood. In the afternoon, there was rioting near the [[Hindus|Hindu]] houses of the neighbourhood, which continued for three days.<ref name="Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifuxzl9NM5sC&q=nagpur+riots&pg=PA249 | title=Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh | publisher=APH Publishing | author=Chitkara, M. G. | year=2004 | pages=249–250 | isbn=978-81-7648-465-7}}</ref>

==Background==
[[File:Dr. Hedgevar.jpg|right|thumb|150px|[[K. B. Hedgewar]] founded [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] after the 1923 riots.]]
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.<ref name="Gandhi in His Time and Ours">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvvgOvby58YC&q=nagpur+riots+of+1923&pg=PA165 | title=Gandhi in His Time and Ours | publisher=Orient Blackswan | author=Hardiman, David | year=2003 | pages=165–166 | isbn=978-81-7824-114-2}}</ref> In the twelve months from May 1926 to April 1926, 40 more riots occurred across various cities. They mostly occurred in [[Bengal]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[North-West Frontier Province]] and [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]]. 

The [[Lahore]] riots of August 1927 were the most deadly recorded riots in this series.<ref name="Pakistan – The Heart of Asia" />

The earlier riot of 1923 was caused when the members of [[Hindu Mahasabha]] took out a procession and passed in front of a [[mosque]], playing loud music. The Muslim community objected, starting a skirmish between the two parties.<ref name="Gandhi in His Time and Ours" /> These riots had a profound impact on [[K. B. Hedgewar]], prompting him to form, in 1925, the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS), a [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] organization and one of the largest Hindu organizations in the world.<ref name="Lineages of the Present">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3rAQDUm898C&q=nagpur+riots&pg=PA291 | title=Lineages of the Present | publisher=Verso | author=Ahmad, Aijaz | year=2002 | pages=291 | isbn=978-1-85984-765-7}}</ref> [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] in his book ''The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics'' records a testimony saying that Hedgewar led the [[Ganesha]] procession in 1927, beating the drums in defiance of the usual practice not to pass in front of the mosque with music.<ref name="The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uywnx2IHH8cC&q=nagpur+riots&pg=PA34 | title=The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics | publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers | author=Jaffrelot, Christophe | year=1996 | pages=40 | isbn=978-1-85065-301-1}}</ref> 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]], 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]],'' armed with weapons like [[javelin]]s, [[dagger]]s and [[knives]].<ref name="Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh" /> 

Muslim youths threw stones at the house of Hedgewar, who was then away from Nagpur.<ref name="Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CimVTTVHtwQC&q=after+1927+riots+RSS&pg=PA18 | title=Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags | publisher=Orient Blackswan | author1=Basu, Tapan | year=1993 | pages=19–20 | isbn=978-0-86311-383-3 | author2=Sarkar, Tanika}}</ref> RSS cadres, sensing the mood of the procession, came out in the narrow lanes of the Mahal area and reciprocated with ''[[lathi charge|lathis]],'' further intensifying the riots.<ref name="Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh" /> [[Liaquat Ali Khan]], 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.<ref name="Pakistan – The Heart of Asia" /> 

''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported 22 had been killed and more than 100 injured in riots that continued for two days.<ref name="HINDU-MOSLEM RIOTS RESULT IN 22 KILLED">{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/119683726.html?dids=119683726:119683726&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=SEP+08%2C+1927&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=HINDU-MOSLEM+RIOTS+RESULT+IN+22+KILLED&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525142719/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/119683726.html?dids=119683726:119683726&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=SEP+08,+1927&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=HINDU-MOSLEM+RIOTS+RESULT+IN+22+KILLED&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 May 2011|title=HINDU-MOSLEM RIOTS RESULT IN 22 KILLED|date=8 September 1927|publisher=The Washington Post (1877–1954)|access-date=10 January 2009}}</ref>

Later, the government ordered troops into the city to restore peace.<ref name="25 DEAD, 180 INJURED IN CREED RIOTS IN INDIA; Troops Are Called to Quell Two-Day Hindu-Moslem Fight at Nagpur.">{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D15FB3E581B7A93CAA91782D85F438285F9|title=25 DEAD, 180 INJURED IN CREED RIOTS IN INDIA; Troops Are Called to Quell TwoDay Hindu-Moslem Fight at Nagpur.|date=8 September 1927|work=The New York Times|access-date=10 January 2009}}</ref> During the riots, the RSS had grouped its cadres in 16 ''[[Shakha|shakhas]], ''spread out across the city to protect the Hindu communities.<ref name="Fundamentalisms and the State">{{cite book|first1=Martin E.|last1=Marty|first2=F. Scott|last2=Appleby|first3=R. Scott|last3=Appleby|others=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|title=Fundamentalisms and the State|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1991|pages=241|isbn=978-0-226-50884-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=doCmVaOnh_wC&q=Nagpur+riots+september+1927&pg=PA241}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="India Briefing">{{cite book|first1=Alyssa|last1=Ayres|first2=Philip|last2=Oldenburg|title=India Briefing|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|year=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiabriefingtak00alys/page/118 118]–119|isbn=978-0-7656-1593-0|url=https://archive.org/details/indiabriefingtak00alys|url-access=registration|quote=nagpur riots.}}</ref> The popularity of the organization grew as the news of the incident spread across the country, and it saw a spurt in its membership.<ref name="Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags" /><ref name="Religion, Power & Violence">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2OsOjnujSUC&q=after+1927+riots+RSS&pg=PA132 | title=Religion, Power & Violence | publisher=SAGE | author=Puniyani, Ram | year=2005 | pages=132 | isbn=978-0-7619-3338-0}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Fundamentalisms and the State" />

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Riots in India}}
{{Nagpur}}

{{coord missing|Maharashtra}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagpur riots, 1927}}
[[Category:History of Nagpur|Riots, 1927]]
[[Category:Religious riots in India]]
[[Category:Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]]
[[Category:1927 in India]]
[[Category:1927 riots]]
[[Category:Mass murder in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:September 1927 events]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1927]]
[[Category:20th-century mass murder in India]]
[[Category:Attacks on Hindu temples in India]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in the 1920s]]