Cases of communal violence shows huge drop in 2021: Chhattisgarh tops the list, UP reports only one incident

By: Anshul Vipat

Communal violence was reported in various cities, and in places like Udaipur a man was brutally murdered. Similar murder was also reported in Maharashtra's Amravati. In 2021, riots were reported in Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and other states.

In the past few months, the country witnessed communal disturbances in various cities. In June, suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's comment on Prophet Muhammad had sparked a worldwide controversy. Communal violence was reported in various cities, and in places like Udaipur a man was brutally murdered. Similar murder was also reported in Maharashtra's Amravati. In 2021, riots were reported in Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and other states.

If we take a close look at the laws surrounding hate speech and trends in the incidence and  disposal of cases relating to hate speech and communal violence, we can see a whopping increase in the hate speech crimes in the country. While India does not have a separate law for hate speech related crimes, there are specific legal provisions or sections in the law that prohibits speech, text or any publication that incites hatred among two communities or groups. Some of them are Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religion or religious beliefs).

Based on the information provided by the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) report, there has been a drop in cases related to communal violence . In 2019, the country had reported 438 cases of hate crimes which has come down to 378 in 2021. The country had reported the highest cases of rioting in 2020 (876).

Jharkhand reported the maximum cases of communal rioting with 100 cases in 2021. This was followed by Maharashtra with 77 cases. Bihar reported 51 cases while Rajasthan which was recently in news due to communal disturbance in Udaipur had reported 22 cases last year. Strangely,  just one case was registered in Uttar Pradesh.

However, that does not mean that communal violence was all time low. At all-India levels, there is an increase of cases of unlawful assembly in 2021 with 14,157 registered cases.  Whenever communal harmony is disturbed Section 141 of IPC is imposed under which assembly of more than four people is disallowed.

Apart from this, 1,104 offences of promoting enmity between different groups was reported in 2021. This figure was 1,886 cases in 2020 and 1,116 cases in 2019. promoting enmity between groups were at 1,047 cases with 1,804 cases in 2020 and 1,058 cases at 2019. 57 cases of imputation and assertions prejudicial to national integration were registered in 2021. It was 82 and 58 cases in 2020 and 2019 respectively.

This data clearly shows multiple challenges as far as maintaining communal harmony in the country is concerned.  While we enjoy our fundamental right of freedom of speech, it's high time we draw a fine line where freedom of speech ends and inciting hatred starts