The latest NCRB data shows number of communal riots in India reduced from 869 in 2016 to 723 in 2017. (Photo: Reuters) (Image for representational purpose)

The intensity of riots is increasing in India and on an average the country witnessed 161 rioting cases with 247 victims every day in 2017. The latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that the total number of riot victims in India increased by 22 per cent in 2017, even though the number of rioting incidents saw a decrease of 5 per cent in comparison to the previous year.

NCRB's 'Crime in India 2017' report that was released on Monday, shows that in 2017, India witnessed 58,880 rioting cases while the number of riot victims stood at 90,394. In comparison to this, a year ago the number of rioting cases was 61,974 and the number of victims was 73,744 (i.e. 169 riots and 202 victims every day).

Rioting here does not refer to communal riots alone; it also includes rioting caused due to land/property disputes, caste conflict, political reasons, sectarian issues, student protests etc.

Section 146 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines rioting as:

"Whenever force or violence is used by an unlawful assembly, or by any member thereof, in prosecution of the common object of such assembly, every member of such assembly is guilty of the offence of rioting."

As per IPC, anyone found guilty of rioting, shall be punished with a maximum jail term of two years, or with fine, or with both.

Bihar, the rioting capital of India

With 11,698 rioting cases to its share, Bihar was the rioting capital of India in 2017, followed by Uttar Pradesh (8,990 cases) and Maharashtra (7,743 cases). Incidentally, even in 2016, Bihar had the highest number of rioting cases.

But while Bihar was the hub of rioting cases, it was Tamil Nadu which topped the number of riot victims. In 2017, Tamil Nadu saw 1,935 rioting cases but the number of victims was 18,749, suggesting that riots in Tamil Nadu were much intense and violent in comparison to riots in other parts of the country. For every riot in Tamil Nadu, on an average there were 9 victims.

In other words, we can say Tamil Nadu had a 3.28 per cent share in total rioting cases in India in 2017, but accounted for 21 per cent of riot victims.

Among states, Punjab was the most peaceful in terms of rioting as it registered just one case. It was followed by Mizoram (2 cases) and Nagaland and Meghalaya (with 5 cases each).

Communal riots

The number of communal riots in the country has come down from 869 in 2016 to 723 in 2017. According to NCRB, a similar decrease was also seen in the number of victims as it decreased from 1,139 in 2016 to 1,092 a year later.

In terms of rankings, Bihar saw 163 communal riots in 2017, the most for any state, accounting for 22.54 per cent cases and 19.5 per cent victims. Following it were Karnataka and Odisha with 92 and 91 communal riots respectively.

Haryana, which was the hub of communal riots in 2016 with 250 cases and 271 victims, saw significant improvements as the number of communal riots in the state reduced to 25 in 2017.

Riots due to caste conflicts

The NCRB report shows a drastic reduction in rioting incidents that occurred due to caste conflicts. The report shows riots due to caste conflicts saw a 65 per cent decline in 2017 in comparison to 2016. A similar change was seen in the number of victims.

In 2017, Uttar Pradesh continued to register the highest number of caste conflicts (346 cases) resulting in riots but its overall figure saw considerable reductions. In 2016, the state alone accounted for 899 caste conflict related riots.

Main cause of riots: Land/property disputes

Land and property disputes have been the biggest factors that lead to rioting in India. In 2017, riots due to land/property disputes accounted for 22 per cent of all rioting cases and 35 per cent of riot victims. 2017 was not an outlier in this as a similar share was seen in 2016 too.

When it comes to states, Bihar had the most number of riots due to land/property disputes (7,030 cases), followed by Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. But when it comes to the number of riot victims, Tamil Nadu overshadows them all. In 2017, Tamil Nadu saw just 587 riots due to land/property disputes (4.53 per cent of all cases in this category), but the number of riot victims in the state was a staggering 17,045 (53 per cent of all victims in this category).

This shows that riots arising out of land and property disputes in Tamil Nadu are far more intense than anywhere else in the country.

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