Not so peaceful after all: In 2015, communal clash deaths in India have spiked by 25 percent

Communal clashes in India have risen under the Narendra Modi-led government. A report compiled by the Union Home Ministry showed that in the first five months of 2015, incidents of communal clashes have risen by almost 25% as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year when the Congress-led UPA-II was in power. [caption id=“attachment_2356380” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] Representative image. Agencies[/caption] The Economic Times , cited data collated by the Union Home Ministry, and said that deaths from communal violence have risen from 26 between January and May 2014 to 43 over the same period this year. States that failed to control sectarian tension are West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, the report further added. The numbers show the Narendra Modi government too in poor light especially when the Opposition has been  cornering the government over Vyapam scam and Lalitgate. The government was proud of itself in 2014 when communal violence witnessed a decline, with the number of incidents dropping to 644 from 823 the previous year. The number of related deaths also fell, declining to 95 in 2014 from 133 in 2013, a Times of India report said. The number of those injured in communal clashes in 2014 also dropped to 1921 from 2,269, the ministry had said earlier. This is the first time that the data has shown the Narendra Modi government in negative light on the state of communal harmony. The Modi sarkar has frequently come under Opposition attack for wearing a “mask of nationalism” while promoting communal tension and disrupting harmony across the country. Speaking about the country’s minorities and religious diversity earlier this year, Prime Minister Modi told Time  that “so far as the government is concerned, there is only one holy book, which is the constitution of India.” The ET report further added that the spike in communal clash in 2013 could be blamed on two main incidents – the Muzaffarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh and Dhule in Maharashtra. Last year, riot in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur was the reason for the spike. The ministry claimed that there was no major communal riot till May 2015. However, serious communal clashes were reported from Atali village in Haryana, the ET report added.