Description

“Riots and After in Mumbai” provides a synoptic record of events in Mumbai, focusing essentially on the history of riots in the city. Using this framework, it attempts to understand the sociopolitical and cultural realities of present-day Mumbai through a collection of narratives of the people affected by the communal riots of 1992. The book uses a novel approach combining historical records from the pre-independence era (1893-1945) and personal interviews of both Muslims and Hindus living in the city. It also looks into the political manipulations that ordinary people of both communities alike are subjected to by the ruling powers and political parties. This book will help the reader form a bridge between the past and the present of Mumbai in order to better understand the relations between the two communities. On the one hand it undercuts the cosmopolitan image that the city holds and on the other hand, it speaks volumes of the truth and reconciliations that has happened over the years in the minds of the people who live together despite much brutality and strife.