Communalism and Sexual Violence in India: The Politics of Gender, Ethnicity and Conflict

Megha Kumar's academic study traces the recurring pattern of communal violence in Ahmedabad from the September 1969 riots through the 2002 Gujarat violence, with particular attention to the sexual violence used against women in each episode and to the role of Hindu nationalist organizations in mobilizing participants through rumor and propaganda. First published in India in 2014 under the title "Communalism and Sexual Violence: Ahmedabad since 1969," the original edition was withdrawn by its publisher within days over fears of reprisal from Hindu nationalist groups, and the study was subsequently published without political revision by academic presses in Britain and India. Kumar draws on the Reddy Commission of Inquiry's official findings alongside interviews and contemporary press to reconstruct the 1969 riots' course and casualties.