Looking beyond the feral violence in Northeast Delhi: Riots, really?

Sociologically speaking, the incidents of vandalism in Delhi do not qualify to be called riots. Ramanuj Ganguly dissects the causes, effects and projections of the violence

A poverty of understanding and paucity of vocabulary have led to the recent feral violence in Northeast Delhi being labelled 'riots' in media and popular discourses, fomenting misinformation and, more importantly, misdirection.

Sociologically speaking, the incidents of vandalism in Delhi do not qualify to be seen as reflection of a broken society, or economic or geographical matters. Rather, reports of these incidents reflect a premeditated, organised and controlled violence by certain groups of people with significant personal stake in a cause they are unable to further with their intellectual and political capacity. Therefore, they are orchestrating lawlessness to instil fear,