Citizenship law protests & Delhi riots
It began in December 2019 as a mostly student-led protests against a new citizenship law, which many saw as anti-Muslim and against the spirit of India’s secular constitution.
The agitation swiftly spread nationwide, with bouts of violence in many parts, and a weeks-long blockade of a major street in New Delhi that became a symbol of resistance against the law.
By February, just as U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in New Delhi, communal riots broke out in India’s capital city, leaving 53 people dead.
I covered the entire protest movement, and was among the few reporters on the ground when the initial rioting began.
'Night of horrors': Inside the Indian university stormed by police
As dusk fell on Sunday, police smashed their way into the main library of New Delhi’s Jamia Millia University, firing tear gas shells as scores of terrified students barricaded doors and hid inside bathrooms to protect themselves.
Full story here.
Biryani, bankers and burqas: Inside a sit-in protest on an Indian highway
From the maze-like, Muslim-dominated neighbourhood that flanks one side of the highway, a volunteer group of more than 100 people run the protest site, working in shifts and providing everything from crowd-control and food to bedding and medicines.
Full story here.
Delhi shooter was quiet teenager who pushed Hindu cause online
The 17-year-old boy left his home in a small north Indian town on Thursday morning after telling his grandfather he was going to school. Instead he turned up 80 km away in New Delhi, where he pulled out a gun and shot an anti-government protester.
Full story here.
One killed, dozens injured in Delhi clashes as Trump visits
Police used tear gas and smoke grenades but struggled to disperse the crowds, as both sides hurled stones and turned a wide boulevard into a rock-strewn battle zone, about 11 miles from where Trump will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks.
Full story here.
A mob out for blood: India's protests pit Hindus against Muslims
Mohammad Zubair was on his way home from a local mosque in northeast New Delhi when he came across a large crowd. He turned towards an underpass to avoid the commotion; it proved to be a mistake.
Full story here.
A Delhi neighbourhood divided by a highway and now hatred
“I have lived here for 35 years,” said Santosh Garg, a Hindu who described a narrow escape on Monday when a mob of Muslim men set her house alight. “I still can’t understand what happened.”
Full story here.