ABSTRACT
The history of violence in India, it is crucial to reiterate, did not begin with the modern Indian state that was established in 1947. Through an exploration of the violence that took place between August and September 2013 in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, the author intend to demonstrate how elite politics shaped the contour of this violence. Muzaffarnagar is a district located in the western part of India's largest State, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The violence in Muzaffarnagar presents interesting insights into the relationships between the supposedly secular parties and Indian Muslims. As violence gripped the region, Muslims fled with their families from their villages that had been targeted. Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav prior to the 2013 violence claimed to have pursued a supposedly pro-Muslim policy. There are many instances of ethnic violence in which we have witnessed such roles of the civil society organizations, and their participation has brought a qualitative difference to the post-violence situations.
