ABSTRACT
A decade ago, in December 1992 and through January 1993, Mumbai was racked with severe riots and massive numbers of killings. It was not the only place where this happened - throughout India extensive rioting had similarly followed the destruction of an ancient Muslim mosque, the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, by Hindu nationalists and religious fundamentalists. But the rioting in Mumbai seemed greater in extent, depth, duration and intensity than that which took place elsewhere in the country. It was perhaps even qualitatively different; even if it were not, the shock of the destruction seemed all the greater in an urban conglomerate that had prided itself on its cosmopolitan mixtures of ethnicities, religions and cultural constituents.
