ABSTRACT
In December 1992 and January 1993, the city of Mumbai captured the attention of India and the world as the media reported horrific accounts of violence in its streets. Mumbai’s elite citizens watched in despair as the cherished image of their city as an economic capital rivaling Tokyo, New York, and Paris was shattered by political actors wielding trishuls, calling upon a divine power to give them strength to defend Hinduism against the encroachment of Islam. Instrumentalism and primordialism are both used to explain violence based on the politicization of religion in India. Primordialists focus on the cultural differences existing between two religious communities. Efficient political mobilization is arguably the point of departure for this analysis of the riots. Economically, modern India has not experienced ascendant capitalism.
