Communal Violence : A Sociological Study of Gujarat

Contents: Preface. 1. Democracy, religion and religious conflicts. 2. Communal violence. 3. Communal brutality--2002 Gujarat Riots. 4. Scheme of study. 5. Process of communal violence, social problems and behaviour. 6. Recurrent communal violence, insecurity and Harassment. 7. Police and communal violence. 8. Causes of communal violence. 9. Prejudice and inter-distance relations. 10. Strategy to control communal violence. Annexure: The communal violence (prevention, control and rehabilitation of victims) Bill, 2005 (Some excerpts). Bibliography. Index.

"India is multi-cultural state with large number of Muslims. In the recent past communal violence has been frequent. The state puts down violence by crushing it by police, paramilitary forces and army. But it is necessary to understand and critically examine various causes of social violence and adopt successful strategy to curb such violence.

The present volume is an attempt towards this direction. It is a unique strikingly quantitative sociological research on communal violence with special reference to Gujarat. Casual repression, without analyzing critically causes of ferociousness, results into further turmoil, constantly concerning lives of innocent people. The data received from more than twelve hundred respondents and with the aid of information technology, the entire course of communal violence is examined point by point in the book. Policy makers, research scholars and students of sociology and political science may find the book useful." (jacket)