Indian state erupts into violence weeks before G20 world leader summit 

As India prepares to host the Group of 20 (G20) leaders in its capital, New Delhi, a different story is unfolding in the neighbouring state of Haryana.

Clashes broke out in Haryana's Nuh region on Monday after a right-wing Hindu group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), staged a religious procession in a Muslim-dominated area. According to local media reports, the procession was targeted by a mob, setting off a series of communal attacks, per a report in The Hindustan Times.

The violence later spread to other cities in the state by Thursday and resulted in the deaths of six people, including two policemen and a Muslim cleric. As seen during several such incidents reported from India over the last few years, several Muslim-owned shops and buildings were set ablaze by members of the VHP.

It is also being reported that some of the people who were part of the procession were carrying firearms and other weapons.

On Wednesday, there were also attempts to vandalise two mosques in Tauru. Muslim religious leaders have suspended Friday prayers in Gurugram, asking people to stay home. Hundreds of people from both communities have been forced to flee their homes.

The police have arrested 176 people, and as many as 90 have been detained so far. Internet and SMS services have also been suspended in Nuh.

Several videos of the communal violence have gone viral on social media, making the situation all the more sensitive. The state government has constituted a 4-member committee to examine social media posts that led to the clashes. Meanwhile, the chief minister of the state urged people to stay calm and ensured that the guilty would be punished.

Not the first time:

India has seen more than 2,900 cases of communal or religious riots between 2017 and 2021, according to the data provided by its National Crime Records Bureau.

Hindu vigilante groups have been emboldened by the presence of right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party governments in some northern Indian states. Critics say that these groups are undermining India's secular fabric by making minorities a target.

These groups attack cattle trucks, track religious conversions in villages and towns, and warn Hindu girls against falling in love with Muslim boys. Prime Minister Modi has expressed no disapproval of them.

He is a member of an umbrella group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which propagates an ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness, which asserts India is a Hindu nation.

Human rights activists, journalists, and academicians believe that the situation in India has only worsened, and public disapproval has not dissuaded the right-wing government from continuing to do whatever it feels is right.

In 2017, a 55-year-old Muslim man, Pehlu Khan, was beaten to death by a group of cow vigilantes for allegedly transporting cattle illegally in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

The assailants were believed to be members of right-wing groups Hindu Jagaran Manch and Bajrang Dal. In 2015, during a similar incident, a Muslim man was lynched by a right-wing group in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, sparking widespread outrage. He was killed because he reportedly stored and consumed beef.

Cows are considered holy by millions of Hindus in India, and eating beef is legally prohibited in several states. Cow vigilantes have been blamed for increasing attacks on those in the cow slaughter trade.

It also needs to be noted that the latest incident comes months after another Indian state witnessed ethnic clashes that displaced over 50,000 people and claimed over 100 lives. Manipur erupted into flames after clashes broke out between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki community in the state on May 3. During the conflict, two women were stripped and paraded naked by a mob in in Kangpokpi district.