Delhi riots: Violence that killed 53 in Indian capital ‘was anti-Muslim pogrom’, says top expert

The religious violence in Delhi that overshadowed Donald Trump’s visit to India last month “qualifies as a pogrom” against Muslims and should be described as such, according to a leading academic and one of the country’s top lawyers.

The fallout from the three days of bloodshed in Delhi, which began two weeks ago on Sunday and ended in the deaths of at least 53 people, is still being fiercely contested, with police facing intense criticism for their perceived failure to step in and quash the unrest sooner.

There are mounting calls for the arrest of key members of the country’s ruling BJP party, accused of inciting Hindu mobs to mobilise in the capital and target mosques, Muslims and Muslim-owned homes and businesses in a trail of destruction.