The Aftermath of the North East Delhi Riots

This project depicts properties in the Shiv Vihar quarter of North East Delhi, India, on 3 March, a few days after sectarian riots in the district. India’s National Register of Citizens (NRC), a register containing names of all ‘genuine’ Indian citizens, was first prepared in 1951 to deal with issues regarding illegal migrants in the border state of Assam. A Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passed in December 2019, extended the register to cover the whole of India. The new law allowed Hindus and other non-Muslims in Assam who were unable to prove their citizenship status to be included in the NRC, but left Muslims off the registry. This sparked peaceful protests locally, which spread nationwide. In late February 2020, protests turned to rioting in areas of North East Delhi, in what became the worst sectarian violence in the Indian capital in decades. At least 53 people, mostly Muslims, were killed and property was destroyed.