Where identity and trauma converge: Hindu-Muslim perceptions of the 2002 gujarati riots

Abstract

The 2002 Gujarati Riots were one of the worst outbreaks of violence between Hindus and Muslims in India in recent history. There has been a lack of studies that have looked at victims' experiences of the riots and their processing of trauma sequelae related to the riots. Ten Gujarati Hindus and seven Gujarati Muslims were interviewed who were in Gujarat during the 2002 violence. Using a modified grounded theory approach for qualitative data, three principal distinctions between the Hindu and Muslim respondents were found: 1) perceptions of the responsibility of the Gujarat state government, 2) affect towards the experience of the riots, and 3) coping strategies utilized. The preliminary results suggest that affect and prejudices may differentially impact the process of cultural trauma and subsequent coping strategies. The study highlights how cultural identity shapes views of others and the discrepant processing of collective violence and trauma by individual members of two religious groups with a history of communalism.