Abstract: Episodes of ethnic violence, such as communal riots in India are often a mutually destructive endeavour for the communities involved. Despite the immediate and evident suffering that results from it, the long-term victimization of the communities reeling from communal incidents is many folds and bears a closer inspection. This presentation attempts to draw out nuances of victimization in the Hindu-Muslim ethnic conflict using ethnographic insights from the author’s doctoral research. The ethnographic study conducted in Hyderabad and Bhatkal, Karnataka, provides a rich and multilayered retelling of what it means to be both a victim and perpetrator in communal incidents. Insights are drawn from criminological perspectives, conflict studies, and social psychology to provide an understanding of the nature of victimization in ethnic conflict. Of particular concern are the ways in which community workers, organizations, politicians, and public officials engage with the victims of ethnic conflict that can sustain discourses on ethnic conflict. Identity markers such as religion, gender, caste, and class determine the status of a victim in not just the rehabilitation efforts but also their participation in community engagements that drive further discourse on the existing conflict, ensuring an endemic state of victimhood.
About the speaker: Hrudaya Chandana Kamasani, a Law graduate with experience working in immigration law, she transitioned to social sciences with a Masters in Criminology specializing in Human Rights and Criminal Justice System. She is currently a Ph.D. Scholar at the School of Conflict and Security Studies at National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. Her work focuses on understanding the individual and community factors of group violence arising out of ethnic conflicts that are endemic to the Indian subcontinent.