1964 Calcutta riots

1964 Calcutta riots
Part of Religious violence in India
DateJanuary 1964
Location
Calcutta (presently known as Kolkata)
Caused by1964 East Pakistan riots
GoalsCommunal violence
Casualties
Death(s)Official: 264 (mostly Muslims)[1][2][3][4]
  • 208 due to communal violence
  • 56 due to police and military action

Unofficial estimates: 100-500[5][2]
Injuries430+
Arrested7000+
Part of a series on
Violence against Muslims
in independent India
Major incidents

The 1964 Calcutta riot was a religious riot that occurred in January 1964 and spread throughout the city of Calcutta. The violence was a reaction to Muslims attack on Hindu in neighboring Bangladesh by Muslim mobs. This event was the first intense religious violence in the city since the 1946 riots.[5][6][7]

The violence included attacks resulting in bloodshed, property destruction, and organized looting, which led to the death of at least 264 people, according to official records. Unofficial estimates of casualties ranged from 100 to 500. Reports indicated that as many as 70,000 Muslim residents fled their homes.[8]

  1. ^ Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (11 February 1964). "Communal Disturbances in West Bengal: Shri G. L. Nanda's Statement in Parliament" (PDF). PIB Archive. p. 3. 6015.
  2. ^ a b "Widespread Communal Riots in India and Pakistan" (PDF). Keesing's Contemporary Archives. 25 July 1964. p. 1.
  3. ^ Huda, Kashif ul (23 May 2009). "Communal Riots and Jamshedpur". Economic and Political Weekly.
  4. ^ "Recurrent Exodus of Minorities from East Pakistan and Disturbances in India" (PDF). International Commission of Jurists. 20 January 1965. p. 307.
  5. ^ a b "1964: Riots in Calcutta leave more than 100 dead". BBC. 13 January 1964. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  6. ^ "TOLL IN CALCUTTA PUT AT 60 IN RIOTS; Mob Kills 3 Policemen —Army Units Moved In". The New York Times. 12 January 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  7. ^ "ANNEX II (7) Survey on Hindu Muslim Riots (1917 to 1977) | Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying". dahd.nic.in. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. ^ Sengupta, Anwesha. "Calcutta's Muslims after Partition". The Daily Star. Retrieved 12 January 2023. more than 70,000 Calcutta hindus fled their homes during these riots