Violence against Muslims is frequently in the form of mob attacks on Muslims by Hindus . These attacks are referred to as communal riots in India and are seen to be part of a pattern of sporadic sectarian violence between the majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities , and have also been connected to a rise in Islamophobia throughout the 20th century . Most incidents have occurred in the northern and western states of India , whereas communalist sentiment in the south is less pronounced . Among the largest incidents were Great Calcutta killings in 1946 , Bihar and Garmukhteshwar in 1946 after Noakhali riot in East Bengal , the massacre of Muslims in Jammu in 1947 , large-scale killing of Muslims following the Operation Polo in Hyderabad , anti-Muslim riots in Kolkata in the aftermath of 1950 Barisal Riots and 1964 East-Pakistan riots , 1969 Gujarat riots , 1984 Bhiwandi riot , 1985 Gujarat riots , 1989 Bhagalpur riots , Bombay riots , Nellie in 1983 and Gujarat riot in 2002 and 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots
Nellie
Nellie massacre
Violence against Muslims in India