Ram Navami riots

Rama Navami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Rama. It falls on the 9th day of the Chaitra month every year in the Hindu calendar, usually during the months of March–April. At least since 1979, if not earlier, this festival has involved carrying out processions throughout the cities, which also enters into Muslim dominated areas sometimes as a way to show Hindu strength. These procession by Hindus, often considered offensive by the Muslims, have repeatedly led to violence between Hindu and Muslim communities.

Scholar Paul Brass states that since the days of the Ram-mandir movement of late 1980s (when Hindutva outfits sought to re-construct a Hindu temple at the mythical birthplace of Rama by tearing down the mosque standing on its place), Rama himself has been turned into a political emblem of the RSS family of Hindu-right wing organisations, and the Rama Navami processions are "led by or turned into provocative displays" by Hindutva organisations such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. However, he fails to mention that Ram Navami processions were common in India, and other parts of the world where Hindus reside. These processions occurred without any sort of violence before outfits like VHP and Bajrang Dal existed.