Tremors of Violence

This book is an ethnographic study of Muslim survivors of ethnic strife in Mumbai and two major cities of Gujarat. Based on narratives of and interviews with Muslim men and women, it tries to understand the world and worldviews of those who have seen and lived through one or several violent confrontations and episodes in their lives. Through engagements with these survivors, the book weaves several stories of devastating loss, the painful and never absolute process of recovery, and battles for survival and redress from the state.



By giving space to the voices of both women and men, to survivors of communal violence on the one hand and religious leaders and the non-laity on the other, the book provides numerous insights: how Muslims construct their identity in such conditions; how Muslim voices in Mumbai are different from those in Gujarat; and how women`s narratives are tinged with personal sadness but men`s recollections are couched in more abstract terms.