Communal riots during the Prince of Wales's 1921 Bombay visit exposed tensions within Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and left at least 58 dead.
Key Facts
- Dates of rioting
- 17–20 November 1921
- Lives lost
- At least 58
- Trigger event
- Visit of Edward, Prince of Wales
- Gandhi's response
- Declared hunger strike until peace restored
- Post-riot arrests
- Thousands of non-cooperation supporters imprisoned
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The visit of Edward, Prince of Wales to Bombay coincided with the non-cooperation movement, in which Gandhi and the Indian National Congress—allied with the Muslim Khilafat Movement—called for a boycott of the prince's visit and a general strike, stoking existing Hindu-Muslim-minority tensions in the city.
Between 17 and 20 November 1921, mobs of Hindus and Muslims attacked Parsi, Jewish, and Anglo-Indian residents who had welcomed the prince, burning shops, trams, and cars. Parsi-owned liquor shops were especially targeted. Counter-mobs of Parsis and Anglo-Indians then attacked those suspected of backing the non-cooperation movement, leaving at least 58 people dead.
Gandhi, horrified by the violence, undertook a hunger strike until order was restored on 20 November. British authorities subsequently imprisoned thousands of non-cooperation movement supporters. Gandhi then worked to rebuild the movement on a broader footing, seeking renewed solidarity between religious minorities and the Hindu-Muslim majority.
Political Outcome
Riots suppressed by 20 November; thousands of non-cooperation activists imprisoned; Gandhi sought to rebuild a broader, inclusive independence movement.
Active non-cooperation movement with Hindu-Muslim unity under Gandhi's leadership
Movement weakened by communal violence; British reasserted control through mass arrests