In February 2020, a communal/sectarian riot took place in the Indian capital of New Delhi for three days. Affecting citizens who occupy the socio-economic and geographic margins of the city, the riot is noted for the disproportionate damages faced by Muslims in comparison to. This riot follows a format seen with events of communal and sectarian violence in India in the past. However, the process of remaking life after violence, seeking justice and the investigation of the event is taking place in a political context shaped by majoritarian politics, political debates on citizenship and the covid-19 pandemic declared in March 2020 which raise other forms of suffering. Hence the survivors of the riot are dealing with overlapping crises. This paper explores how victims of violence respond to multiple crises simultaneously. Drawing on news reports, fact finding studies and interviews with those affected, the paper will consider how Muslim riot victims, frame experiences of suffering and victimhood. This will be situated in the in relation to the emerging ethical environment and structural and political inequalities faced by Indian Muslims, which may appear independent of each other, but shape aspects of everyday life. In the process the paper seeks to develop an approach that recognises how the victimhood of marginalised populations is produced through multiple events and crises.
