India's northeast: Violence, panic
Violence that flared in India’s troubled northeast, the remote Assam, has triggered a chain of more bloodshed and turmoil: a massive exodus from the south; brutal retaliatory protests; mass panic in the south of the country following a flood of threatening text messages; an attempt by the government to block Internet sites to enforce calm; and new accusations against Pakistan.
Indians originally from the northeastern states crowd as they disembark from a train originating in the southern city of Bangalore, in Gauhati, Assam state, India, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. Thousands of Indians from the northeast are leaving the southern city of Bangalore and other towns, spurred by rumors they would be attacked in retaliation for communal violence in their home state of Assam.Anupam Nath/The Associated Press
A man rides a bicycle in front of a bus that was burnt by a mob on the national highway near Rongia town in the northeastern Indian state of Assam in this August 16, 2012 file photo. Nearly 80 people have been killed and 400,000 displaced in fighting between Muslims and mostly Hindu Bodo tribesmen in northeastern Assam state in recent weeks. The mass flight was sparked by rumours that Muslims, a big minority in predominantly Hindu India, were seeking revenge for the Assam violence.UTPAL BARUAH/Reuters
People react during a clash with police at a protest that turned violent in Mumbai August 11, 2012. Police said that two people were killed when anti-Assam riots led by Muslim organisations turned violent on Saturday, with demonstrators torching vehicles, damaging buses and pelting stones, prompting police to fire in the air, according to local media.STRINGER/Reuters
In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, people from India's northeastern states wait to board trains to leave for home, at a railway station in Chennai, India. Hundreds of Indians from the northeast are leaving the southern city of Chennai, spurred by rumors they would be attacked in retaliation for communal violence in their home state of Assam.Arun Sankar K/The Associated Press
People hold candles during a vigil to show solidarity with the people of Assam during a rally in front of the India Gate in New Delhi August 22, 2012. Clashes between indigenous people in Assam and Muslim settlers from neighbouring Bangladesh have killed nearly 80 people and displaced some 300,000 since July.ADNAN ABIDI/Reuters