This article discusses the role that local politicians played during the 2002 Hindu-Muslim violence in Gujarat, India. I argue that the capacity and interests of political actors to instigate and organise communal rioting is closely related to their capacity to provide access to state resources. The cooperation during the riots between politicians and various types of rioters - from local criminals, Hindu-nationalist activists, neighbourhood leaders to police officials - can be understood in the light of the daily functioning of the local patronage networks that help citizens deal with state institutions.
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