‘Premediated extrajudicial killing by a group’- shamefully mob lynching has become a part of India’s socio-economic structure. Communal intolerance when crosses limits and are fueled by corrupt politicians generally causes lynching. Though this term literally refers to informal punishment meted out to a transgressor by a mob, in a practical context lynching is purely out of communal hatred and religious narrow-mindedness.
In India, repeated cases of mob lynching have been registered. Most of these cases are against extremist religious political groups clearly pointing out the communal perspective of these incidents. Miscellaneous mob lynching cases are also sparsely found. India, since time immemorial, has been a religious and spiritual nation. With the policy of unity in diversity, India is expected to respect diverse ideologies. However with misinterpretation of religion and distortion of history, education, and facts, communal hatred has reached unseen levels resulting in extreme violence.
SOME PROMINENT MOB LYNCHING CASES
- Dadri mob lynching of 2015- This incident took place in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh where a group of villagers attacked and killed a 52-year old Muslim man named Mohammed Akhlaq on the suspicion of slaughtering a cow. The cow is considered as a sacred animal by the Hindus and it has no religious significance in Islam. This attack was committed by cow vigilantes and none was arrested. In fact a petition was later filed against the murdered.
- West Bengal Lynching Case of June 2017- Three Muslim Youth were lynched in Durgapur on the suspicion of cow theft.
- Guwahati Lynching Case– Two men were lynched by gau rakshas (cow protectors) as they were suspected to be cattle thieves.
- Harpur Lynching Case- Two Muslim men were lynched due to rumors of cow slaughter.
The list is shamefully long but one similarity is clearly visible, the violence brought out by ‘cow protectors’ on allegedly ‘cow eaters’.
COW PROTECTORS v/s COW EATERS
The Indian Constitution grants every citizen the right to his/her choice of lifestyle which includes food. However a part of the Hindu population of India has shown considerable intolerance towards other religions and their practices including their food.
Overly religious people under the name of gau-rakshasas (cow protectors) have lynched a number of people on the suspicion of cow slaughter. This is both violations of personal freedom as well as the right to life. However in the majority of the cases, the police haven’t made any arrests and these lynchers, supported by some extremist politicians continue with their spread of hatred.
Violence in any form is condemnable and physical attack is punishable by law. The ignorance of the governments and the judicial system towards severe crimes like mob lynching and murders are unthinkable in a modern world advanced country. These incidents are a question on our conscience and make us doubt ourselves- how educated are we?
