Prime Minister Modi has warned against cow vigilante violence. Authorities must be stern
The Prime Minister's statement, that the killing of people in the name of cow protection is “unacceptable”, is welcome and has come at an appropriate time when there have been rising instances of lynching in various parts of the country. Hopefully, the Prime Minister's declaration will knock some sense into the fringe elements who take law into their own hands and harm innocent people on the basis of rumours. Unfortunately, one cannot assume that violence will end. In the past too, the Prime Minister openly condemned such activities. Just months ago, he lashed out on fake gau rakshaks, who, in the name of cow protection, are hell-bent to destroy social harmony. Yet, such strong denouncement have meant nothing to the self-appointed overzealous cow protectors, who miss no opportunity to indulge in communal violence. In a recent case in Haryana, where a 19-year-old teenager, Junaid Khan, was stabbed to death on a train while he was returning after Eid shopping, the SHO of Government Railway Police at Ballabgarh himself reportedly admitted that they could not rescue the youth because “such things happen”. However, it's good that several arrests in this case have been made. But the main culprit, who knifed Junaid, is still free. Efforts must be made to nab him too. There cannot be any relaxation. While the Prime Minister's anguish and anger is understandable, given that these recurring incidents take the focus away from the main narrative of development and also from various achievements of the Government, but that his statements have served little purpose is evident from the fact that a mob in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district went against his message and killed a man over suspicion that he was carrying beef. Mere statements will not suffice. To this end, the Prime Minister's statement is not just a message to the perpetrators of crime but also to the State Governments and law-enforcing authorities that they have to act tough. Poor law and order situation, failure to uphold social contract, under-staffed police force have all given a free hand to the cow protectors to work hand-in-glove with the local police. It is up to the respective State Governments to follow up on such condemnation and take concrete, immediate actions against the lynchers. Equally worrisome is the coincidence that many of these cow vigilantism activities are happening in the States that are ruled by the BJP.
Away from the political aspect, such incidents demonstrate the continuing existence of a social divide among people, where prejudice is so strong that it makes them to even murder. Such distrust and communal anger among sections have been fuelled often through WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms. So much so that people, on the mere suspicion that someone is seen marching with a cow, take law and order into their hands. The level of intolerance, as shown by these fake cow protectors, cannot be accepted in a civil society such as that in India. It not only gives a bad image but the foreign media too uses such stray incidents to construct an image of this country. Our political class, police and society in general have to wake up to the situation.