Lynchistan: An Inimical Country for Minorities

Following the quietus of Babu Lal Bhil who was beaten to death by a mob in last month in India’s state Rajasthan under suspicion of smuggling cows, Lynchistan, the so-called largest democracy of the world has again flouted the ethos of genuine democracy and constrained minorities to undergo a predicament which seems to be unsolved. Dolefully, this is not first time that only Babu Lal has been lynched, but lynching has roots back in even two decades or more. Breaching human rights laws in the shape of lynching publicly is a daily occurrence in India. But only a few cases are documented and shown in the media. Here questions arise: who enables the perpetrators to commit such illegal acts time and agve heain? What do they want to garner by lynching? Why do law enforcement agencies not take action against them or if they take action why do their investigation and action not have the normal result?

To encapsulate, humans have little esteem in comparison with animals in India, which is harmful for minorities. The cattle protection law is used as a tool to encapsulate or actualize the Hindutva ideology. This is working in many states of India. These are a few cases which have been documented or which went on air. The Hindu-dominated country has concealed thousands of such cases. Minorities should be provided safe shelter which is conferred upon them under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or even under the ethos of real democracy

Simply put, the Hindutva ideology. This ideology is based on the idea that Hindustan– according to believers, the entire Indo-Pak Subcontinent, including countries ranging from Afghanistan to Indonesia– is the homeland of solely Hindus. Hindus are those people who believe that Hindustan is their fatherland (Pitribhumi) and Holy land (Punyabhumi).

To translate this ideology into reality, organizations were formed which were collectively named the “Sangh Parivar”. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is the key player of the Sangh Parivar with its 3000 full-time volunteers as frontline personnel in riots and other violent acts. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the political wing of RSS, all lynchings are justified and endorsed by BJP lawmakers that constantly aid the BJP to come into power so that Sangh Parivar can follow through on the ideology of Hindutva. An Indian analysis showed that 97% beef-related lynchings have taken place after Modi, the BJP leader, became Prime Minister.

Apart from the RSS, the Bajrang Dal or the army of Hanuman, exclusively called the foot soldiers of Hindutva, is known to be the most violent and most dangerous of all Sangh Parivar; partaking in riots, murders, public lynching and bomb blasts.

To actualize its ideology, the Parivar has executed some ghastly acts– which could be documented. There are multifarious others which make India Lynchistan, an inimical country for minorities.

On 18 June 2018, Muhammad Qasim, 45, was beaten to death by a vigilante mob accusing him of attempting to slaughter cows. Samayadeen, 64, nearby tried to stop the mob, but he was beaten too. Regretfully, his death was attributed to a motorbike accident. Samayadeen’s brother told that the police did not tell the family the location of the hospital where they had taken both victims, and instead the police threatened to collar them under the cattle protection law.

The same year on July 21, Akbar Khan, 28, was coming partner, Aslam Khan, from buying cows when they were attacked by a mob in Alwar district. Akbar Khan was brutally beaten. Fortunately, his colleague managed to flee. Police took three hours to reach the hospital which was just 20 minutes away. Consequently, Akbar Khan was declared dead when they arrived at the hospital. After police apprehended three people, Ghyan Dev Ahuja, a local BJP lawmaker, spoke in favor of perpetrators and demanded their release. Instead, he called for nabbing Aslam Khan, the only eyewitness of the case. Atrocity does not end here.

In 2016, Mustain Abbas, 27, was bumped off in Haryana where he had travelled to purchase cows. Also in this case, police attempted to cover up the case by filing a smuggling case.

In the same year, a cattle trader and a 12-year-old boy were beaten to death by a vigilante group. Their bruised bodies were found hanging from a tree with their hands tied behind them.

Moreover, after seeing animal carcasses, an angry mob set fire to a police station and burned many vehicles in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. Two people were killed when they attempted to confront the mob. Rather than condemning the violence, the Chief Minister warned that illegal slaughtering, and not just cow slaughter, is banned in the entire state. There are many other cases to quote as well.

Sadly, in all these cases the perpetrators remained scot-free. In case some killers were jailed, they were released on bail later. As in the case of Alimuddin, 11 people were sentenced to life, but were released on bail after appeal even before the final verdict. They went to a BJP lawmaker’s house, were warmly welcomed and garlanded. Sometimes, they covered themselves with flags and they are termed heroes for doing these illegal acts. Again the BJP lawmaker performed his duty and claimed that he had legally assisted them.

In almost all documented cases, the police initially kicked off investigations, ignored procedures, or were even complicit in the killings and cover-up. A retired senior police officer in Rajasthan vocalized, “Police face political pressure to sympathize with cow protectors and do weak investigation and let them go. These vigilantes got political shelter and help.”

Most heinous is this, in Gujrat, one can get life imprisonment for slaughtering a cow, which is equal punishment for killing a man or a woman.

In one case, a senior police official said that investigators were ordered to prosecute those involved in cow slaughtering. Cow-killers were even prioritized to be penalized before murders and those people involved in riots. This depicts the hatred for minorities. Minorities are downgraded but animals are given high status. This is the sorry state of the so-called largest democracy, the Lynchistan, where human rights are breached with impunity. They do not have trepidation of being brought to book because still no Human Rights Organization has taken constructive measures to desist this human rights violation.

Additionally, in numerous cases, victim families have been frightened from pursuing justice by filing complaints against family members and associates under laws banning cow slaughter. In some cases, witnesses turned antagonists because of browbeating by both authorities and the accused. The authorities have even utilized the National Security Act, a repressive law permitting the authorities to detain anyone with charges for up to a year, against those suspected of slaughtering cows.

To encapsulate, humans have little esteem in comparison with animals in India, which is harmful for minorities. The cattle protection law is used as a tool to encapsulate or actualize the Hindutva ideology. This is working in many states of India. These are a few cases which have been documented or which went on air. The Hindu-dominated country has concealed thousands of such cases. Minorities should be provided safe shelter which is conferred upon them under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or even under the ethos of real democracy.