DNA Edit: Modi’s tough talk

At a time when the conscience of this nation shudders every day from news of one horrific lynching after another, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration that lynchings carried out in the name of the cow are unacceptable is welcome.

Hopefully, his statement will work to dissuade armies of fringe elements, who have so liberally taken the law in their hands, and who on the basis of rumours and WhatsApp-cultivated anxieties have in cold blood murdered innocent citizens.

This is not the first time that Modi has made a statement against cow lychings. In August last year, the PM has publicly criticised these vigilantes, indicating that many of them are anti-social elements who are passing themselves off as gau rakshaks.

Sadly, that statement did not deter the self-styled vigilantes one bit. This can be partly attributed to state governments who have been derelict on upholding their end of the social contract. A lax law-and-order machinery, an under-staffed police force and implied support from politicians have meant that many of these fringe units work in lockstep with the local police in targeting and assaulting people under the bogey of cow slaughter.

In many cases, it is seen that the police machinery has stepped back from protecting civilians for fear that these goons have political patronage. That evidently is not the case now as the PM has, in unambiguous terms, distanced cow-lynching groups from any purported proximity it could claim with the BJP.

However, a mere statement will not suffice. The need of the hour is for these statements to be followed by concrete and immediate actions against the lynchers. That will send a redoubtable message across the Hindi heartland that vigilantism of this sort will not be tolerated, and that those who risk breaking the law must also be prepared to face its full wrath.

What’s more, Modi must remind himself that he was able to secure support virtually unprecedented in the history of India, on the promise of development and progress, irrespective of determinants of race, religion, caste, creed, and gender. However, accompanying the BJP’s growth narrative has been a chilling rise in violent mob justice incidents. These mobs have not materialised out of thin air.

A constant diet of anxiety, religious distrust and communal anger fed through WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms has sustained this insanity. What adds to the appeal of a lynching for its participants is the vent that a mob attack lends to those who participate in it, not to mention the promise of anonymity.

This state of affairs must stop. Lynchings that have taken place in India since 2014 must be investigated thoroughly and brought to a conclusion by convicting and punishing those responsible.

Otherwise, the PM’s words would only ring hollow.