Lynchings over beef In whose name, then, PM Modiji?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has today spoken on the issue of cow vigilantism, again. This is only the second time he has lashed out at so-called gau rakshaks, reminding the nation that there is no place for those who take the law into their hands to harass and murder Muslims in the name of the cow.

This is what PM Modi had to say: “Today I want to say a few words and express sadness on some of the things going on. We are a land of non violence. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that. No one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Yes. It should be done. Killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve. As a society, there is no place for violence. No person in this nation has the right to take the law in his or her own hands in this country. Violence never has and never will solve any problem. Let's all work together. Let's create the India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams. Let's create an India our freedom fighters would be proud of.”

This is a laudable statement, and long-awaited.

The last time he spoke on the same subject was at a townhall, in August 2016, when he lambasted the cow vigilantes, saying some of them had made a business of gau raksha. Much water, and innocent blood, has flown under the bridge since then. A spate of killings in the name of cow and country have left parts of the country in shock, even as many celebrate these dehumanised murders with unbridled glee, safe in the knowledge that someone in some state or central sarkar has their back.

Then, too, many questioned Modi’s motive, suggesting it was a wink-wink, nod-nod moment. As it turned out, that is exactly how the thugs that until recently lurked on the margins of the right wing interpreted it, no doubt seeing it as public posturing for the cameras. That in turn emboldened them to take increasingly greater liberties with Muslims’ right to life, to a point where the national conversation now revolves around lynchings over beef and faith, the latest being the horrific stabbing of a 16-year-old on a train to hell.

Perhaps what Prime Minister Modi needed to do then, and must do now, is to unleash the dogs of war upon these cow vigilantes. Unless words are backed by state action, they are meaningless. Unless the state governments – most of which are now ruled by the BJP – take heed of the PM’s exhortation and aggressively crack down on such thuggish elements, the PM stands to lose all the goodwill he has earned amongst the lower and middle classes, who stand to benefit the most from his economic reforms. It is time for the PM to put the entire muscle of the state machinery, and his conviction, behind his words.

No economy can remain stable, let alone grow, in an environment of fear and violence, especially that violence has the potential to set off nationwide communal riots that will result in untold deaths of common, innocent people on both sides. This will effectively destroy any gains made from economic reforms PM Modi has enacted. The only people who will benefit are a handful of politicians who stand to gain from such divisive poison. For all others, including the Prime Minister and the nation itself, the outcome will be mayhem of unimaginable proportions, as we have seen in every communal riot since Independence.

Modi is widely acclaimed, even by his opponents, as the best communicator that Indian politics has seen in a while. His use of different media platforms to reach different audiences is unparalleled in recent history. But where he has surely blundered in is the time he has taken to condemn these lynchings. We no longer live in the age of Vajpayee-esque pauses but in one of virality. The PM, of all people, understands this better than most, which makes it all the more baffling why he has chosen not to speak out more strongly, and often, about these killings.

One can only hope that the PM seizes this moment to follow up his words with action. He is, of course, known as a man of action. What will define his term, and his legacy, going forward will now depend on what kind of action he takes.

P.S. Even as this was being written, reports have come in of another Muslim man beaten to death in Jharkhand for allegedly carrying beef in his vehicle.