Increasing cases of mob lynchings indicate that either the BJP Government does not care or it has no control and has its hands tied. The latter is hard to believe
On June 18, Tabrez Ansari, a 24-year-old Muslim boy, was lynched by a mob in Jharkhand’s Kharsawan district on the suspicion of theft. This is the 11th case of hate crime in the six months of this year. In this week’s column, I will examine what the anatomy of hate crime is all about. I will attempt to raise some uncomfortable questions that need answers. Hopefully, they should press us to think afresh and take action.
What is hate crime? It can essentially be described as a type of behaviour that is spurned or motivated by hatred towards a particular group. Typical signs of hate crime are where victims are chosen because of their particular identity: Like race, religion, caste and sexual orientation among others. Furthermore, in the case of hate crime, usually, perpetrators have no direct relationship with the victims.
Let’s take a look at the circumstances under which the Jharkhand incident occurred. On June 18, Ansari was tied to a pole and was brutally beaten up for hours together before being handed over to the police. Horrific videos of the attack that have surfaced show that the mob forced Ansari to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’ repeatedly. These are typical signs of hate crime. Apologists for the BJP Government in Jharkhand and at the Centre may argue that the mob was unlawfully beating up an alleged thief and that this does not mean that a particular community was targetted. To these apologists, I want to ask: What justifies the action of the mob to ask the victim to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’? And is it mere coincidence that this lynching incident occurred when chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ were in focus in Parliament? Or that it happened in the same month when a person was thrown off a train because he refused to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram?’ The uncomfortable answer will be that in today’s ‘New India’, whosoever does not fall in the line with the BJP’s and RSS’s limited, macho view of “Hinduism,” will be dealt with by an unpredictable rule of the mob.
Who has created this environment for hate crime? In terms of numbers, the Government’s own data in 2017 published by the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) showed that the number of offences promoting enmity on communal and racial lines went up by 41 per cent between 2014 (when Prime Minister Modi and the BJP were elected for the first time) and 2017. By the way, these numbers published by NCRB do not include incidents related to cow slaughter and those attacked on the suspicion of cow slaughter. If those figures were included, it would cause further embarrassment to the BJP and bring greater shame on us. Such numbers reach alarming proportions when there is an environment for its unabated growth.
One way in which such an environment is created is when there is a view that the perpetrators of such crimes can escape without punishment. Just take a look at the fact that most of these crimes are recorded on phones and thereafter widely circulated. In an interview with one such member of a mob, a reporter recounted how it is common to hear the perpetrators of such a crime video-tape their act because of the notoriety it brings and the “respect” it would gather in their circles. The video-taping of such incidents shows a brazen disregard or fear of repercussion. Another way in which this belief of being above the law is encouraged is when there are clear lapses by individuals in authority. Such people may be police officers or even doctors serving the Government.
In the case of Tabrez Ansari, a few hours after being brutally beaten, the police apparently recorded a “confession” from him. Amazingly, there was not a single line about the assault that he was subject to, even though the act was recorded by attackers on their mobile phones.
Further, it is shocking that the police could not use its skills of perception (or even plain sight) or training to figure out that Tabrez Ansari had been brutally beaten up. All of it does not stop here. There is also the case of the doctor who conducted the initial medical examination of Tabrez Ansari and found him to be “fit” to be thrown in the jail rather than a hospital. Such frightening degree of negligence treads dangerously on the thin red line between complicity and ignorance.
Some might say that these are subtle indicators and cannot be directly attributed to the BJP or the RSS. I mean it is not like a senior leader of the BJP (and a Union Minister) has garlanded the men accused of lynching a Muslim on the suspicion of cow slaughter or that an accused in a major terrorist attack (which resulted in the death of Muslims) was fielded as a Lok Sabha candidate and is currently a sitting Member of Parliament. Oops. That’s exactly what has happened.
Does the BJP not care or does it have no control? The statistics highlighted above, the brazen nature of crimes and the shameless manner in which these crimes have been captured on video as also repeatedly shared by the perpetrators of heinous crimes indicate one of the two things: Either the BJP Government does not care or it has no control and has its hands tied. It’s hard to believe that it has no control.
The fact is that the BJP and Prime Minister Modi were given a clear majority in 2014 and now in 2019, further, the majority of States where these crimes have occurred, are ruled by the party. Therefore, what is the excuse? Can the BJP explain why lynchings related to cow slaughter are currently not classified as hate crimes? Can it explain why, with a clear majority since 2014, no hate crime laws have been introduced where (as was proposed by the Congress in its manifesto) officers, who are found negligent in dealing with such crimes, are dealt with firmly? Can the party explain why Pragya Thakur, a terror accused and someone who claimed Nathuram Godse was a martyr, currently still sits as the BJP MP from Bhopal?
The Prime Minister’s response to the lynching incident has been predictable and standard. He condemned the act but it appears his condemnation does not hold much weight because such crimes are still happening. Even with Pragya Thakur, Prime Minister Modi said he would “never forgive” her for the remarks on Mahatma Gandhi.
My final question in this piece is really for all of us: If we, as politicians, journalists, actors, industrialists or as citizens don’t speak up against powers that have allowed such injustice to continue, are we harmless spectators or do we have to live with the guilt of being part of the problem?
(The author is president of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee)
