There seems to be no end to it. The anti-Romeo squads were the trial run. When no accountability was imposed, emboldened gau rakshaks attacked Muslims on the mere suspicion of carrying or storing beef. Subsequently it was the turn of the Dalits for handling the carcasses of cows. Then followed the bludgeoning to death of suspected child lifters. Videos of the barbarous attacks were posted on social media to publicise the “bravado” for sadistic pleasure.
Any rational human being with even an iota of humanism in him would be wondering: is this the sort of society we will bequeath to our children? Is this the future of our nation; lacking in principles, morals, pity or mercy; thrashing a human being continuously for one and a half hours? The sight of the supposed law enforcers’ dragging a human being along the road like an animal carcass was sickening enough. The news that they stopped for tea whilst a badly beaten human being bled to death in the police van, was even more revolting. All this because the victim was a Muslim, a Dalit, or an “outsider” who looked different. Even handicapped deaf mutes, mentally challenged individuals and beggars were not spared. One wonders how we reached this abyss of inhumanity.
So far the only attempt at restoring a semblance of normality has been the SC directive to the Centre to stop this mobocracy and have a law in place against lynching. With due respect to the SC this will only result in yet another committee “report”, a farcical law or maybe even a national commission; which like the eight existing ones, will be a total waste of time and money because nobody will pay much attention to it. The courts released the accused on bail as they denied all knowledge or liability. Sting operations in UP and Rajasthan show the same accused proudly boasting about their actions, confident that patronage of the ruling party will ensure that nothing will happen to them. Proactive courts could suo moto easily declare these boasts as extra-judicial confessions and take appropriate action.
Sociologists who have studied these developments believe that there are two separate events in the lynchings. First came the WhatsApp messages and fake videos. In one case the video showing apparent child lifters was actually a staged video from across our borders and part of a campaign to protect children. In another case the messages came from a school dropout. These actions, apparently unconnected, give the perpetrators a sense of importance, and a depraved sense of achievement. With advances in technology it is a simple matter to identify the source and take stringent action. The initial steps taken to contain these WhatsApp messages must be pursued more aggressively.
The perverse messages then reach the fertile minds of mobs and take a quantum leap to the act of lynching. The question is what drives a person to so savagely batter another human being on the flimsiest of grounds without any proof or substance to the allegations. In one case a member of the mob stated the victim “looked” like a child lifter, whatever that means. In another case the act of offering a child a chocolate was the trigger.
It is believed to start with a sense of deprivation at being sidelined in the progress of society. Before the advent of the communication explosion, people remained in their own cocoons, oblivious to the innovations around them. Today smart phones have ensured increased awareness and every development is viewed through the eyes of have-nots; a sense of being left behind without any rights or empowerment. This in turn breeds anger, hatred and frustration.
Now enter the “others” at both ends of the spectrum. There are those who with their cars provide an easy target to give vent to pent-up anger. The Assam incident involving the Karbi community was a typical example. Then there are the beggars in Rainpada who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfulfilled promises by politicians, making no difference to their lives, ferments discontent which quickly leads to mass hysteria. The messages are merely the trigger.
In the case of gau rakshaks, there are important additional elements. The sense of deprivation described above is soothed by the elation of empowerment and righteousness in believing that they are the saviours of the cow. But most importantly there is the confidence of impunity in the knowledge that nothing much will happen to them as a result of this “service to society”. Police, the guardians of law, remain mute spectators, and are even attacked whilst the Kanwariyas run amok.
Harvard educated Union Ministers, garland those convicted of this barbarism, feeding them ladoos. MPs and MLAs, the supposed law makers, visit them in jail, felicitate them and cover their coffins with the tri-colour, thereby conveying that these heinous acts have the tacit approval of those currently in power. The CM and police chiefs shower rose petals from helicopters on those who run amok. Yet the same authorities turn a blind eye to the rape and systematic subjugation of minors to sexual brutality in institutions euphemistically glorified with the description of “shelter homes”. It is this dichotomy that has to be addressed.
Unfortunately it is seen as an opportunity. Such lynchings, by polarising society are seen as a source of dividends by way of increased vote share, and therefore shamelessly approved. It took the PM 34 lynchings to make a bland statement. We have not heard a single word of disapproval of the behaviour of the party leaders let alone reprimand or sacking. Of course if there is any criticism from journalists, writers, rationalists or thinkers, you can always assassinate them. Even our own Damodar Mauzo was discovered to be on a hit list of right wing fanatics for his outspoken writings.
I eagerly await the much touted promise of “achhe din”.
(Dr Gladstone D’Costa is the Chairman, Accreditation Committee and member, Executive Committee, Goa Medical Council)
