The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– July 31, 2023; Day 445

Rap on the knuckles (the act of speaking to someone severely or angrily because of something they have done or failed to do): On lynching, mob violence and judiciary fiat (a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge))

The Supreme Court has tried to hold States and Centre to account on mob violence

It is a matter of shame for the Union Government and several State governments that the Supreme Court has had to remind them of their “consistent failure” in the past five years to act against the lynching of and mob violence against Muslims and marginalised sections by “cow vigilantes” in particular. Following a petition by the National Federation of Indian Women highlighting this failure, the Court has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana to respond to it. In 2018, the Court, in Tehseen S. Poonawalla vs Union of India, had held that it was the “sacrosanct (Must be kept safe, held in respect and free from violation or damage) duty” of the state to protect the lives of its citizens and that the authorities have the “principal obligation” to prevent “vigilantism” of any kind. It had come up with guidelines which included the designation of a nodal [police] officer in each district, who, with the identification of districts/blocks/villages where mob violence and lynching have occurred in recent years, and the help of police intelligence, would work towards tackling such incidence in coordination with other government agencies. They were also to be aided by the initiative of the Home Ministry and State governments in sensitising (Make sensitive or aware) law enforcement officials and warning the public about the consequences of engaging in mob violence or vigilantism, among other measures.

That lynching, mob violence and “cow vigilantism” — an incorrect euphemism (an indirect word or phrase that people often use to refer to something embarrassing or unpleasant, sometimes to make it seem more acceptable than it really is) for criminals engaging in wanton (Occurring without motivation or provocation) violence against minorities for the purported reason of transporting cattle for slaughter or cattle meat — still happen since the judgment and little has been done by the Union government or the States in question, especially in north India, points to the nonchalance (The trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern) of the governments. It does not take deductive powers to note that the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and in many of these States that allows for the stereotyping (beliefs or judgements about people based on fixed ideas about them which are often not true) and demonising ( to describe somebody/something in a way that is intended to make other people think of them/it as evil or dangerous) of the minorities has also played into this. Besides vigilantism, social and economic boycott of the minority community have also taken root in States where they receive political patronage (The act of providing approval and support). The Court is right in issuing orders to agencies of the state in holding them to account for the non-implementation of the guidelines in the 2018 judgment. However, it requires no less than concerted civil society action to tackle the menace of mob violence and “vigilantism” by sensitising people towards fraternal (Of or relating to a fraternity or society of usually men) relations with other communities and avoiding typecasting (to impart a fixed usage or convention to) them as the “other”. In Tamil Nadu, for example, where, historically, secular and rational movements were active, such incidents are rare. And if they do occur, dominant political representatives face outrage (Anger aroused by some perceived offence or injustice) from civil society. Preventing atrocities (The quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane) of the kind that mob violence wreaks (Cause to happen or to occur as a consequence) on ordinary citizens cannot be left to just judicial fiat.

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