We have been infected with different plagues time immemorial with COVID-19 being recent, but there is yet the most dangerous scourge that began almost six years ago and persist in the newest form every day. We are talking about Mob Lynching and its history. There will be different narratives with different vindications and pretexts for every account but frequently the reason for the victim’s religious identity is sufficient- as when a minor was stabbed to death near Delhi’s crowded station or when a tattoo of ‘786’ was the felony.
Let us take a look at how we as a nation turned into the barbaric civilization of the decade.
Mohsin Sheikh ( 2 June 2014, Pune)
A Muslim techie was beaten to death by a gang of seven Hindu goons, for sharing a derogatory picture of Shivaji and Bal Thackeray on Facebook which triggered communal violence across the city.
Israr and Aftab ( 15 August 2014, Delhi)
Two Muslim men running a meat shop at Dundahera village of Gurgaon were beaten by a 50 strong mob gang and were forced to flee. They were accused of selling cow meat which originally was of buffalo’s.
Abdul, Sadiq, and Shoukath ( 24 August 2014, Mangalore)
Residents of Chembugudde, three boys were hospitalized in a critical condition after being mercilessly attacked by inebriated sadists who continuously chanted Jai Shree Ram while attacking.
Govind Pansare ( 21 February 2015, Kolhapur)
Pistol toting, muffler-wrapped gunmen repeatedly shot Pansare, the CPI leader, and Trade Unionist. His wife Uma, suffered a skull fracture.
Gullu Soma Banjaran and Ganesh Bhilala (23 May 2015, Madhya Pradesh)
Two friends, who were already booked under the state’s cow slaughter act and were out on bail were killed by the third one for being involved in Cow Slaughter, .
Abdul Ghaffar (30 May 2015, Rajasthan)
Rumour of 200 cows slaughtered for a feast by Muslims and its pictures circulated through WhatsApp and Facebook. Abdul Ghaffar was beaten by rods and sticks.
Anas, Arif, and Nazim ( 2 August 2015, Gautam Nagar)
The three were ‘suspect’ of cattle theft and were beaten to death for that. A truck was ablaze to fire.
M.M. Kalburgi (30 August 2015, Karnataka)
Kannada writer and former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, M.M. Kalburgi who also spoke against superstitious practices of the right-winged group, was shot dead by two unidentified goons.
Akhlaq (28 September 2015, Dadri)
50-year-old Akhlaq was killed by a huge group of a mob, smashing his head with a sewing machine, on merely a rumor of slaughtering a cow. The incident in itself is the worst case of the history of lynching. “We are still in shock that people we lived alongside for so long would do this to us. I just want to take my sisters and mother and move away from here,” Mr. Mohammed’s eldest son Sartaj who was in Chennai when the attack took place, told the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34409354
Ibrahim Padubidri (6 October 2015, Karnataka)
Ibrahim Padubidri, a cattle trader was attacked by the ‘Bajrang Dal’ activist with the allegation of stealing cow in Karkala of Udipi district. He was beaten by steel rods and chains.
Zahid Ahmed (9 October 2015, J&K)
A beef rumor again took another life on October 9, 2015. Zahid Ahmed of Srinagar suffered 60% from the burn of petrol bombs used by the mobs. The entire area saw the anger of the people and total lockdown.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/clashes-in-jammu-as-trucker-targeted-over-beef-rumours-dies-1233569
Noman (15 October 2015, Himachal Pradesh)
A youth- Noman from Saharanpur, was lynched by irate villagers at Saharan In Himachal Pradesh. He was alleged to be involved in inter-state cow smuggling.
Afsar Ali (20 October 2015, Uttar Pradesh)
ShamsUddeen, Father of Afsar Ali, told that his son was carrying the skin of Ox to repair a drum for Muharram Processions. He was beaten by the Shiv Sena army for carrying “Ox-Hide”.
Mohammad Hasmat Ali ( 9 December 2015, Haryana)
Another Beef killing.
Khushnoor (9 December 2015, Haryana)
An unidentified group who call themselves ‘Gau Rakshak’ shot dead a migrant worker after the criminal cases against cow vigilantes were revoked.
Mohammed Hussain and Naseema Bano (13 January 2016, Madhya Pradesh)
A Muslim couple traveling in a train was beaten up when they were en route to their hometown from Hyderabad after a Right-Wing activist claimed to collect beef from their bag.
Rafeeq (26 January 2016, Delhi)
Maqtool Rafeeq was lynched over the suspicion of robbery in Bhalswara dairy.
https://archive.org/details/MaqtoolRafeeqLynchedByMobOverTheSuspicionOfRobberyInBhalswaDairyNewDelhi
Latur Maha Muslim Cop (26 February 2016, Maharashtra)
ASI Yunis Sheikh was forced to chant ‘Jai Bhawani’ and ‘Jai Shivaji’. He was Physically assaulted, humiliated and paraded.
4 Kashmiri Students (15 March 2016, Rajasthan)
Mewar University witnessed the lynching of four students alleged for cooking beef in a hostel room.
Mazloom Ansari and Imteyaz Khan (17 March 2016, Jharkhand)
The area popular for the history of the Hindu-Muslim dispute saw the killing of two men headed towards cattle exhibitions.
Mustain Abbas (27 March 2016, Haryana)
Mustain Abbas was killed by ‘Gau Rakshaks’ and the Police was involved in threatening the victim’s family instead of giving them justice.
https://thewire.in/rights/cow-protection-murder
Delhi Madarsa Students (27 March 2016, Delhi)
Three students of a Madarsa in Delhi were thrashed for not chanting ‘Jai Mata Ki’. The criminals roam free.
7 Muslim Men (2 June 2016, Rajasthan)
Angry Mob thrashed a group 7 smugglers for smuggling 102 calves.
Two Muslims (10 June 2016, Haryana)
A video went viral of two beef exporters forced to eat cow dung.
Truck Driver(26 June 2016, Gujarat)
A truck driver was attacked by Bajrang Dal members for carrying bones in his truck.
https://archive.org/details/BajrangdalAttackedTruckDriverOverTransportationOfBonesInHasapurUP
Dalit Family (18 July 2016, Gujarat)
Seven members of a Dalit family were thrashed for skinning a dead cow in Somnath of Gujarat. Video went viral where they were beaten up and were tied up to a car.
Two Innocent Women (27 July 2016, Madhya Pradesh)
Two women carrying beef were attacked. Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said “the beating was minimal.”
(31 July 2016, Gujarat)
Blatantly persecuting Muslims for political aspiration.
https://twitter.com/GauravPandhi/status/760118244719992832?s=20
Muslim Family (1 August 2016, Muzaffarnagar)
The Dadri incident repeated itself when a Muslim Family was thrashed over the suspicion of consuming cow meat.
3 Muslims (3 August 2016, Bulandshahr, UP)
Another mob lynching over the suspicion of cow slaughter.
https://archive.org/details/MobAttackedMenOverSuspicionOfCowSlaughterInSikandrabadUP
Imran Ali and Asheef Ali (9 August 2016, Haryana)
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out the Cow Protection group, two men were lynched in Haryana for transporting cows.
Dalit Brothers (10 August 2016, Andhra Pradesh)
Dalit brothers were admitted to the hospital after they were stripped, tied to the tree, and were beaten mercilessly.
Pujari and Akshay (17 August 2016, Karnataka)
Akshay, who was a BJP worker was traveling with a Pujari when thrashed by members of the Hindu Jagrana Vedika for transporting cattle.
Ilyas Sheikh (23 August 2016, Gujarat)
Suspected of carrying Beef and Lynching ensued.
Ayyub and Sameer Sheikh (13 September 2016, Gujarat)
After meeting an accident on a high way the duo was thrashed in suspicion of smuggling a cattle.
Abdul Khalid and Ali Hasan (14 September 2016, Delhi)
Despite having permission by the Police, two were beaten by an unidentified group alleged for beef involvement.
Muslim Family (16 September 2016, Banglore)
Family harassed for cow slaughter.
Delhi Madarsa Principal (17 September 2016, Delhi)
Madarsa Principal rescued from Bajrang Dal activist after the Eid-ul-Adha remains of a buffalo.
Mohammad Shakir (17 November 2016, Mangalore)
A hotel owner who rears cattle was beaten by a group which later took away his cattle.
Ganesh Mandal (17 March 2017, Bihar)
A man was blinded in his left eye after he honked behind a cow.
PEHLU KHAN (27 March 2017, Alwar)
Innocent Murdered!
Royas (1 April 2017, Kerala)
Killed, throat cut open.
Jose (19 April 2017, Kerala), Muslim Family (23 April 2017 J&K), Reaz and Abu Hanifa (30 April 2017, Assam)
COW SLAUGHTER.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-14-bjp-rss-men-booked-for-attack-over-cow-slaughter/
https://kashmirreader.com/2017/04/23/gau-rakshaks-attack-nomad-family-reasi/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39769172
5 men attacked (11 May 2017, Aligarh)
Killed by mobs for slaughtering cows.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/aligarh-gaurakshak-thrash-buffalo-slaughter-976768-2017-05-12
7 men lynched (21 May 2017, Jharkhand)
On a WhatsApp rumor of child picking, 7 men were beaten to death.
Mohammad Taj (28 June 2017, Kanpur)
A boy of 16 years was killed to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1144943963847049216?s=20
Sanaullah Sheikh (30 June 2019, West Bengal)
“He was asked to start the bike to be framed as a thief”- The Hindu.
5 Muslim Men (2 July 2019, West Bengal)
Hate crime increased with the death of 5 men for not chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1146311442435416064?s=20
Mohammad Javed (4 July 2019, Bihar)
Religious identity led to the death of a boy.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1147159148087271424?s=20
Mohammad Faizan (11 July 2019, Tamil Nadu)
Facebook post of beef soup led to his mob lynching.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1149606174657925123?s=20
Abdul Ghani (13 July 2019)
The police constable probing to land dispute visited in the site for inspection when attacked by the goons.
Muslim Family (2019. Delhi)
Islamophobia led to the lynching of a family after forcing them to change their religion.
https://twitter.com/doamuslims/status/1151878913368494080?s=20
Dalit Family (18 July 2019, Barabanki)
A Dalit family was lynched over the suspicion of theft.
Woman (18 July 2019, Bihar)
A woman stripped on the suspicion of theft.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1152630944794206209?s=20
4 lynched (20 July 2019, Jharkhand)
2 Men and 2 Women were beaten on the suspicions of witchcraft.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1152854532533022720?s=20
11th class Muslim Student (22 July 2019, West Bengal)
A student of class 11th was forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and was beaten by his classmates. The attack got his arm fractured.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1153583521748803584?s=20
7 cases from different parts of the country in 7 days
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1154767860515786753?s=20
Sahil (27 July 2019, Delhi)
a 15-year-old boy was lynched by neighbors accused of theft. Later found to be innocent.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1156091974123835392?s=20
Muslim Driver (14 August 2019, Rajasthan)
Religious identity led to another death.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1161935862373814272?s=20
Youth (25 August 2019, Meerut)
a young boy was beaten mercilessly by the crowd on suspicion of child lifting.
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1165671133946859520?s=20
Hindu Religious Teachers (16 April 2020, Palghar)
Two Hindu teachers Swami Kalpvriksha Giri, Swami Sushil Giri, and their driver were going to a funeral when they were lynched to death at Palghar, Maharashtra.
Basit Ali ( 5 September 2020, Uttar Pradesh)
The boy was alleged to steal iron from the tubewell office after the watchmen accused him of the same.
Akhlaq (7 September 2020, Panipat)
The hand of a man was allegedly chopped off by the Hindu goons because of ‘786’ tattoo. Beaten mercilessly and was left on the road unconscious.
https://www.opindia.com/2020/09/panipat-hand-chopped-off-akhlaq-molesting-minor-accused/
Conclusion
Unfortunate and sad this is the new history of New India where lynching is the new normal. The government should be using Law and Order to save the lives of innocent and punish the criminals however seems to be unbothered. There is a big question mark on the role of a complacent or controlled Police System.
Limitations
This report may suffer from limitations of documentation, either by human errors or maybe technical. The list may have excluded a few or many cases due to some constraints.
Special Thanks
Special Thanks to DOTO(Documentation Of The Oppressed) for collecting the data and making it available to the public.
Mohd. Asif Khan for documenting the accounts of lynching on his twitter which was very helpful in this report.
