Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
Translator: Hera Khan
Akhlaq, Zahid, Inayatullah, Rizwan, Pehlu Khan, Nilotpal Das, Abhijeet Nath, Rakbar Khan,...
In the past few days, several cases of lynchings have been reported. But where is the data?
Supreme Court criticised the Centre for mob lynching on 17 July. In great haste, a high-level committee was formed on 23 July. But if the committee wants to draft a legislature, data is crucial. But, where’s the data?
The government has not only failed to curb lynchings, but also at maintaining a record of lynchings to date.
Why doesn't the government want a record of these hideous incidents? Some of their apprehensions are hidden in Rajnath Singh's speech.
“Incidents of lynchings have been taking place for years now. The most violent of all happened in 1984.”Rajnath Singh
Well, it seems you are just not ready to accept that suddenly there has been a massive increase in the number of lynchings. On the other hand, you are presenting the same old illogical reasoning by saying, "Where were they then?"
MoS Home Hansraj Ahir has also displayed the 'seriousness' of the government. The government's reply on being questioned over lynching in Rajya Sabha on 18 July was shocking. He said, "National Crime Report Bureau doesn't have any data with respect to mob lynching".
From Assam to Alwar, incidence of lynching has risen exponentially. Even the Supreme Court had to step in to say:
“Mobocracy shouldn’t replace democracy. Centre must form laws to curb incidents of lynching.”
The government boasts of its Aadhaar database as the world's biggest data project. But when it comes to data on lynching we have to wonder why the data-happy government falls silent.
There is no official data on lynching but we have the 'unauthorised data'.
- India Spend: Child-Lifting Rumours: 33 Killed In 69 Mob Attacks Since Jan 2017. Before That Only 1 Attack In 2012
- Indian Express: 9 states, 27 killings, one year.
- The Quint: 68 people killed in mob lynching since 2015
For more information on lynchings, click here.
People are asking for data on WhatsApp. There are discussions to lay down strict guidelines to stop rumours from being peddled. These are good moves. But WhatsApp rumours are not the only reason behind lynchings.
According to a report by IndiaSpend, as many as11 people have been killed in 2017 alone, in the name of cow vigilantism.
We can use this as stand-in data on lynching but for Union Minister Arjun Meghwal these incidents are symbolic of PM Modi's popularity. He claimed that the more popular PM Modi becomes, more such incidents will take place.
The government collects data on farming and agriculture to come up with new schemes. Data on vehicles and commuters are used to make new transport policies. Data is the centre of all policy-making. So why is the centre ignoring data on lynching?
Or do you think that if you avert your eyes, the country will start believing that such incidents are not taking place?
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