Listen to this article:

New Delhi: Lynching and the prevailing climate of ‘Sangh-affiliated violence,’ often targeting Muslims, was previously non-existent in West Bengal, Goa, and the multiple states in the Northeast. However, it has now pervaded into nearly all parts of the country, a report tracking the decade between 2014 and 2024 shows. 

The report titled Mob Lynching in India: A Record – 2014-2024,  has been compiled and edited by journalist and former chairman of the Delhi Minority Commission, Zafarul-Islam Khan, and published by Pharos Media.

It documents cases of mob violence across India and makes the case for expanding the scope of how ‘lynching’ is popularly defined and understood. While it is usually characterised as targeted violence against Muslims by self-styled Hindu vigilantes – Muslims are singled out for any expression of religious identity or on suspicions of the consumption and sale of beef – the report finds that it has mutated into a culture of mob violence. This also often transcends caste lines.

The report also finds that mob violence has almost become commonplace. An overwhelming number of cases list road rage and routine disputes as the driving force behind a........

© The Wire