Sociology of mob lynching

INTRODUCTION

“The crowd has no face”, as correct as this particular line is concerned, the steps undertaken by the crowd are streamed in a specific way. No face is required to get to know the thoughts and facts aiding such measures and steps and whether or not they lie within the judicial framework. This so called crowd has taken away the sword of judgment and law and in today’s times wields it around the neck of not only the accused persons or the wrongdoers but also that of the very system of law and justice that we, as responsible humans and citizens, spent years creating to finish the chaos we all had lived within for such long period of time. A choice that we all must make, stands ahead of all of us i.e. a choice from everyone and a choice for everyone. The turmoil of a negative thought crowd of people always ends up in a very fearful and criminal offence called mob lynching. It is an offence that has nowadays been put into the spotlight. A threat of tearing down the significant fabric of the Indian society has come up because of the increasing unforeseen incidents of mob lynching and utter negligence towards vigilantism. Because of the lack of central legislation specifically focused mob lynching, such incidents are being consistently ignored and the poison of hatred and violence that they brew even today remain unacknowledged and unappreciated.

What is mob lynching?

According to the Oxford English dictionary, ‘lynching’ is the act of killing that is committed by a mob or crowd of people without having the engagement or involvement of any legal authority, or procedure or system. Mob lynching, although, has now transformed into an independent and illegal association that acts as its own judge, jury, as well as executioner and then penalize the accused persons by using physical violence which, mostly, leads to death. Therefore, it can be taken up as an extrajudicial public execution that is performed by a mob or unidentified group of people so as to punish a wrongdoer.

Why does it happen?

Lynching takes place due to two ordinary causes. Deficiency of trust in the efficiency and working of the judicial system is one of the major reasons. People who have the belief that the judicial system does not function in the way it should or those people who are not satisfied by a particular or a general decision that was taken by the judiciary come altogether and focus to achieve a particular aim that is decided according to the common interest. This hence leads up to an uprising against the complete system in the disguise of a righteous rebellion. The people think that it is their duty and responsibility to penalize the culprit and therefore, they all come together and punish the accused by using all the measures deemed fit according to them. Another reason is that such situations lean more towards personal interests and then give birth to discriminatory threats. People who enjoy a majority in a specific region sometimes desire the members from the minority groups to follow a lifestyle on a similar basis as those of the majority groups. And then, when a person takes a decision against this in accordance with his/her right to choose, they are slaughtered, stripped away from every hope they see in humanity as they lie at the mercy of those people who chose to raise weapons when denied the desire to raise armies.

Major reasons?

Apart from or in line with such common intentions, there are certain specific aspects which lead

to triggering mob lynching cases:

1. Lack of Answerability and Conviction- The biggest advantage that the crowd of people holds is that the case of lynching results in the death of the victim, and then the entire mob of unidentified men cannot be held responsible for the death according to the law. However the complete mob or group of people may be held accountable and responsible for the lynching, only a single person will face the charges resulting in the death of the victim. Identification of this primary accused person is almost impossible because it depends upon determining that which blow and which hand had landed on the death of the victim. Therefore, a feeling of safety and unidentification is felt within the crowd of people as to any extent; and the penalization for physical torture is still less than that for homicide.

2. Absence of Necessary Legislation and Impunity- We all, as responsible citizens, expect a certain amount of fear to dwell within every person from the judicial agencies and the system of the country as to what punishment they might face when they intentionally go against the law and commit such heinous offences. Yet, in our constitution, there is no specific law regarding mob lynching. Mob lynching in itself is not a cognizable offense in law but many measures were taken under it, come out as being punishable under the laws acknowledging a wider range of criminal activities such as physical harassment and homicide. Because of the lack of specific laws, the accused persons don’t have fear of the system, especially when there is no way of identifying individuals culpable for the particular offense.

3. Political Agenda- These days, instances where politics itself has taken a violent turn are very common. When the steps or words of a particular individual somehow in any case offend a specific political agenda, then there are numerous cases of riots by their followers or believers of the corresponding agenda or ideology. Many a time, this also leads to the fatal lynching of the wrongdoer. Therefore, it can also be appreciated that sometimes political agendas, to some extent, give rise to mob lynching incidents.

4. Judicial Response- Mob lynching came to light after 2015 as a criminal offence. Because of the increasing incidents, the judiciary had to in all cases respond immediately. In the case of Tehseen S. Poonawalla v. UOI in 2017, the petitions that were filed as a result of unrest because of several incidents of lynching in Dadri and Jharkhand led the Supreme Court to issue certain guidelines to curb vigilantism and to penalize the accused. The court provides judgment under the ambit of other laws as –

i. Sections 302, 304, and 307 of the IPC

ii. Sections 323 and 325 of the IPC

iii. Section 34 of the IPC

iv. Sections 143, 145, and 147 of the IPC

Initiatives undertaken

The Indian Government also felt the gravity of the need to handle this offence in each and every way possible. Therefore some campaigns had been undertaken by the administration on both state and national levels providing crucial measures against mob lynching. Some of these were:

National Campaign against Mob Lynching (NCAML)

The NCAML was founded in 2017 by the youth representatives Tehseen Poonawalla, Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid, and Jignesh Mevani. A drafting committee was formed and headed by the senior Supreme Court lawyer, Sanjay Hegde. Drafting of the MASUKA was brought about by this campaign. The primary aim of this campaign was to appeal to the government to convert the MASUKA into law and hence, declare mob lynching as a crime by law.

Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat

This initiative was one of the chief programs announced by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in order to integrate unity into our culturally diverse nation. This program is a stepping stone towards the vision of ‘New India’. This initiative aims to create and enhance peace as well as harmony among the citizens to inculcate equality and nationwide brotherhood. Supporting, encouraging, and celebrating all cultures and traditions overpower the hate element and communalism. In this way, mob lynching can be curbed through national unity.

Not In My Name Campaign

This campaign was a demonstrative protest taking place in Delhi and several other cities across India. The protests were upheld by citizens against incidents of lynching against Dalits and Muslims. Citizens stood up against the actions which were a result of self-assumed superiority and once again proved that India truly is a country with unity in diversity.

CONCLUSION

The very mindset behind the act of lynching is a weapon against our country. It goes against every aspect of our country as stated by the Preamble of the Constitution of India. We are equally to blame as the system and the culprits. Only together can we eradicate this problem from our country. Once again, our motherland requires us to come together as one and vanquish this evil altogether. The decision lies ahead of us.

REFERENCES

1. https://knowlaw.in/index.php/2020/12/10/sociology-of-mob-lynching/

2. https://blog.ipleaders.in/need-hour-reforms-mob-lynching-laws/?amp=1

3. https://www.berkeleyjournalofinternationallaw.com/post/they-came-they-saw-theylynched-

a-glimpse-into-the-indian-mob-lynching-epidemic