Friday, March 29, 2024

Unprecedented hate crimes in Modi 2.0 era

Illustration by Sally Deng for The Washington Post

PP JASEEM

Figures show that there is an unprecedented increase in hate crimes in India since Narendra Modi returned for a second term in power. Data collected by Delhi based website dotodatabase.com, shows this sudden spike.

According to dotodatabase.com, if you look at the averags monthly numbers, hate crimes have doubled since Modi’s return to power. If it was 10 cases on an average per month earlier, 21 cases have been reported in June, 2019 alone. Since June 10, the day Modi took oath, the figure was 26, which has risen to 44 between the day of his announcement of his landslide victory on May 23rd and today, whereas it was only 47 from 01 January to 31 May, 2019.

“Most of these incidents have happened in northern states of India. For instance UP, MP, Jharkand, Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi and Haryana, which are popularly known as the cow belt. West Bengal is also not far behind. It is evident that there is a sudden increase in these crimes after Modi 2.0 came to power”. Content Editor, dotodatabase.com, Faraz Akthar said.

Most of these incidents have targeted minorities and Dalits. A majority of them are cases of anti-Muslim violence. There are 15 such cases out of 21, while three of them are against Christians and one against a Dalit man. At least 150 persons were victimized in all these incidents. A large chunk of these attacks pertained to victims being forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. This includes the widely discussed Jharkhand incident, in which a Muslim man, Tabriz Ansari was lynched to death. Many of these beatings are organized by Gaurakshaks(self imposed cow protection groups).

“We are not seeing exemplary punishment for the culprits. Instead of punishing them, Govt apparatuses keep encouraging them to commit such crimes. There is a deliberate attempt to wrongly illustrate perpetrators using lexicons like ‘mob’ and ‘a group of people’. They have clear political ideological motives. They are not simply a random ‘mob’. They are Hindutva forces”. KK Suhail, Director Quill Foundation, said.

Three men have been stabbed to death since general election results came out. Although many managed to save their lives, hundreds have sustained serious injuries in the aftermath of brutal attacks. Apart from that, there are plenty who flee from their houses and hometowns due to threats from Hindu religious fanatics.

In a nutshell, hate crimes are increasing day by day even after Modi advised his colleagues to gain the trust of minority communities. The figure shows that ‘Sabka Vishwas’, the significant add-on in the slogans of Modi 2.0, seems to have no importance, particularly in BJP -ruled states.

PP Jaseem is a Delhi based journalist

P P Jaseem
P P Jaseem
PP Jaseem is a freelance journalist covering law, human rights, and Indian minorities.

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