Source: indiatoday | Image Courtesy: indiatoday
A shocking video has been doing the rounds of social media which shows four men being tied to a car and beaten by public with belts and sticks for transporting beef. The video, taken in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district shows a mob taking thrash and thrashing the four men, repeatedly asking them to apologise for their “crime”.
Taking law into their own hands
Leading the mob was the Shiv Sena district president Goswami Pramod Ramesh Giri. The car to which the men were tied, also belonged to Giri. However, the victims who were all Dalits denied the allegation of transporting beef. Apparently, their work was to transport animal carcassus. They had found a dead cow which they were carrying for the sake of their occupation. Mr Giri justified his action in a completely different way. He stated that he had reports of illegal beef trade and cow transportation was taking place in Mota Samadhilaya village in the district. And hence, he led a mob and beat the four men when they found a dead cow with them. Two of the four were severely injured and admitted to hospital. One of them succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital. This is not the only case. A few days ago, a video had surfaced where two men, accused of transporting beef were forcefully made to eat cow dung and few more incidents in the past which had shocked the citizens of India.
Political patronage and law of the land
The controversy over cow has already cost a few lives. But it is not about the legality and illegality of the transport or consumption of the cow, but how senstive things are exploited to an extent that few individuals take the law into their own hands. And as in this case, the miscreant enjoys political patronage.
What could be the potential solution to this?
From the patterns that are emerging in the controversies related to this, one could reasonably conclude that lack of strong condemnation from the policy makers combined with ineffective law enforcements (important aspects of democracy) embolden few miscreants. The solution lies in the problem and it is straight forward, senior political party leaders and political parties should make it loud and clear that they are intolerant to such behaviour besides taking action on such individuals without taking into considertion the political consequences of the same. Political parties should take the lead wrt to civil behavior and maintaing the rule of law and for doing so their own cadres and followers would admire them for the same. Public condemnation of such incidents by going beyond political affiliations will help in political parties mending their ways of appealing to people.
It is a shame that such incidents continue to happen, let us together ensure our political parties do not indulge in acts such as these. We appeal to the law enforcement agencies to be bold and forthcoming in bringing the guilty to justice.
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