Aftermath of ‘Beef’ lynching: Failure on India’s political imagination

Tarun Vijay, a senior party MP, wrote in a newspaper that “lynching a person merely on suspicion is absolutely wrong, the antithesis of all that India stands for and all that Hinduism preaches”, nearly implying that lynching a person when you are sure that he has consumed beef could possibly be condoned.

Expressing shock, Sisodia said Hindus and Muslims have always lived peacefully, they (Muslims) never face any danger.

One BJP lawmaker accused of instigating the sectarian riots elsewhere in the poor northern state of Uttar Pradesh came to Bishara on Sunday and warned of a “befitting reply” if the suspects were prosecuted, according to news reports.

“Beyond the mob’s inhuman behaviour, it is alarming to note that the police have sent the meat from the victim’s refrigerator to a forensic lab to be tested, out of apparent respect for the mob’s feelings”, a statement posted on the IAMC website said.

Addressing a prayer meeting in Delhi on July 25, 1947, Mahatma Gandhi had said he would advice thousands of those who had written to the nation’s then President Rajendra Prasad demanding a ban on cow slaughter not to waste money, as their postcards, letters and telegrams had no effect.

Just when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plane was touching down last Wednesday night at Delhi’s worldwide airport at the end of his week-long visit to Ireland and the U.S., a mob of about 100 Hindus were dragging 50-year-old Mohamed Akhlaq from inside his house in Bisara village in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh and beating him to death for the alleged “sin” that he and his family had eaten beef and had stored more of the meat in his fridge.

“Those who keep dogs as pets should not give us lessons about cows”.

“Even now I can’t believe that my Hindu neighbours killed my husband. We have a history of taking care of cows”.

If it provided an opportunity to talk ill of other political parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Modi, Kejriwal would gladly travel to the end of the earth.

How can I force anyone not to slaughter cows unless he is himself so disposed?

The home ministry asked states to “take strict action against anyone trying to weaken the secular fabric of the country”.

Following his lecture at Columbia University in New York on Monday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told journalists that instances like Dadri tarnished India’s image in the world, and he said that it was the duty of all Indians to condemn it.