cattle_620

There have been 24 incidents of cow-related violence in 118 days since 55-year-old Pehlu Khan died after a mob attack on April 1, 2017, according to an IndiaSpend database that records such violence in India. We have now recorded as many as 66 cases of cow-related violence over eight years, and 2017 has already surpassed 2016 as the year with most such attacks.

Created through a collection and content analysis of reports in the English media, the database shows that 97% (64 of 66) of such incidents were reported after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power in May 2014. More than half or 53% of the cow-related violence–35 of 66 cases–were from states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), when the attacks were reported, revealed our analysis of violence recorded until July 27, 2017.

The data show that Muslims were the target of 55% (36 of 66) cases of violence centred on bovine issues over nearly eight years (2010 to 2017) and comprised 85% (22 of 26) killed in 66 incidents.

As least 200 people were also injured in these attacks, and more than half (55%) of these attacks were based on rumours, our analysis of the IndiaSpend database revealed.

Despite the increase in violence related to bovine issues, particularly over the last three years, the ministry of home affairs does not collect data on lynchings, said this government statement to the Lok Sabha (parliament’s lower house) on July 25, 2017.

National or state crime data do not distinguish general violence from cow-related attacks and lynchings, so the IndiaSpend database is the first such statistical perspective to a growing national debate over such violence.

In 27% cases, police registered cases against victims

Of 66 attacks over eight years, 64 (97%) occurred, as we said, after Modi’s government came to power (2014-2017), with number of attacks reported in seven months in 2017 (25) already higher than the number of cow-related violence incidents reported in 2016 (24).

In 27% (18 of 66) cases reported, police registered cases against victims/survivors, an analysis of our cow-related-violence database revealed.

The police response is contrary to the Prime Minister’s recent rhetoric against violence perpetrated in the name of cow protection.

On June 29, 2017, a day after protests in Indian cities, London and New York against the government’s slow response and silence after nationwide attacks against mostly Muslims and Dalits, Modi, speaking at the centenary celebrations of Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, said:

“Killing people in the name of gau bhakti (cow worship) is unacceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve of.”

“No one has the right to take law into his/her hands. We belong to a land of non-violence. Violence is not the solution to any problem.”

“No one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinobha Bhave. Yes it should be done,” the prime minister said. He ended the statement saying, “Let’s all work together. Let’s create an India our freedom fighters would be proud of.

A day before the start of the monsoon session in Parliament on July 15, 2017, the prime minister, at an all-India meeting of the BJP, once again criticised cow vigilantes and put the onus on state governments to stringently act against them. He said:

“We believe cow is our mother, she is tied to people’s emotions. But it must be understood that there are laws to protect cows and there is no option to break it,” the prime minister tweeted on July 16, 2017.”

“In the name of cow-protection, some anti-social elements are trying to spread chaos. People are taking advantage of this to spoil the fraternal spirit of this country.”

“This is impacting the country’s image. State governments should take strict action against such anti-social elements.”

Offences promoting enmity between different groups up 41% over last 3 years

As many as 1,235 cases related to offences promoting enmity between different groups--under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, etc.) and 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the Indian Penal Code--were reported during 2014-16, according to a July 25, 2017 Lok Sabha reply to a question on lynchings.

“[Under sections 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code] the National Crime Records Bureau [NCRB] maintains data on offences promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth etc… However, it does not maintain data on cases relating to cow ‘vigilantes’, cow trade and trafficking,” Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, minister of state for the home ministry, told the Lok Sabha in his reply.

“Offences promoting enmity between different groups” increased 41% over three years to 2016, rising from 336 to 475. Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s most-populous state, reported the most (202) cases, registering a 346% increase, from 26 in 2014 to 116 in 2016. UP was followed by Kerala (151), Karnataka (114), Telangana (104) and Maharashtra (103), among the top five states, over three years.

Cases in Uttarakhand increased at the greatest rate nationwide, 450%, from four in 2014 to 22 in 2016.

Source: IndiaSpend database

The government also said that there is no proposal to promulgate a law against lynching.

With mob violence in the name of cow protection rising, the National Campaign Against Mob Lynching, a committee of civil society members, has proposed a new law. The Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA) suggests no bail for those accused of mob lynching, life imprisonment for those convicted and immediate suspension of the concerned station house officer. An online petition demanding MASUKA has received over 34,000 signatures.

Database reconciliation


On reconciliation of our dataset, we found the following discrepancies, which have been corrected:


1. An incident dated July 18, 2016, was reported from Una, Gujarat. Two news reports published on different dates carrying different details of the same incident were considered as separate incidents in the earlier version of the database. This has now been corrected, bringing down the incident count by one, and the injured count by four. This has not affected the figure for deaths.


2. An incident dated March 27, 2016, was reported from Kurukshetra, Haryana. An update on the case was considered as a separate incident in the earlier version of the database. This has been corrected, bringing down the incident count as well as the death toll by one.


3. An incident dated March 18, 2016, was reported from Latehar, Jharkhand. There were two news reports of the same incident in the same newspaper but citing different names. This has been corrected after telephonic confirmation from the newspaper’s Jharkhand correspondent. This brings the incident count down by one and the count of deaths down by two.


Updated on December 8, 2017. All links to the IndiaSpend database have also been updated to https://data.indiaspend.com/hate-crime

Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously included a video and incident from 2016. We regret the error.

We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.

__________________________________________________________________

“Liked this story? Indiaspend.org is a non-profit, and we depend on readers like you to drive our public-interest journalism efforts. Donate Rs 500; Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000.”

India Spend

    Completely scale adaptive channels through value-added deliverables. Monotonectally network intermandated partnerships before interactive meta-services. Energistically provide access to one-to-one e-services before holistic synergy. Assertively create an expanded array of web-readiness whereas goal-oriented potentialities. Authoritatively grow multimedia based users through granular outsourcing.