Lynchings will seriously harm India

Civilians butchered in broad daylight by deadly terror groups. They were 'we', the people of the world's largest democracy, who were hunted, beaten and tortured to death by vengeful, bloodthirsty crowds.

Bodies desecrated, they died in extreme fear and pain, pleading innocence and begging for mercy.

All for a word the Indian Penal Code (IPC) does not even recognize: 'lynching'.

With Modi's massive electoral victory in the April-May elections for a second term, Jai Shri Ram has been vociferously revived to create a new flashpoint across the country, including in parliament.

While the Indian government last week was busy issuing a furious rejoinder to the US State Department report on vigilante lynchings, another young Muslim man had been beaten to death.

About 265 cases had been reported nationally since Narendra Modi came into power. About 58% of perpetrators have been identified as Hindus.

This represents a 10-fold rise in the last five years in hate crimes against minorities, a trend that critics see as directly related to rising of Modi's Hindu chauvinist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Ansari was the 14th case of hate crime in Jharkhand since 2016. Mob lynching and hate crimes against minorities have increased in officially secular India since the pro-Hindu nationalist government came to power.

Nearly a dozen men were killed by mobs in Jharkhand. Critics accuse Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of tacitly backing those behind the attacks; emboldening Hindu extremists across the country.

Narratives of heart-wrenching horror have gripped the nation, as Indians kill Indians in some of the most grotesque mob violence ever recorded, in total disregard for the law.

Horrific images, reports and video clips of people being tortured or dying terrible deaths are surfacing every week. Yet our leaders remain silent.

The incident of mob lynching of Tabrez Ansari in Saraikela in Jharkhand has created a political furor. BJP failed in creating a safe environment for the minorities.

Tabrez Ansari was attacked by a mob in Kharsawan district of Jharkhand on the suspicion of theft on 18 June. He was beaten up mercilessly for hours before being handed over to the police.

He succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital on 22 June. Tabrez's family has alleged that the attack was communal and that he was made to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman'.

The government is least concerned about the minorities in spite of Supreme Court had passed comprehensive directions to states regarding preventive, remedial and punitive measures in respect of mob lynching.

The apex court also mooted a special law to deal with lynching and the appointment of a nodal officer in each district to combat the threat.

The silence of Narendra Modi boosts the Hindu terrorist groups in committing such inhuman acts of violence. At least, realize that the fellow civilians who are beaten to death are the part of India's democracy. These incidents against minorities are becoming a hurdle for their existence.

When Modiji says "sabka sath, sabka vikas, and sabka vishwas" then why he condemns these incidents after 2-3 days. If these lynchings are not controlled, then there is a threat to Indian democracy.

Ibrahim Ghafoori, Doha, Qatar