Skip to main content

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative
 
The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.  
In Kerala, Ram Narayan Baghel, a Hindu Indian citizen, was beaten to death by a mob that wrongly identified him as Bangladeshi. Observers note that such acts of violence, carried out on the basis of religion, language, or nationality, are a grave violation of human rights and the rule of law.  
The incidents have drawn attention to a troubling irony: while India raises concerns about attacks on minorities abroad, within its own borders minorities, Dalits, and Bengali-speaking citizens continue to face suspicion and violence. A recent case saw a woman from West Bengal forcibly pushed into Bangladesh despite being an Indian citizen, only to be brought back after Supreme Court intervention.  
Civil rights groups have also criticised actions in Assam, where Bengali-speaking Muslims have been branded “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and homes demolished despite valid documents. Reports suggest that alleged “foreigners” have even been ordered to leave within 24 hours, raising questions about legality and humanity.  
“Whether in Bangladesh or in India, mob lynching is unacceptable,” said the Socialist Party (India), in a statement condemning both incidents. The party urged the government to act firmly against attacks on Hindus and Indian citizens abroad, while also halting coercive measures and mob violence within the country.  
The statement underscores growing concern that collective punishment and extra-legal actions are eroding constitutional values and promoting dangerous tendencies of criminalising entire communities.  

Comments

TRENDING

Rani Laxmi Bai, Tatya Tope 'martyred' by East India Company, Scindia's forefathers

Jiyaji Rao Scindia By  A  Representative In an email alert to Counterview, well-known political scientist Shamsul Islam has said that was “shameful for any political party in democratic India to keep children of Sindhias in their flock” given their role during the First War of Indian Independence (1857). In a direct commentary on Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia moving over to BJP, Prof Islam has quote from a British gazetteer to prove his point.

If Maoist violence is illegitimate, how is Hindutva, state violence justified? Can right-wing wash off its sins?

By Swami Agnivesh* and Sandeep Pandey** There was major police action against Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Varvara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on 28 August, 2018. Before this police arrested Professor Shoma Sen, Adocate Sudhir Gadling, Sudhir Dhawle, Mahesh Raut and Rona Wilson on 6 June. Even before this Dr. Binayak Sen, Soni Sori, Ajay TG, Professor GN Saibaba and Prashant Rahi have been arrested and all these activists have been accused of having links with Maoists.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”