Recommendations include enactment of a law on hate crimes.
‘Not in my name’ protesters hit the streets across India. Photo credit: DNA.
A fact-finding team which probed into the 24 incidents of lynching and vigilante violence in the recent period has concluded that the criminal justice system is seriously flawed when dealing with hate crimes.
According to the report stringent laws against cattle transport and trade, backed in some states by private parties (“gau rakshaks”), are among the major factors responsible for the recurring violence.
“Impunity of state and private actors in cases of hate crime, including lynching and vigilante violence – as a result of the poor working of the criminal justice system – ensures that hate violence persists,” the report concludes.
The question of impunity is compounded by the fact of the vulnerability of the victims who are too poor, unaware, unconnected and demoralized to pursue the legal cases strongly, the report notes.
“The protracted police processes, lack of transparency and the long delay in courts means only those who have the resources and the optimism of seeing justice, will pursue it through to the end. In our interactions with families of those brutally lynched, not many have either.”
The recommendations of the fact-finding team to contain lynching and vigilante violence include:
- Speedy investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators; examining the role of the police followed by penal action where needed;
- Provision of relief and rehabilitation along with free and accessible legal aid to the survivors and families of the victims;
- Revoking the Centre’s notification restricting trade in cattle,
- Enactment of hate crime law.
The report also has certain recommendations for civil society actors and the international community.
The report has been published by Citizens Against Hate, a collective of individuals and groups committee to a secular, democratic, caring India. The fact-finding team comprised of members from Aman Biradari Trust, New Delhi; Anjuman Islamiya, Ranchi; Quill Foundation, New Delhi; Misaal, New Delhi; Yuva Ekta Jagruk Manch, Nuh, Haryana and Afkar India Foundation, Shamli, Uttar Pradesh.
Read the full report.