List of incidents of cow vigilante violence in India

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Cow vigilante violence refers to violence against those who are perceived to engage in cattle theft or slaughter. It is seen mainly in India, where cows are considered sacred to the Hindu majority.

Contents

This is a list of cow vigilante violence in India.

Summary

A number of incidents of violence have occurred. According to a June 2017 Reuters report, citing a data journalism website, a total of "28 Indians – 24 of them Muslims – have been killed and 124 injured since 2010 in cow-related violence".[ citation needed ] The frequency and severity of cow-related violence have been described as "unprecedented".[ citation needed ] The report stated that "Almost all of the 63 attacks since 2010 involving cow-related violence were recorded after Modi and his Hindu nationalist government came to power in 2014".[ citation needed ]

Before 1800s

Cow slaughter has been punishable by death in many instances in Indian history. Under the Scindia of Gwalior state and the Sikh Empire, people were executed for killing cows. [1]

The "Holi Riot" of 1714 in Gujarat was in part cow-related. [2] [3] A Hindu had attempted to start the spring festivities of Holi by burning a public Holika bonfire, a celebration that his Muslim neighbors objected to. The Muslims retaliated by slaughtering a cow in front of Hindu's house. [2] [4] The Hindus gathered, attacked the Muslims, seized the Muslim butcher's son and killed him. [2] [4] The Muslims, aided by the Afghan army, sacked the neighborhood, which led Hindus across the city to retaliate. Markets and homes were burnt down. Many Hindus and Muslims died during the Holi riot. [2] The cycle of violence continued for a few days devastating the neighborhoods in Ahmedabad. [2] The cow-related violence and riots repeated in the years that followed, [5] [6] though the only documented 18th-century riots in Ahmedabad are of 1714. [2]

19th century

According to Mark Doyle, the first cow protection societies on the Indian subcontinent were started by Kukas of Sikhism, a reformist group seeking to purify Sikhism. [7] The Sikh Kukas or Namdharis were agitating for cow protection after the British annexed Punjab. In 1871, states Peter van der Veer, Sikhs killed Muslim butchers of cows in Amritsar and Ludhiana, and viewed cow protection as a "sign of the moral quality of the state". [8] According to Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf, Sikhs were agitating for the well-being of cows in the 1860s, and their ideas spread to Hindu reform movements. [9]

According to Judith Walsh, widespread cow protection riots occurred repeatedly in British India in the 1880s and 1890s. These were observed in regions of Punjab, United Provinces, Bihar, Bengal, Bombay Presidency and in parts of South Myanmar (Rangoon). The anti-Cow Killing riots of 1893 in Punjab caused the death of at least 100 people. [10] [11] The 1893 cow killing riots started during the Muslim festival of Bakr-Id, the riot repeated in 1894, and they were the largest riots in British India after the 1857 revolt. [12]

Riots triggered by cow-killings erupted in Lahore, Ambala, Delhi, United Provinces, Bihar and other places in the late 19th century. In Bombay alone, several hundred people were killed or injured in cow-related violence in 1893, according to Hardy. [13] One of the issues, states Walsh, in these riots was "the Muslim slaughter of cows for meat, particularly as part of religious festivals such as Bakr-Id". [11] The cow protection-related violence were a part of larger communal riots, religious disputes, and class conflicts during the colonial era. [11]

Elsewhere, in 1893 there were riots in Azamgarh and Mau, in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Azamgarh riots were born out of administrative disputes regarding cow slaughter. Reportedly an inexperienced British officer (Henry Dupernex) ordered Muslims to register with the police, if they wished to slaughter cows for Eid al-Adha. Many of the Muslims interpreted the order as an invitation to sacrifice. [14]

In the town of Mau, there were riots in 1806, states John McLane, that had led to Sadar Nizamat Adawlat to prohibit cow sacrifices in 1808. [15] The Hindus had interpreted this to mean a prohibition to all cattle slaughter. In early 19th-century the prohibition was enforced in a manner Hindu interpreted it. In the 1860s, the interpretation changed to Muslim version wherein cattle sacrifice was banned in 1808, but not cattle slaughter. This, states McLane, triggered intense dissatisfaction among Hindus. [15] [16] Mau, with nearly half of its population being Muslim, resisted Hindu interpretation. When a "local Muslim zamindar (landowner) insisted on sacrificing an animal for his daughter's wedding", a group of local Hindus gathered to object, according to McLane. [15] Four thousand men from Ballia district and two thousand from Ghazipur district joined the Hindus in Mau to stop the sacrifice in 1893. They were apparently motivated by the belief that cows had not been killed in Mau since Akbar's time, but the British were now changing the rules to allow cow killing in new locations. The cow-protecting Hindus attacked the Muslims and looted a bazaar in Mau. The British officials estimated seven Muslims were killed in the riots, while locals placed the toll at 200. [15]

20th century

Cattle protection-related violence continued in the first half of the 20th century. Examples of serious cow protection agitation and riots include the 1909 Calcutta riot after Muslims sacrificed a cow in public, the 1912 Faizabad riots after a Maulvi taunted a group of Hindus about a cow he was with, the 1911 Muzaffarpur riot when in retribution for cow slaughter by Muslims, the Hindus threatened to desecrate a mosque. [17] In 1916 and 1917, over the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Adha, two riots broke out in Patna with widespread rioting, looting and murders in major cities of Bihar. The British officials banned cow slaughter during Muslim Id festival of sacrifice. According to British colonial records, Hindu crowds as large as 25,000 attacked Muslims on Id day, violence broke out at multiple sites simultaneously, and civil authorities were unable to cope with. [17] Many serious anti cow slaughter and cow protection-related riots broke out between 1917 and 1928 across India particularly on Muslim festival of sacrifice, from Punjab through Delhi to Orissa, leading to the arrests of hundreds. [17]

In the 1920s, over 100 riots, 450 deaths and 5,000 injuries were recorded in Bengal which was divided in 1947 into East Pakistan and West Bengal. Two primary causes of the violence, states Nitish Sengupta, were Hindus Durga Puja processions playing music which continued as they passed near Muslim mosques, and Muslims killing cows in open during Eid-ul-Adha. [18]

In 1946, rumors spread in Bengal that Hindus had secretly conspired to stop cow sacrifice on Eid-ul-Adha by bringing in Sikhs and arms into their homes. On the day of Islamic festival of sacrifice (September 1946), states Batabyal, the rumor spread among the Bengali Muslims congregated in mosques. The crowd coming out of the mosques then raided a large number of Hindu homes trying to find the arms and the Sikhs. Violence continued for about a week with "frequent instances of stray killings" and looting. [19]

After the 1947 Partition of the Indian subcontinent into Pakistan and India, frequent riots and fatal violence broke in newly created India over cow slaughter. Between 1948 and 1951, cow slaughter led to a spate of riots broke out in Azamgarh, Akola, Pilbhit, Katni, Nagpur, Aligarh, Dhubri, Delhi and Calcutta. [20] Riots triggered by slaughter of cows continued in rural and urban locations of India in the 1950s and 1960s. [21] According to Ian Copland and other scholars, it was the practical stop of cow sacrifice ritual as Islamic festivals after 1947 that largely led to a reduction in riots from the peak observed just before India's independence. [22] The riots, the add, re-emerged in the 1960s, when a new generation of Muslims born after the independence reached adolescence, who were less aware of the trauma of religious violence in India of the 1940s, began to assert their rights. [22]

In 1966, 100 members of Indian parliament signed a petition for a nationwide ban on cow slaughter. Hindu sadhus (monks) gathered in Delhi to protest against cow slaughter, launched go-raksha (cow protection) agitation and demanded a ban. During a huge procession that was walking towards the parliament to press their demand, before they could reach the parliament, some people began a disturbance and rioting started. [23] These riots killed eight people.[ citation needed ] Indira Gandhi, the newly nominated Prime Minister, continued her father's policy of no national ban on cow slaughter. [24]

21st century

2002

In 2002, five Dalit youths were killed by a mob in Jhajjar district, Haryana after accusations of cow slaughter. The mob were reportedly led by members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, according to Human Rights Watch. [25] [26] According to People's Union for Democratic Rights, the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Gauraksha Samiti have defended violent vigilantism around cow protection as sentiments against the "sin of cow-slaughter" and not related to "the social identity of the victims". [27] Various groups, such as the families of the Dalits victims of cow-related violence in 2002, did not question the legitimacy of cow protection but questioned instead the false allegations. [28]

2012

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
10 June 2012Joga, Punjab 02Villagers led by activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Goshala Sangh, set a factory, two houses on fire following reports of cow slaughter in factory premises. [29]

2013

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
20 August 2013 Chandan Nagar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 35Communal tensions rise over recovery of cow carcass; 35 including 25 policemen, were injured. [30]
30 August 2013 Rewari, Haryana Mobs on a rampage at two places in the state; torch 65 vehicles, attack police after intercepting trucks carrying cattle and cow flesh. State-owned buses, 50 police and other vehicles set on fire. [31]

2014

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
14 August 2014 Haryana 02Muslim meat sellers beaten up in Delhi border. [32]
23 August 2014 Pumpwell, Karnataka 3Three men were transporting 13 cattle when a drunk mob attacked them. [33]
7 October 2014 Gujarat 05Alleged cow slaughter; Police and Muslims clashed. [34]
8 October 2014 Bihar 01Rumors of beef related issue on the occasion of Bakr-Eid that led to communal tension. [35]
11 October 2014 Bihar 02Following rumors of a severed cow head being found at a temple across the town communal tension arises in Kishanganj. [36]

2015

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
30 May 2015 Rajasthan 1A 60-year-old man who ran a meat shop was beaten to death by a mob with sticks and iron rods. [37]
2 August 2015 Uttar Pradesh 3According to Human Rights Watch, "purported animal rights activists allegedly belonging to People for Animals" beat three men to death, after the victims were found carrying buffaloes. [37]
28 September 2015Bisahda village, Dadri, Uttar Pradesh 11A mob of villagers attacked the home of a Muslim man Mohammed Akhlaq, with sticks and bricks, who they suspected of stealing and slaughtering a stolen cow calf, in Bisahda village near Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. 52 year-old Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi (Ikhlaq according to some sources) died in that attack and his son, 22-year-old Danish was seriously injured. [38]
9 October 2015 Jammu and Kashmir 1A right-wing Hindu mob in Udhampur district threw gasoline bombs at an 18-year-old trucker. The mob had incorrectly suspected the trucker of transporting beef. [37]
14 October 2015 Himachal Pradesh 14A mob beat a 22-year old to death, and injured four others, after suspecting them of transporting cows. Police immediately arrested the victims of the attack, accusing them of cow slaughter. [37] Later police said they would investigate if Bajrang Dal was behind the attack.
9 December 2015Bhanukeri Village, Karnal, Haryana 1One killed as cow vigilante group opens fire at 40 migrant workers [39]

2016

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
14 January 2016 Madhya Pradesh 02A Muslim couple was beaten up inside a train by members of Gau raksha samithi in Khikriya railway station in Harda, Madhya Pradesh on suspicion of carrying a bag containing beef. [40]
18 March 2016 Jharkhand 2In the Jharkhand lynching, two Muslim cattle traders were attacked, allegedly by cattle-protection vigilantes in Balumath forests in Latehar district in Jharkhand. [41] [42] [43] The attackers killed Mazlum Ansari, aged 32, and Imteyaz Khan, aged 15, who were found hanging from a tree. [44]
11 July 2016 Gujarat 04A group of six men attacked four Dalit men after finding them skinning a dead cow. The four were chained to a car, stripped, and beaten with iron rods. [37] [45]
17 July 2016 Karnataka 044 dalits including a physically challenged person were beaten up by Bajrang Dal activists in Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka on suspicion of eating beef. [46]
30 July 2016 Uttar Pradesh A Muslim family was attacked by a mob on allegation of cow slaughter in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. The victims were arrested on charges of cow slaughter but no case was registered against the members of the mob. [47]

2017

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
5 April 2017 Rajasthan 16In the Alwar lynching, Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer from Nuh district of Haryana, was murdered by a group of 200 cow vigilantes affiliated with right-wing Hindutva groups in Alwar, Rajasthan, India. Six others who were with Pehlu Khan were also beaten by the cow vigilantes. [48] [49] The state government initially charged the victims with "cruelty to animals" under the state law prohibiting cattle slaughter. [37]
20 April 2017 Assam 2Two men, in their 20s, were allegedly killed by a mob of cow vigilantes, after being accused of trying to steal cows for slaughter.[ citation needed ]
24 April 2017 Jammu and Kashmir 05A family of five, including a 9-year-old girl, were attacked and injured; police arrested 11 so-called cow vigilantes in connection with the attack. [50] A video of the attack showed the assailants demolishing the shelter of the family; policemen were visible in the video, apparently unable to intervene. [37]
23 April 2017 Delhi 03Three men transporting buffaloes were injured after being beaten by a group stating they were members of the animal rights activist group People for Animals. [51] [37]
23 June 2017Delhi-Ballabhgarh train13Four Muslims were lynched allegedly over rumors of eating beef. [52] [53] According to the police, the victims had arguments over meat with their co-passengers who attacked them with knife. [54]
1 May 2017 Assam 2Two Muslim men were lynched in Nagaon district of Assam on suspicion of stealing cows. While the police managed to rescue the men, both of them died of their injuries. [55]
12 May 2017 – 18 May 2017 Jharkhand 92At least nine people were killed, including 4 Muslim cattle traders, in four different incidents. [56]
22 June 2017 West Bengal 3Three Muslim men were lynched in Islampur, Uttar Dinajpur for allegedly trying to steal cows. A police complaint was made by the mother of the deceased Nasir Haque. According to the Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Bharat Rathod, the police arrested 3 people and were conducting further investigation. [57]
27 June 2017 Jharkhand 01Usman Ansari, a 55-year-old Muslim dairy owner, was beaten up and his house set on fire by a mob in Giridih district. According to the police, a headless carcass of a cow was found near his house. The police said that they were forced to perform a lathi-charge, and to fire in the air, to rescue the victim, who was later treated in hospital. [58]
29 June 2017 Jharkhand 1Alimuddin, alias Asgar Ansari, was beaten to death by a mob in the village of Bajartand, allegedly for carrying beef. According to Additional Director General of police RK Mallik, the murder was premeditated. [59]
10 November 2017 Alwar, Rajasthan 11Two cattle traders named Ummar Khan and Tahir Khan were allegedly thrashed and fired at by cow vigilantes. Ummar died on the spot due to bullet wounds, while Tahir was admitted to hospital. [60] [61] [62]

2018

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
13 June 2018 Dullu, Jharkhand 2Sirabuddin Ansari (35) and Murtaza Ansari (30) lynched in Jharkhand over alleged cattle theft. [63] [64]
14 June 2018 Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 1Meat Seller Thrashed by UP Police for 'Cow Slaughter' Dies in AIIMS. [65]
20 June 2018 Hapur, Uttar Pradesh 145-year-old Qasim lynched in UP over cow slaughter rumour [66] This incident was at the center of a sting operation conducted by NDTV. [67] The Chief Justice of India agreed to hear the case based on the sting operation footage. [67]
20 July 2018 Rajasthan 131 year old Rakbar Khan was lynched by a mob on allegation of cattle smuggling in Alwar, Rajasthan. A police officer was suspended for delaying medical treatment to the victim as he tried to arrange shelter for the cows before taking injured Rakbar to the hospital. [68]
30 August 2018Lakshmanpur village, Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh 0170 year old Kailash Nath Shukla was taking his cattles to another village for treatment, on his way a mob stopped him and assaulted him badly and threw him in a gutter. [69]
3 December 2018 Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh 2A protest against illegal cow slaughter erupted into riots resulting in the death of two; a police officer named Subodh Kumar Singh and a protesting youth. [70] [71] Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described the violence as an 'accident' and denied the occurrence of lynchings in Uttar Pradesh even though the DGP hinted about the possibility of a larger conspiracy behind the incident aimed at inciting communal violence in the area. [72]

2019

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
7 April 2019 Bishwanath Chariali, Assam 1A Muslim man was harassed, humiliated, insulted and beaten by the mobs over beef. The mob suspected 68-year-old Shaukat Ali of selling beef and cornered him, thrashed him, and proceeded to force-feed him pork. [73]
11 April 2019 Gumla, Jharkhand 13A 50-year-old Christian man was killed and three other were assaulted and beaten by a mob. [74] [75]
16 May 2019 Bhaderwah, Jammu and Kashmir 1A Muslim man, Nayeem Ahmed Shah, 50, was shot in the head and died on the spot while another, Yasin Hussain, was injured by "cow vigilantes" over cow-smuggling while families of both denied any animal was carried out by any of them. Soon after the killings protests erupted, with protesters demanding justice while damaging five vehicles, setting afire a three-wheeler. Police used batons, tear gas and imposed curfew to prevent the religious riots. Police arrested two people in connection with the arson incident and 7 were being detained for questioning. [76] [77] [78]
22 May 2019 Seoni, Madhya Pradesh 4A couple and two men were thrashed by a group of vigilantes for allegedly carrying beef in an auto-rickshaw at a village in Madhya Pradesh. In a video of the incident shot by an eyewitness on a mobile phone, the assailants also forced one of the men to beat up the woman accompanying them. The woman was seen being hit repeatedly with a slipper on the head and covered with a piece of cloth, as she curled up on the gravel and endured the blows in silence from the attacker. [79] [80] [81] The police learned of the incident after "two" days that was also only because of viral videos on Twitter and other social media sites. [79] Police arrested both suspects and victims as according to police, victims did not sustain any "serious" injuries and the cow vigilantes had informed them that victims were allegedly carrying 150 kg of red meat in an auto rickshaw and a two-wheeler from Khairi village, police seized the meat, the three-wheeler and the scooter and sent them to Judicial Custody for Allegedly Carrying Red Meat as possession, transportation or sale of beef is illegal in Madhya Pradesh. [82] [79] Five suspects were also arrested under IPC Sections 143, 148, 149, 341, 294, 323 and 506 and also Section 25 of the Arms Act. [82] The incident and the behavior of the police faced wide condemnation and backlash by some Indian politicians and people. [79] [82] [83]
1 June 2019 Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 4Four including two Muslim labourers were beaten by Mob for allegedly eating meat. Surviving labourers said they were eating vegetarian food. Police started their investigation to arrest the attackers. [84] [85]
3 June 2019 Bhabhua, Bihar 1The driver of a truck carrying bones was attacked a mob. Police reached the spot on time and rescued him from lynching. Cow vigilantes opposed the police action and demanded they hand over the driver, also threatening the police officer would be removed from service and face dire consequences. [86]
25 June 2019 Gurgaon, Haryana 2Two men were beaten and thrash by cow vigilantes in Gurgaon, Haryana. The men were admitted to a civil government hospital in Gurugram and later referred to Rohtak Medical College. [87] [88]
18 July 2019 Baniapur, Bihar 3Three men were lynched and beaten by a mob and on referred them to a hospital at Chhapra, where doctors on inspection declared them as dead. [89] [90]
9 August 2019 Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 1A driver was assaulted by five persons, including a woman, they broke the windows of the vehicle, overturned it and disrupting traffic, who were later arrested by the police. The driver was transporting carcasses of dead cattle to disposal plant in Chhajarsi village but the cow vigilantes were spreading fake news about cow slaughter to the crowd which created ruckus. [91]
23 September 2019 Khunti, Jharkhand 12Three tribal men were beaten by Bajrang dal people on the suspicion of selling beef in Khunti. Among three one was dead. [92] [93] [94] [95]
21 November 2019 Cooch Behar 2Thirteen persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the lynching of two men on suspicion of cattle smuggling in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district. [96] [97]

2020

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
15 June 2020 Mangalore, Karnataka 01The driver identified as Mohd Hanif was tied with the tempo on which he was carrying the cattle and beaten by a mob of cow vigilantes on the roadside. The vigilantes also damaged the tempo. Reportedly, the men belonged to Bajrang Dal. [98] [99] [100]

2021

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
23 May 2021 Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh 01Mohammad Shakir was allegedly transporting buffalo meat on a scooter when a group stopped him and demanded ₹50,000 from him. Afterwards, he was beaten with sticks. The police later filed an FIR against the victim. [101]
4 June 2021 Mathura, Uttar Pradesh 17A 50-year-old truck driver, identified as Mohammad Shera, was shot dead and his seven associates assaulted by a mob alleging that the victims were smuggling cows. [102]
12 June 2021 Tinsukia, Assam 128-year-old Sarat Moran was tied in an open field and killed by a mob which suspected him of attempting to steal a cow from a cowshed. [103] [104]
14 June 2021 Chittorgarh, Rajasthan 11Babu Bheel and his associate were carrying bulls in a truck and were assaulted by suspected cow vigilantes with sticks and other weapons. According to preliminary investigation, the bulls were purchased for farm use. [105]
23 June 2021Jammu and Kashmir12 [106]

2023

DateLocationDeadInjuredDescription
07 Mar 2023 Chhapra 11A 47 years old man and his nephew was attacked by sharp object and lynched in Chhapra Bihar on the suspicion of carrying Beef. [107]
10 June 2023 Nashik 1A 23-year-old man named Lukman Ansari was reportedly lynched by a group of cow vigilantes, commonly known as ‘gau rakshaks,’ in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. [108]

Statistics

Incidents statistics by year
YearIncidentsTotal number killedTotal number wounded
201212
2013235
2014513
2015685
20165210
Jan 2017–June 2017111820
2010–June 2017

Reuters report [109]

6328124
29 June 2017–

December 2017

221
2018671
201910618
2020101
2022000
2023101
Total8243145

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References

  1. ↑ John R. McLane (8 March 2015). Indian Nationalism and the Early Congress. Princeton University Press. pp. 276–283. ISBN   978-1-4008-7023-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mushirul Hasan; Asim Roy (2005). Living Together Separately: Cultural India in History and Politics. Oxford University Press. pp. 132–133, 135–139, 143–145. ISBN   978-0-19-566921-3.
  3. ↑ Ishrat Haque (1992). Glimpses of Mughal Society and Culture. Concept. p. 92. ISBN   978-81-7022-382-5.
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  13. ↑ P. Hardy (1972). The Muslims of British India . Cambridge University Press. pp.  140–141. ISBN   978-0-521-09783-3., Quote: "This assertiveness expressed itself in violent defense of the cow. (...) In the early nineties [1890s], rioting spread to the United Provinces and Bihar and in August 1893 there was a major disturbance in Bombay, in which several hundred people were killed or injured."
  14. ↑ Matthew Groves. "Law, Religion and Public Order in Colonial India: Contextualising the 1887 Allahabad High Court Case on 'Sacred' Cows". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies: 96–97.
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