Cow Vigilantism: A Threat To Secularism

B. Thillai Nayage, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University

ABSTRACT

Vigilantism is the practise of punishing a person for based on the perceived notion that the other person has committed an offence. Growing incidences of vigilantism pose a threat to India's societal framework. The right to live with dignity, as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, cannot be surpassed. Only legitimate methods may be used to take away what the law has granted. Therefore, no one has the right to violate another person's personal dignity. Cow vigilantism directly affects the secular of the Nation. The Hon’ble courts will never allow vigilantes to overrule the law of the nation, and lynching cannot be made to become the new standard. Due to a lack of significant laws specifically pertaining to lynching in India, many incidents remain unrecorded and the hateful individuals responsible remain unknown. India's democracy and pluralism are being disrupted by the politicization of this hatred. This issue requires changes to be made in several areas of the criminal justice system rather than relying on a single remedy. This paper examines how citizens, as a racialized mob act as a parallel judicial authority to impose death penalties, mob violence and eventually contribute to the establishment of mobocracy and owing to their supposed judgement over the suspected offenders affect their guaranteed constitutional rights, ultimately posing a threat to democracy.

Keywords: Mobocracy, beef, Rule of law, Secularism, Vigilantism.