The story of cow vigilantism in India has been a sad, long and twisted tale of politics in India. It has drawn criticism and has divided the country along more lines than one. Despite attempts to bring the vigilantism under check, the government hasn’t been particularly successful. The Indian supreme court has asked three states, Rajasthan, UP an Haryana to respond to the Supreme court’s order on the matter.
Cow vigilantism notice
The Supreme court in the light of the violence has issued a notice to the three states. The notice refers to the fact that the states hadn’t taken action against the violence in the states. They hadn’t taken measures to prevent violence despite being ordered by the apex court on the basis of the lynchings in September 2017. The petition was filed by Tushar Gandhi, Mahatama Gandhi’s grandson and the notice was issued by the bench headed by Dipak Misra. The replies of the states, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been asked for by April.
The problem at hand
It’s when members of the general public take law into their own hands. The ‘cow’ debate has been a long one. So many people have been attacked due to reasons of ‘cow protection’. This petition and notice might find a solution at the top of the pyramid. But, it doesn’t assure safety at the ground level. The fact that since September the state governments haven’t already taken action is cause for debate. It has taken since september 2017 for action to be taken despite what the SC had said, all killings were wrong. It’s not only about saying but it’s about preventing these attacks from happening.
“Centre says there is a law in place. Then such incidents need to be curbed. People cannot be allowed to take law into their own hands. This must stop. This is not permissable.”- Said, CJI Dipak Misra
Lynching in the name of the cow has been taking place since 2015, it’s high time the violence ended. It is not enough that heads of governments and the prime minister too condemn these happenings. They must also put their foot down and put laws in place to protect the people. Thee incidents have piled up, and more so the people’s uproar over the matter. It has become a debate between the left and right, a cause for social media campaigns and so much more. For how long is the cow going to come in the way of the country’s progress?