This week, three separate cow slaughter-related hate crimes in India underline the escalating issue of violence fueled by discriminatory ideologies. An elderly Muslim man was assaulted on a train in Kalyan, allegedly for carrying beef; a Muslim migrant worker was lynched in Haryana; and a Hindu student was mistakenly shot by a cow vigilante group near Faridabad. These attacks highlight not just a breakdown of law and order but a growing normalization of extremist militias operating with impunity, blurring the lines between state police forces and violent non-state actors.
In the Kalyan train assault, the Muslim victim did not report the incident to the police, reflecting a deep mistrust of law enforcement, particularly after a previous incident where a railway protection force officer shot and killed Muslim passengers. Meanwhile, the attackers were reportedly on their way to take a police entrance exam, underscoring how vigilante attitudes are being integrated into state mechanisms. In Faridabad, the student Aryan Mishra was chased and killed by a cow protection militia, a group that openly operated in the area with no visible restraint from authorities.
The normalization of such violence is visible in how media reports focus on peripheral aspects, such as “mistaken identity” or allegations of beef consumption, rather than addressing the impunity with which these militias operate. These non-state groups often justify their actions under the pretext of enforcing discriminatory laws like those prohibiting cow slaughter or interfaith marriages. In many cases, the police are seen colluding with these groups, with victims often being handed over to law enforcement after being beaten.
This trend is not new in Indian history, with similar patterns of police complicity seen during communal riots and caste violence, from the 1946-48 partition riots to the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom and the 2002 Gujarat riots. However, today’s incidents differ in that they are not tied to any specific outbreak of mass violence but have become an everyday reality, making the violence seem like a new norm.
Addressing this issue requires more than ad hoc police action. It demands dismantling the legal and ideological frameworks that empower these fundamentalist militias.
