Cow vigilantism a pretext for nationalists to target India’s Muslim minority, report says
Radical cow protection groups in India have killed at least 44 people over the last three years and often received support from law enforcement and Hindu nationalist politicians, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.
The 104-page report unveiled last week examines Hindu nationalist vigilante attacks and said 36 of the dead were members of India’s large Muslim minority. About 280 people have been injured in more than 100 attacks between May 2015 and December 2018, the report by the New York-based group said.
Members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which supports policies to protect cows revered by the country’s majority Hindus, have “increasingly used communal rhetoric that has spurred a violent vigilante campaign against beef consumption and those deemed linked to it,” the group said.…
SEE ALSO:
- Whatever the BJP May Say, the Cost of ‘Protecting’ Cows Is High (Feb 22, 2019, The Wire)
https://thewire.in/politics/cow-protection-costs-human-rights-watch - Madhya Pradesh cow slaughter: NSA revoked against 2 of 3 accused (Feb 25, 2019, Indian Express)
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/madhya-pradesh-cow-slaughter-nsa-revoked-against-2-of-3-accused-5599406/ - Rakbar Khan: Did cow vigilantes lynch a Muslim farmer? (Feb 23, 2019, BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47321871 - Stray cattle menace: Man gored to death, 2nd in Nashik in a month (Feb 26, 2019, Indian Express)
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/stray-cattle-menace-man-gored-to-death-2nd-in-nashik-in-a-month-5600770/
