From cow vigilantism to mob justice: a decade of lynching in India

As lynching, a form of targeted mob violence, often carried out for seemingly trivial reasons, has increasingly come to resemble a day-to-day phenomenon across much of India, particularly in BJP-ruled states, its evolution since 2014, including the targeting of Muslims over expressions of religious identity and suspicions of beef consumption or sale, has been documented in a new study.

Compiled and edited by the former chairman of the Delhi Minority Commission, Zafarul-Islam Khan, and published by Pharos Media, the volume, titled Mob Lynching in India: A Record-2014-2024, draws upon extensive reportage to argue that what began as targeted attacks against Muslims has mutated into a pervasive culture of collective brutality.

The study examines existing news reports and social-media accounts in documenting hundreds of incidents across the country, although its authors acknowledge that the record is not exhaustive.

According to the report, India recorded 53 lynchings over suspicions of beef possession or cow slaughter and 89 incidents in which Muslims were attacked over their religious identity, while 571 incidents were linked to road rage or brawls that escalated into deadly violence. In one such incident in February 2020, a man identified as Saurabh was reportedly beaten to death after accidentally brushing against another person’s shoulder.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases during the decade, with 422 incidents, followed by Delhi with 296, while Bihar ranked third and Haryana fourth with 100 cases. However, the report records a sharp fall in Uttar Pradesh, from 124 incidents in 2023 to 25 in 2024, and notes a broader decline across states during the same period without establishing a reason for the change.

The study records 372 Muslims killed and 634 injured in lynching incidents, while 787 Hindus were killed and 327 injured, a disparity the report associates partly with the large number of non-communal incidents involving road rage, family disputes and personal rivalries.

It further identifies inter-religious relationships and marriages as another source of mob violence, documenting at least 141 such cases, while caste-based violence remains another disturbing feature, with 85 Dalits reportedly killed and 115 injured.

The report argues that lynching has evolved from a pattern associated principally with cow vigilantism and attacks on minorities into a broader culture of mob justice, in which violence increasingly assumes the role of law, punishment and social control.