There's a pattern to mob lynchings. It often begins with rumours via the whisper network or whatsapp. It gets worse if people develop a habit of blindly following a handful of 'leaders' and not asking questions, like: Should we hurt someone just because we've heard xyz? Thread

India saw a sharp upsurge in incidents of mob lynchings after 2012. My hypothesis is that social media may have something to do with it. But the regional/localised factors are probably more complex. Please see 33 killings + 99 injured but survived the mob assault

All kinds of brutalities are linked to mobs. Some attacks cannot be explained as community fears of kidnapping or anger at theft. For instance, in 2019 Dec, a youth was lynched in Kerala but one report also suggested torture. In Sept 2019, the pretext was stealing water!

In Madhya Pradesh, 2019, a man was lynched reportedly on suspicion that he was stealing and killing peacocks! Allegations of theft of cows or buffaloes are common pretexts, across many states including Tripura.

In 2018, July and August, people were lynched. Pehlu Khan in Rajasthan's Alwar, allegedly by cow vigilantes. One case from Karnataka's Bidar. In 2019, Mirror Now reported that a transgender person was lynched on child kidnapping suspicions.

May 2018, child kidnapping rumour. Bengaluru. March 2019. Gujarat. Child kidnapping rumour. The July 2018 lynching? A software engineer from Hyderabad who was travelling through Bidar with friends/colleagues. One of them decided to distribute chocolates to kids. Very bad idea.

In 2018, a report from Dhule. A string of lynch mob attacks in Bengal. Similar rumours of child lifting. For those who recall, these fears are not new. Remember the story 'Kabuliwala'? People were very suspicious of fakirs or travelling salesmen or strangers even a century ago.

These attacks continued into 2019. In Jalpaiguri, the mob reportedly included children who beat the victim. Newspapers/magazines also reported attacks in Assam/Nagaland, MP, Bihar. What should've been done by the central govt or states to take a firm stand against mob violence?

Finally, rumours of organ harvesting are not new. Alt News wrote about it 2 years ago. Women are also lynched. ET published a piece suggesting fears about kidnapping might be based on the fact that children do disappear. Also, there've been similar rumours & lynchings in Mexico

Lynchings don't come from one place in a giant mass-organism's head. They come from fear, rage, lust for unquestioned local power, but also from a desire to punish without letting a victim speak for him/herself. This is dangerous in that it cancels out a person's human-ness.

A state, head of state can send out a strong message against lynchings, against a mob mentality. A message reinforcing the rule of law, of the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven. There was time enough to do this. Between 2018 and 2019. Now here we are. End of thread.