PM's clear condemnation

It's time to extend a similar gesture to Muslims, too

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke out strongly against "fake gau rakshaks"- bands of vigilantes in several states who have carried out acts of violence supposedly in the service of cow protection. First, in a "town hall" meeting on Saturday, he said that many cow vigilantes were anti-social: "Some people who are engaged in anti-social activities for the whole night wear the mask of gau rakshaks in the day." He also accused some vigilantes of being motivated by commercial considerations, saying they were running "shops". Later that evening, the PM tweeted that the "sacred practice of cow worship" was being "misused by some miscreants". And as if to underline that he was serious about the issue, on the very next day, Mr Modi urged people to "stop attacking Dalits", adding "shoot me if you want, not Dalits".

The immediate context for the PM's intervention is a series of protests across north India, but particularly in Gujarat, following a viral video from that state in which a group of cow vigilantes brutally beat some young Dalit men who were carrying away a cow carcass to be skinned. Partly as a consequence of the unrest caused by that video, Mr Modi's successor as Gujarat chief minister, Anandiben Patel, resigned. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this visible Dalit assertion in response to cow vigilantism was a serious problem; it is believed that many young Dalits voted for the BJP in the 2014 general elections, contributing significantly to Mr Modi's near-sweep of north Indian constituencies. Elections are due in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh soon, and the BJP has its work cut out recreating the 2014 social coalition.

But whatever the immediate motives, Mr Modi's forthright statement needs to be unequivocally welcomed. A clear articulation of the problems of cow vigilantism will hopefully send a signal to local and state administrations that their tacit support for roving bands of gau rakshaks must end. There is already news from Punjab of a crackdown by the authorities on one feared local cow-protection organisation; the leader has also had a police case registered against him. Mr Modi also received support in his stand from the officials of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP's parent organisation. This is reassuring; it indicates that there will be few dissenting groups within the Sangh Parivar. The prime minister has not been swift to speak out on cow vigilantism - it has been a growing problem for almost a year - but nobody can say that his message, once he has spoken, is soft or unclear. It is to be hoped that law and order will soon be restored, and the quasi-official sanction given to cow vigilante will come to an end.

It is worth noting, though, that it took the spreading of this violence to Dalits for Mr Modi to find his voice. The first widely covered cow slaughter-related lynching was that of Mohammed Akhlaq, in September last year; and many other Muslim individuals and communities have since been targeted. Mr Modi's speech called for an end to cow-inspired violence on his Dalit "brothers". It is unfortunate that the Muslim targets of such mob action did not seem to be offered the same protection by the PM's speech. There is work yet to do in restoring order.