The Supreme Court’s nudge to Parliament to make lynching a separate offence is perhaps oblivious of the ground realities (“Make lynching a separate offence, SC tells Parliament”, July 18). Tightening the laws has never achieved the desired purpose of acting as a deterrent to crime. Moreover, the recent incident of a Union Minister being seen with persons accused of lynching shows how deterrent action can be affected by the acts of the political class. Whether it is sexual assault or lynching, change is possible only if linked to a consistent campaign of awareness by the government and NGOs.
V. Subramanian,
Chennai
It is very unlikely that a new law by itself would be a panacea. The existing laws, which are adequate, need to be effectively enforced without being unduly influenced by external forces. Unfortunately, in several cases, those accused of lynching have been put on a pedestal by the political class. When an environment has been created where elements are emboldened by a sense of immunity, no amount of (new) laws will prevent such incidents.
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
It is a tragedy that the government requires to be advised by the Supreme Court. It is a shame that there has been a wave of lynchings across India targeting minority communities and marginalised sections. The fact is that neither the ugly spectre of cow vigilantism nor incidents of lynching incidents under the guise of child-lifting has declined. While the abuse of social media platform for spreading false information needs to be curbed, there must also be a crackdown on fringe groups trying to sabotage social harmony.
P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai
