Beef-related Violence in India: An Expression of Islamophobia

Abstract

India's largest minority group—the Muslims—have often found themselves excluded from the mainstream political power circles in India. The historical constructed “clash” between Muslims and Hindus has been used by members of the far right—such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bajrang Dal (BD)—to present the Muslim community as outsiders and evil others with sinister plans to subjugate the Hindu masses. This article explores the narratives offered by these Hindu right-wing groups to first isolate them as “Others” and subsequently justify violence against Muslims. We show how the anti-Muslim propaganda used to demonize this group has manifested itself in instances of mob violence against Muslims who have been accused of slaughtering cows. Radical Hindu nationalist groups have portrayed the act of killing Muslims for slaughtering cows as a sacred duty on multiple occasions. This act is supplemented by the political silence of the current leadership on these incidences. Thus, this article informs readers of a specific process of Islamophobic violence that exists in India, a largely understudied phenomenon.