Mob lynching and Cow Vigilantism

• The recent lynching and burning of two men in Haryana on the basis of allegations of unlawful cow slaughter, smuggling, or transportation bring attention to the problem of mob lynching.

About cow vigilantism:

• Mob attacks carried out in the guise of "cow protection" primarily target Muslims, Dalits, and tribals.
• Cases of alleged cow vigilantism
• Rajasthan - A group of accused cow vigilantes killed a dairy farmer from Haryana by beating him to death.
• A 15-year-old Muslim boy from Haryana was stabbed in a train, allegedly for eating beef.
• A Dalit family in Gujarat was publicly flogged by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow.
• After being attacked by claimed cow vigilantes for transporting two animals, a Muslim man died.

Influence on society:

• By giving the so-called cow defenders social, moral, and legal authority, it is encouraging violence in the nation.
• By focusing on specific communities in the nation, it undermines the secular inclusiveness of Indian society.
• Economic impact: Beef producers, tanners, and leather producers have all suffered greatly.
• stigmatisation of groups including Dalits, Muslims, and tribal people because of their dietary practises and reliance on cattle products for a living.

Supreme Court stand:

• Articles 48, 48A, and 51(A) of the Constitution, which aim to preserve breeds used in agriculture and animal husbandry and expressly forbid the slaughter of cows and calves as well as other milch and draught cattle, as well as promoting compassion for animals, were cited by the Supreme Court in 2005 to justify the total ban on cattle slaughter.
• The Supreme Court has recently expressed worry over the attacks on innocent people committed in the name of cow vigilantism and has given some directives in this regard.
• In order to take action against these organisations, it directed the States and the Union Territories to designate nodal police officers in each district.
• States have also been urged to submit updates on their efforts to curb vigilantism.
• The court urged the Center to carry out its constitutional duties under Cooperative Federalism Article 256 and instruct the States to take action against the groups.
• The Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police were also ordered by the court to take action to defend the highways from vigilante mobs.

What is mob lynching?

• Mob lynching is when a group of people engage in illegal behaviour by turning violent and killing a person they believe to be a criminal without conducting a fair trial.
• Muslims, dalits, and other minorities have typically been lynched by mobs.
• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) gathered information on mob lynchings, hate crimes, and cow vigilantism in 2017, however the information was not published and the NCRB stopped collecting it because these crimes are not defined and the information was deemed untrustworthy.
• The memory of the 2017 murder of a dairy farmer, Pehlu Khan, and his sons in Rajasthan by so-called cow vigilantes is still vivid.

What problems do mob lynchings cause?

• Mob lynching is a flagrant breach of the International Declaration of Human Rights, Article 21 of the Constitution, and human dignity.
• Such actions contravene Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee equality and prohibit discrimination.
• But because it is not specifically defined in the law and is not yet included in the Indian Criminal Code, it is simply referred to as murder.

What are the Causes of Mob Lynching?

• Prejudice: Mob lynching is a hate crime that is on the rise as a result of prejudices or biases held by different castes, classes, and faiths.
• Cows are venerated and worshipped in Hinduism, hence the rise of the cow vigilante. Sometimes this results in cow vigilantism.
• Under the assumption that the minorities often consume beef meat, the majority commits this crime against the minority.
• A lack of prompt justice.
• The main cause of people enforcing the law without concern for the repercussions is the ineffective operation of the institutions responsible for administering justice.

What actions is the government taking on this matter?

Preventative actions:

• The Supreme Court established a number of preventive, corrective, and punitive procedures to deal with lynching and mob violence in the case of Tahseen s. Poonawala v. UOI in July 2017.
• In this case, the Supreme Court used the phrase "horrendous act of mobocracy" to describe mob lynching.
• Designated Fast Track Courts: States were instructed to establish specific mob lynching cases-only designated fast track courts in each district.
• The court had also proposed the formation of a special task force with the aim of obtaining intelligence reports regarding those responsible for disseminating hate speech, provocative statements, and false information that could result in mob lynchings.
• A high-level committee led by the Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba was established by the government.
• In accordance with the Supreme Court's guidelines, the central government established a panel to submit its report to the Prime Minister.
• Laws prohibiting lynching had been passed by four States (Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Manipur), however their enforcement varied.
• Additional measures include limiting WhatsApp forwarding messages to only five chats in an effort to discourage false rumours from spreading quickly and easily.

Conclusion

• Indian civilization is a synthesis of various religions, ethnicities, cultures, and moralities. It's crucial to maintain the correct balance in this complex society. To prevent violence in the name of cows, our community, government, and civil society organisations must cooperate.

India Denmark Cooperation

• During the "India-Denmark: Partners for Green and Sustainable Development Conference" in New Delhi, the Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change said that India and Denmark can work together to show that reaching ambitious climate and sustainable energy targets is possible.
• Since the Green Strategic Partnership was established in 2020, the bilateral collaboration has been geared towards advancing environmentally friendly and sustainable development.

About the previous visit:

• In order to put their ambitious "green strategic relationship" into action, India and Denmark have come to an agreement on a five-year action plan.
• Following a decade-long thaw in bilateral relations, this was both the first summit-level visit to India following the COVID pandemic and the first State visit by a Danish leader.
• India and Denmark signed two agreements on climate change research, and Reliance Industries and the Danish company Stiesdal Fuel Technologies signed another Memorandum of Understanding on the building of a "green hydrogen" electrolyser facility.

What is The Green Strategic Partnership?

• With a focus on an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Green Strategic Partnership is a win-win agreement to advance political cooperation, broaden economic relations and green growth, create jobs, and strengthen cooperation on addressing global challenges and opportunities.
• Danish businesses have offered to assist India in achieving its air pollution management goals, particularly in the crucial area of addressing the issue of burning crop stubble.
• Dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic and collaboration in water efficiency and water loss are two other important facets of the alliance.
• It has been suggested to establish India-Denmark energy parks in regions with a high concentration of Danish businesses as well as an India-Denmark skill centre to train Indian labour.
• The Joint Commission for Cooperation and current joint working groups will serve as the foundation for the Green Strategic Partnership.???????

Historical perspective:

• The two countries made their initial encounter in the 17th century when a Danish colony was founded at Tranquebar, which is today part of Tamil Nadu.
• From Serampore in West Bengal, the Danish established other trading posts in different regions of India. Another Danish colony was in the Nicobar Islands.
• The British purchased every Danish colony in 1845, including the Nicobar Islands in 1868.
• Following independence, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's 1957 trip to Denmark lay the groundwork for cordial ties between India and that country.
• The non-extradition of Niels Holck Nielsen, a Danish national involved in the Purulia Weapons Dropping Case in 1995, negatively impacted relations in 2011.

Cultural affinities:

• India's 75th Independence Day was enthusiastically observed in Copenhagen with a flag-raising ceremony and lively Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations that were well-attended by members of the diaspora.
• The Danish Sports Yoga Federation, Art of Living, and Brahma Kumaris are just a few of the groups that take part in the Embassy's annual celebration of the International Day of Yoga throughout Denmark.
• At more than 20 educational institutions, including Copenhagen and Roskilde Universities, Kold College, IBC Kolding, Zealand Business College, and schools, the Embassy organised various events, including talks on Gandhiji and tree-planting ceremonies as part of the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

Latest developments in India-Denmark relations:

• The two nations' new Green Strategic Partnership with India is fostering the development of a more enduring friendship.
• The agreement was announced to increase collaboration in the areas of science and technology, trade, environmental regulation, and renewable energy.
• As part of a five-year Joint Action Plan, both nations have decided to sign four government-to-government agreements, expand current collaborations into the health and agricultural sectors, and further cooperation in the fields of water, science, and technology.

Commercial and Economic Relations:

• From USD 2.8 billion in 2016 to USD 5 billion in 2021, bilateral commerce in products and services between India and Denmark increased by 78%.
• The main exports from India to Denmark include textiles, things connected to clothing and yarn, automobiles and parts, metal products, iron and steel, footwear, and travel-related items.
• Power generation equipment, industrial machinery, metal scrap and ore, organic chemicals, and pharmaceuticals and medical supplies are the main Danish exports to India.

Cooperation in Intellectual Property:

• The 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to strengthen IP cooperation between the two nations through information sharing and the sharing of best practises on how to handle applications for patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and Geographical Indications, as well as cooperation in the area of protecting Traditional Knowledge.
• It will further the goals of the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy, 2016, and be a significant milestone in India's quest to becoming a key leader in global innovation.

Way forward

• For India and the region, the relationship has the potential to be revolutionary.
• India now only has a Green Strategic Partnership with Denmark, but this important step towards sustainable development is essential since it may enable India to reach similar agreements with additional partners in the area and beyond.

SWAYATT Initiative

• A celebration of "SWAYATT," a campaign to promote "Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e-Transactions" (SWAYATT) on the Government E-Marketplace (GeM) in New Delhi, was recently organised.

SWAYATT Initiative: What is It?

• Under the direction of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the programme was started in February 2019.
• It brings together the important players in the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem at the national procurement platform that is Government e-Marketplace.

Result Thus Far:

• Enhanced Commercial Opportunities On the GeM platform, more over 8.5 lakh Micro and Small Businesses (MSEs) have registered, and they have received over 68 lakh orders totaling more than Rs. 1.87 lakh crore in sales.
• Women's empowerment: More than 1.45 lakh female MSEs completed 7.32 lakh orders totaling $15,922 billion.
• SC/ST empowerment: To date, 43000 SC/ST MSEs have fulfilled 1.35 lakh+ orders totaling $2,592 billion on the GeM platform.
• Market to Farmers: With GeM, 105 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) can currently offer the Government more than 200 Agro goods.

Government e-Marketplace: What is it?

• GeM is an online market platform that was established in 2016 to simplify government ministries, departments, public sector enterprises (PSU), etc., purchasing of products and services.
• It is intended to serve as India's national procurement portal.
• It was created by the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Directorate General of Supply and Disposals with assistance from the National E-Government Division (Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology).
• It is managed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Directorate General of Supply and Disposals (DGS&D).
• GeM is an entirely digital, cashless, system-driven marketplace that makes it possible to buy everyday goods and services with little to no human interaction.