New Delhi: Lynching and the prevailing climate of ‘Sangh-affiliated violence,’ often targeting Muslims, was previously non-existent in West Bengal, Goa, and the multiple states in the Northeast. However, it has now pervaded into nearly all parts of the country, a report tracking the decade between 2014 and 2024 shows. The report titled Mob Lynching in India: A Record – 2014-2024, has been compiled and edited by journalist and former chairman of the Delhi Minority Commission, Zafarul-Islam Khan, and published by Pharos Media.It documents cases of mob violence across India and makes the case for expanding the scope of how ‘lynching’ is popularly defined and understood. While it is usually characterised as targeted violence against Muslims by self-styled Hindu vigilantes – Muslims are singled out for any expression of religious identity or on suspicions of the consumption and sale of beef – the report finds that it has mutated into a culture of mob violence. This also often transcends caste lines.The report also finds that mob violence has almost become commonplace. An overwhelming number of cases list road rage and routine disputes as the driving force behind a lynching. The report has been curated through existing news reports and social media accounts and is, therefore, not exhaustive.Here are six significant points that the report highlights that demonstrate the firming up of this culture of violence.1. Reasons varyFrom 2014 to 2024, India saw 53 incidents of lynching on suspicion of beef possession or cow slaughter, 89 due to “religious identity”, and 571 stemming from events of road rage and brawls that escalated into violence, the report records. The reasons vary. In February 2020, a man named Saurabh was beaten to death for accidentally brushing against someone’s shoulder. 2. Uttar Pradesh leadsDuring the decade that has been documented (2014-2024), Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh has seen 422 cases of such violence, while the National Capital Territory of Delhi has seen 296. Bihar comes in third, and Haryana takes fourth place, having seen 100 lynching cases. But while in UP, 124 such incidents took place in 2023, the number dropped to 25 in 2024. In fact, across states, there appears to have been a stark drop from 2023 to 2024. The report does not mention why. Meanwhile, according to the report, Mizoram and Sikkim saw zero cases through the decade, while Goa, Assam, and Nagaland saw one. 3. Muslims targetedMuslim citizens are deliberately targeted by mobs. In August 2021, Tasleem Ali, a 25 year-old shopkeeper in Indore, was beaten up right after his name was made known to a group of Hindu vigilantes. It was subsequently reported that he had molested a minor and was “concealing” his identity. Ali was arrested, and then acquitted 2024 for a lack of evidence. Any outward expression of Muslim identity – such as a skull cap or a beard – have resulted in cases of lynching by Hindu mobs. What is also routine and features in several cases, is Muslim men beaten and intimidated into chanting “Jai Shri Ram.”4. Road rage, rivalries contribute large numbersAs many as 372 Muslims have been killed in lynching cases, while 634 have injured. Beyond this, 787 Hindus have been killed and 327 have been injured. This appears to be because while several of the incidents recording religious hatred are against Muslims, many incidents of road rage, family rivalries, and brawls, which have ended in death and involve Hindu people, exceed the number of communal violence cases according to the report.5. Inter-religious marriages lead to lynchingsAffairs and inter-religious marriages also constitute a a large number of lynching cases. At least 141 cases of lynching have taken place for these reasons. The report notes that while a large section of these crimes are committed in order to attack Muslims and Christians, the mob has become the law and the lawmaker, a judicial and social force sufficient in and of itself. 6. Lynching is casteist The report mentions 85 people from the Dalit community who have been killed and 115 who have been injured. A number of these cases include humiliation rituals, including being tied to trees and enduring casteist abuse. The cases highlighted in the report include a 2024 incident of a Dalit man being lynched for riding a horse on his wedding in Chadasana, Gujarat, and a nine-year-old Dalit boy in Rajasthan’s Jalore district having been assaulted to death for touching a water pot in 2022.The report simultaneously locates the original patterns of lynching – cow vigilantes in BJP-ruled states acting with impunity, hate crimes targeting at minorities – and how today, this brand of mob violence has embedded itself in nearly all parts of public life. It also looks at how public mobility has been impacted by this widespread violence, showcasing a climate of fear.