What was it? Was it the feeling that our lives were now being taken over by random criminals? Was it the open, brazen collaboration between these criminals and the state? Or, was it the sight of the state making room for criminals and facilitating their work?

Many friends told us that they could not sleep that night and have not been able to think coherently about this execution and performance of murder under the watch of the police.

As the media bayed for his blood and literally exhorted the political leadership in UP for revenge, it was widely suspected that Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf might get killed in an accident or be shot dead in an ‘encounter’ just like his son and aides who were killed two days earlier during an anticipated ‘encounter’ by the state police.

The Chief Minister, Adityanath, had infamously declared that the mafia will be ‘reduced to dust’. Atiq and his lawyers had raised this possibility that he may be murdered in police custody but the Supreme Court paid no heed to it. So it was not quite shocking for at least the Hindu fanatics to watch the three men who pumped 18 bullets into the bodies of the two handcuffed men while in police custody, while chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram.’

We are yet to see any condemnation of the ‘misuse’ of the sacred name Ram by any religious leader or body. The criminals, through this act, assured the consumers of the murders that they were ‘Dharma Yodhhas’ or religious warriors.

As if echoing them, the Hindu right and certain TV anchors are describing the political killing as ‘vadh’, a reference to an act of murder or killing which represents good triumphing over evil as described by the Hindu scriptures through the murder of demons by Hindu Gods.

Some compared this murder to the Vadh of Ravana by Ram and hailed the killers as incarnations of god. In an incendiary video with over 4 million views, a Hindutva supporter celebrated the murderers and offered them monetary support. He flashed a bundle of cash into the camera that he claimed would be given to murderers. The murderers’ thought that the invocation of the name of Ram would somehow exonerate them has been testified with the celebration of the murder by not only fringe elements but the reaction of state officials and the mainstream media in the country.

‘Vadh’, we must not forget, that is what the murder of Mahatma Gandhi is called by the adherents of Hindutva. That is why Nathuram Godse , the killer and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the conspirator, are revered figures in these circles. The criminals involved in the murder of Ahmed brothers can perhaps claim this lineage.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

‘Oh, but he was a criminal,” is the most common excuse being employed by the Hindu right to justify the murder. That the murderers identified as Lovlesh Tiwari, Arun Maurya, and Sunny Singh, had multiple criminal cases filed against them is insignificant to large sections of the Hindu extremists.

There are some of them who feel that the shouting of slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ by the criminals was a conspiracy to defame Hinduism and yet it is actually the Hindu right that is glorifying the murder.

One of the three men was charged for murdering a railway police official and another has 17 cases against him with deep links to gangsters in west UP. However, the one name that has grabbed maximum eyeballs is Lovlesh Tiwari. Based on Lovlesh’s social media record, The Wire report showed his Hindu extremist views and inclination towards violence. He claimed to be associated with the Bajrang Dal, a charge that was publicly denied by the Dal. But his friend, another member of the Dal, says that he was associated with them for a long time.

The Bajrang Dal leader who knew Lovlesh Tiwari said that he was a deeply religious person but denied that he had negative views about Muslims.

However, Lovlesh’s social media posts suggest otherwise. In one post, he claimed to be “addicted to Hindutva like liquor” and said that those who do not chant “Jai Shri Ram” have a “defect in their blood.” His radical views and alleged association with the Bajrang Dal must raise concerns.

Source: Social media

This is why the public celebration of the killers among large sections of the Hindu right-wing is the most significant highlight of the chilling murder, preceded by what could reportedly be a month-long televised planning and execution of the mafia-turned-politicians. It is, in fact, a question of national security as it demonstrates that the law enforcers are either incapable of defending their terrain or willing to hand it over to criminals. In any honest engagement with the problem, the state’s law enforcement apparatus, media and judiciary must do an honest investigation on the rise of gun culture, retributive vigilante justice, and their deep connections to the growing majoritarian  extremism in the country.

The gun problem 

Several causes have contributed to the emergence of a gun-toting Hindutva vigilante culture in India. One of the key factors is the cheap availability of guns, despite severe laws prohibiting the possession of illegal weapons. As per the Small Arms Survey, India has more than 100 million firearms in circulation, making it the world’s second-largest private gun-owning country behind the United States.

The abundance of illegal arms has made it easy for criminals to obtain guns, leading to an increase in gun violence. When you add a dash of religious fanaticism and inaction of state officials against saffron mobsters to the mix, it becomes even more potent.

Another element contributing to the emergence of gun culture is Hindutva proponents’ glorification of violence in popular culture and political discourse. Movies, TV dramas, social media, and Hindutva pop influences that celebrate violence and vigilante justice have become popular among Indian youth, influencing their attitudes towards weapons and violence. Guns being portrayed as symbols of power, as well as a movement to reclaim Hindu masculinity, have all led to the emergence of gun culture in India.

Also read: Jamia Shooter Now Amplifying Hindutva ‘Hate’ Music Videos Featuring Violence Against Muslims

The link between gun culture and religious radicalism is not a recent phenomenon. Right-wing Hindu nationalist organisations like the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have been accused of promoting a culture of violence and vigilantism. These organisations have been involved in several incidents of violence against minorities.

In fact, glorification of gun culture is an essential part of the Hindutva project. Every year, a ritual of Shastra Puja is performed openly. The RSS openly imparts military training to the youth and others. In its training camps, participants are trained to fight enemies.

An edited image of RSS members. Photo: Reuters/Files. Illustration: The Wire.

There are guns in real life and there are guns galore online. In recent times, we’ve seen the Hindutva universe ramp up its verbal ambushes against the Supreme Court in online and offline spaces. There are thousands of tweets and comments in which the Supreme Court has been denigrated as ‘Supreme Kotha’ – supreme brothel – or ‘Sharia Court,’ a court for Muslims.

On one hand there’s a constant troll attack on the Supreme Court by Hindutva influencers to delegitimise it in the public eye as an Muslim appeaser and on the other hand there’s a constant heated exchange between the law minister, government representatives and the top court. This is happening when there are calls to bring together two crore youths to turn India into a Hindu nation.

We may sound alarmist but the logical conclusion of this violence is an inevitable conflict with institutional democracy, no matter how much the elected regime itself becomes hospitable to Hindutva extremism.

The courts are shaken by this relentless assault on them by the executive which has a bloodthirsty mob leading it. The fact of the Supreme Court choosing not to pay heed to the fears of Atiq Ahmed raises doubts about its willingness to apply its mind. Does the court underestimate the power of the criminals or is simply tired of its duty of ensuring justice?

When the top court allowed the survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque and subsequent sealing of a part of the mosque after the ‘discovery’ of a ‘shivalinga’ there, it was actually succumbing to the logic of the mob. It felt powerless to ward the mob off, hence it gave them a logic to justify their act. But even before that, this court had taken a long convoluted argument to give the land of the Babri mosque to those very forces which were responsible for the crime of demolishing it, as described by the court itself.

It’s not hard to predict if this violence will remain limited to ‘encountering’ dreaded criminals like the Ahmed brothers or also be generously extended to political dissidents who do not agree with majoritarian and anti-democratic politics.

But this fear should not be the only reason to oppose the trend. The culture of crime keeps producing criminals. There is enough evidence to suggest that if this violence is left uncontrolled at this point, it will fuel more ‘ lone wolves’ to kill those who’ve been labelled ‘enemies of the state’ or of Hindus. Take a look at the following list of incidents where Hindutva extremists have murdered or attempted to cause harm to high profile individuals or protesters:

• The killings of rationalists like Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi and Narendra Dabholkar.
• The murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
• The broad daylight killing of inspector Subodh Kumar Singh.
• The shooting at Jamia and Shaheen Bagh during the anti-CAA protests.
• Dozens of lynchings, also treated as the sacred duty to protect the holy cow or Hinduness
• Hindutva extremists attempting to assassinate AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.

Brandishing of swords and firearms in religious processions of Hindus and attacks on mosques and Muslim properties are also a sign of normalisation of the culture of crime. Police officers – those who still have a constitutional soul left in them – point to the arming of the teenagers and turning them into criminals.

Obviously the middle class is happy as their own children only harbour hate in their minds and are unlikely to be foot soldiers of this politics of violence. They, like their parents, would rationalise and patronise the culture of violence and murder. As the NRIs do too, while being minorities enjoying their rights, freedom and personal protection in western countries.