Exclusive: Swami Agnivesh Questions PM Modi’s Silence on Lynching

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
Cameraperson: Akanksha Kumar

Days after being attacked by a mob at Pakur in Jharkhand, social activist Swami Agnivesh has alleged that the district administration has not taken adequate action in the matter.

In an exclusive interview with The Quint, the 78-year-old social activist recounted the horrors of 17 July, when workers of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) allegedly attacked him and ripped his signature turban off his head.

I pleaded with folded hands in front of the mob. Yet the angry mob comprising 100-150 persons didn’t pay any heed, he alleged.

When I saw an aggressive mob approaching towards me, I folded my hands, as a gesture, and asked them what was their problem. Within a split second, they started beating me, tore my clothes, threw me in a 2-feet deep pit, and bashed me up. It was a situation similar to that of a lynch mob. I had lost all hopes of being alive.

Swami Agnivesh, Social Activist

Agnivesh alleged that the Jharkhand Police has not been probing the matter with due diligence. Eight persons were named in the FIR. However, they were released a day after the attack, he said.

Organisers of the event had informed the police and district administration well in advance. I had called SP Barnwal informing him about the incident. He didn’t come. Then I called the District Collector, even he was not willing to come. I was surprised by their response.

Swami Agnivesh, Social Activist

Mob violence has claimed over 66 lives across the country since 2015.

On 20 July, 31-year-old Rakbar Khan was killed by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar. Recounting the string of horrific instances of lynching – from Akhlaq in Dadri to Pehlu Khan in Alwar – Swami Agnivesh demanded to know why PM Modi was silent on the violence.

After Pehlu Khan, now 31-year-old Rakbar Khan has been killed in Alwar. I would request the media to show the visuals of his family to the world. How can someone kill him like that? And PM Modi is silent? Isn’t he ashamed? 

Swami Agnivesh, Social Activist

The Prime Minister has time to make speeches and communicate via his radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the activist said, adding: “Why isn’t he speaking on the issue of lynchings?”