An unsaid rule for us is that we seem to have a goldfish memory collectively. It gets evident when we see the incidents of inhumane torture and excruciating physical violence on display recently. The severe backlash, the outage of the public on the inconsiderate action of the students of Dhaka University on an alleged mobile thief who was mentally imbalanced now seems to wane without ensuring justice for the deceased.
The death of a former Chhatro-League leader in mob lynching at JU, the mass mob violence at Dighinala; all of these happened within the span of a week. The question arises – why is mob activity, all of a sudden, so relevant? We could look into some patterns of this phenomenon.
The outburst of pent up emotions, specially in communities (rival political groups/religious community) that were actively oppressed by the regime, has culminated towards mob justice. We can see this in the destruction of the sculpture of Venus at Shoshi Lodge, vandalism at AL ward offices, or even holding street courts to correct one’s appearance.
One intriguing concept that needs exploring is the idea of “vulnerable population.” Now, the few vulnerable populations from this perspective are religious minorities, ethnic communities, women, and the supporters of the previous regime. But whether such events are a part of the plan of destabilizing the interim government needs to be assessed from a critical lens. It’s easier to play “divide and rule” with communities that are already vulnerable.
News of mob violence on women has been constant since the resignation of the Hasina-led government. These events can be explained through our society’s chronic misogynistic nature and religious dogmatism. Opportunity cost plays a big role in these incidents as the perpetrator calculates between the chances of getting caught/prosecuted (which is lower due to the absence of law enforcement agencies) and teaching women a “lesson.”
For example, several women were harassed, even beaten, by a group of men in Cox’s Bazar accusing them of offering prostitution services. This whole incident was streamed live on Facebook, where these men acted out based on their assumption and settled the issue by conducting their own mob court.
It's difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the recurring incidents of mob-violence. Albert Bandura's Frustration-aggression hypothesis is a major framework which analyses the causal relationship of mob violence. The frustration of personal life, any societal hurdles or psychological burden can persuade a person to be aggressive enough to inflict severe physical injury on a person.
We saw a student justifying his contribution in the Tofazzal case by saying that he had beaten him as his stolen phone was bought by tution-earned money. The state of law and order hasn’t still been restored and the lack of active participation of law-enforcement agencies has raised the culpability due to the absence of legal accountability and punishment.
Moreover, it also reflects the years-long agony of the oppressed who finally found a way to release their suppressed anger through physical violence. This claim is supported by Franz Fanon who in his book The Wretched of the Earth explained how the failure of the state apparatus in post-colonial, oppressive society to meet the needs of the destitute can ignite collective violence.
We witnessed it just after the ousting of Hasina on August 5 and consequent attacks on the Awami league politicians or their supporters. Such behaviour may also be induced by shared beliefs as we witnessed in the case of Dighinala where attacks over the announcement from the local mosque. It also stands as a classic example of ethnocentrism -- the faulty judgement of other cultures based on your own. The prejudices were evident in the destruction of temples and within the three days of Hasina regime's fall, we saw hundreds of attacks on minorities in a reported 52 districts.
When looking for solutions, the primary responsibility falls on an effective and prompt judicial system. This is virtually unachievable with one judge per one lakh people and no proper punitive framework for mob lynching in the Penal Code (1860).
Furthermore, the active presence of law enforcement agencies can play a role in apprehending the perpetrators while the military practises its power of executive magistracy. Only through academic and political discourse should we reach conclusions impacting the public of a nation; not through generalized collective ideas of right and wrong.
The social engineering of human beings, widespread misinformation, propaganda on out-groups and the culture of hate as well as the normalized practice of ridiculing a community on the basis of their lifestyles or long-revered customs and traditions contribute majorly in spawning divisive values unfolding into mobocracy. A rather pro-active approach can be the preaching of inclusivity.
This is the ultimate way out of this mob culture. Nurturing tolerance within the community can be a plausible solution to create a safer space for people with different beliefs and ideologies, enabling a sense of harmony.
Sajid Tamjid and Nafis Sadik Siam are freelance contributors.
