Mob violence is emerging as a serious law and order problem in India. By giving suitable examples, analyze the causes and consequences of such violence.

Mob violence, where crowds inflict harm without legal sanction, has surfaced repeatedly in India through lynchings, communal clashes and vigilante attacks. It signals a breakdown of the rule of law and the state's monopoly over legitimate force.

Causes

• Social: communal polarisation, caste tensions, cow-vigilantism and suspicion of "outsiders".
• Psychological: deindividuation and anonymity in crowds erode individual restraint and accountability.
• Technological: viral rumours on WhatsApp and social media, as in child-kidnapping panic lynchings, trigger instant mobs.
• Institutional: weak, slow policing, poor conviction rates and a sense of impunity embolden perpetrators.

Consequences

• Loss of innocent lives and erosion of the right to life under Article 21.
• Communal distrust, social polarisation and damage to India's plural fabric.
• Undermining of the rule of law, deterrence of investment and tarnishing of international image.

Way forward

• Supreme Court's Tehseen Poonawalla (2018) guidelines: nodal officers, fast-track courts and victim compensation.
• A dedicated anti-lynching law, swift FIRs and time-bound prosecution.
• Curbing fake news through platform accountability and digital literacy.
• Community policing and confidence-building to rebuild trust.

Firm, impartial enforcement coupled with social healing is essential to restore the primacy of law over the mob.