Mob Vigilance

Today, i saw a woman being beaten up on TV by a mob in a village in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from the ignorance angle, i would like to focus on Mob vigilance and the factor of taking the law into individual hands. Is it beneficial or is it taking social tranquility for granted?

The case of People taking the law into their own hands is a double edged sword. This might be effective if the system within which it operates is constraining the Citizenry. If governments and the judiciary are completely stagnant, then it becomes necessary to take vigilante action to change the system. But, this could be counter-productive on many occasions.

One could be the context. Situations like the one witnessed in the hamlet of Andhra Pradesh may be viewed from the point of view of ignorance. Mob vigilantism can take social tranquility for granted. Mob vigilantism may not have many things different from Anarchy in that sense. Mob vigilantism is vague, and passions can be easily inflammed. The main problem with Mob vigilantism is that there is no guarantee of control.

This is the reason why Mobs are the most feared in society. Because to exert control on a vague entity impossible, mob vigilantism may be counter-productive to society. Many films might call for Citizens to take the law upon themselves, but in many of those cases, the aftereffects could be equally disastrous. The thing about Law and Mob is that Mobs are vague, Laws, only after interpretation can be concrete. So, it could be better if citizens follow the law, how much ever it may sound constraining.

This calls more for citizen education on the political affairs in the country. The media can only highlight, but is upto citizens to pursue their own conscience of politics, because without political knowledge, mob vigilantism can become an unfortunate requirement.