Power, Prejudice and Opportunism: Tracing Vigilante Crimes and Social Harm in India.
Vigilante violence in India has become a pressing challenge rooted in social inequality and institutional fragility. This article explores mob lynching and related vigilante crimes through the lens of social harm and human rights, analyzing how insecurity, entrenched prejudice and deceptive narrativ...
| Publicado en: | British Journal of Criminology Vol. 66; no. 4; pp. 787 - 804 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Jul2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=194612735&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 194612735 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00070955 BJC jtl: British Journal of Criminology issn: 00070955 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 66 iid: 4 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 194612735 10.1093/bjc/azaf116 ppf: 787 ppct: 17 formats: tig: atl: Power, Prejudice and Opportunism: Tracing Vigilante Crimes and Social Harm in India. aug: au: Jha, Manish K Sengupta, Sohini affil: School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, V N Purav Marg, Deonar, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400088, India su: India Lynching Misinformation Social cohesion Human rights Emotional trauma Equality sug: subj: Lynching Misinformation Social cohesion Human rights Emotional trauma Equality India keyword: copyrightHolder:Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (formerly ISTD) copyrightYear:2026 Crime Human Rights inLanguage:en publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaf116 Social Harm Social Inequality Social Media Vigilantism copyrightHolder:Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (formerly ISTD) copyrightYear:2026 Crime Human Rights inLanguage:en publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaf116 Social Harm Social Inequality Social Media Vigilantism ab: Vigilante violence in India has become a pressing challenge rooted in social inequality and institutional fragility. This article explores mob lynching and related vigilante crimes through the lens of social harm and human rights, analyzing how insecurity, entrenched prejudice and deceptive narratives fuel acts of extralegal justice against marginalized communities. It focuses on forms of vigilantism culminating in lynching, revealing their profound and enduring impact on vulnerable populations. The normalization of such violence reflects a potent combination of power, opportunism and bias that deepens existing social hierarchies. The analysis emphasizes two key dimensions: the inadequacy of state responses and the role of digital disinformation in amplifying fear and legitimizing collective violence. Adopting a social harm framework, the article examines the broader consequences of vigilante justice for public trust, social cohesion and human rights protections. Drawing on historical and contemporary evidence, it demonstrates how cultural representations, economic interests and media narratives converge to sustain vigilantism, exposing the paradox of community-endorsed violence that both defies legal order and perpetuates social division. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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