It was the Supreme Court that had to step in to ask the Centre and states to take adequate action to restrain cow vigilantes who have run amok right under the nose of the law.

In a series of incidents targeting Dalits and Muslims, these self-proclaimed custodians of the cow had resorted to lynching, while state administrations looked the other way.

Now, with the SC directing all states and union territories to appoint nodal police officers in districts to deal with these murderous groups, one hopes that the primacy of the law will be restored. Perturbed by these acts of violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chided these so-called cow-protectionist groups by saying that “Killing people in the name of ‘gau bhakti’ is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve”.

Sadly, there hasn’t been even one case of conviction since the Dadri lynching in 2015. This year has been the worst, with 20 cases of attack being reported in the first six months. What was missing all this while was the political will to bring these murderers and lumpen elements to justice.

Thanks to the apex court’s prodding, one fervently hopes that the political establishment has discovered its purpose of putting an end to mob justice and anarchy, that has had a free run in certain parts of the country.

Lest we forget, India’s real strength lies in its diversity of religions, cultures and food habits. And, equality before the law is non-negotiable in a democratic society.