Violence driven by sectarian hostility is back on the centre stage of India’s public discourse. Since 2015, numerous incidents of hate violence have dramatically unfolded on the pages of both old and new media. While we still do not have any official numbers, data drawn from media sources indicates a considerable spike in incidents of individuals being targeted on the ground of their identity.1 Many of these incidents have involved mobs attacking members of caste and religious minorities, often in the context of cow protection or inter-faith relationships.