It all started with the formation of the new government under Modi when both the gaurakshaks and opponents of beef-ban became vocal and a tussle started. It was evident that the tussle between proponents and opponents of beef ban would ultimately take an ugly turn. The clash of the ideologies leads to the mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq of Dadri, Uttar Pradesh over alleged consumption of beef. It was the start of such events.
Although it would be naive to say that such incidents have never taken place earlier, but the recurrence of such events and the uproar over these is alarming. The latest in the series is lynching of a cattle trader in Alwar. These cow-vigilantes are emboldened by the fact that in some states of India, consuming beef or even the rumor of it, is a greater crime that killing someone in the name of it. In fact, the cow protection acts of various states have become equivalent to the blasphemy law of Pakistan which is only a tool to suppress their minorities.
Cow has been a holy animal for Hindus since ages mainly due to their proximity to Lord Krishna and their use as milch and draught animal in India being an agrarian society. The invaders from Central Asia saw cow for the first time in India and started eating it. The sacrifice of cow also started on the occasion of Bakrid, which, it is believed that increased the cow veneration in Hindus. Later, many 'rulers' imposed ban on cow-slaughter from time to time. For example, Hyder Ali, Sultan of Mysore made cow slaughter an offense punishable with cutting off hands of the offender. In Mughal empire, cow slaughter was banned by most of their rule. The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar also banned cow slaughter in 1857 in the territories ruled by him. Cow slaughter was also banned in other major empires such as Maratha and Sikh. During the Sikh reign, cow slaughter was a capital offense, for which perpetrators were even executed.
In such a society, there came the Europeans, who were habitual consumers of beef and could not afford to give cow a protected status. But the Indian society was not willing to allow them the pleasure. So, in order to satisfy their taste buds, the British applied their tried and tested formula of divide and rule. Britishers, in a way, succeeded in instigating Muslim by terming cow slaughter as their right which was being seized by the majority Hindus. To widen the division between Hindus and Muslims, Britishers legalized cow slaughter, projecting it to be a step in favor of Muslims. However, the movement for cow protection was enormous and found its supporters in a personage no less than Mahatma Gandhi and Dayanand Saraswati. Gandhi termed protection of cow the first action of Swadeshi Government and said that "As for me, not even to win Swaraj, will I renounce my principle of cow protection". Dayanand Saraswati, while rejecting the malpractices of Hindu religion, also supported cow worship. The books, magazines helped in dissemination of the message of cow protection. The movement, which started with establishment of first Gaurakshini Sabha in 1882, spread rapidly. Then only the culture of gaushalas started and people started capturing wandering cows and sending them to these gaushalas. Signature campaigns for ban on cow-slaughter were also started. The movement was not anti-Muslim or anti-Islamic, but some saw it with cynicism and estimated a communal agenda behind this campaign. This thought process was also pandered by British, which resulted in the communal clashes of 1893, in which hundreds of people got killed all over India.
This evil design of Britishers may be seen in the letter of Queen Victoria to Viceroy Lansdowne wherein she writes "The Queen greatly admired the Viceroy's speech on the Cow-killing agitation. While she quite agrees in the necessity of perfect fairness, she thinks the Muhammadans do require more protection than Hindus, and they are decidedly by far the more loyal. Though the Muhammadan's cow-killing is made the pretext for the agitation, it is, in fact, directed against us, who kill far more cows for our army, than the Muhammadans.”
After the independence, the matter of preservation, protection and improvement of stock and prevention of animal diseases, veterinary training and practice was added as Entry 15 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, meaning that State Legislatures have exclusive powers to legislate the prevention of slaughter and preservation of cattle. However the Hindu organisations demanded for a blanket ban on cow slaughter and including cow protection in the Fundamental Rights, prohibition of cow slaughter was given a place in the Directive Principles of State Policy, which reads, "The State shall endeavour to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle."
Following this Directive Principle, all the State Governments and Union Territories, except Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Lakshadweep, have enacted cattle preservation laws in one form or the other. The oldest laws in this regard are in Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur dating back to 1932 and 1939 respectively. However, in Manipur, the implementation of the law is weak as the majority of the population is Christian and beef is sold openly in many districts.
The most stringent cow protection law is in the State of Gujarat which has recently amended the law extending the punishment and fine. The punishment was increased to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment, and the fine was enhanced to the range of Rs 1 lakh - Rs 5 lakh. The new law also made offenses under the amended Act non-bailable.
When there exist such strict laws and stricter enforcement of these, one may wonder as to what causes one to slaughter or smuggle cows and where is the necessity of these cow protection units. Rape, murder or any other crime is as big, if not bigger, as cow slaughter, but do we have any organization or Sena against rape which may beat rapists and sometimes give random thrashing to potential rapists. If not, then what's the necessity of having such senas for cow protection? There's not. Then what makes them bold enough to break a law for so-called enforcement of some other law?
The law enforcement agencies themselves have made the matter worse. Their inactions to implement the cow protection laws has emboldened these elements, who instigated by their masters take the matter in their hands and march forward to implement the laws. On the other hand, because of the overenthusiasm of authorities to implement these laws, Muslims feel intimidated enough to take the law into their own hands.
It would be naive to reckon the problem as a religious one and seek a communal solution for it. Like all other problems in India, this is also a political problem and needs to be addressed as one. Revenge is the most powerful source of inspiration to commit a crime. Thus, feelings of victimization in any community should never be evolved.
The so-called gaurakshaks should be made to understand that there are many ways to respect and save cows than to lynch some person on the rumor of cow slaughter. They can start with serving, taking care and adopting disowned cows. There is a huge amount of corruption in the gaushalas, which the gaubhakts can look after. If all the donations collected towards gauseva is used sincerely, there will not be disowned cows in markets and lanes impeding traffic and getting canned by people of all religions. These gaurakshaks should stop flexing their muscles as the repercussions of their acts will have to be borne by their revered cows. Similarly, beef enthusiasts may also stop daring gaurakshaks by claiming to eat beef. They can make such claims while sitting in their comfortable and secure houses enjoying freedom given by the law of that state, but the poor meat sellers will have to bear the brunt of this gallantry of theirs.
One thing which could be disseminated is that Muslims are not inherently beef-eaters as Muslim invaders hadn't seen cows or buffaloes in the places they came from. The abundance of cattle in India made them start eating beef, which was also prohibited later by the rulers, including Muslim rulers.
The most important thing is prevalence of rule of law. The offenders should be dealt strictly. The existing rules should be enforced and stricter laws be made to deal with the violence committed by cow vigilantes. Furthermore, the politicians need to be sensitized in the matter so as not to incite hatred between communities. The feeling of being exploited and victimized in the name of cow protection should also not be developed in any community.
Having said that, the politicians are going to be the same and to behave in the same manner. So the responsibility lies in the hands of public in general and social organizations in particular. These organizations should spread awareness about the laws regarding cow protection and sensitize people about their rights. Awareness should also be spread about the correct ways to follow when they wish to report breaking of these laws. Because ultimately, the law of the land is supreme and everyone is bound to follow it as long as it exists.
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