Nationwide Ban on Cow Slaughter in India Debated
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The cow is an object of veneration by Hindus
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By
Danish A Khan, Special to IslamOnline
NEW
DELHI, August 5 (IslamOnline)- The National Commission for Cattle
(NCC) in India has proposed a constitutional amendment which would
allow for a ban on cow slaughter nationwide. At present the slaughter
of cows is banned only in some, mostly northern, states of India which
are called the “cow belt”.
Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was recently presented with the
Commission’s report by the acting chairman of the NCC, Ghuman Mal
Lodha. The report, in four volumes containing 1,500 pages, is being
considered as “one of the biggest in the history of reports on
speechless, deaf and dumb cattle.”
Lodha,
who headed a 16-member commission, is a former high court judge and a
former member of Parliament representing the Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now ruling at the center at the head of
the National Democratic Alliance.
Talking
to media persons, Lodha said, “We have come to the conclusion that
unless cow protection is made a fundamental right and there is central
legislation to enforce this right with a Central Rapid Protection
Force, cow slaughter will never be controlled.”
According
to Lodha, there are 51 recommendations suggested in the report. Some
of the important recommendations include amending Prevention of
Terrorism Act (POTA) to detain gangs who smuggle cows, prohibit
cross-breeding from imported cattle, scrapping the subsidy on tractors
and mechanical appliances for agriculture and encouraging the use of
bullocks, constitution of a permanent National Development Commission
on Cows, widely advertising of the firmans (royal decrees) issued by
the Mughal emperors which prohibited cow slaughter, and introduction
of “panchgavya therapy” which is an old Hindu “ healing”
practice that uses cow urine and dung as orally-taken medicine.
It
also advocates the urine and excreta for tropical use. The present
science minister is a great advocate of this therapy.
Prime
Minister Vajpayee was forced to constitute the NCC 11 months ago when
a Hindu high priest, Shankaracharya of Kanchi, threatened a fast unto
death over what he said was “ neglect” of the country’s cow
population. Hindus worship the cow as a “sacred mother.”
The
slaughter of cows is perceived to be an emotive issue. Cows, for the
majority Hindus are objects of veneration, whereas, Muslims,
Christians, Buddhists and some sections of Hindus, tribals and Dalits
relish beef.
Only
two states - the eastern state of West Bengal and the southwest state
of Kerala – have legalized the slaughtering of cows.
Mughal
emperors like Babar, Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb imposed a selective
ban on cow slaughter during their reign in order to accommodate the
Jain or Brahmanical feelings of respect for and veneration of the cow.
However,
with the passage of time, the cow has become an instrument of
politics. The issue of cow slaughter provoked a series of serious
communal Hindu-Muslim riots in the 1880s and 1890s.
In
1893, in Azamgarh district of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
anti-Muslim riots broke out on the issue of cow slaughter. More than
100 people were killed in different parts of the country.
In
1912-1913, the Hindu temple town of Ayodhya where Babri Masjid stood
and was later demolished in 1992 by Hindu zealots, communal riots
broke out on the same pretext. Again, in 1917 Shahabad district of
Uttar Pradesh was engulfed in communal fury on the same issue. North
India is dubbed as “cow-belt” as people here are liable to get
agitated over the cow.
Undoubtedly,
the cow has become a subject of religious strife in the country today.
But, at the same time, the section of Muslim-bashing Hindus cannot
deny the fact that their forefathers were themselves beef-eaters and
passionately indulged in cow slaughter. The Hindu religious texts,
particularly the Vedas, are replete with verses which tell how the
Brahmins indulged in cow slaughter and beef-eating.
The
Hindu religious scripture Rigveda, supposed to be of divine origin,
presents a textual evidence of beef-eating by ancient Hindus. Quoting
from Rigveda, historian HH Wilson, wrote, “the sacrifice of the
horse or of the cow, the asvamedha or gomedha, appears to have been
common in the earliest periods of the Hindu ritual.”
The
early Aryans, who came to India from outside, indulged in animal
sacrifices. In the agnadheya, which was a preparatory rite preceding
all public sacrifices, a cow was required to be killed.
Brahmanical
religious texts such as Grhyasutras and Dharmasutras state that the
killing of animals and eating of beef was very much de rigeur. The
ceremony of guest reception consisted not only of a meal of a mixture
of curds and honey but also of the flesh of a cow or bull.
Followers
of the Jain religion and a sect of Buddhists are known to propagate
the teachings of non-violence and strictly avoid eating meat. But, the
fact is that even their founders could not exempt themselves from
devouring meat. Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhist religion, is known
to have eaten beef and pork. Vardhmana Mahavira, the founder of
Jainism, is said to have consumed the meat of a cockerel.
In
the state of Kerala, 72 communities among Hindus currently prefer beef
to the more expensive mutton. The lower caste Hindus such as Dalits
and scheduled castes consume beef and indulge in cow slaughter. The
upper caste Hindus shunned the practice to counter the spread of
Buddhists, Christians and Muslims in the country.
The
agricultural revolution in India came with the introduction and
subsequent use of modern agricultural implements such as tractors and
water pump sets. The use of fertilizers and pesticides ensured that
there was a good harvest and people saved from starvation.
The
NCC’s suggestion to encourage the use of bullocks, instead of
tractors and other related agricultural appliances is at best
retrogressive and is aimed to undo whatever good has so far been
achieved by the nation in the agricultural field.
The
proposed ban on cow slaughter strictly contradicts the secular vision
of the Constitution.
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