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Prevention of Cruelty to Cows; not to humans: an emerging reality in Modi’s India (George Abraham)

Published on 31 May, 2017
Prevention of Cruelty to Cows; not to humans: an emerging reality in Modi’s India (George Abraham)
The long anticipated cow slaughter ban across India under the BJP rule is already here! Most observers were expecting a legislative move probably after the 2019 election when BJP could muster majorities at both houses of the parliament. However, the Modi Sarkar found an ingenious way to test these waters under the guise of the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act’ that was enacted in 1960 to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals.

It is indeed a sinister move by the Environmental Ministry issuing new rules to regulate these animal markets with an eye towards limiting or stopping cow slaughter across the nation. The new rule states that animal markets can no longer be used to sell or purchase cattle for the purposes of slaughtering. The regulations apply to bulls, cows, buffaloes and camels.

The reactions from the southern states were quick and predictable and the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarai Vijayan, took the lead in saying that    “Malayali diet need not be decided by Delhi (read Union Government) or Nagpur (read RSS headquarters). Nobody can change our diet,’’ he said. Student organizations belonging to the Left front as well as Congress in Kerala protested the ban by organizing ‘beef fests’ across the state.

However, some of the youngsters who belong to the Youth Congress wing of the Congress Party went to the extreme in slaughtering a bull in the open and thereby eliciting strong condemnation from the national leadership in addition to receiving walking papers from the Party’s State leadership. It is regrettable that their stupefied action did cast a shadow on the merit of their arguments in defense of the constitutional protection from the onslaught of religious fundamentalism and may have negatively impacted on the seriousness of the issue at hand.

Nevertheless, what is most shocking to many of us who are living abroad is the overt and loud reaction to the slaughter of a bull in the open in comparison to the low-key responses to the ongoing lynching of human beings by the self-appointed vigilantes of cow protection. The medieval barbarism by these outlaws was on full display in 2015 when they falsely accused and then dragged Mr. Mohammed Akhlaq from his home in Dadri, U.P. to the street and lynched him before the gathering public. 

On 1 April 2017, Pehlu Khan and at least four others were injured when a mob attacked them while transporting cows that were legally bought in the market. Khan in his fifties later succumbed to his injuries suffered at the hands of these vigilantes. In March 2016, two Muslim cattle traders were found hanged to death in Jharkhand’s Latehar district. Mazlum Ansari and teenager Imteyaz Khan were heading to an animal fair in a nearby district when they were allegedly lynched and hanged by a mob.

According to the report in The Indian Express, a 20-year old truck driver from Saharanpur was lynched by a village mob in Himachal Pradesh allegedly for carrying cattle from Uttar Pradesh. Mustin Abbas, a 27-year-old father of four, was traveling back home after buying bulls from Haryana was allegedly fired upon by Gau Raksha Dal members on April 5, 2016. A month later, a probe into his murder was ordered, according to ‘The Wire.’

In an incident that went viral on the social media, on 11 July, 2016 Dalit youths were beaten up outside Mota Samadhiyala village, when they were skinning a dead cow brought from Bediya village. The victims included Vashram Sarvaiya, His broter Ramesh, and their cousins Ashok an Bechar, all residents of Mota Samadhiyala. Later the members of Gau Rakshak Dal took them to nearby Una town and again thrashed them with sticks and iron rods after tying them to a vehicle. They were paraded half-naked on the road in full display of public view.

 These are few of the ongoing instances cruel justice meted out to the human beings and the country and its leadership remained largely silent. With the issuance of this new order, the Gau Rakshak Dal will be further emboldened and will have the license to terrorize farmers and traders across the land.

If the issue is indeed borne out of cruelty to animals, why this ban only applies to cattle, camels, and buffaloes but not extended to other species like sheep, goats, and chickens. India exports about 4 Billion dollars worth of beef every year, and it looks simply duplicitous on the part of the Government to close its eyes to the so-called ‘cruelty’ by these big slaughterhouses, many of them owned and operated by the cronies of those are close to power centers.

This order may effectively cut the flow of red meat to consumers in those states where beef is consumed. All animal markets will be strictly regulated and will be brought under the control of the bureaucrats. As per the new rules, your butcher cannot buy any cattle from the market, and a declaration will have to be signed stating that ‘ I promise not to resell the cattle for slaughter.’ In short, the center has made it near impossible to buy or sell cattle for meat or animal markets.

By circumventing the legislative process in this instance, BJP is busy at work promoting its saffron agenda by imposing a uniform diet code on the people of India. The reason they have rushed it through as a directive may have dual purposes. The first and foremost will be to sow the seeds of division and intolerance well before the upcoming 2019 campaign, a vital environment to profit from.

Also, this is a direct infringement of the fundamental right of the people as to what to consume, and this order may even have usurped the State rights in deciding vital issues that impact its citizens. The federal structure that stood the test of time since Independence may also be in the crosshairs. The socio-economic consequences from nutrition to the poor and backward in the society who rely on cheap meat as a staple food, and to the small farmers and traders who rely on these animals for their livelihood are yet to be seen!

However, let us not be under any illusion that all these developments are taking place in a vacuum. But rather, it is part of a calculated plan being implemented by the Modi-Shah power structure to impose a majoritarian view and rule on the country thereby undoing the progress achieved post-independence under the Nehruvian vision: respect for the minority religions and its traditions and equal protection under the law. The regressive forces that were in control of the nation in collusion with colonial powers are back indeed, and they are back with a vengeance! 

Mahatma Gandhi, who was a great advocate of Ahimsa said once: “How can I force anyone not to slaughter cows unless he is himself so disposed? It is not as if there were only Hindus in the Indian Union. There are Muslims, Parsis, Christians and other religious groups here.” Will we hear such sane voices of enlightenment ever from the heartland of India again!
(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations and Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA)
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andrew 2017-05-31 19:15:21

ഇ മലയാളി ജേര്‍ണലിസം!

പല എഴുത്തുകാരും ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് വാര്‍ത്തകള്‍ മലയാളികരിക്കുന്നത്

കോഴി പുളവനെ വിഴുങ്ങിയത് പോലെ ആണ് . വായനകാര്‍ക്ക് ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് അറിയില്ല എന്ന മട്ടില്‍ എന്ന് സാരം .

കോട്ടയം തിരുനക്കര മൈദാനത്തു നടന്ന ഉഗ്രന്‍ ഉണര്‍വ് യോഗം, സായിപ്പു മിഷനറി പ്രസംഗിച്ചു:- when I and my wife was in ootti ….

നമ്മുടെ നാടന്‍ ഉപദേസിയുടെ പരിഭാഷ- ഞാനും ഈ നില്‍ക്കുന്ന സായിപ്പിന്റെ ഭാരിയയും കൂടി ഊട്ടിയില്‍ ആയിരിരുന്നിപ്പോള്‍ ….

ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് അറിയാവുന്നവര്‍ ഉപദേസിയുടെ വിഡ്ഢിതരം കേട്ട് പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു,

ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് അറിയാത്ത പൊതുജനം, അമ്പട ഈ 8ആം ക്ലാസ്സ്‌ കാരന്‍ മദാമ്മയുമായി സായിപ്പിനെ പറ്റിച്ചു ഊട്ടിക്കു പോയല്ലോ എന്ന് മനസിലാക്കി പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു.

ഏതോ തമാസു പറഞ്ഞു എന്നു തോന്നി ഈ വിഡ്ഢികള്‍ ചിരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് തോന്നി സായിപ്പും മദാമ്മയും പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു.

തന്‍റെ കഴിവ് കണ്ടു ഉപദേസിയും പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു.

എല്ലാവര്ക്കും ബഹു രസം നല്‍കി എന്നതിനാല്‍ എഡിറ്ററും പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു.

പൊട്ടന്‍ ആട്ടം കാണുന്ന പോലെ വായനകാരും പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു .

ആറാട്ട് മുണ്ടന്‍ എന്ന പോല്‍ പരിഭാഷകന്‍ ജേര്‍ണലിസ്റ്റ് ഇക്കിളി കൊണ്ട് പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ചു .

ആനന്ദ ലബ്ദിക്ക് ഇനി എന്ത് വേണം 

texan2 2017-05-31 20:20:32
George Abraham. Once again you have come out with your famous twisting and spinning story. Govt of India has come out with implementation of new regulations related to meat . for the safety of meat eaters as well as to prevent cruelty to animals.  Let us come  to the the state where you live, that is New York. You know back in Kerala we all buy raw milk from cow owners and consume that.
https://www.agriculture.ny.gov/DI/DIFAQ.html  Right here in New York it is illegal to sell and consume raw milk. But some other states it is legal. Why this different rules. Full details of this regulation here.  Did any one give any religious color to it? Did you ever question it.  The rulers of different states and countries know what is best for the people and they always regulate things for public safety. People like you only see a BJP Hindutva agenda in all that, because under the disguise of secular congress party you have an Evangelical Christian agenda which you nicely mask under INOC statesman face.
Truth and Justiced 2017-06-01 05:41:40
I remember few years ago against animal cruelty when congress was majority power they banned frog legs to usa.  Congress did not do anything. These bribers making money for their own family rather than serving public.  Now bjp in full power they are using their power to change whatever they wants.
In India as per statistics 70 percent of people are non vegetarians. How come these stupid rules when people are starving without protein food.
Hungry and tired 2017-06-01 06:05:19
I was going to eat rat in India to maintain my protein level. Then, someone told me that rat is a God too .  What would I do now? Eat cat!
vincent emmanuel 2017-06-01 02:03:08
This is a very nice article. But you have to wonder, how do this happen?Didn't congress rule India all these years. I don't agree with all the polices of Modi. But congress had absolute majority to change anything they wanted. You need to ask your own consciousness, how did this happen? Congress didn't do what they were elected to do,. That is why BJP came to power So for the next many years, get used to it,. Modi was elected democratically , More controversial rules are coming,.
Saji Karimpannoor 2017-06-01 09:53:07
Well done write up Mr. George Abraham. It is an eye opening time for leaders of India.
truth and justice 2017-07-11 04:50:18
This is very good article to open the eyes of the leaders. When Mr Modi impressed the the world leaders that he is very good to the people and practicing real Democracy.
മലയാളത്തില്‍ ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക