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Cow campaign?
By Lebi Tom
Some years ago in U.S, a white American asked me whether eating beef in
India would get his head cut off. I rebuked his general knowledge and told
him that India is not Saudi Arabia or a religious nation, but a secular
nation with common sense laws.
I cannot believe this incident occurred just a few years back and today we
have the Union Cabinet coining a law that bans cow slaughter across India.
What are the reasons cited for the cow slaughter? Animal Cruelty! We all
know cow is not the only animal in India. Why is it that the law not
extended to other animals? Do we have an upper caste lower caste animal
scenario here? If the Union Government wants us to believe, that cow is the
only animal, why is milking a cow, which the cow produces for its calf is
not animal cruelty?
Last year, a mob lynched five Dalits for allegedly killing a cow. Is this
bill to endorse those murderers?
If this is about religious sentiments, I pity the lawmakers for the minimal
knowledge of Hinduism. Hinduism is not a theocratic religion, which dictates
which day to go to
church, dictates which animal not to eat and which God to appease. The
pluralistic nature of Hinduism is what makes it appealing and what made it
thrive and survive even after years of persecution. By creating laws like
these, the lawmakers are taking a cue from Manu and his infamous Manusmriti.
The lawmakers are laying down rules for Hinduism, making it behave like any
another organized religion.
If the Government argues, they have considered the sentiments of the
majority, how about examining the data about the consumption of the beef.
Central Government data for 2003 clearly shows that Indians consume 1.55
million tones of beef, higher from 2002 (1.44 million in 2002), which in
turn is higher than goat, fish, and other non-vegetarian consumptions. Lower
caste Indian Hindus, Dalits, Muslims, Christians along with a majority of
Hindus in Kerala, consumes beef. If this bill turns into a law, what will
happen to the existing livestock? Live stock farmers cannot just take care
of their cows for nothing. Will that mean we will have more cows wandering
on the roads and highways?
There is no doubt this bill is to satisfy certain religious groups and
sentiments, designed for the nearing elections. Implementing a religious law
in a secular democracy like India is nothing but infringement of the citizen
’s rights. Infringement of rights? That is not a big surprise!
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