Politics beefed up with beef ban

Imposing a blanket ban on cattle slaughter is, on the other hand, an infringement of individual rights to have the food of choice. It has a lot to do with the dietary habits of Dalits and Muslims.

14/03/2015, New Delhi, Abdul Hafees

The ban on slaughter but possession of an animal by Maharashtra government, which is worshipped by a large section of populace, was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janatha Party chalked out in a way to politically carry out a forceful restraint over the livelihood, dietary practices of other smaller sections in the society.

Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government has recently got the assent from President for Animal Preservation Bill banning the slaughter of oxen, bulls and bullocks in Maharashtra that was pending since 1997-98 when the Shiv Sena-BJP government moved the bill. Now with this law, anyone found to be in possession of beef in the state can be sentenced to five years imprisonment; actual consumption earns a lesser sentence.

Imposing a blanket ban on cattle slaughter is, on the other hand, an infringement of individual rights to have the food of choice. It has a lot to do with the dietary habits of Dalits and Muslims. In contrast, the state CM was taking pride in his decision after getting assent from President when he tweeted ‘Our ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now’, as if his long awaiting dream is fulfilled.

Before the decision to push the bill was taken by the government, meat traders and exporters in the state had been targeted and received life threats by a group of so-called Hindutva fascist outfits in different parts of the state to stop their trades. It is not just Muslims but also Hindus who run the meat business or work in slaughterhouses in the state who are also now under trouble. From them there are Qureshis as well as Khatiks whose lives are now at stake. So, the ban would indubitably affect the sources of income for a large number of traders irrespective of religion in the state.

Turning a blind eye to the sufferings of meat traders and exporters, and boasting on its decision to hijack the dietetic choice of almost 20 percent Dalit and Muslim population of the state, the government keeps claiming that there is no Hindu versus Muslim character in the bill. Here comes the question. In spite of the fact that animals are to be preserved, why don’t they extend the preservation bill to other animals as well that are being killed in the state.  Why not goats and pigs? Why they are not bothered about people having mutton, lamb and pork?  Are they not to be protected?

The answer is as simple as that. The slogans by BJP that had echoed on the outskirts of the state and across the nation in the run-up to the 2014 Loksabha elections, like “Modi ko matdan, gai ko jeevdan [Vote for Modi, give life to the cow] and BJP ka sandesh, bachegi gai, bachega desh [BJP’s message, the cow will be saved, the country too], show that the whole idea is to single out the minorities for beef eating, and cow slaughter, stereotype them as the animal killers and isolate them from a pluralistic society. After Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan; both are being the BJP ruling states riding through the same track, have also arrived at the same decision.

Photo courtesy: http://media.gotraffic.net