A Meaty Issue

The BJP Government led by Narendra Modi has been in the news repeatedly for all the wrong reasons.  The initial days of hope that had sprung up due to the 'whiff-of-fresh-air' kind of steps - inviting the SAARC heads for the swearing-in ceremony, 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' (Clean India Movement) - have soon withered away only to be replaced with shrill voices of extreme-right stances.   With a string of victories, half-and-almost-victories in the State Assembly elections, a sense of arrogance has come to settle down in the party.  Everyone worth her/his salt (or not) wants to be heard and noticed.  So, pearls of wisdom have been flowing.  There also seems to be a mad rush to please certain preferred sections in the passing of laws or even ordinances - the corporate honchos and the Hindutva ideologues.  

The latest 'Act of Appeasement' has emerged from the state of Maharashtra.  The much awaited Act to ban cow slaughter has been approved by the President, as it was duly recommended by the Central Government.  This enactment was passed by the Maharashtra Government headed by the Shiv Sena and the BJP in 1995 but had not received the approval of the President to become a law.  The new government led by the BJP re-sent the law in November 2014 that has received a speedy clearance.

The reason for the furore over this law is not because Maharashtra is the first state to ban beef.  Many states have enacted such laws - most importantly during the time of Congress rule such laws have been passed.  Also, already there was a ban on beef in Maharashtra and most of the meat that was available in the name of beef was 'water buffalo'.  This Act has provisions to make consumption and possession of beef non-bailable offences.  Mere possession of beef can land one a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.  

Beef is a sensitive and emotive issue in India.  Both socially and politically.  Majority of the Hindus believe that cow is a sacred animal and hence do not eat beef.  However, there is a significantly large group among the Hinds that eat beef.  Most Hindus in Kerala consume beef.  So do people from the North-East.  Many Dalit communities across South India eat beef too.  Scores of Hindus belonging to even traditional, anti-beef (or even non-meat eating castes and) families too eat beef clandestinely - it is popular among bodybuilders from my own observation.  Nor all beef-eating Hindus are non-believers or Communists.  Many also happen to be devout and temple-going  Not all Muslims and Christians eat beef either.  

The ancient times in India did not see any restriction on the kinds of meat that was to be eaten by a Hindu.  Beef wasn't sacrilegious to a Hindu during the Vedic times.  Scriptures and epics have mentions of beef eating by even Brahmans (since Brahmans were meat eaters too).  The concepts of vegetarianism and cow as the sacred animal originated much later to emerge as symbols of Hinduism. And, vegetarianism did not emanate in India alone.  There were Greek societies that were vegetarian in ancient times (called, Pythagoreans).  Japanese were vegetarian too (to this day many cultures consider fish as vegetarian).  

Cow worship and banishing beef from the diet have largely been also propagated to establish a control of the Brahmans over the rest of the Hindu society divided on caste lines.  The lower castes - Sudras and the Dalits - for long have tried to emulate the upper castes in their quest for moving up the social ladder.  Even a casual study into the celebration of Hindu festivals would reveal a lot on this.  And, with time, the Hindu society has become rigid in its outlook and insular to even facts.  When someone quotes from the scriptures of beef-eating, most reactions today would be either of disbelief or of the stock far-right posturing.  "All these have been twisted and misrepresented by the Leftists who wrote history in connivance with the British/Europeans".  They would even refuse to accept Swami Vivekananda's words on the practices of beef-eating that existed in ancient India.  

Admittedly I find nothing wrong in wanting to worship cow as a sacred animal or not eating beef.  The religion has evolved thus.  One's religious beliefs can always be respected.  Just like one would not argue with a devout Muslim who considers pork unacceptable.  However, the same tolerance must also be exhibited by the devout towards others who indulge in different practices than they believe.  I do not eat beef.  However, my partner - who is a Hindu from Kerala - does.  We have had no trouble over this.  Interestingly my partner is devout and visits temples.  I stay away largely.  

Those who are for a ban on beef believe that India is a Hindu country and the law of the majority must prevail.  What they miss out is that the country is constitutionally secular and hence the governments should not ideally pass or endorse laws that are discriminatory on religious grounds.  This law is discriminatory.  Not just against the minorities but also against the beef-eating Hindus.  The supporters of the ban also gloss over certain other facts.  That India is the largest exporter of beef (cow meat and not water buffalo or other cattle) in the world today.  And, what about the leather that is made of cow hide?  That too is exported in large quantities.  And, the heads of these export houses are all Hindu (some even Jain).  If the governments across the country (including the several Central Governments which have endorsed such bans over time) were truly serious about beef and their intent, they would also have banned exports of beef as meat and making of leather from cattle hide.  This exposes a severe double-standard which unfortunately would not either be noticed or understood by a majority of people.  

If the governments and its supporting citizens were truly concerned with the plight of cattle, they would instead concentrate on rescuing the abandoned cows and bullocks.  Most cattle rared for the purpose of either milking or farming are abandoned once their utility has diminished or ceased.  They are set out on to the streets or sold off clandestinely to abattoirs.  The truly concerned should rescue the abandoned cattle and tend to them (there are several 'goshalas' that have been established to do this job by some good Samaritans who believe in the sacredness of cows).  It is time for the new government to walk the talk - that it is concerned with development and not religion.  It could start with scrapping such laws of discrimination.  A small start at that.  And, lifting the ban on beef is not going to result in a huge surge in beef consumption.  It will ensure that there will be no black market for a commodity.  And, that this is just another meat.  You will choose to eat it only if you want to.  Regardless of your religion.  

The patience between the two communities - Hindu and Muslim - in India is stretched thin over many issues already.  Both have been adept at pointing fingers at the other over various issues - both real and imaginary.  The situation has already worsened with the BJP coming to power and its many luminaries expressing their intolerance towards other communities.  The beef ban is just the latest in the series that aim at completely breaking whatever little bonhomie is left between different religions.  Politicians will use it for their gain.  The masses will pay the price.  For the non-availability of the meat.  For the disappearance of amity and peace too.