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Tag Archives: Beef

Cow Vigilantes’ Attacks: The Privileged Must Rise in Rage

27 Tuesday Sep 2016

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Anti-Cow Slaughter Laws, Attacks on Muslims, Beef, Cow, Cow Vigilantes’ Attacks, Dalits, Gau Rakshak, Indian Muslims, Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC), Law, Protest, Una Movement

The gau rakshak dals are on a rampage. There is hardly a single week without news of vandalism, rape, killing and looting by these so-called protectors of gau mata and proponents of ultra-nationalism. While most of the victims of these crimes have been Muslims, the Dalits and Tribals have not been spared either. Some attacks which have gained public attention, the killing of Akhlaq in Dadari (UP) last year, Majloom Ansari and Imtiyaz Khan in Latehar (Jharkhand) in March and, most recently, Ayyub last week in Gujarat. There are cases of alleged rape as well (like the one in Mewat, Haryana). These attacks are not just limited to the states of Haryana and Gujarat, but are also being carried out in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal, and even parts of the north east. The most unfortunate part has been that despite wide reporting of these cases, these attacks continue to take place.

beef-cow

While all this is going on, there are well-meaning people who have been suggesting and asking Muslims to come out and protest against these attacks and killings against them. I am partially in agreement with them – Muslims must protest, but that alone will not solve the problem. I believe that as long as the majority remains silent, things are unlikely to change in the long run. Dalits have been protesting against similar atrocities against them, resulting in massive uprisings in Una and elsewhere, but that has hardly deterred gau rakshaks from continuing their crimes against the Dalits.

It would also be unfair to suggest that Muslims have been totally silent on the issue. Last month saw a public meeting in Delhi organized by a Muslim group called Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) demanding a “complete ban on beef exports from India”. It is another matter that the media chose to ignore this meeting completely.

One may choose to disagree on whether a ban on export is a genuine way-out. However, it is quite clear that the ban was demanded keeping in mind the continuous attacks on Muslims and Dalits in the name of protecting cows. In other words, it was a form of protest that was adopted by the organisers. The council in its memorandum, which was endorsed by representatives from Muslim and Dalit communities, noted

“We would like to express our apprehensions with respect to the atrocities, suppression and discrimination meted out to the Muslim minority, on the pretext of cow protection, beef eating, terrorism, national security, etc. Since the death of a man beaten to death after being accused of eating beef last September in Dadri, vigilante groups of cow protectors have flourished.”

It was also announced that if these demands were not met by the government, the protesters would take their agitation to the streets and Ramlila Grounds.

In my opinion, part of the reason for continued attacks is not just the political patronage that is enjoyed by these cow vigilantes groups, but also the strength that they draw from draconian laws and provisions enacted in the name of preventing cow slaughter and protecting and developing animal husbandry, especially cows. Legislations like the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan (Cow Protection and Development) Bill 2015 passed by the Haryana Assembly on March 16, 2015 – it bans the slaughtering of cows and the sale of beef in the state, and also its import – are a case in point.  The amendments in the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976 are another good example. Fortunately, unlike in Haryana, a later ruling by the Mumbai High Court allowed for the consumption and import of beef to the state of Maharashtra.

These laws are often used as proxies to target those who eat beef or those involved in its trade. In fact, as we have seen in various cases, it hardly matters whether the meat belongs to a cow, buffalo, goat or chicken. The mere possession of meat can make someone suspicious and vulnerable—both in front of vigilante groups as well as state agencies. And by the time that it can be proved that it was not cow meat, an irreversible damage has already been done. This is in contradiction to the fact that, as pointed out by some specialists, “slaughter does not drive down animal numbers, but actually supports their reproduction, as is evident in the case of India’s buffaloes.” In fact, they “also have mounting evidence to show how slaughter bans actively depress cattle rearing.”

I would like to state that one can’t get rid of their responsibility by merely appealing to Muslims (and Dalits) to standup and fight back, especially when these attacks are carried out keeping in mind that it has the support of a majority of Indians. As long as public perception persists that beef eating is opposed by majority of India or “against Indian culture”, vigilante groups will continue unchallenged.

What we must remember is that the target might be Muslims and Dalits today but if this is allowed to continue, it won’t be far when no one will be there to defend our rights, the democracy and the constitution, which we often boast about. Preaching to victims is not going to help. The privileged must rise in rage. Otherwise, very soon, there will be nothing left to be proud of.

Though I do not deny the power of agency, I insist that in order to counter majoritarian violence, a majority of the people have to stand up and say enough is enough. It is imperative for the majority to disassociate from and denounce the practices carried out in their name. Let’s wake up, before it’s too late.

First published in NewsLaundry.com  

Wishing you all a not so Happy Bakrid. Here’s Why

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by MahtabNama in Uncategorized

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Bakrid, Bangalore, Beef, Biryani Testing, Dadari, Eid, Gau Rakshak, Haryana, Kashmir, Meat

It had been a custom every year, when I visited home for Bakrid, for my mother to pack the festival meat for my younger brother and friends in Delhi. Muslim and non-Muslim friends alike would wait expectantly for my meat-laden return and there would be opportunities for many a convivial gatherings in Delhi. Last year, however, I refused to carry the packets my mother had made for me – this one mutton chaamp, that one girail, dry, fried chicken, shaami kebabs and so on. However, I was reluctant to ferry these goodies from Supaul, a small town in Northern Bihar to Delhi – a train journey of nearly 1,300 kilometers. Who was to know when groups of men would turn up in my coach and demand to check my bags? Who would stop them? Who could possibly reason with them that the meat was not beef but mutton and chicken? The vision of Akhlaque rose before me and I ignored my mother’s insistent pleas.

I decided that I did not want to risk being lynched by vigilantes, nor harassed by the police. However, when I broke this news to my friends through Facebook, informing them through a post that I would not be bringing meat because of the ‘Dadari effect’, many thought that I was plain joking.  Some even felt that I was getting paranoid unnecessarily because the Dadari incident was an exception and that it shouldn’t demoralize Muslims from their cultural and religious practices. But a few also felt that it was a necessary precaution on my part, going with the lines of “precaution is always better than cure”.

meatWhat I feared in October last year turned out to be a reality this year. Early on January 13, a Muslim couple was beaten up in Madhya Pradesh while travelling in a train over suspicion of carrying beef. According to the state police, the “couple was among passengers assaulted by at least seven members of the Gauraksha Samiti at Khirkiya railway station, in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, when they objected to their luggage being searched on suspicion that they were carrying beef”.

So, bizarre as it sounds, the news of Biryani testing by the Haryana Police, did not surprise me. It was nothing but a visible legitimization by the Haryana state government to what was being practiced for long by vigilante groups, better known as Gau Rakshak Dals. It is a well-established fact that over the years, especially in states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, the State has nurtured the Gau Rakshaks in the name of protecting Gau Mata. A detailed report published in the latest issue of Caravan Magazine establishes this thoroughly.

In fact, the only real change has been that the state has now taken it upon itself to play the role of vigilante, thanks to draconian legislations like the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan (Cow Protection and Development) Bill 2015 passed by the Haryana Assembly on March 16, 2015, which not only bans the slaughtering of cows and the sale of beef in the state but also its import.  The amendments in the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976 also require special mention here. Fortunately, unlike Haryana, later a ruling by Mumbai High Court allowed consumption and import of beef.

The fundamental problem with laws like these is that, they especially target those belonging to religious minority communities, Dalits and Adivasis. Naturally, these laws have also created a sense of fear amongst these communities, apart from rendering lakhs of people whose livelihood was/is dependent on it, jobless in some way or the other.

The recent report of two Muslim women being allegedly gang raped in Mewat (Haryana), and one claiming that the accused asked her if she had consumed beef hints at the extent to which vigilantes can go. Moreover, news about pervasive sense of terror and fear has taken hold of Muslims in Mewat area of Haryana, with a shadow looming over the Bakrid celebrations.

But Haryana is hardly an exception. It is no different in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Himachal as well – with even North East not spared. If you ask me if I would consider carrying meat this year, my answer would be a big no. The situation, instead of improving, has only worsened. It is ironic to note that those vulnerable are not protected and those committing crimes are given a free hand and state patronage. In short, the law is the problem more than anything because it criminalizes food habits and preferences of a large section of Indians.

beef

Hence, as long as arbitrary and archaic laws and provisions like these exist, there will be a reign of terror, killings, harassment and others forms of subjugation. Unless we get rid of these, no dramatic changes are going to take place. It’s a red herring to appeal to or even to chastise ‘bad gau rakshaks’. As long as the perpetrators are assured not only of political backing but also served through law, things are bound to get only worse.

By the way, let me wish you a not so Happy Bakrid ! Not so happy because what is Eid if I can’t feed my friends meat prepared by my mother. What is Eid if Kashmir is under curfew even on the day of Eid and bleeding continuously…What is Eid if many areas of Bangalore are under curfew…

May peace and justice prevail soon, Aameen !

An edited version of this article first appeared in The Quint.

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  • Replug: In defense of Hansda Sowvendra Sekhar, a young adivasi writer from Jharkhand
  • Cow Vigilantes’ Attacks: The Privileged Must Rise in Rage

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