The central
government has issued a rule banning the sale of cattle including cows and
buffalos to slaughter house though out India has sparked protests and intense
debates in non-Hindi speaking belts i.e. in North East and Southern states. It
is said that this ban has been enforced to appease the Hindu conservatives who
have been advocating that beef should not be consumed as Cow is considered holy
and sacred. The fundamental right of the people that is guaranteed by the Constitution
of India is being trampled by the Government of India by issuing this order is
quite surprising. Enforcement of this rule would mean that India’s export of
beef which stood at the second place behind Brazil will plummet down and the
entire beef industry in India is going bust and livelihood of millions of
people in this industry destroyed. Chennai High Court today has issued a Stay
order on the ban and we will have to wait for the reactions from those who want
the ban.
It is
hypocritical for the Hindus to claim that Cows are sacred and beef eating was perpetrated
by the conquering Muslim clans. It is recorded in ancient Indian scriptures
that Brahminical communities consumed beef and also certain Hindu gods like
Indra and Agni had preference for beef. So when did the Hindus change their
stance on the cow being sacred and has to be revered???. Delve deeper into history and you would notice
that it was after the advent of Buddhism, the followers were appealing to the
public to convert to Buddhism. One of the reasons given to convert was
protection of cattle and wealth that was needed for agricultural economy.
Brahmins felt the threat to their Bramhmic values from Buddhism was severe and
were losing their grip on the low caste people. In order to regain the upper
hand had to forego various practices and sacrifice of cows and eating their
meat was one of them, and was then successful in banishing Buddhism from India.
It was during these time that the Brahminical ideology took up cow as a sacred
animal. It may be interesting to note that Buddha’s reason for calling to stop
cattle sacrifice was based on reasoning that the cattle would be of help in
agriculture and economy only and he did not turn a vegetarian and was not a cow
worshiper. Despite the rigid stance taken by Brahmins to project cow as mother
and being sacred, the followers of
Buddhism continued eating flesh including beef and so too the low caste people.
As the Brahmins were dominant during the times of Mughals, Barber specifically
asked his son Humayun to respect cows and avoid cow slaughters.
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| Image Courtesy : Google Images |
I think it is
enough of history lessons now here … the ban slaughter call by the RSS &
Hinduvatas has been going on for quite a long time but was not imposed
nationally till such time the central government issued a rule recently. This
in turn has affected the people who are used to eating beef as you would not be
able to buy legally now. The type of food consumed is an individual’s choice
and this cannot and should not be enforced by the Government of secular India.
Tamasha’s is happening in various parts of India especially in Kerala &
Bengal where beef festivals were organized in defiance of the ban, moral
policing by Hindu groups by beating up beef eaters or cattle transporters and
so forth, protests in Chennai and beating up of a PhD student at IIT Madras for
having participated and eaten beef is the top news now a
days in India.
It is very sad
to see that will of few is being imposed on entire country and we call
ourselves largest democratic and secular nation. Is there a conspiracy behind these
actions to divide India on basis of eating habit or religion will come to fore
in days to come. I hope some sanity prevails among the leaders instead of
making such a big hue and cry on this issue … few even demanding to name the
cow as a national animal. Most do not know their history well and it was
because of it had to resort to writing about ancient Hindus in patches( Lot
more extensive write up is available on Google for people to look up about
this)
For the record I
am a Hindu Brahman and do consume meat but not beef and the reasons are that I do
not like the taste of it. I have no issue a Hindu if somebody else in my friend
circle have beef at the same time I have my meals unlike the hardcore
Hinduvatas who get riled up with frothing mouths the moment they hear the word
BEEF.
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