Is banning of cow slaughter motivated by religious sentiment or is it a direct attack on the ‘pink revolution’ that has steered a $5 billion beef export? We look at the factors leading to the violent protests in the name of the ‘holy’ cow.
In India, we have the habit of politicising every subject, from cricket to cattle slaughter. However, over the years, most Indians have come to realise that whenever a subject is deeply debated and a lot of liberals in the form of celebrities, activists and NGOs, come to the fore, dissecting every aspect of the issue, there is an underlying factor that is being suppressed.
If we look at the latest issue which created ripples all over India, it is the ‘Cattle slaughter’ issue. In May 2017, the Supreme Court banned traders from selling cows for slaughter in the market. India is currently the world’s largest beef exporter. With Narendra Modi making cow protection an important policy priority, this issue has virtually opened a whole pandora’s box with many people blaming the Modi government for favouring the Hindus in the country and deciding their food choices.
As a result, protests came in different formats, in certain states, people began to cry out that they were being attacked by cow vigilantes, (armed Hindus preventing people from stowing cattle to slaughter houses or elsewhere), people in states like Madras and Kerala, began hosting “Beef Fests” openly, in a symbolic protest against the ban, students attacked each other and landed in hospital. In one appalling incident, cruelty to cattle took a gory turn; when the youth wing of the Congress-headed UDF opposition in Kannur, slit the throat of a calf in public view, cooked its meat and distributed it around.
Behind the violent protests, many of which were politically motivated, lay doubts about why the mainstream media was making it such a big issue when it was the Supreme Court and not Narendra Modi’s government that had enforced the rule.
The opposition parties have been up in arms stating that the government cannot enforce what a person should eat. Ironically beef export is one of the biggest multi-billion businesses that several of the protestors have stakes in. And the ban on cow slaughter can certainly have an impact on their thriving businesses.
Even a casual glance at the list of Indian beef exporters will reveal that it’s mainly controlled by people affiliated with political parties, such as Congress’s Kapil Sibal. His wife headed the ‘Pink Revolution’ and they own ‘Arshiya Exports Private Limited, which in simple terms means, they ‘slaughter cattle and export it for profit.’
The other names as listed below have been in the news off and on, with no action taken against them. Now as the scene changes, all the blame seems to rest squarely on Narendra Modi’s government, pointing out that being a Hindu political party, they wish to protect the ‘sacred’ cow.
Top 10 Beef exporters in India
- Al-Kabeer Exports Pvt. Ltd.
Owners: Shatish & Mr. Atul Sabharwal - Arabian Exports Pvt. Ltd.
Owner: Mr.Sunil Kapoor - K. R. Frozen Food Exports Pvt. Ltd.
Owner: Mr. Madan Abott. - M. L. Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Owner: Mr. A.S BindraDN - Mr. Afzal Latif President M/s. Allanasons Private Limited. Allana Centre
- Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi Managing Director M/s. Hind Agro Industries
- Mr. Mujeeb Malik Joint Managing Director M/s. ALM Industries Ltd
- Mr. V.I. Saleem CEO M/s Amroon Foods Pvt. Ltd
- Mr. Mohammad Atif Joint Managing Director M/s. Al- Nafees Frozen Food Exports Pvt. Ltd.
- Hazi Mr. Shahid Akhlaq CEO M/s Al – Saqib Exports (P) Ltd
But then, how does the rampant spread of cattle slaughter impact the common man? Here are some facts which prove that the ban could be beneficial for man, the environment and cattle:
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Environmental Impact: The obsession with red meat is affecting the environment in that cattle slaughter houses requires 28 times more land to produce than pork or chicken, 11 times more water and results in five times more climate-warming emissions. This puts pressure on dwindling fresh water supplies and destroys forests and grasslands that are turned over for grazing. Soil erosion, soil and water pollution from fertilisers and animal waste are other ways the meat industry impacts the environment.
So the biggest favour any government could do for its people and the environment is to ban them and thus reduce the carbon footprints. An interesting interview by Professor R Vaidya further elucidates this factor. -
Illegal smuggling of cattle to countries like Bangladesh, leads to black money generation and theft of our indigenous cows. And to make things worse, cattle are transported illegally in the most inhumane manner. The smugglers use water routes from villages to cross over from India to Bangladesh. The cows are first kept in remote villages and bound to one another by long iron-chains.
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Cattle slaughter houses do not always use the most humane methods to kill them. Many a time cattle are skinned alive, pulled by their tails and made to die in slow stages. There are no rules to ensure that animals are unharmed before they are killed.
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Unlike cows, buffaloes have an added advantage of being reasonably good draught animals, especially in the current context where most tillage and field operations are anyway performed by tractor-drawn implements. To the extent animal draught application is limited to carrying the load, buffaloes even score over their bovine cousins. A single male buffalo can easily lug 25 quintals over 10-15 km, whereas cattle Bullock cannot do beyond 15 quintals or so. A rational solution for farmers would be to sell buffalo meat as there is no religious taboo attached to it.
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Red meat has been the main cause of heart diseases and the elimination of red meat will lead to a healthier race. Taking care of your health in the long term will have a larger impact on the environment and cattle.
With the new rules for cattle welfare coming into force under the Environmental Ministry, many of these factors will come under consideration, such as:
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A ban on setting of cattle markets within 50 km of an international border and 25 km of a state border. Taking cattle outside the state will require special approval of the state government nominee.
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The rule also prescribes about 30 norms for cattle welfare in markets, including water, fans, bedding, lamps, non-slippery flooring, veterinary facility and a separate enclosure for sick cattle. The rule says “young” and “unfit cattle” cannot be sold.
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No cattle market will now be able to run without the approval of the district cattle market committee to be headed by a magistrate and having two representatives of government-approved animal welfare groups.
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The regulation makes it mandatory for veterinary inspectors to certify proper loading and unloading of cattle to ensure they are not cramped inside trucks. The inspector can mark any cattle unfit for sale.
In conclusion, while opposition parties like Congress, create a ruckus over the ‘ban on cattle slaughter’ to protect their business interests, the government is working towards the benefit of protection of cattle as well as the environment.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
- Rescue the Holy Cow or a Billion Dollar Market? - June 18, 2017
- Mandsaur violence – Farmers’ Agitation or Poppy Politics? - June 12, 2017
I think what SC has done is humane to our cattle.Our joker party too which espouses the cause of hindus have been lax in this matter as in the case of many issues of public importance.I strongly feel the role of central govts. is to draw up national code of rules/regulations to reflect modern practices keeping in human rights/animal rights but then joker party has a long way to go in legislation just as the crooked congis were since their rule independence days.Having said that, there are few ground realities which the courts/govt. need to address legally.Productive cows can give milk for about 10 years,after that they are of no use.Even during productive years, many cows stop yielding milk/conceive.What can be done about them?I have enquired atleast 6 people who are familiar with cow rearing as their families are involved.They say that unproductive cows are a burden to them.They would like to dispose them, almost all of it end up for slaughter.How do the society address this issue?All the bleaters who are for animal welfare/cow protection need to cough up money to support ghoshalas.Are they willing to set up professional organisations in this regard?Simply putting blame on govt. or the crooked sibals is not the solution.
Irrational facts & comparison. The author has tried his right extremism views in a money starving developing country. Exports of beef or whole export industry is the one of the main source of income to our country. Please do not mix up healthcare & environment into this issue. In my view Supreme Court or Modi government do not have rights to impose any thing on combining man, for god sake. Illegal migration , humane process of cow slaughter needs to be looked at from moral perspective & necessary correct policy to be implemented.
Let’s work towards next trillion dollar economy in India .
Love India
What happened to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi about whom Swamy&men on social media created so much hullabaloo? Is the case also silently buried similar to Sahara IT case or Birla diary evidence matter brushed aside as no evidence because it is inconvenient to ruling party itself?
If it was brushed aside, why did they file FIRs in February against Qureshi and the former CBI chief?
That is to cheer folks like you and to fool public as if they are serious but behind the scenes equivalent to brushed aside.. Modi-Sarkar is Make-Believe sarkar…
Do you know 5 vital questions Prashant Bhushan asked on Sahara,Birla cases in his wire article?
Please be aware and don’t be ignorant to believe in theatrics,make-believe perception that is daily being fed into masses via crony kept media however strong they are.
You are just as pethetic as the minority community… Live in your dreams of Congress who has looted the country and send most of the money to Vatican and dawood!!!
Congress, communist and Aap… All three will be wiped off with a toilet paper and flushed out of the country… You just wait and watch how Chanakya Neethi is bought to effect
Let us see who turns out to be pathetic by 2019. By the way those who were arrogant only got wiped out in history.
You could also argue the money saved from protecting the environment and healthcare savings due to less heart and intestinal disease would far exceed 5 billion dollars.
Indians are at higher risk of heart disease than Europeans on red meat diet because their heart/coronary vessels are smaller diameter than the Europeans. All the Europeans with narrow heart vessels have already died out due to their long standing red meat diets in Europe.
if krooked kapil sibal is in the cow murder business it is probably a zero loss to common people and their environment, isn’t that right, kapil?