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'HOLY
COW!’ -
Philip P. Eapen |
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The Karnataka
State cabinet has given its nod for the
enactment of a new bill that seeks to ban the
slaughter of cows and calves. Thus, Karnataka
has joined a select club of nine other Indian
states that where “cow slaughter” is illegal.
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The new bill will be introduced in the
state legislative assembly soon. This bill will replace
the existing law that permits farmers to kill their
cattle in exceptional circumstances after obtaining a
certificate from a local governing body. The ruling
party, the BJP, feels that this exception is not in line
with the directive principle, in the Constitution of
India, that encourages the states to take all possible
steps to protect cows.
That cows found their place in the Constitution of India
is incredible! The great men who fashioned the
Constitution were careful to include such a directive
principle. What scientific or logical reasons justify
such a directive principle? None! Any Indian in favour
of a ban on “cow slaughter” will explain it thus: “India
is a Hindu country. We Hindus venerate the cow as our
mother, 'gau matha.' We also worship the cow. Apart from
dairy products, we regard the urine and dung of cows to
be edible, as a sacred medicine. Therefore, it is our
sacred duty to protect cows. People of other religions
should know that this is a Hindu country. They should
respect our beliefs.”
India is not a Hindu country. Jainism and Buddhism too
arose from this part of the world. They too, and other
ancient religions, can lay fair claim on India. If India
should follow Hindu beliefs and pass laws to protect the
cow, then the Jains too will demand a law that bans the
use of potatoes, onions, and any other thing that grows
below the soil surface. Buddhists may wish to impose a
ban on all meats and fish in the name of ahimsa.
Attempts to hijack the legislature to make laws that
favour the superstitions of one religion are acts of
subversion. Why should a state make legal provisions for
the religious beliefs of its people? Unfortunately, such
a question does not make sense to many Indian Hindus. So
much for secularism in India! India's definition of
secularism is indeed strange. Instead of insisting on a
clear separation of state and religion, India's
secularists insist that the government keep equal
distance from all religions and give favours to all
religions.
Opposition to the ban on “cow slaughter” does not always
come from Muslims and Christians in India. Sensible
farmers in Karnataka are up in arms against the BJP's
move. What are they to do with oxen and cows that are of
no use to them? Will the political leadership take care
of these aging and sick animals? Of course, we are told
that the new law seeks to set up large centres to house
unwanted cattle! We already know the state of such
centres in states such as Haryana. Old, sick and weak
cattle are left there to die a slow death. The bovine
inmates often starve to death. In most of north India,
dead cattle is left in open fields to rot. Vultures and
eagles feed on their carcasses. The stench from such
goshalas is unbearable. So much for the Hindu veneration
of cows. They even deny their holy cows a decent burial.
Some time ago, the honourable High Court of Delhi
ordered that all stray cattle be removed from Delhi's
roads. The local bodies swung into action and rounded up
several thousand cattle and housed them in several
goshalas. The imprisoned cattle died of hunger and
thirst. Up to a thousand of them died every month. I
don't think Delhi's streets are now free of stray
cattle. The sacred cow has been reduced to a beggar. It
begs for food, going door to door, to eat stale rotis
that their devotees so carefully keep for them. I have
seen cows feeding on waste paper and plastic bags.
India has the largest cattle population in the world one
for every Indian! Yet, we do not have enough food to
feed this large population. Probably half of this cattle
population is a big drain on India's economy. The money
spent on the feed and upkeep of old and sick animals is
not justified economically. According to a report from
the Indian Ministry of Information (1957), “The large
animal population is more a liability than an asset in
view of our land resources.” Today's situation might be
worse.
Its only the upper caste Hindus who avoid eating beef.
The so-called “untouchables” and outcasts eat beef. Why
should beef be banned to satisfy the fancy of a minority
among Hindus?
The task of skinning dead cattle was reserved for the
Chamars, one of the “low” castes in India. “Low” castes
always were at the receiving end of upper caste violence
related to the slaughter of cows. One of the right-wing
Hindu leaders, Giriraj Kishore, once said that the life
of cow is more precious that that life of a Dalit (The
Telegraph, 1 January 2003, 1). And all this despite the
archaeological evidence that show that ancient Hindus in
the vedic period ate beef and drank alcoholic beverages.
The extremist Hindu view that it was “foreigners” who
brought the practice of 'cow slaughter' into India is
not true. J. Kuruvichira, in his research on this
subject, cites Walker: “Several Vedic sacrifices
demanded the slaughter of bulls, after which a piece of
the flesh was eaten by the sacrificer. Beef in those
days formed part of the regular diet of the Hindu,
rishis and Brahmins excluded” (B. Walker, Hindu World,
I, 255).
I am not trying to promote beef. If upper-caste Hindus
do not wish to eat beef, let them not eat beef. But why
should they dismiss the personal liberties of those who
do not share their religious beliefs? Will they stop
eating potatoes and onions to please the followers of
Jain religion? Hindus should learn to respect other
people's freedoms.
I am not a Hindu. I do not wish to surrender my liberty
to choose my food. I do not want Muslims to tell me that
I should not eat pork. I do not want Jews in this
country to tell me that I should not eat Seer fish, crab
or prawns. And I do not want Jains to tell me that I
should not eat potatoes or onions! I do not want
dog-lovers to tell me that I shouldn't eat broiler dogs.
And I do not want snake-worshippers to tell me that I
shouldn't eat snakes! Jaago re! Let's wake up! One man's
'god' is another man's food. Even if none of us should
slaughter a cow for food, the carcass of each cow in
India will be eaten up micro-organisms and vultures.
I have Hindu friends who eat beef. Some of them are of
the opinion that milch cows should not be slaughtered.
Yes, Indians venerate the cow for the sake of dairy
products. We conveniently forget that a cow's milk
belongs to her calf. We deprive a calf of its birthright
and steal its food. Will we allow any animal to do this
to us and to our children? There's another cruelty that
we practise. We deny mother's milk to our children after
45 days or 3 months. We then shove a bottle of cow/buffallo
milk into their mouth.
Milk is species-specific. Each mammal produces milk
suited for its progeny. And the best way to drink milk
is straight from the source!
Besides the impropriety of stealing milk from other
species, we need to appreciate the fact that alien milk
is dangerous for our health. The dairy and industrial
lobby may not want us to know this. Their vested
interests cannot nullify the facts, however. Most
Indians cannot digest lactose, the sugar in milk. For
such lactose intolerant folks, milk is akin to poison.
Besides, alien milk produces allergies and other health
problems. It is now common knowledge that milk from cows
and buffaloes can cause anaemia, allergies, diabetes,
chronic constipation, ear infections, and even coronary
heart disease. Fats in cow milk, it is claimed, is just
at a low concentration of 3.5%. However, this fat
contributes to 50% of the calories in milk. In the
Indian scenario, animal milk contains deadly coliform
bacteria and organo-chlorine pesticides. There is no
reason why we should venerate the cow for the milk she
yields.
Finally, legislative attempts to protect cows show how
lop-sided our priorities are. Why can't our politicians
devoted their energy to rid this country of corruption?
Why don't we fight the high rate of illiteracy, female
infanticide, and child labour? Many countries have
conquered infectious diseases. Our most literate state,
Kerala, is still battling mosquito-borne infectious
diseases. Millions of children go to bed hungry. Women
and children are sold into prostitution. People are
massacred in the name of religion. Vast population of
tribal people are neglected by all political parties.
They fall prey to Maoist schemes. Churches and mosques
are vandalised. Minorities live in fear.
That's when Karnataka government came up with their
bright idea to protect cows from slaughter, as if cows
were facing extinction in India! |
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This page
is updated on Feb 18, 2009 |
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PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY
10 YEARS CELEBRATION
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