India is a country where beef controversies are very normal. Every second day we get news about cow slaughter and riots related to it. Mainly it is a matter of fight between two religions, Hindus and Muslims. This is not a new thing since the 3rd century it is a matter of debate. In Islam, cow slaughter is allowed whereas in Hindus cow is considered sacred. Hindus consider the slaughter of cows as disrespect of their religion. Once cow slaughter was banned by the BJP government but Supreme Court changed it.
What is the beef?
As per the definition given in the Oxford English dictionary, “the flesh of cow/bull or ox, which is eatable, is called beef.” Beef is the culinary name of meat. It is an excellent source of protein and carbohydrates. Its taste is also better than other meats.
Relevance of cow in two major religions i.e. Hinduism and Islam
In Hinduism cow is consider holy because she has a connection with Lord Krishna. The Hindu people worship her. Hinduism included Jain/ Buddhism/ Zoroastrianism etc. In Islam, cow slaughtering is considered a religious practice generally done on auspicious occasions like festivals.
As for Hindus cow is a sacred animal similarly Muslims consider pig or pork as sacred and it is not allowed to eat pig or pork in Muslims. Pieces of literature such as dharma/ Brahmana stated that a cow or bull should be put to death so as to eat it when a guest arrives. As per this literature cow and bull are considered sustenance. In Islam also cow was sacrificed and eaten. Shatapatha Brahmana and Yajnavalya are two Hindu kinds of literature that are contradictory with each other.
History
If you see the history you came to know that there were many Mughal emperors who banned beef in India during their resign. A few examples of such leaders are Babar, Jahangir, Hyder Ali of Mysore, etc. It is said that Jahangir banned beef due to the very famous festival of Jains that is Paryushan.
Though 400 years ago orthodox Mughal rulers ruled India there was an understanding of such things. But there are also some Mughal rulers who removed this ban, Aurangzeb was one of them. But after the mutiny of 1857 again some Mughal rulers banned it but at that time they did not have such powers. If you see the history of Marathas you come to know that Chhatrapati Shivaji had banned cow slaughter and made it a punishable offense.
- Even after all this, our country has certain prohibitions related to this which are given below:
- Every state has power to make laws related to the beef ban in India. It is because in our country situation of every state is different. Some states have Hindu majority and some has Muslim majority. If it comes under the central government, maybe it becomes chaotic.
- Beef ban comes under state list it was clear by the above explanation.
- In article-48 of the Indian constitution, it was written that the state shall Endeavour to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. All the above prohibitions are there to protect the cow in India.
There were many constitutional debates regarding this particular beef ban in constitutional assembly. It’s not easy for the framers of the constitution to make such prohibitions. There was a huge debate between the members of the constitutional assembly regarding the cattle beef ban. Seth Govind das requested in the constituent assembly to ban cow slaughter in India.
Disadvantages:
- India is one of the biggest beef suppliers if it gets ban economically it’s not good for our country.
- It divides the society in parts on the name of religion.
- Create unnecessary chaos in the society.
- May spread communal riots in the society.
Advantages
- India is one of the biggest beef supplier therefore economically it uplift our country.
- Balance the food chain.
- Helps many industries to earn profit such as leather industries.
The states where cow slaughter is not illegal are Kerala, West Bengal and Northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. In Manipur, a royal edict banned cow slaughter, but beef is consumed widely.
The states where cow slaughter is banned are Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh
There are many states in India where cow slaughter is a crime, for example, Maharashtra, the second most populated state of India constrained of meat dishes and if anyone finds slaughtering cow they may be jailed for five years or fine up to RS 10000. Haryana is also one of them.
Conclusion
We are living in a secular country and such laws like ban on cow slaughter are very difficult to implement in such countries. If such laws will be entertained then, it will be a great danger to the communal harmony of the society.
They do not have any care for the Hindu, Muslim or other religion. They just care about their votes, which they got on the name of the cow. Some give reasoning that this law if implemented will violate the freedom of religion. But nothing is like that because this freedom can be restricted on the certain ground.
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