Dadri incident
has shocked the conscience of the nation. We fail to understand the sickness of
the mind that drove the mob to kill Mohd Akhlaq, who had “suspiciously” eaten cow
meat or he was in “possession” of beef in his fridge. Nobody is sure whether he
ate beef. Or even if he ate beef, should he have been killed?
We all know
that lot of Muslims eat beef or a certain section of Dalits in India eat beef. A
minuscule portion of “progressive and urban” Hindus also savour cow’s meet and persuade
other Hindus to eat beef.
It’s a
matter of choice, matter of belief system, matter of familial tradition that
determines whether one eats beef or not.
The bigger
question is If somebody eats beef, does he become a fallen guy considering the
fact that for countries except India, there is no taboo or belief attached to
the “holiness of cow?”
I must say Cowherd
has been integral part of farming community across India and they do not even
hit cow with sticks. How they can eat cow’s meat?
During Diwali
cows are worshipped by Hindu families as she is considered as (laxmi) or sign
of prosperity.
A leftist
historian DN Jha has been quoted profusely by the intelligentsia recently on
the merits and demerits of eating beef.
Jha has been
quoted how Kings of yore used to eat beef, perform Yagna etc. I will certainly
not get into this debate as I have very little knowledge of “history of cow
eating” in India.
I have not
read Vedas or upnishads therefore I restrict myself from commenting on
controversial issues.
Since I
belong to a farmer’s family, I know and understand how cow can improve the
economic condition of the family.
At some
point of time till early 1990s, we used to own 17-18 milch cows and buffalos.
My family used to earn lot of money those days when price of milk was not more
than Rs 10/kilo.
Every second
family used to own couple of milch cows and families were economically self-
reliant then.
Lot of
families gave up on rearing cows and lost a big opportunity to maintain their
source of income. Over dependence on agriculture proved to be a bane for Indian
farmers. Or perhaps it was the beginning of the downfall of Indian agriculture.
Sadly, we are not talking about how cows
can improve financial condition of the rural folk; we are rather involved in
making cow a “cultural symbol.”
India would
rather urge the government to protect and save indeginous varities of our
Indian cows, whose milk are beneficial for different ailments.
Those who
have jumped into the discussion of “whether to eat beef or not” must desist
from it.
I don’t blame
Hindu or Muslim religious fanatics, who find it opportune to fully exploit the
situation for furthering their political goals. India is a multi-cultural
country where people of different caste and creed with different food habits
reside peacefully. We must respect all.
