The renewed thrust by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party. (Bharatiya Janata Party), to institute a nationwide ban on the slaughter of cows looks to be gaining in popularity, especially among the 80 percent majority Hindu population.
In Maharashtra, a western state run by Modi’s nationalist party, the cow slaughter ban was extended to include bullocks and bulls recently. This has already affected abattoirs in the state, forcing their closure. But the consequences have extended even further, forcing conservators in Mumbai’s national park to feed the lions, tigers, and leopards chickens and mutton, said S.D. Saste, the park’s assistant conservator.
Jharkhand and Haryana are also BJP-led states. Since March 3, they too have tightened restrictions on trading beef. But critics are complaining the restrictions on beef discriminate against Christians, Muslims and lower-caste Hindus who depend on the cheap meat for protein. They are now fearful of a nationwide ban on beef becoming a reality.
The realities of the ban on cow slaughter
The year 2014 saw deficiencies in rainfall over 21 percent in the nation’s northwest grain regions, and a 56 percent deficiency in rainfall in Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh. Many farmers wanting to sell their cattle have been unable to do so because of the ban.
Additionally, several thousand Muslims in Maharashtra will lose their jobs in the beef trade and industries like tanneries because of the ban. “My business is ruined. Farmers are offering cattle at much lower prices, but I can’t buy because slaughtering is illegal now,” said Asif Qureshi, a cattle supplier based in Baramati, Maharashtra. The trade in shoes, bags and other leather good will be affected in the long term.
Perhaps the biggest problem from the ban will be to the almost 200,000 cattle in Maharashtra officials say will be set free by farmers unable to sell them. India already has some 300 million cattle, and it is quite common to see them scavenging for food in the rubbish-filled streets of the country’s towns, cities, and villages.