Selective amnesia on the killing of animals

|
  • 1

Selective amnesia on the killing of animals

Monday, 24 September 2018 | Balbir Punj

Selective amnesia on the killing of animals

Unlike India, where the Government’s ban on sale/purchase of cattle evoked stiff opposition, the US has taken measures to respect its culture not only within its own confines but beyond as well

A recent event in far away America and complete silence on the part of ‘Left liberal’ pack to it, has exposed their double standards and has also underlined the tenacious relationship between the laws of a country and its culture and traditions. The US House of Representatives in the second week of September unanimously passed two resolutions in a voice vote that would affect the people’s choice of ‘what to eat.’

The first one was banning Americans from slaughtering dogs and cats for human consumption — a rare practice but that is still legal in 44 states. The other one urged countries like China, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and India to follow suit. Known as the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, 2018, it also imposes a fine of $5,000 (over Rs 3,50,000) for each violation.

The bipartisan Bill by Florida Representatives Vern Buchanan, a Republican, and Alcee Hastings, a Democrat, makes it illegal to knowingly slaughter, transport, possess, buy, sell or donate dogs or cats or their parts for human consumption.

Congress woman Claudia Tenney said, “Dogs and cats are meant for companionship and recreation. Tragically, more than 10 million dogs are killed for human consumption every year in China.” Meanwhile, Taiwan last year became the first Asian country to pass such a law.

Sri Lanka is the first country in South Asia that banned the sale of cattle for meat, following a legislative measure. This ban united the two main ethnic groups on the island, Tamils and Sinhalese. In India, there is legislation against cow slaughter in almost all States except Kerala, West Bengal and certain parts of the North-East.

These developments are obviously result of a long evolutionary process experienced by humanity over thousands of years. By mid-first millennium, all three major Indian religions — Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism — propagated non-violence as an ethical value, and something that impacted one’s rebirth.

By about 1000 CE, vegetarianism, along with a taboo against beef, became a well accepted mainstream Hindu tradition. God Krishna and his Yadav kinsmen and Hindus in general, are associated with cows, adding to its endearment. Animal sacrifices have been rare among the Hindus outside a few eastern States. To the majority of modern Indians, respect for cattle and disrespect for slaughter is a part of their ethos and there is no ahimsa without renunciation of meat consumption. Abhorrence for the meat of the bounteous cow as food was regarded as the first step to total vegetarianism.

The reverence for cow was one of the reasons for the first Indian war of independence of 1857 against the British East India Company. Hindu and Muslim sepoys in the army of the Company believed that their paper cartridges, which held a measured amount of gunpowder, were greased with cow and pig fat.

Loading the gun by soldiers required biting off the end of the paper cartridge. Muslims and Hindus strongly felt that through the use of these controversial cartridges, the British were conspiring to obliterate their religious identity. A violent revolt by sepoys followed, termed as the first war of independence by Indians against the British.

When did the practice of slaughtering cows for food start in India? Till the arrival of the Europeans, first as traders and later as colonial power, cow was seldom killed for food in India, in spite of Muslims ruling large parts of the country. Reasons are not far to seek.

Islam was born in the deserts of Arabia and it had no cows. Obviously, the Arabs, who fought relentless wars against ‘non-believers’ across the world (including India) had no tradition of eating cow. So the harbingers of Islam from the desert to India through repeated invasions, largely left the venerable cow alone.

After the Islamic rule was stabilised in India, the rulers realised the importance of cow in the social and religious life of the local populace. Cow slaughter was an avoidable irritant to their rule. So many of them (with few exceptions such as bigots like Aurangzeb) made cow slaughter a punishable offence in their regime. After the overthrow of the Company rule in Delhi in 1857, an aged  Bahadur Shah Zafar was reinstalled as the King Emperor of India. A revolutionary council was constituted to assist and advise the octogenarian blind Emperor. The very first ‘firman‘ signed by Zafar at the instance of the Council, was to declare hurting or killing, cow or its progeny, a capital offence.

Within few months, the British regained Delhi. Though the 1857 revolution failed, it had left the British badly shaken. But they were quick learners. To consolidate their rule, the colonial masters started working on the fault lines of Indian society under their policy of ‘divide and rule’.

For Europeans, including the British, beef was a delicacy and a preferred choice for  table. While it was not easy to get a Hindu supplier for beef, a Muslim had no compunction in doing so. The colonial power encouraged Muslims to slaughter cows with the twin objective of getting their preferred food and furthering a divide between Hindus and Muslims who had shared largely a hostile relationship between themselves, spanning over six centuries.

It is against this background that the Directive Principals of the Indian Constitution call upon the state to take all measures to promote and protect cow and its progeny. Essentially, through, this directive, the Constitution is seeking to recognise and respect the unique status cow enjoys in the Indian psyche, tradition and culture. The US has gone ahead and taken measures to respect its culture, not only within its own confines, but beyond as well. There are no reports of ‘votaries of freedom’ taking to streets against this move to assert their ‘right of choice of food‘ from anywhere.

None has so far killed a cat or dog publicly anywhere in the world to protest against this “illiberal“ move on the part of the US, the way some Congressmen in India had done on May 27, 2017. They had slaughtered a calf on the roadside in Kerala, cooked and served it against the Modi Government’s decision to ban sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, which was later rolled back. Why none is coming forward in India or the US to assert his/her ‘choice of food’ a la Kerala in the wake of the American move to ban Dog and cat meat? The reason is simple. Those who oppose ban on cow slaughter, do so not to uphold something of great value, but to show their contempt for Indian ethos, spite its traditions, and to humiliate Hindus and perpetuate the divisive mindset of the British.

(The writer is a political commentator and a former BJP Rajya Sabha MP)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda