There is OVERWHELMING archaeological evidence of beef eating in Indus Valley Civilisation and the Vedic era. This continued till at least around the 5th century AD.
I'm sorry to disappoint the "Hindu" fanatics who claim that Muslims introduced beef eating into India. Even a CASUAL study of archaeological data over the course of two days has confirmed overwhelming evidence that beef was REGULARLY eaten in India well before Islam was even created. I can now PERSONALLY CHALLENGE anyone in India or the world to prove that the cow was always sacred in India.
Beef was eaten in the Pune area at least till 1400 BC
EXCAVATIONS AT INAMGAON, DISTRICT PUNE reveals
The early settlers cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare), millets, ragi, lentil and peas. The people also subsisted on hunting and fishing. Among the animal bones recovered, a good number are those of deer as well as domesticated sheep/goat, cattle, buffalo, etc. They were slaughtered sometimes for food.
Beef was commonly eaten in Rishikesh-Haridwar till 5th century AD
EXCAVATION AT VIRABHADRA TEMPLE-SITE, RISHIKESH, DISTRICT DEHRA DUN.
Evidence regarding dietary habits of the people, as revealed by bones recovered from the excavation, deserves special mention. Nearly eighty per cent of the animal bones come from VBA-I while the remaining from VBA-II. It was seen that while only cattle bones have been recovered from the latter, the former yielded bones of both cattle and goat. The collection consists of fragments of long bone, ribs and vertebrals and some molars. It was observed that animal bones were confined to the early phase, the later phases being free from such remains. This change could be linked with the establishment of Structures 1 and 2 which may thus represent remains of temples. Probably the present emphasis on vegetarianism in Rishikesh-Hardwar could be traced back to circa sixth century A.D.
Conclusive evidence of beef eating in the proximity of Ayodhya during the late Vedic period
EXCAVATION AT SISWANIA, DISTRICT BASTI
More than four thousand animal remains from the site were studied by U.C. Chattopadhyaya of the University of Allahabad. The animal taxa identified include Zebu, i.e., humped Indian cattle (Bos indicus), buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), horse (Equus caballus), sheep/goat (Ovis/Capra), spotted deer (Axis axis), antelope (Antelope sp), wild boar (Sus scrofa), domestic pig (Sus scrofa cristatus), pigmy hog (Sus silvanius), dog (Canis familiaris), cat (Felis sp.), hare (Lepus sp.), common rat (Rattus rattus), bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis), tortoise (at least two species-Chitra indicus and Trionyx gangeticus) and fish of large, medium and small size, and Aves including fowl (Gallus galliformes).
The overall picture from the lowest to the uppermost levels at the site suggests a predominantly domesticated economy in which cattle bones have the largest representations. Other domesticated animals include sheep/goat, pig, dog and cat. A large specimen (a molar) of horse from layer 7 of Trench ZA3 (Quadrant 3) suggests that domesticated horse was introduced in this area. At the same time aquatic animals, like tortoise and fish, constituted an important source of human diet. The remains of bandicoot rat and common rat suggest well settled life, associated with storing grains. A few wild animals were also hunted including wild boar, pigmy hog, deer and antelope.
The fact that most of these species (excluding perhaps dog and cat) constituted items of human diet as is shown by the characteristic cut and chopping marks observed in the bones.