By Ishaal Zehra | Islamabad
“Must take steps for protection of women aggressively. You are protecting cows but atrocities being committed on women,” Jaya Bachchan said addressing in Indian Rajya Sabha (Senate). Believe me this isn’t the women alone. Hindus are treating humans far lesser than the cows.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat while speaking at an event to observe the birth anniversary of their Hindu Lord Mahavir, Last week, advocated a nation-wide law against cow slaughter, calling it an evil or sin that must be removed. He also pitched for stepping-up of cow protection efforts by bringing more people in the drive while completely obeying the law and the Constitution.
Earlier that week a 55-year-old Muslim man transporting few cows to his home died after being beaten by a mob of about 200 cow protection vigilantes in north Indian state of Rajhistan. At least six more people were wounded in the attack. And Mohan Bhagwat statements were seen in a continuation of this horrific incident in the BJP-ruled Rajasthan that sparked protests from opposition parties and put the saffron party on the defensive.
Bhagwat said many states where RSS functionaries have been in power have enacted such a law and expressed confidence that other governments will follow suit by dealing with local "complexities". Adding on he said, I am confident that wherever RSS workers are in power, they will deal with local complexities and work in that direction. Cow protection should be promoted in such a way that it wins over more and more people to the cause and brings praise for those doing it.
Hindus form 80 percent of India's 1.3 billion population and consider cows to be sacred. In many Indian states, the slaughtering of cows and selling of beef is either restricted or banned.
The Muslim men who had bought the dairy cows at a cattle fair were taking them home to neighbouring Haryana state when the mob of cow protection vigilantes stopped the trucks. These vigilantes, Hindus, surrounded six vehicles carrying cattle on a highway connecting Jaipur to New Delhi and pulled out five men, Muslims, and beat them. Video of the incident showed the men being beaten with sticks and iron rods.
Oddly enough, the State home minister of Rajhistan, Mr. GC Kataria justified the incident, where a bunch of men beat a man to death, saying that both parties were to be blamed for the Muslim man's death because cow smuggling was illegal in the state. Although the cow bearers had all the relevant documents with them still the minister wrapped up the issue saying a case had been registered for both the sides
Though India under the rule of BJP is picturing itself as a mighty global future leader of the Asia but failed to protect her minorities and women as a whole. Thousands of women, including foreign tourists, were raped and some even killed by these fanatic Hindus. While, at least 10 Muslim men have been killed in similar incidents across the country by Hindu mobs on suspicion of eating beef or smuggling cows in the past two years.
In 2015, a Muslim man was lynched by his neighbours near New Delhi over rumors he had slaughtered a cow. Police later said the meat was mutton.
Last month a hotel manager was beaten by a mob and his restaurant sealed in Jaipur after Hindu vigilantes accused him of serving beef.
Cow protection groups, known as gau rakshak, have proliferated in recent years, since the Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. These vigilante groups have carried out violent attacks on Muslims suspected of slaughtering cows. Last month after winning the state elections in the country's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, Modi appointed Yogi Adityanath, a popular leader known for his fiery Hindu rhetoric, as its CM. Uttar Pradesh is also a home to much of the country's Muslim-dominated meat industry. Appointing a Yogi with evident thoughts of hatred towards Muslim community started making sense when shortly after being sworn in, Adityanath launched a crackdown on abattoirs, grinding much of the industry to a halt.
Last month, the state of Gujarat also increased the punishment for cow slaughter from seven years to life imprisonment. To a question on the party's stand regarding slaughterhouses running in Gujarat, state BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said the government is committed to saving cows.
In several northeastern states, including some where BJP is in power, cow slaughter is not banned while beef is consumed widely in states like Kerala and West Bengal where the party is working to emerge as a strong political force. "Our wish is that there should be a law against cow slaughter across India," the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat opined. Whether there is a law or not if the society's behaviour changes, cow slaughter will stop, he said. And the only way to change the society behavior these fanatics can think of is by killing few and cut many.
