Revision as of 21:55, 21 July 2017

India's leather industry, 2011-15; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 17, 2015

History

Muslim opposition to cow slaughter

c.1470 A.D.: Zain-ul-Abidin banned cow slaughter in J&K

Post-Bihar, Budshah’s beef lesson for India| DEC 01, 2015| Kashmir Observer

What is identical between a fifteenth century Kashmiri king and the BJP governments of Maharashtra and Haryana? All banned beef. Only difference is that king was Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din Zain-ul-Abidin (1420-70), also known as Budshah, and he had banned the cow slaughter in the state in deference to the religious sentiment of his Hindu subjects.

According to Jonaraja, a Kashmir Pandit historian of the era, Budshah, the great monarch stopped the killing of cows, restricted the eating of beef and catching of fish in the sacred springs of the Hindus, a practice which continues till this day.The king also abstained from eating meat on Hindu festivals.

Several Mughal kings had banned cow slaughter

ss-proof-842456/ MOST MUSLIM KINGS HAD WILLINGLY BANNED COW SLAUGHTER IN THE PAST: R S S PROOF | September 26, 2015| Siasat

Rashtriya Swayam sevak Sangh (R S S) has come up with proof from the past to deduce that Muslims have shunned beef. In a booklet, compiled articles which say that barring a few, most Muslim kings had willingly banned cow slaughter and punished violations.

A daily reported that the booklet ‘Cow and Islam’ talks about an accommodative “Muslim rule” in medieval India.

Babur asked his son Humayun not to allow cow slaughter in deference to Hindus’ feelings, said the booklet.

It added that Babur is said to have “taken over” his son’s disease before his death, and claims that some Gau Mahima (cow glory) behind this incident may have impelled him to instruct Humayun to act against cow slaughter.

It added that Akbar followed the good practice and “enjoyed ghee and curd”. In fact, even Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, banned cow slaughter, it added.

Another article says Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer brought back to life a poor woman’s dead cow.

Early 1900s: Maulanas issue fatwas against cow slaughter

Voices that put harmony over discord

Prior to Maulana Abdul Bari Ferangi Mahali, his ancestors had twice issued appeals to their followers against cow slaughter on Bakrid, declaring that it was not an obligation under Islam. In the early 1900s, Maulana Abdul Hai Ferangi Mahali (Bari's cousin), Maulana Abdul Wahab (Bari's father), Qazi Syed Mohammad Hasan, and Maulana Abul Haya Mohammad Abdul Hameed had issued fatwas stating cow slaughter is not obligatory and those giving it up will not be sinners--as mentioned in `Tark-e-Qurbani-e-Gao', the book by Khwaja Hasan Nizami Dehelvi printed in August 1921. In 1911, Maulana Hai and Maulana Wahab signed another fatwa stating that if cow slaughter hurts sentiments and creates disharmony, it should be given up, for it is not a part of Islamic law.

Early 1900s Lucknow: Maulana Abdul Bari’s decision

Lucknow's Muslims said no to cow killing 100 years ago, TNN | Sep 12, 2016, The Times of India

Adnan Abdul Wali, a descendant of Maulana Abdul Bari Ferangi Mahali in the cityAdnan Abdul Wali, a descendant of Maulana Abdul Bari Ferangi Mahali in the city

LUCKNOW: Muslims in Lucknow had voluntarily given up cow slaughter on Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) almost a century ago, long before the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act of 1955 was even thought of.

The practice that has been kept alive ever since, was also validated by the Sri Dharma Bharat Mahamandal, established in 1887 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, and by Mahatma Gandhi in his letter to the Mumbai edition of the Times of India on September 6, 1919.

Under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Bari Ferangi Mahali, a freedom fighter and prominent figure of the Khilafat Movement along with the Ali brothers, a wave of abstinence from cow slaughter during Bakrid started to build. Previous efforts had also been made by Bari's ancestors, but were marred time and again.

Penning his conversation with Maulana Bari, Mahatma Gandhi (who referred to Bari as his brother) in his letter to TOI also emphasised how the step was unconditional and how the Maulana enjoyed massive following, even though Hindus were unwilling to support the Khilafat movement. And as the Mahatma writes, true to his word, the Maulana after his conversation with Gandhi, started "preaching amongst his followers and friends the necessity of abstaining from cow-killing." That very day in 1919, Gandhi had also received a telegram from Maulana Bari (that is referred to in the letter) stating: "In celebration of Hindu-Muslim unity, no cow sacrifices in Ferangi Mahal this Baqreid-Abdul Bari."

And not just in Ferangi Mahal, a letter to Maulana Bari on January 10, 1920 from the Sri Bharat Dharma Mahamandal thanked him profusely for his "efforts through speech and abstention himself, that in the days of Baqreid there was no cow-killing in Lucknow."

A Sufi and an Aalim (scholar), as author and historian, Gail Minault wrote in her book 'The Khilafat Movement', Bari had "religious influence over a variety of followers, and a large group of disciples from the Northwest to Bengal to Madras."

But it was not out of pressure that the unifying step was adopted by Muslims under his leadership. In his speech at a Hindu-Muslim conference on January 15, 1920 in Saharanpur, Maulana Bari had said, "No Hindus, nor Mahatma Gandhi have requested me to stop cow slaughter, but with my own heartfelt desire for unity and not to hurt the sentiments of my Hindu brothers, I have stopped doing so."

Later, following Bari's footsteps, some senior members of the Muslim League had also agreed to avoid cow slaughter during Bakrid in other parts of the state too.

Debates in post-independence India

The Constitution drafting committee

Jaitley: Hurt sentiments no explanation for lynchings| Jul 21 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

FM Arun Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha that it was the Constitution drafting committee, chaired by B R Ambedkar, that recommended cow protection. “The Constituent assembly debated the issue in detail...Article 48 (to prevent cow slaughter) was drafted by Ambedkar,“ he said.

Article 48 of the Constitution states that “the state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for pre serving... the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle“.

“Every state agreed that if Article 48 has be taken to its logical end the states should legislate on it...at the time BJP did not exist and Bharatiya Jan Sangh was not in power in any state. Congress was in power in most states in 1950“, he recalled. The Seventh Schedule put “preservation, protection and improvement of stock and prevention of anima diseases, veterinary training and practice“ as entry no 15 in the State list.

1966: In the Parliament

The Hindu, November 9, 2016

November 7, 2016 marked the 50th anniversary of the very first assault on Parliament. On this day, in 1966, thousands of sadhus of different varieties and denominations and many others gathered near Parliament demanding an immediate end to cow slaughter all over the country.

Dealing with crisis

The Prime Minister was just less than 10 months in office and she was unsure of her political position both within her own party and in the country. In fact, on that very day, a no-confidence motion against her was being debated and voted upon in the Lok Sabha. It was the fourth crisis to confront Indira Gandhi in her very first year of office after the monsoon failure, the controversial devaluation, and the contentious reorganisation of Punjab. On each of these three occasions, she had shown courage, something her critics are loath to admit. This time also was no different.

Sarkar Committee: 1967

After the February 1967 elections in which the Jan Sangh more than doubled its tally, Indira Gandhi knew that she had to do something on the issue. She confabulated with her colleagues, and on June 29, 1967, the formation of a high-level committee under the chairmanship of A.K. Sarkar, who had just retired as the Chief Justice of India, was announced.

The committee was given a wide-ranging mandate that included examining the feasibility of a national law to ban cow slaughter by amending the Constitution. The composition of this government committee was unusual. Perhaps it has been without parallel in recent Indian political history. It had M.S. Golwalkar, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, R.P. Mookerji, a retired judge and elder brother of the founder of the BJS, and the Shankaracharya of Puri as prominent members. Two Chief Ministers — Charan Singh of Uttar Pradesh and D.P. Mishra of Madhya Pradesh — were included as were some other anti-cow slaughter activists. Three non-politicians were also made part of the committee — V. Kurien of the National Dairy Development Board, Ashok Mitra, economist and then chairman of the Agricultural Prices Commission, and H.A.B. Parpia, Director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute.

The committee was given six months to submit its report. It began actively, had numerous meetings and met a large cross-section of society. But it never actually submitted a report. Questions would keep getting asked in Parliament and the answers would be of the usual “the matter is under examination” type. Finally, after 12 years of its existence, Morarji Desai wound up the committee in 1979 when he was Prime Minister.

Both Kurien and Dr. Mitra have left delightful accounts of the committee in their memoirs.

Ecological consequences

The cow protection issue was to galvanise the conservation community as well. People like ornithologist Salim Ali and conservationist Zafar Futehally had been worried about the impact of cattle grazing on sanctuaries like the famous Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur. Futehally was to write in a leading newspaper in November 1967 that the Sarkar committee should examine the ecological consequences of having a large and uncontrolled cattle population. He persuaded Dillon Ripley of the Smithsonian Institution to support a study to be conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society on this very subject. An overenthusiastic Ripley wrote to Indira Gandhi directly on October 3, 1967 expressing his views on the issue of cattle and conservation. She did not reply, but U.S. Ambassador Chester Bowles reprimanded him on November 7, 1967, saying, “At my request, my deputy Mr. Greene found an opportunity the other day to sound Mrs. Gandhi’s right-hand man, P.N. Haksar about your letter. Haksar readily confirmed that it had been received… and as much said that he thought it better to leave the complexities of the cow problem to the Government of India”.

Fifty years later in 2016, those who launched that attack on Parliament constitute the core of the ruling establishment. Such are the vicissitudes of democracy.

1967: High powered committee to examine national ban

Ss-Guru-Golwalkar-on-16062017020051 `Indira Gandhi put R S S's Guru Golwalkar on cow slaughter committee ... wound up after 12 years without a report' | Jun 16 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

By Jairam Ramesh, as told to Nalin Mehta

Jairam Ramesh, former minister of environment and author of `Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature', spoke about the first political committee to explore a national ban on cow slaughter set up in 1967, the politics of beef and Indira's role in India's ecological history:

On 7 November 1966 thousands of sadhus and others attacked Parliament demanding a national ban on cow slaughter. There was police firing and people died. The home minister resigned. On 29 June 1967 Indira set up a high powered committee to examine the issue of a national ban under AK Sarkar, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court. That committee was given six months to submit its report. It met for 12 years but there was no report. I tried to get the primary papers related to it but did not succeed. The only accounts of that committee are in two memoirs.Ashok Mitra, the economist, and Dr V Kurien, the dairy and Amul man ­ who were both members ­ have written about it, and quite delightfully.

One of the members of that committee was R S S sarsanghchalak guru MS Golwalkar himself. Indira made him a member of that committee.It was wound up in 1979 by PM Morarji Desai. According to Mitra and Kurien, no report was submitted. There may be something in the home ministry's deep archives but I didn't find anything in the National Archives.

Indira’s view on cow slaughter

There is a 1967 letter I quote from then American ambassador Chester Bowles to Dillon Ripley who was then at the Smithsonian Institution which wanted to do a study on the ecological consequences of India's large cattle population. Bowles replied that the PM doesn't like this because this is a sensitive issue and must be dealt with only by Indians.

Laws, court judgements

The legal position

Cow slaughter allowed in most NE states, Bengal , April 3, 2017: The Times of India

What does the constitution say on cow slaughter?

In the Directive Principles of State Policy , which are guidelines for framing laws by the government, the Constitution mentions cow slaughter. Article 48 of the Constitution which is a directive principle on organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry says that states shall organise agriculture and animal husbandry in modern scientific lines, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Does it mean that it is unconstitutional to slaughter cows in India?

No. The parliament and state legislatures derive their power to legislate under article 246 of the constitution read with schedule 7, which divides the power of legislation of central and state legislatures.There is a union, state and concurrent list of legislative powers. The preservation, protection and improvement of stock and prevention of animal disease, veterinary training and practice comes under the state list. This means that individual states have exclusive powers to make laws regarding slaughter of cattle under their jurisdiction.

Which states allow cow slaughter?

With a few exceptions, cow slaughter is banned in most of the states. There are no restrictions in Kerala, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. Although there are different state level legislations against cow slaughter, there is no uniformity of the law. In Manipur, there is a 1939 decree passed by the king at that time, which pre scribes prosecution for cow slaughter. De spite this, beef is widely consumed in the state. Laws in oth er states are different with some allowing slaughter of old or diseased animals.The punishments for violating the bans are also differ from state to state.

Is it illegal to consume beef in states that have banned cow slaughter?

It varies from state to state.For instance, beef can be imported in sealed con tainers to be served to foreigners in Uttar Pradesh.Similarly, in 2016 the Bombay high court had ruled that the Maharashtra government's ban on slaughter of beef in the state doesn't mean that people couldn't consume meat imported from other states.On the other hand, there is a complete ban in states like Haryana and Delhi.

What does the Supreme Court say on cow slaughter?

The apex court has given contradictory rulings on cow slaughter. In a 1958 case, where a five judge bench led by then Chief Justice of India SR Das was deciding the constitutionality of cattle slaughter bans in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, it ruled that cattle -except cows of all ages and calves --not capable of milch and draught can be slaughtered. It stated that keeping cattle with no economic use would be a burden on the nation's cattle feed. It also observed that this meat is cheaper than mutton and hence could be used by poor for food. In 2005, a seven-judge bench headed by then Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti ruled against this judgment observing that nutrition can not necessarily be associated with non-vegetarian food and that too originating from slaughtering cow and its progeny .

Laws on cow slaughter

The Hindu, May 2, 2015

Ban on cow slaughter in India, state-wise; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, May 7, 2016

The Bombay High Court upheld the Maharashtra government’s decision to ban sale and consumption of beef in the State. The move has triggered debates across India on vegetarianism, tolerance towards other foods and also whether the State has a right to tell people what they should eat. A look at the debate surrouding the ban and also the consumption of the meat in other parts of the country.

Fully banned

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana , Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

Allowed with slaughter certificates

Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal

No ban

Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala (animals above 10 years), Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura

Supreme Court, HCs

Reservations, cow slaughter most frequent cases

The Times of India, Aug 01 2016

Dhananjay Mahapatra 

SC protects cows, zealots needn't take law into hands

Vigilante `cow protection' groups taking the law into their hands to assault people for allegedly slaughtering cows is becoming a social as well as law and order problem in many states.Apart from reservation for backward classes, no issue other than cow slaughter has engaged the Supreme Court's repeated attention.

The first recorded judicial refe rence to cow slaughter figures in the Calcutta high court decision in Bhagwan Koer vs J C Bose & Ors [1904 ILR (31) Cal 11]. It was held that “Hindu religion is marvellously catholic and elastic... Its social code is much more stringent, but amongst its different castes and sections, it exhibits wide diversity of practice. No trait is more marked of Hindu society in general than its horror of using meat of the cow“.

Since then, the judiciary has never been able to shake off the cow's constitutional importance.After independence, Congress governments in states enacted laws prohibiting cow slaughter.

In Mohd Hanif Quareshi case [1958 AIR 731], a constitution bench of the SC noticed that Bihar, UP (1955) and Central Provinces and Berar (1949) enacted laws heeding to Article 48 of the Constitution to put a total ban on slaughter of all bovine animals. No exception was made even for bona fide religious purposes.

Validity of these laws was challenged on the ground that mandate of Article 48, a directive principle, would always be inferior to the fundamental right of the petitioner to carry on a business of slaughtering animals under Article 19(1)(g). They also said a total ban violated their fundamental right to religion under Article 25.

The SC had upheld the validity of total ban on cow slaughter. It said, “Protection is confined only to cows and calves and to those animals which are presently or potentially capable of yielding milk or of doing work as draught cattle but does not extend to cattle which at one time were milch or draught cattle but which have ceased to be such. Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Part-IV of the Constitution have to conform to and run as subsidiary to the fundamental rights in Part-III.“

But in Mohd Faruk vs Madhya Pradesh [1969 SCC (1) 853], the SC had said ban on slaughter of bovine animals would not include bulls and bullocks as it would violate fundamental right to carry on a profession. It had said, “A prohibition imposed on exercise of a fundamental right to carry on an occupation will not be regarded as reasonable, if it is imposed not in the interest of the public but merely to respect susceptibilities and sentiments of a sec tion of the people whose way of life, belief or thought is not the same as that of the claimant.“

In Haji Usmanbhai Hasanbhai Qureshi case [1986 (3) SCC 12], the SC had upheld the constitutional validity of Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954, imposing a ban on cow slaughter but allowing slaughter of bovine animals above age of 16 years. And the final verdict came from a seven-judge bench in October 2005 in the case Gujarat vs Mirzapur Moti Kureshi, which dealt with validity of Section 2 of the Bombay Animal Preservation (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 1994, introducing certain amendments in Section 5 of the 1954 Act (as applicable to Gujarat).

The bench noticed an SC judgment in West Bengal vs Ashutosh Lahiri [1995 (1) SCC 189] in which it had said, “Sacrifice of any animal by Muslims for religious purpose on Bakri Id does not include slaughtering of cow as the only way of carrying out that sacrifice.An optional religious practice is not covered by Article 25(1).“

In Moti Kureshi case, the SC had said, “On the contrary, it is common knowledge that cow and its progeny are worshipped by Hindus on specified days during Diwali and Makar Sankranti and Gopashtmi. A number of temples are to be found where statue of `Nandi' or `bull' is worshipped.“

It said, “In the light of the material available in abundance before us, there is no escape from the conclusion that the protection conferred by impugned enactment on cow progeny is needed in the interest of nation's economy . Merely because it may cause inconvenience or some dislocation to the butchers, restriction imposed by the impugned enactment does not cease to be in the interest of the public.“

So, there is abundance of law and SC rulings to protect the cow.We certainly don't need vigilante groups to appoint themselves as protectors of the cow. What these groups can do is rescue thousands of cows roaming streets and rehabilitate them in cow shelters .

If these self-styled protectors of cows could open a few hundred gaushalas and shelter homeless cows, they would be doing justice to the constitutional ethos that led to enactment of cow protection laws and subsequent SC rulings.

Bull slaughter: Maharashtra

Maha extends cow slaughter ban to bulls

Mohammed Wajihuddin & Priyanka Kakodkar The Times of India Mar 04 2015

The state-wise legal position regarding the slaughter or sale of beef in India

Ban on slaughter, State-wise; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 17, 2015

States in which cow slaughter is allowed with certain conditions ; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 17, 2015

Law Violators Will Face 5-Yr Jail, Rs 10k Fine

Beef-steak and beef chilli fry are going to be off the menus in this world city with Maharashtra's new law which extends the existing ban on cow slaughter to bulls and bullocks.This means that across the state only buffalo meat can be eaten or served, whether it is in the privacy of your home or in a fivestar hotel. Those who violate the law face up to five years in jail and fines up to Rs 10,000.

The fine print of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act 1995, which received presidential assent this week, shows just how stringent the ban is. It prohibits the very possession of these meats. Their import and export is banned. So is the transport, sale or purchase of cows, bulls and bullocks for the purpose of slaughter.

Beef is priced at just half the rate of mutton and is the most affordable red meat. It enjoys a large market with roughly 9 lakh kilograms consumed in the city daily .Of this roughly 80% is beef and 20% is buffalo meat, beef traders say . Around 450 large animals are slaughtered daily at the Deonar abbatoir in the city.

The state contributes around 25% to the country's beef and buffalo meat market. Less beef in the market could drive up prices of mutton and chicken, traders say .

Maharashtra had banned the slaughter of cows and calves in 1976. The new law extends the ban to bulls and bullocks. It only excludes female buffaloes and their calves. Several states have already enacted similar laws.

With the “protection of cows and their progeny“ on the BJP's manifesto, the Devendra Fadnavis government actively pushed to get the law enacted. It had been passed by the Maharashtra assembly 19 years ago and was awaiting presidential assent.

2015: Haryana doubles punishment

The Times of India, Nov 13 2015

Sukhbir Siwach

Prez clears Haryana's anti-beef bill

 Almost eight months after the Haryana assembly cleared a bill against cow slaughter, it has finally got the President's assent.The law carries a provision of up to 10 years' jail term for offenders. The state assembly had in March proposed doubling the current jail term of five years for those found involved in cow slaughter. The bill has also proposed a fine up to Rs 1 lakh for cow slaughter apart from jail term.

2016: Bombay HC decriminalises beef

The Times of India, May 07 2016

Shibu Thomas

HC says state can't dictate citizen's `choice of food', decriminalises beef

Upholds Ban On Slaughter In Maha, Slams Restrictions On Eating Or Possessing Meat Brought From Outside State As `Unconstitutional' & `Violation Of Right To Privacy'

After the Maharashtra government enacted a total ban on beef across the state, the Bombay high court relaxed the restrictions and struck down draconian provisions that could be misused by lawenforcement agencies and vigilantes.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Suresh Gupte upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks, along with cows, in Maharashtra, but struck down as “unconstitutional“ provisions that made it an offence to consume and possess beef that was brought from outside the state.

The judges said the state could not dictate a citizen's “choice of food“.

Mere possession of beef would no longer be a crime either, with the high court reading the provision down to “conscious possession“ -the state will have to prove that the person had knowledge that the meat in his possession was the result of illegal slaughter. The Bombay high court on Friday struck down a third provi sion of the year-old beef ban in Maharashtra that fastened “presumption of guilt“ on the accused. The law said if a person sells or transports cows, bulls or bullocks, it would be presumed that it was meant for the purpose of slaughter and he could be prosecuted.This is now no longer available to the state. All three provisions, the state had insisted at the time of arguments, were required for proper enforcement of the law. A plea by the state lawyers for a stay on that portion of the judgment was rejected by the HC.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the court had upheld the law but added that the state will look into the order and decide if it wants to move the Supreme Court against the striking down of two provisions.While, according to the law, slaughter, transportation and sale attracts a prison term of up to 5 years, possession of beef brought in from outside the state could attract up to a year in jail.

A coalition of citizens of Mumbai from every com munity , that included filmmakers, journalists, women's rights activists and even a sitting MLA, had challenged the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, especially Section 5D, that made possession of beef brought from outside Maharashtra a crime. The HC agreed the section violated the “right to privacy“ that it held was part of the fundamental right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution. The HC verdict could spur anti-beef-ban activists to move similar petitions in other states which have similar beef ban laws.

“As far as the choice of eating food of the citizens is concerned, the citizens are required to be left alone especially when the food of their choice is not injurious to health,“ said the judges. “In fact, the state cannot control what a citizen does in his house which is his own castle, provided he is not doing something which is contrary to law. The state cannot make an intrusion into his home and prevent a citizen from possessing and eating food of his choice.“ The HC said the state had not made out a case that there was some public interest in enacting Section 5D, whose focus was on targeting consumption of beef. “If the state tells the citizens not to eat a type of food or prevents the citizens from possessing and consuming a particular type of food, it will certainly be an infringement of a right to privacy as it violates the right to be left alone,“ the HC added.

2017/ 14-year jail in Gujarat

Guj to punish cow slaughter with 14-yr jail, April 1, 2017: The Times of India

Gujarat has adopted the toughest law against cow slaughter in the country . From now, the crime will be punishable with a 14year jail term.

The state government cleared the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which raises the maximum jail sentence from the current 3-7 years to 14 years for cow slaughter.

It also carries a provision of fine of up to Rs 5 lakh and not less than Rs 1 lakh.

The bill was passed by a majority vote in the absence of opposition members in the assembly but in the presence of many saffron-clad sadhus in the public gallery. A top official who was part of the team which drafted the bill told TOI, “It (cow slaughter) will invite a sentence of life term of a maximum of 14 years.“

Minister of state for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said, “During this auspicious occasion of Chaitra Navratri, the government, on suggestions of several sadhu-sants, has made amendments to the Gujarat Animal Protection (Amendment) Act, 2011. This is the harshest law in the country , which was required to save our religion, culture, economy and environment.“ The bill, seen as an attempt to consolidate Hindu votes ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, makes all offences under the act cognisable and non-bailable. Jadeja added, “Shedding of even a single drop of cow's blood hurts Hindus. We have equalled killing of a cow or cow progeny with killing of a human being.“

Initially, the draft bill submitted in the assembly had a provision of a maximum of 10 years of jail for cow slaughter. However, the penalty was raised to 14 years through a supplementary provision introduced in the House by the MoS home on Friday, which was attached with the amendment bill. The jail term for illegal ferrying of cows for slaughter, selling, stocking or exhibition of cow beef, too, has been raised to 10 years.

Cow- related crimes/ Cow vigilantism

Haryana, 2015-16

Sukhbir Siwach, 1 in 6 booked for cow crimes is Hindu, Oct 26 2016 : The Times of India

i)The Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015
ii)Seizure of smuggled cows, 2015

513 Cases Filed In Haryana In Eight Months

After coming to power in 2014, the first ever majority BJP government in Haryana led by Manohar Lal Khattar had kept its word and enacted one of the most stringent laws in the country against cow slaughter. As the government completes two years on Wednesday , details obtained by TOI show that in the past eight months, the state police have booked as many 86 Hindus for cow smuggling and other related offences. The number of Muslims booked for similar offences is much higher at 421. Half-a-dozen Sikhs have been booked too. In all 513 people have been booked. The police have compiled the figures of those booked under the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act 2015 between January 1 and August 31, 2016. The maximum cases have been registered in con nection with smuggling cows, though, there are some related to cow slaughter and sale of beef as well. As many as 170 people have been arrested.

“We have found that people from across religions are involved in cow smuggling,“ a senior police officer told TOI requesting anonymity . The maximum smuggling cases are in Mewat, Hisar, Fatehabad, Meham, Bhiwani, Rewari, Bhiwani, Mahendergarh, Yamunanagar and Panipat.

The police have also come to know of cow smuggling to Mewat from a gaushala in Jaipur in Rajasthan.

In the past few months the issue has taken centre stage in Haryana's politics. Today , cow activists allege that Hindus are only used by smugglers to transport the bovines. However, others feel that those involved in the trade should not be identified by their religion.

President of the Haryana Rajya Gaushal Sangh, Shamsher Arya says some Hindus are involved in cow smuggling out of greed and unemployment. “However, they only smuggle and are not involved in slaughter,“ says Arya, who has been associated with a campaign for handing over the grazing grounds to gaushalas from panchayats. According to Arya, smugglers tell the villagers that they need cows for milk and offer around Rs 4,000 per animal, including transportation charges.“The Hindus are used for transport so that the police don't arrest them.“

However, a senior farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni points out that due to cow vigilantes, transportation of the animals has become difficult even for genuine buyers. “We have seen that even farmers have been harassed for transporting cows,“ says Chaduni, who is state president of Bharitiya Kisan Union.

“Some people are trying to polarise Hindus and Muslims in Haryana by using this issue,“ says Harphul Khan Bhatti, state president Muslim Kalyan Committee of Haryana. “This whole issue is not religious but a political one. In fact, Muslims respect cows just as the Hindus do.“

2015-16

The Times of India, Jun 21 2016 

Cow smuggling and clashes with cow vigilantes, statewise, Jan-June 2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Jun 21 2016

Cow vigilante groups are now a law unto them selves, assaulting and killing alleged cattle smugglers, gheraoing police stations. Policemen, equally , are at the receiving end of the violence from cattle smugglers.

Since September 2015, when a Muslim was lynched near Dadri on Delhi's outskirts for allegedly possessing cow meat, vigilantism has become rampant, reports from TOI correspondents across states such as Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP say .

The shocking incident in Jharkhand's Latehar district, where two alleged cattle traders were thrashed and hanged, made front page news this March. But many cow vigilantism incidents go unnoticed.

Former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi sums it up: “In the last six months, harassment of cattle traders has increased manifold. They're beaten up in the name of cow protection. Fear has made many abandon their trade; they're jobless.“

Punjab Dairy Farmers Association president Daljit Singh says vigilantism has affected transportation of cows and adversely impacted diary business. Last April, a video depicting the torture of Punjab cattle smugglers surfaced on social media. Another clip showed Gau Raksha Dal workers flaunting weapons and bulletproof jackets.

Elsewhere, the picture is equally grim. Last month in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh, alleged cattle smugglers were stripped, kicked and tortured in the presence of policemen.Authorities often pamper the cattle protection mobs. On June 6, when over 400 Gau Raksha Dal workers blocked a national highway and gheraoed a police station demanding the release of five vigilantes, senior Pratapgarh police officers transferred SHO Kailash Chand. He'd arrested vigilantes accused of thrashing alleged cow smugglers.

Cow smugglers are no less menacing. On June 3, a chowk idar who tried to rescue cattle was killed allegedly by the smugglers in UP's Azamgarh.Weeks earlier, when police intercepted a truck ferrying cows in Rajasthan's Alwar, the smugglers opened fire.

In this cauldron of violence, rightwing groups are upfront. “If police and administration don't act, others will be forced to. We don't support violence, but cattle smugglers can't have a free run,“ says Sunil Singh, president, Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), an outfit founded by Gorakhpur MP Adityanath. HYV's members guard the UP-Bihar border, the route smugglers take for the northeast and Bangladesh.

District president Shiv Sena Muzaffarnagar, Yogender Sharma, claims they tackle two or three cattle smuggling incidents monthly while a local officer concedes: “ At times it's difficult to save culprits from the aggressive Hindu groups.

“We want the cow to be declared Rashtra Mata,“ Jharkhand activist Suresh Ram says. In 2012 he was jailed for assaulting a Muslim who, he claimed, was “a cattle smuggler“. Posters distributed in the eastern state often suggest cattle traders should be hanged.

The police have an unenviable task. UP's DIG Meerut range Laxmi Singh says, “We are vigilant. Cow slaughter creates law and order problems. Special teams have been formed to book those slaughtering cows and the protection groups from taking law into their hands.“

On May 9, Justice Fateh Deep Singh of the Punjab and Haryana high court ordered a CBI probe into the role of vigilante groups. The HC observed: “Such groups have no legal backing... the court cannot shut its eyes and allow state police to give fillip... under the garb of protecting animals.“ Inputs: Palak Nandi, Nitesh Kumar Sharma and Ashis Mehta in Jaipur , Shalabh in Lucknow, Faiz Rahman Siddiqui in Kanpur , Arvind Chauhan in Agra, Binay Singh in Varanasi, IP Singh in Jalandhar , Alok Mishra in Ranchi, Suchandana Gupta in Bhopal

Sep 2015- July 2016: Violent attacks by gau rakshaks

The Times of India, 6 Aug, 2016

Some instances of violent attacks perpetrated by gau rakshaks.

1. July 2016 - Mandasur, Madhya Pradesh

In June 2016, two Muslim women from Mandasur in Madhya Pradesh were beaten by gau rakshaks who suspected them of transporting beef for sale. The incident, which took place at a railway station, was filmed.

After the incident, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, once a member of the Team Anna movement, tweeted that the vigilantes' behavior was "goondaism", and that "jungle raj" was "fast spreading in BJP states."

2. July 2016 - Una, Gujarat

On July 11, four Dalit men from a village near Una in Gir province were skinning dead cows. After rumours spread that they were slaughtering them, members of the local Shiv Sena stripped them half-naked, tied them to an SUV, and beat publicly. The incident sparked Dalit protests across the state of Gujarat, and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel called for peace. "People with with vested political interests are trying to divide communities and disrupt peace in state," she alleged.

3. June 2016 - NCR

In June 2016, a video surfaced showing two young Muslim men sitting in the middle of the road, trying to ingest a substance in a packet. Shouts of "Gau Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Shri Ram" could be heard in the background. Reports said the substance was a mixture of cow excrement and dairy products, and that the gau rakshaks who had filmed the video had found beef in the two men's car.

4. May 2016 - Amreli, Gujarat

On May 22, 2016, Seven Dalits were beaten for two and a half hours by more than 30 cow vigilantes in Amreli in Gujarat. The men were reportedly skinning dead cows, but rumours had spread that they were killing them. Their assailants used iron pipes, baseball bats, and swords to hit them. The victims later alleged that the gau rakshaks had planned to burn them alive, and that members of their community had managed to come to their rescue in the nick of time.

Thirteen arrests were made in connection with the incident in July, after the Una attack.

5. September 2015 - Dadri, Uttar Pradesh

On September 28, 2015, Mohammed Akhlaq, a resident of Bisada village in Greater Noida, was beaten to death by a lynch mob. His son was attacked too, and sustained serious injuries. The mob carried out the attack after it was announced at a nearby temple that Akhlaq's family had eaten beef. It was also claimed that there was beef in their house. However, investigations revealed that they had mutton in their fridge, not beef.

2014-June 2017

Subodh Varma, Cow vigilantism has killed 23 since 2014, June 30, 2017: The Times of India

At Least 32 Mob Attacks On Muslims Under NDA

The horrific lynching of a young man, Junaid Khan, in a train near Ballabgarh on the outskirts of Delhi is another instance of a growing trend of mob violence against members of the Muslim community in India.

A review of media reports shows 32 cases of attacks by mobs or vigilante groups on Muslims since May 2014. In these attacks, 23 people were killed, including women and children. This is a conservative estimate because many attacks may not have been covered in national media.

In most cases, the issue of cows has been the proximate cause ­ allegations of cow slaughter, smuggling, eating or even possessing beef. In some cases, rumours and false suspicions of `child lifting' were fueling the mob frenzy , like in Jharkhand and West Bengal. And in some, the pretext of cows was used for committing heinous crimes, as in the gang rape of two young women and murder of their two relatives in Mewat, Haryana.

The spread of these cow terrorism cases ­ 12 states in all ­ is chilling as is the fact that the number is escalating. Between June 2014 and December 2015, 11such attacks took place, but after that, the pace has increased with 2016 recording 12 cases and 2017, 9 cases in six months. Most such attacks have occurred in North India.

Clearly , the spurt has taken place after the NDA government took over. This may be because of the advocacy of cow protection by the BJP and its associated organisations, changes in laws related to cow slaughter in several states ruled by the BJP and a sense of impunity felt by cow vigilantes. In many cases that caused extensive protests, like the lynching of Akhlaq in Dadri in 2015 or the stripping and beating of dalit youths in Una, Gujarat in 2016, the central and state government's response was perceived to be delayed and tepid.

According to home ministry annual reports, there have been 1,454 communal incidents over 2015 and 2016, in which 183 people have been killed and 4,585 injured. This is on the basis of reports by state governments. The precise categorization of a case as `communal' or not is largely up to the local police and often incidents such as lynching or similar attacks motivated by com munal poison may not be recorded as a `communal' incident.

In some cases, the frenzy of the mob was characterized by unprecedented barbarism. In March 2016, a 12-year old boy Inayatullah Khan was hanged along with Mohd. Majloom by a mob of villagers on the mere suspicion of cattle trading. In the Mewat rape case, a 14-year old girl was raped along with her 20-year old cousin by four antisocial elements who barged into their house at night.She told the media later that the rapists told her that they were going to punish her for eating beef. In most cases, the victims pleaded for mercy and denied allegations of cow slaughter or beef eating but in vain.

The state governments in most cases have arrested some of the culprits but usually after an uproar.

In 13 cases, the victims were also charged under some penal provision or other, according to an IndiaSpend review. The target of cow vigilates has extended to Dalits and tribals too, and in some cases to police personnel and government officials. According to a recent IndiaSpend analysis, 26 attacks on non-Muslims too have been carried out mostly by vigilantes and mobs allegedly led by right wing organisations. Several cases have also been reported where Dalits involved in flaying of dead cattle or in transportation were attacked and beaten.

One such incident that shocked the country took place a year ago in Gujarat where four dalit youth were stripped and publicly flogged even as a video was shot of the incident.

Eating of beef

History: Beef eating in ancient India

Indpaedia’s view: Hindu scriptures of the Vedic era clearly mention that some deities ate cow or buffalo meat. Even if D. N. Jha, a historian from Delhi University, is silenced through death threats from the Right, these scriptures cannot be changed.

HOWEVER, for the Left to bring up this pre-historic practice is like saying that the Arabs used to worship idols till A.D. 700.

Of course, they did. Most of them did. Islamic sites like Al-Islam always accept that ‘Most of the Arabs were idolaters. They worshipped numerous idols and each tribe had its own idol or idols and fetishes. They had turned the Kaaba in Makkah, which according to tradition, had been built by the Prophet Abraham and his son, Ismael, and was dedicated by them to the service of One God, into a heathen pantheon housing 360 idols of stone and wood.’

The coming of Islam changed that, and that is how things have been to this day and that is what is relevant. Present day Arabs are not idolaters. The Kaaba has not been a shrine with idols since the coming of Islam. In both cases, the present is what matters. What happened before Islam is only a matter of historical interest.

Did ancient Arabs eat pork? Unlikely, because not only Judaism but even ancient Egyptians considered pork unclean. HOWEVER, the oldest confirmed evidence of pigs domesticated and kept for pork meat come[s from Hallan Cemi in Southeastern Turkey from about 8000 BC].

But today Turkey is Muslim and pork is not eaten. Bashkir Turks used to worship [phallus idols.] The established presence of Islam in the region that now constitutes modern Turkey dates back to around A.D. 1060. Since then they gradually stopped eating pork and worshipping idols. In these two cases, too, the present is what matters. What happened before Islam is only a matter of historical interest.

Similarly, India has gone through many transformations.

By Sri Ram’s time beef was no longer being eaten by the majority.

Sri Krishn went much further. He was a Kshatriya and was thus permitted to eat meat. But in Srimad Bhagwat Gita [9:26] he clearly specified the kind of food he would eat:

पत्रम पुष्पम फलम तोयम यो मे भक्त्या प्रच्छति।

तदहम भक्तत्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन:।।26।।

"If one offers Me with love and devotion

a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it."

(From Ramesh Sharma)

By Sri Krishn’s time vegetarianism had gained enormous ground. Many scholars feel that it was Sri Krishn who promoted the vegetarian ideal in India.

Therefore, what pastoral Aryans or ancient Arabs or mediæval Turks did is a matter of academic interest and should never be denied by the Right. However, the Left should also accept that nations and peoples change over the centuries and what is relevant to present day India is not what some pastoral Indians did before the evolution of Hinduism to its present (post- Bhagwat Gita) form but what the majority of Hindus have been doing in the last several thousand years, since the Bhagwat Gita. Many have been eating meat, but barring the few Kerala communities and the few historical figures mentioned below, for the overwhelming majority of Hindus beef is taboo and cow slaughter hurts them deeply.

The Left should respect that, and the Right should not deny history.

Prof. Ram Puniyani’s article:

Prof. RAM PUNIYANI | Beef eating: strangulating history | Aug 14, 2001 | The Hindu:

While one must respect the sentiments of those who worship cow and regard her as their mother, PROF. D. N. JHA, a historian from Delhi University, had been experiencing the nightmares of `threats to life' from anonymous callers who were trying to prevail upon him not to go ahead with the publication of his well-researched work, Holy Cow: Beef in Indian Dietary Traditions

As per the reports it is a work of serious scholarship based on authentic sources in tune with methods of scientific research in history. The book demonstrates that contrary to the popular belief even today a large number of Indians, the indigenous people in particular and many other communities in general, consume beef unmindful.

Currently 72 communities in Kerala - not all of them untouchables - prefer beef to the expensive mutton.

Not tenable

To begin with the historian breaks the myth that Muslim rulers introduced beef eating in India. Much before the advent of Islam in India beef had been associated with Indian dietary practices.

A survey of ancient Indian scriptures, especially the Vedas, shows that amongst the nomadic, pastoral Aryans who settled here, animal sacrifice was a dominant feature till the emergence of settled agriculture. Cattle were the major property during this phase and they offered the same to propitiate the gods. Wealth was equated with the ownership of the cattle.

Many gods such as Indra and Agni are described as having special preferences for different types of flesh - Indra had weakness for bull's meat and Agni for bull's and cow's. It is recorded that the Maruts and the Asvins were also offered cows. In the Vedas there is a mention of around 250 animals out of which at least 50 were supposed to be fit for sacrifice and consumption. In the Mahabharata there is a mention of a king named Rantideva who achieved great fame by distributing foodgrains and beef to Brahmins. [Citation and the actual verse is needed: Did he give beef or cows.] Taittiriya Brahman categorically tells us: `Verily the cow is food' (atho annam via gauh) [Indpaedia: Yes, cow milk is food] and Yajnavalkya's insistence on eating the tender (amsala) flesh of the cow is well known. Even later Brahminical texts provide the evidence for eating beef. Even Manusmriti did not prohibit the consumption of beef.

As a medicine

In therapeutic section of Charak Samhita (pages 86-87) the flesh of cow is prescribed as a medicine for various diseases. It is also prescribed for making soup. It is emphatically advised as a cure for irregular fever, consumption, and emaciation. The fat of the cow is recommended for debility and rheumatism.

With the rise of agricultural economy and the massive transformation occurring in society, changes were to be brought in in the practice of animal sacrifice also. At that time there were ritualistic practices like animal sacrifices, with which Brahmins were identified. Buddha attacked these practices. There were sacrifices, which involved 500 oxen, 500 male calves, 500 female calves and 500 sheep to be tied to the sacrificial pole for slaughter. Buddha pointed out that aswamedha, purusmedha, vajapeya sacrifices did not produce good results. According to a story in Digha Nikaya, when Buddha was touring Magadha, a Brahmin called Kutadanta was preparing for a sacrifice with 700 bulls, 700 goats and 700 rams. Buddha intervened and stopped him. His rejection of animal sacrifice and emphasis on non-injury to animals assumed a new significance in the context of new agriculture.

The threat from Buddhism

The emphasis on non-violence by Buddha was not blind or rigid. He did taste beef and it is well known that he died due to eating pork. [Indpaedia: That is one of the theories of Lord Buddha’s death. There is no proof.] Emperor Ashok after converting to Buddhism did not turn to vegetarianism. He only restricted the number of animals to be killed for the royal kitchen.

So where do matters change and how did the cow become a symbol of faith and reverence to the extent of assuming the status of `motherhood'? Over a period of time mainly after the emergence of Buddhism or rather as an accompaniment of the Brahminical attack on Buddhism, the practices started being looked on with different emphasis. The threat posed by Buddhism to the Brahminical value system was too severe. In response to low castes slipping away from the grip of Brahminism, the battle was taken up at all the levels. At philosophical level Sankara reasserted the supremacy of Brahminical values, at political level King Pushyamitra Shung ensured the physical attack on Buddhist monks, at the level of symbols King Shashank got the Bodhi tree (where Gautama the Buddha got Enlightenment) destroyed.

One of the appeals to the spread of Buddhism was the protection of cattle wealth, which was needed for the agricultural economy. In a way while Brahminism `succeeded' in banishing Buddhism from India, it had also to transform itself from the `animal sacrifice' state to the one which could be in tune with the times. It is here that this ideology took up the cow as a symbol of their ideological march. But unlike Buddha whose pronouncements were based on reason, the counteraction of Brahminical ideology took the form of a blind faith based on assertion. So while Buddha's non-violence was for the preservation of animal wealth for the social and compassionate reasons the counter was based purely on symbolism. So while the followers of Brahminical ideology accuse Buddha of `weakening' India due to his doctrine of non-violence, he was not a cow worshipper or vegetarian in the current Brahminical sense.

Large sections of low castes continued the practice of beef eating. The followers of Buddhism continued to eat flesh including beef. [Indpaedia: Ladakhi and Tibetan eat the yak to this day.] Since Brahminism is the dominant religious tradition, Babur, the first Mughal emperor, in his will to his son Humayun, in deference to these notions, advised him to respect the cow and avoid cow slaughter.

The author is a member of EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity), Mumbai

https://sanatansinhnaad.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/misquoted-verses-of-hindu-scriptures-for-meat-eating/ carries a verse by verse rebuttal of the above, which is how a civilised debate should be.

The state-wise position on slaughter

2017

See graphic.

The state-wise position on cow slaughter, as in 2017; The Times of India, April 11, 2017

10 facts about beef in India

The Times of India, May 29 2015

Beef exports from India, 2011-15; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 17, 2015

1 States where cow slaughter is banned: Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab, Odisha, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh

2 Bulls and buffaloes are sold and eaten in most states even where cow slaughter is banned.Karnataka, for example, allows slaughter of bulls and buffaloes above 12 years

3 But some states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, J&K and Himachal Pradesh have more stringent laws that ban the slaughter of all

4 West Bengal permits slaughter of cows, bulls and buffaloes over the age of 14 but requires a `fit for slaughter' certificate

5 Daman & Diu and Goa permit slaughter of those cows which are old or sick, or for medical purposes

6 Kerala is believed to be India's most beef-friendly state.There is no state legislation banning cow slaughter & dishes like `beef fry' and `beef chilli' are available at roadside stalls too

7 States like Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal & Nagaland allow slaughter of cattle with no certificate required

8 Despite the bans, India is only second to Brazil when it comes to exporting beef, but most of it is buffalo meat. It is also the fifth-largest producer

9 India's beef ship ments till Oct last year rose to 1.95 million tonnes, 5% more than for the whole of 2013, according to the US department of agriculture

10 It is said that over a quarter of India's population of Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Castes eat beef. Consumption is also prevalent across all sections of society in states where cow slaughter is legal

Sale of cattle

Centre bans cattle sale for slaughter

Vishwa Mohan, Centre bans sale of cattle for slaughter at livestock markets, May 27, 2017: The Times of India

Rules of sale of cattle in India; The Times of India, May 27, 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

The move is aimed at ending uncontrolled and unregulated animal trade

The rules won’t apply to goats and sheep, often sacrificed during Id

Meat export organisations have protested the move saying it was sudden and arbitrary

NEW DELHI: In a move amounting to a virtual ban on unregulated trade of cattle, the Centre on Friday announced strict rules to prohibit sale of animals for slaughter or religious sacrifice at livestock markets and animal fairs that are a common occurrence in rural areas. The animals under purview are cows, bulls, bullocks, buffaloes, steers, heifers, calves and camels.

The official reasoning is the order is intended to end uncontrolled and unregulated animal trade. The rules won't apply to goats and sheep, often sacrificed during Id. Apart from the stated objective of curbing unregulated trade, mixing of milch animals with older, less healthy beasts meant for slaughter, the move has political overtones in tune with BJP's pledge to "protect" the cow and its progeny+ .

The rules are in line with BJP's emphasis on shutting down illegal slaughterhouses during the UP poll and the views expressed by senior leaders calling for the promotion of "cattle wealth" rather than the meat trade.

Meat export organisations have protested the move saying it was sudden and arbitrary and will affect their business+ that is already taking a hit over the actions of BJP governments that have discouraged the trade.

Activists welcomed the step taken in the wake of Supreme Court's directions for regulation of livestock markets. "We commend the ministry for their vision and their efforts to protect the most vulnerable animals, be it animals used as reproductive machines for breeding or animals that are cruelly sold off at unregulated markets," said Gauri Maulekhi, trustee at People for Animals (PFA).

With the onus being on cattle owners to certify that cattle will not be sold for slaughter or sacrifice, the trade in animals will be more regulated, said officials. The rules will bring in new norms for the functioning of well-known livestock markets or annual cattle fairs like the ones at Sonepur (Bihar) and Pushkar (Rajasthan) or in other states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Animals for slaughter can now be bought directly from farms — a move expected to ensure traceability and food safety standards and weed out middlemen between farmers and slaughterhouses, and increase the income of farmers who rear such animals for trade. New rules have, however, not banned sale of such animals for agriculture purposes or milk. But it can be done only through regulated livestock markets which will have to adhere to safety standards and certain do's and don'ts to avoid cruelty against the animals.

The rules, notified by the ministry of environment, will have to be implemented within three months across the country, including Kerala, which allow cow slaughter. Though the issues relating to cow slaughter come under the 'state' subject in terms of making law and framing the rules, the new central rules are notified under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act of 1960 that gives the Centre power over animal welfare.

"The rules intend to promote the concept of 'farm to fork', which revolves around the traceability of food products as they move through the supply chain. Due to the present system of open markets that allow trade of both milch and slaughter animals, and multiple buyers and sellers, it becomes impossible to trace an animal back to its farm of origin", said N G Jayasimha, managing director of the Humane Society International/India, who was part of the drafting committee of the Regulation of Livestock market rules. He said, "The animals being sold for slaughter are generally unfit, making the markets a major hub for the spread of infectious diseases as there are no records and no liability. Cattle suffering from foot & mouth disease or mad cow disease may be sold. So, the idea behind the new rules is to ensure that only healthy animals are traded for agricultural purposes, whereas animals for slaughter must be sourced directly from farms to ensure traceability".

The rules also provide for setting up a district-level authority to enforce animal protection laws on the ground, including those against illegal slaughter. As part of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, it makes a provision of constitution of Animal Market Committee for management of animal markets in the district. The Committee will have to ensure that no person will bring a cattle to an animal market unless upon arrival he has furnished a written declaration signed by the owner of the cattle that "the cattle has not been brought to market for sale for slaughter".

The purchaser will have to give an undertaking that he/she will not sell the animal for purpose of slaughter, follow the state cattle protection or preservation laws, not sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose and not sell the cattle to a person outside the state without the permission as per the state cattle protection laws. Under the rules, no animal market will be allowed in a place that is within 25 km from any state border or that is within 50 km from any international border. Besides, unfit animals, pregnant animals, animals who have not been vaccinated and animals under six months of age cannot be displayed or sold at any of the cattle market anywhere in the country. The market committee will have to keep a record of name and address of the purchaser and procure his identity proof. The committee will also have to ensure that the purchaser of the animal gives a declaration that he shall not sell the animal up to six months from the date of purchase and shall abide by the rules relating to transport of animals made under the Act or any other law for the time being in force.

Since the rules include buffaloes in their definition of cattle, big traders and exporters will initially feel the heat in procuring the animals for meat. But the regulation of slaughter houses and closure of illegal ones will ultimately bring consistency of supply in the market and ensure food safety standard. India is currently a major buffalo meat exporting country which grew from Rs 3,533 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 26,685 crore in 2015-16.

"The three-month time given for implementing these rules will be sufficient to regulate the practice. After all, the specific provisions will only apply to animals in livestock market and animal seized as case properties. The legal slaughter houses can directly procure animals from farms", said an official.

Notice to dog breeders

The ministry has separately also notified the Dog Breeding & Marketing Rules to regulate the breeding industry where tens of thousands of dogs are bred in deplorable conditions without proper medical care. The rules mandate obtaining of a certificate of the registration from the Animal Welfare Board of India for breeding activity, owning or housing dogs for breeding, for sale of dogs and pups. Such a certificate will be valid for a period of one year. It will also be non-transferable and be subject to reviewing.

The rules require the breeder to maintain records of all the animals housed in the establishment including the dogs being used for breeding and the dogs for sale. The breeder will also have to maintain records of each individual dog. Besides, every registered breeder is required to submit an annual report to the Board detailing total number of animals traded (sold or exchanged), boarded or exhibited during the previous year.

Cattle sale norms based on SC order, 2016

Vishwa Mohan, Cattle sale norms based on SC order of 2016, May 31, 2017: The Times of India

The environment ministry's notification prohibiting sale of cattle for slaughter or sacrifice in livestock markets is based on the Supreme Court's order of July last year when the apex court had directed it to frame rules under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to curb transborder smuggling of cattle and to protect animals from cruelty .

It all started with a writ petition, filed by animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi in 2014, drawing the SC's attention to large-scale smuggling of cattle to Nepal for sacrifice there at the Gadhimai festival. The festival is held every five years at Bariyarpur village, where over five lakh animals are sacrificed in a span of two days making it the largest animal sacrifice in the world. Maulekhi, a trustee at Union minister Maneka Gandhi-led People for Animals (PFA), had sought SC intervention so that trans-border smuggling can be stopped with involvement of different agencies, including border guarding forces and state police, and cattle was made available to farmers at reasonable prices for agriculture.

The court then passed an order on July 13, 2015 to frame guidelines to prevent animals from being smuggled out of India for the festival and constituted a committee under the then director general of Sahastra Seema Bal. The panel submitted a list of 20 recommendations, paving the way for the SC to deliver its final order on July 12 last year asking the ministry to frame rules under Section 38 of the 1960 Act.

Saying the new rules were long overdue, Maulekhi told TOI on Tuesday that the move would save cattle from cruelty , remove the scope of illegal sale and smuggling and also help farmers who would now be able to buy cattle for agriculture purposes.

She said, “ Animal markets, which used to be `farmer markets', have turned into `butcher markets' over the years. The result has been that there are no animals left for farmers to buy . The prices have been driven sky-high by butchers and no farmer who wants an animal for ploughing can afford one.More small farmers are driven to bankruptcy because they cannot afford mechanised vehicles“.

Stating that the new rules have restored hope for small and marginal farmers, Maulekhi said, “Price of the animals will now come down and small farmers will be able to afford them again, restoring some form of wealth to them“.

The committee's recommendations, which had become the basis for the SC order, include restrictions on slaughter, regulations of “pashu haatsmelas“ (animal marketfair), methods to handle unproductive animals and transportation of animals under existing laws in the country .

Its recommendation says, “No animal slaughter may be allowed at any religious or public place and slaughter may be permitted only in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulations, 2011“. It has not talked about a complete ban on slaughter but noted that it should be done in a manner that cattle suffering from disease do not enter the food chain.

Political opposition in Kerala, Puducherry, TN

Bengal, Kerala take bull by horns, reject cattle trade ban, May 30, 2017: The Times of India

Pondy CM Says Won't Implement Centre's Order

The countrywide chorus against the Centre's notification banning the sale of animals for slaughter at livestock markets and animal fairs grew louder on Monday , with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee saying West Bengal will not implement the new rules and Kerala writing to all CMs to oppose the new regulations. Describing the move as “undemocratic, unconstitutional and unethical“, Mamata said the state will seek a review by the Supreme Court, if needed. The Puducherry go vernment, too, said it will not implement the ban and passed a resolution in the assembly to register its protest against the notification. The move has caused consternation in the Christian-majority states of Meghalaya and Nagaland. Accusing the Modi government of crossing the “Lakshman rekha“, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said, “Let's not forget that a state government, like the Centre, is elected. A government should not exceed its brief, endangering democracy and secularism.Nothing remains if a government bulldozes states and destroys the federal structure.“

Protests erupted across Tamil Nadu, with several parties, including the opposition DMK, slamming the “silent“ state government for not opposing the Centre on the issue.

DMK working president M K Stalin is to lead the protest on Wednesday . “The decision has affected the village economy . Several states have expressed their opposition to the ban, but the Tamil Nadu government is silent on it, and it is condemnable,“ the statement added.

Accusing BJP of imposing the Hindutva ideology across the country , Tamilar Desiya Munnani president Pazha Nedumaran called Tamil nationalist organisations to join an agitation on May 31 in Trichy . PMK chief S Ramadoss also warned of protests from his party members.

Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy said he would write to the PM urging him to withdraw the notification. If needed, legislation will be passed declaring that the Union government's notification will not be implemented, he said. “Beef is an integral part of French cuisine in the former French colony of Puducherry ,“ he added.

The Karnataka government is contemplating challenging the Centre's new rule in court.“We are studying the Centre's notification, and it appears very confusing. We have to see if the new regulation conforms to the 1960 law,“ said T B Jayachandra, Karnataka's law minister. In what could be termed as the first step for “beef diplomacy“ that may even turn out to be a movement to unite nonBJP CMs, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote letters to all his fel low CMs expressing concern over the recent guidelines issued by the Centre to regulate cattle trade.

He urged all his counterparts to stand together “to oppose this anti-federal, antidemocratic and anti-secular move“. In Left-ruled Tripura, CPM state secretary Bijan Dhar demanded the withdrawal of the notification.

Madras HC stays ban for 4 weeks…

Saravanan L1, Madras HC stays Centre's cattle ban for 4 weeks , May 31, 2017: The Times of India

Rules Violate Parent Act, Say Petitioners

The Union government's controversial notification of May 23 banning the sale of cattle in animal markets for slaughter was stayed on Tuesday by the Madras high court. A vacation bench of Justice M V Muralidharan and Justice C V Karthikeyan, granting an interim stay on the operation of the notification, also ordered notice to the state and central governments, returnable in four weeks. The interim order effectively stops operation of Rule 22(b) (iii) and Rule 22(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulations of Live Stock Markets) Rules 2017.

The bench passed the order when PILs filed by S Selvagomathy and Asik Elahi Baba of Madurai, seeking to declare those rules as ultra vires the parent act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and various other constitutional provisions, came up for admission.

During arguments, the petitioner's counsel told the court that India was a multireligious and multi-cultural, secular republic which ensured social justice to all its citizens. The legislature has not categorised the slaughter of animals for the purpose of food as an act of cruelty . In fact, the petitioners said, the scheme of the Act spe cifically provides for and permits slaughter of any animal for the purpose of food.

Parliament did not enact the Act to in any way prohibit or restrict any act of slaughter of animals for food or for religious sacrifice or the sale of animals for these purposes. The joint secretary of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change had no jurisdiction to make such rules contrary to the parent enactment and also beyond the rule-making power delegated to him, the PIL said. Therefore, the impugned provisions are ultra vires the parent Act -the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, 1960 -they said.

The petition said the sale of animals is a trade and every citizen has a right to carry on any occupation, trade or business, guaranteed under the Constitution. The impugned provisions are in violation of the right to livelihood under the Constitution. Further, the SC had in various cases held that the right to choice of food is a part of the right to personal liberty , conscience and privacy . By imposing a ban on the slaughter of animals for food, citizens with a choice to eat the flesh of such animals would be deprived of such food, which violates the right to food, privacy and personal liberty guaranteed under the Constitution, they said. The Centre said the government had brought the rule to restrict the sale of cattle. It also sought four weeks to reply to the cases and argued against a stay of operation of the rules before they offer their reply .But the court said the matter should have been brought to the notice of the state government since implementation of the rule lay with the state government. It also said the subject was under concurrent list.While so, the court asked how the Centre could arbitrarily take the decision, adding that no parliamentary nod too had been given to the rule. A prima facie case is made out in favour of the petitioner sides, warranting an interim stay , the HC said.





…but Kerala HC supports the ban

Mahir Haneef , Kerala HC supports government order banning sale of cattle for slaughter in state, May 31, 2017: The Times of India

The Kerala high court dismissed PILs that sought quashing of the new central law banning sale of cattle for slaughter in the state.

The court said there was no need for the judiciary to interfere with the Centre's decision as it did not violate any law or provision in the Constitution.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Navniti Prasad said the new order had been "misread" and nothing stated in the petition has been banned by government.

The bench said there is no ban on slaughtering as such in the rules. In the absence of such ban on slaughtering, how are the petitioners aggrieved, the court asked.

The court also pointed out that Article 48 of the Constitution mandates ban on slaughtering cattle but the recently introduced rules only restricts sale of cattle for slaughter at markets. There is no restriction on sale of beef and the right to eat or slaughter beef are not restricted by the rules, the bench said.

"There is no ban on slaughter or sale of beef. What has been said in the new order is that mass sale of cattle for slaughter through the cattle market is banned," the judge observed.

In the absence of any cause for the petitioners to be aggrieved on such aspects through the imposition of the rules, there is no cause to file petitions, the bench said during the hearing.

While a total of five petitions were before the court, one of them, filed by Youth Congress general secretary TG Sunil, was withdrawn by the petitioner.

Widespread protests had erupted across Kerala objecting to the Centre's imposition of ban on sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter. Protesters alleged that it infringed upon the food habits of people. The state government led by chief minster Pinarayi Vijayan also criticized the new order, saying that it encroached on the powers of the state.

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court had on Tuesday suspended the ban for four weeks after PILs contended that the provisions of the Centre's order "breached the cardinal principle of federalism" as it amounted to legislation in the fields earmarked for state legislature.

The petition further said the rules, which deprived the people of the right to sell or purchase any animal for sale or slaughter as part of meat vending business, were a burdensome interference in the freedom of trade and business guaranteed under the Constitution.

The new rules notified by the Union environment ministry banned the sale or purchase of bulls, cows, camels for slaughter houses or for sacrifice for religious purpose.