To be bovine in India is divine. But is it really? Recently Mrs. Maneka Gandhi was in the city and excitably supportive on hearing that the BJP government may ban cow slaughter. A group of cow lovers organised a Vidhana Soudha Chalo programme on February 23 in order to pressurise the State Government to pass the Bill in the next legislative session. But there was no protest when 50,000 sheep, nine buffaloes and thousands of chicken were sacrificed at a function that takes place with monotonous regularity in Davanagere. In fact, here, buffalo heads were chopped off in an undisclosed location (because it’s illegal to slaughter and there were CCTVs at the original location) and paraded in front of one lakh people! And not too many people were taken aback by this century - old inhuman practice.

Now, here is the question. What is so special about the cow compared to other animals? Is the cow so much more important than other animals that the India’s Directive Principles of State Policy states that the government must protect the cow, its progeny and other cattle used in agriculture? What makes other animals less deserving of our protection and affection?

Merely banning something does not solve a problem. In fact, the problem is escalated and a new dimension added, which ought to find our government ill - prepared to handle. Oh! On the contrary our government will be prepared, after all there is a lot of money to be made when bans are violated and our governments are specialists in “collection”.

Banning cow slaughter is going to send the practice underground and give birth to a new black market in which thugs, cops and govt. officers will thrive. Already there is rampant cow smuggling going on in States where cow slaughter is banned. Except Kerala and Kolkata, cow slaughter is banned elsewhere unless it is under certain conditions. So imagine the magnitude of cow smuggling and slaughter that goes on! Also when you ban something, it has economic and social repercussions.

Cow lovers need to wake up and get their priorities straight, and that priority should be to make the life of all animals as painless as possible. Where are the cow lovers when cow owners leave their cows on the roads to eat plastic bags next to dustbins? Where are these bovine fanatics when overloaded bullock carts are dragged by suffocating bullocks behind smoke-spewing tempos? Where are these saviours of holy cow when cows are overloaded into a lorry to be transported hundreds of miles without water? Guess they are too busy saving a cow from being slaughtered. I would rather be dead than be tortured and I’m sure the cows feel the same.

To be bovine in India is not divine but a life of burden. The holy cow and its progeny are beasts of burden that have been exploited for the purposes of religion and politics in this country. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, clearly states that “It shall be the duty of every person having the care or charge of any animal to take all reasonable measures to ensure the well-being of such animal and prevent the infliction upon such animal of unnecessary pain or suffering.”

What constitutes cruelty is quite explicit but the punishment is toothless: under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, just a fine of up to fifty rupees and in the case of a second offence committed within three years of the previous offence, then it’s a fine of up to a hundred rupees. Thankfully, there is also a three month imprisonment, if the court so wishes. Now how much of this law is implemented? If only the animal lovers could lobby for more effective implementation, then there would be happier cows in Indian homes instead of heartbreaking sights of unhappy bovines on our roads.

The other issue is cow slaughter for food. The cow may be sacred but what about pigs, goats, sheep, fish and chicken? They are god’s creatures too. In fact in coastal areas fish is considered vegetarian!! How convenient. In a democracy, one community’s wish cannot become the law for all. It is unfair and undemocratic. I am a Kodava and we eat pork. It is my personal choice and as a citizen of a free nation with a Constitution and personal liberties, it is my right to choose what I eat and it is no business of anyone else, unless of course I’m vying for their pet or I end up becoming a cannibal and start gunning down my neighbour, sautéing him with some garam masala and laying out the cutlery.

Our governments have a habit of banning problems that they cannot handle. Whether there is a ban or not, cows will be slaughtered. Instead the government must learn to regulate slaughter houses and the leather industry. There must be certified slaughter houses which are monitored for hygiene and quality. They must make sure that the equipment used is well - maintained and effective. They must regulate the source of the cow that is brought to slaughter house, age, cause of death etc.

Above all, whose cows are being slaughtered? It’s the poor farmers’. A milch cow can be milked for up to 12 to 14 years, after that it is of no use to the farmer. Now the farmer is left with three choices — use it to plough land, sell it to the slaughter house or send it to Pinjrapole where she will live out the rest of her life, which is about another 15 years. Now if a farmer is poor, he would obviously sell it to a slaughter house which typically pays around Rs. 2500 per cow. Most farmers sell or give away young male calves as soon as they are born. It seems in the animal world the ‘girl child’ is king.

Taking up the issue of just cow slaughter is only going to end up as a political game in which personal freedoms will be slaughtered and our Constitutional rights bloodied. Regulation of all slaughter houses seems more workable. It’s time the bovine fanatics started lobbying for a stringent law and its effective implementation against cruelty towards all animals rather than just harping on about cow slaughter.

Vikram Muthanna
vikram@starofmysore.com
Courtesy: Star of Mysore