World

Indian Gujarat greenlights life sentence for cow slaughter

Anyone caught transporting cows for slaughter could also face up to 10 years in jail

Afp March 31, 2017

Cow is the most loved animal in India. PHOTO: AFP

AHMEDABAD, INDIA: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat on Friday increased the punishment for cow slaughter from seven years to life imprisonment as Hindu hardliners push for tougher protections for the holy animal.

Under the stiffened penalties passed by Gujarat's state assembly, anyone caught transporting cows for slaughter could also face up to 10 years in jail.

Cows are considered sacred in Hindu-majority India, and their slaughter is illegal in most states.

"A cow is not an animal. It is symbol of universal life," Gujarat law minister Pradipsinh Jadeja told the state's assembly. "Anybody who does not spare the cow, the government will not spare him.

Cow crackdown puts India's meat industry on edge

"The amendment still needs the approval of the state governor - a formality all but assured - before becoming law.

Millions from India's huge minority populations - including Muslims, Christians and lower-caste Hindus - eat beef, although it is not widely available.

But Modi's ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, which recently won India's largest state Uttar Pradesh in a landslide, has long campaigned for the protection of cows.

The BJP's new chief minister in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has launched a crackdown on abattoirs since taking office in March that has ground the state's meat industry to a halt.

Hindu activists have long accused the Muslim-dominated meat industry of covering up the slaughter of cows and passing off the meat as buffalo, which are not revered as holy.

Cow slaughter is a hot-button issue in India, where even rumours of cows being transported can spark murderous reprisals and religious riots.

Squads of "cow protection" vigilantes are known to roam highways inspecting livestock trucks for any trace of the animal.

In 2015 a 50-year-old Muslim man accused of eating beef was dragged from his home in 2015 and beaten to death by a mob. Police later said it was mutton.

COMMENTS (7)

WAQAS | 7 years ago | Reply Hindues and Muslims are to separate civilization they have difference in their culture,living standards and even menu too they can not live together.

Yogesh | 7 years ago | Reply @Mahmood Very logical question. You see, in many western countries like Canada, Hindus need to take permission before bursting firecrackers on Diwali (which is a ritual) and many a times, it is denied, considering the air and noise pollution it causes. Does that mean Canada is not secular? In India, there is no ban on buffalo slaughter. So if you want to eat beef you can. I have. Hence, slaughtering cows just to tease a community that revers them needs to be punished coz alternative sources of red meat are available.