The cow problem

Islam is the second-largest religion in India with 14.2 per cent of the population identifying themselves as adherents of Islam according to the 2011 census. This makes them members of the largest religious minority in the world at 172 million. Like minorities everywhere — including Pakistan — they are discriminated against and their constitutional freedoms often denied. Being Muslims, cows have no place in their religious life, unlike the Hindu majority that venerates cows and receives the blessings of the state for doing so. The Muslims by virtue of their position as non-Hindus have cornered the market in the sale of cattle for slaughter and the commercial use of hides and meat for considerable profit. It is mostly Muslims that run the beef and leather trade which is a multibillion dollar industry and of late has come under extreme pressure from Hindu traditionalists.

Hitherto the Modi-led government has been dilatory in respect of the vigilante groups that have in some cases murdered Muslims, seemingly with the overt support of the government that in May 2017 decreed that cattle may only be used for agricultural purposes and dairy production. The beef and leather industry was rightly outraged, claiming loss of livelihood. The ruling has now been suspended by the Supreme Court but much damage has been done. The government has promised to abide by the SC ruling and amend the decree.

The issue goes to the heart of minority rights in India, which has a generally lamentable record in protecting its minority citizens be they Muslim, Christian or any faith other than Hindu. There is a long and dishonorable history of minorities being persecuted with occasional incidents of mass-murder, particularly of Christians. Muslims make a significant contribution to the Indian economy and it is likely this fact that has prompted the U-turn by the Modi government. We look forward to reports of Muslim rights being protected and vigilantism curbed.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2017.

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