Essay On Cow Slaughter

BEEF BAN IN MAHARASHTRA: A POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Simran Cherayil - J22, TyBmm, St. Xavier’s College. UID - 143063

Abstract:

Beef Ban has continued to be a serious topic of debate since years in India. Cattle slaughter is a sensitive topic that has and continues to stain the country with blood shed, and has spread violence and disharmony in this multiethnic nation. This situation has only escalated by the recent ban imposed by the Modi government. The nation stands divided between those who strive to uphold the sanctity of the Holy Cow and those whose mere survival depends on cattle slaughter. This division has led to a sudden spurt in Cow vigilantism across the country and the atrocities they commit against the lower castes is making news quite often lately. While differences in religious and social beliefs can be considered to be the rationale behind this , one cannot deny the underlying political agenda of those

Our Mother gives us milk for a couple of years and then expects us to serve her when we grow up. Mother cow expects from us nothing but grass and grain. Our mother often falls ill and expects service from us. Mother cow rarely falls ill. Our mother when she dies means expenses of burial or cremation. Mother Cow is as useful dead as when alive’ – Mahatma Gandhi

The Cow is of significant importance in Hinduism. She is believed to be the representative of God and is ardently protected and venerated by her devotees. The Cow is also associated with various Hindu Dieties such as Shiva (whose steed is Nandi, a bull), Indra (closely associated with Kamadhenu, the wish-granting cow), Krishna (a cowherd in his youth), and goddesses in general (because of the maternal attributes of many of them). The Hindus believe that the cow is sacrosanct and inviolable and therefore it’s consumption is a grave sin. But how did Cow come to be the Holy animal of the Hindu