India

Government looks at encouraging states to adopt Maharashtra’s beef ban

By RJ Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

The cow is sacred to Hindus, and now bulls and bullocks get the same protection in Maharashtra
The cow is sacred to Hindus, and now bulls and bullocks get the same protection in Maharashtra

Related tags Cattle India

With Maharashtra now joining the states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat in banning the slaughter of cows, India’s prime minister is now looking at the validity of encouraging other states to adopt a similar law.

Last week, Maharashtra’s state government, led by the Hindu BJP, enacted a bill that had been dormant since 1995, when the party was last in power, that bans the slaughter of bulls and bullocks.

Of India’s 29 states, 24 including Maharashtra currently have some regulations that prohibit either the slaughter or sale of cows.

According to the Press Trust of India, the prime minister’s office at the same time asked the law ministry if it was permissible to circulate new cow slaughter laws as a model bill for other states to consider implementing.

The states could then “exercise their choice of consideration to introduce similar enactments​”.

Constitution appears to back move

The PM’s office cited the Indian Constitution, whereby Article 48 states: “The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle​.”

Similar draft model bills have recently been sent to the states by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Planning Commission.

While Maharashtra’s new ban on beef slaughter has been praised from mostly religious quarters, Muslims and secular Indians have criticised the move, saying it would render hundreds of thousands without work. 

Muslim opposition

The Muslim political party Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (MIM) said: “The government has taken the decision of banning slaughter of bulls and bullocks and thereby rendering lakhs of people dependent on this business jobless​.”

The government has done a grave injustice to the large number of beef traders and the number of allied industries that have thrived on [the beef industry] by imposing a ban on slaughter of bulls as well as bullocks, said MIM state representative Imtiaz Jaleel.

"What plan has the government got to rehabilitate the large number of people working in the beef business and their numbers is in lakhs across the state. The government just cannot snatch away their livelihood and take away their legal means of earning their bread and butter​.”

There are also concerns over the possible growth in price of mutton, chicken and even vegetables as demand grows. Poor Muslims regularly eat beef in the state as it one of the cheapest intensive sources of protein available to them.

Related topics Policy Asian tastes Meat South Asia

Related news

Show more

Related product

How Korean culture penetrated the APAC food industry?

How Korean culture penetrated the APAC food industry?

Content provided by BIOSPRINGER, natural Yeast ingredients | 17-Jan-2024 | White Paper

Korean food is on-trend in Asia. We mainly find Korean taste in noodles, sauces & dressings, pickled condiments, ready meals and savory snacks.

2 comments

beefban

Posted by kk,

God the creator has given humans canines for what? to tear and eat all kinds of flesh. Man has both carnivorous and herbivorous teeth. Its Zoology for the educated, Its religious for the illiterates. Muslims eat only beef, but the poor scheduled caste and scheduled tribes do not leave anything in cattle. They can only afford to eat all internal organs of the cattle which is very affordable by the poor. Cattle are not endangered animals, We must protect Tigers not the cattle. In secular India Muslims do not appose eating pork by Non Muslims. International cows are also holy? then India should fight for cow slaughter all over the world. If only Indian cows are holy, then import unholy cows. Banning food of the poor is this Indian Right to Food Act? Dear Hindu brothers plz support your answers only with Veda & Purana quotes not with your personal and philosophical views.

Report abuse

VEG

Posted by SG,

1. Banning things is probably not the way. Freedom should be universal - be it religious/freedom of speech or even freedom to eat etc.

2. As a vegetarian(not as a hindu/muslim/christian) I am personally against eating meat-be it beef or pork. You may ask me why..It is my opinion that anything that causes 'PAIN'

to anything that feels 'PAIN' should not be a part of my menu!! "PAIN" is an unpleasant sensation...sometimes it can be 'gut-wrenching', sometimes 'stabbing', sometimes

'piercing' as various adjectives are used to describe 'PAIN'. No living thing should feel 'pain'-for we all know what it feels like - and should not inflict the same on another.

3. For pet lovers, or even others - how often have we admired a cat, or a fluffy dog, or a puppy or a panda or just about any 'cute' animal. Now visualize that same cute and

cuddly animal decapitated, gut-wretched, roasted and fried and served in a plate!! (some sadistic readers may yet find their mouths water...but hopefully the rest get the

message!)(& don't tell me you can eat cows or pigs just because they are ugly and not cute!...just listen to yourself say that!:)

4. A question many ask is what about plants- are they not living creatures - yes they very much are...but plants lack a "nervous system", something very essential for feeling

"PAIN"!! So they DO NOT FEEL PAIN the way you and me do! They just react and grow...nothing more. But yes they are still essential components of the eco-system.

5. Next question- what about the food-pyramid. "If we do not eat these animals won't they become overcrowded and over-populated..& who will care for the injured and aged

animals- is it not a violation of their animal rights!!"----What nonsensical crap!! We were never the ones to bring balance to nature- left to her own devices she does

beautifully...so don't you worry about animals overpopulating the earth and creating nuisance!!...just saying@!@

Report abuse

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars

Food & Beverage Trailblazers

F&B Trailblazers Podcast