I was really not inclined to discuss the issue of beef, again. I was not inclined because I have already spoken and written a lot on it, and am now fed up trying to educate the many blockheads in India, who believe that a cow is 'gomata' when even a little common sense can tell us that an animal cannot be the mother of a human being.
A cow cannot be venerated as a mother just because it gives us milk to drink; otherwise, we must also venerate goats, buffaloes, camels, yak, deer and so forth, because humans drink their milk too. Eating beef cannot be regarded as wicked; otherwise, we will have to regard over 90 per cent of the world's population (Americans, Europeans, Africans, Arabs, Chinese, Russians, Turks, Afghans, Pakistanis, Thais, and even some of our own countrymen like Keralites, Bengalis, Goans, and people in the northeast) which eat beef as wicked. So are 90 per cent of the people in the world wicked and we Hindus alone sadhu sants?
I have discussed the issue of beef earlier in writings and speeches (videos are available on YouTube), but I have now been instigated to write again on this topic after reading an article in online publication that claimed Indian Muslims have supported a ban on cow slaughter since the time of the Constituent Assembly.
The article, in a subtle way, insinuates that to stop communal hatred and have communal harmony in India, cow slaughter should be totally banned all over India—at least that, is the demand of Indian Muslims.
I am totally against a ban on cow slaughter, and in fact want laws against cow slaughter—which are in force in most Indian states—to be repealed, and everyone who wants to eat beef (including me) should be free to do so. In my opinion, laws banning cow slaughter are laws revealing a feudal mindset, and it is this feudal mindset among Indians that has to be destroyed if India is to progress.
The feudal economy in India was largely destroyed after independence in 1947 by the zamindari abolition laws enacted in almost all Indian states. However, the feudal mindset continues in most Indians, as is evident from the rampant casteism and communalism prevalent everywhere. The ban on cow slaughter is part of this feudal mindset. So supporting this ban is supporting feudalism and backwardness, which are the main enemies of India today. To my mind, therefore, whoever supports a ban on cow slaughter and eating of beef is unwittingly harming India.
The article in the online publication said that in the Constituent Assembly, two Muslims supported a ban on cow slaughter, and many orthodox Hindu members supported the ban on two grounds. The first reason was that India had a predominantly agricultural economy, and to grow more food, we must protect cows as they give manure, which is used as a fertiliser, and bullocks are needed to till the fields. The second reason was the need to respect the feelings of the majority Hindu community, and maintain good relations between Hindus and Muslims.
But both these grounds are specious. As regards the first, this is the age of chemical fertilisers, not cow dung, and fields are now tilled by tractors, not bullocks.
And as regards the second, the reply to those who say that cow veneration is part of Hindu culture is that there is a lot of rubbish in Hindu culture too, for example, the caste system and looking down on dalits. Should that be continued too? No, we must not blindly continue everything in Hindu culture. We must sift the good from the bad, and continue only that part of our culture that is rational and useful to us and contributes to our progress.
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To think that a ban on cow slaughter will put an end to communalism in India is silly and ignores realities. Communalism will be stoked up by vested interests for getting votes, irrespective of a cow slaughter ban. Has communalism ended in states where cow slaughter is banned? Ikhlaq, Pehlu Khan, Tabrez and others were lynched in states where cow slaughter is banned.
I am a totally scientific person, and though born a Brahmin (surely that is not my fault!), I eat beef. I regard a cow as just another animal, like a horse or a dog. We make ourselves a laughing stock before the whole world by calling a cow 'gomata' and worshipping it.
Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
