The beef eating has become a issue of debate now. Some days
before Justice Katju, an ex judge of Hon’ble Supreme Court has confessed that
he ate beef and advocated it. Some days earlier Rishi Kanpur admitted that he
was against beef banning. Rishi told, don’t mix food with religion.
There are two lobbies of pro beef and anti beef eaters. Each lobby
have their own logics. As in words of Prof Amartya Sen, we are wonderful
argumentative Indian. We have ample and logical ancient source to prove our
points. Some years back Dr DN Jha a prominent historian wrote a book titled, Beef eating in ancient India. He gave many
illustrations from scriptures including Vedas in support of his theory that
beef or calf eating was very much popular and a prominent dish of feast in
ancient times. I am not going to counter him. He may be correct he may not be
correct. It is a case of academic discussion.
There is no evidence that Brahmanism,
the main religion during the Buddha’s time, taught vegetarianism. Vedic
sacrifices in which animals were slaughtered were still being practiced and are
frequently mentioned in the Tipitaka (e.g. Anguttara Nikaya I,66; II,42;
IV,41). However, the Vinaya mentions what were called maghata, certain days of
the month when animals were not slaughtered and meat was not available in the
markets (Vinaya I,217). The Jataka also mentions maghata and adds that they
would be announced by the beat of a drum (Jataka IV,115). Were these
non-killing days a result of a general unease about meat eating, or due to the
influence of Buddhism, or of Jainism? We don’t know. The Kama Sutra (3rd cent
CE?) points out that alcohol and dog meat increase a man’s virility but then
adds, somewhat halfheartedly, that a circumspect man would nonetheless take
neither. It also gives recipes for aphrodisiacs, many of them including animal
flesh and organs. So once again we have an ambiguous attitude towards consuming
meat.
But in India, cow or her family supposed to be a most pious and
worshipped animal. It has a sentimental place. The word holy always comes
before cow. From milk to cow dung, it is being used in many religious
karmkaand. In my opinion, beef may not be a sentimental issue for those who ate
or want to consume, but it is a sentimental issue for millions who are living
in this world. That sentiments must be honoured. After all, what you get in
temple, mosque or in church. All are buildings and structures of concrete. The
difference is only the faith and sentiments. If you destroy all the places of
worship, the God will be remain there if you have faith. So the faith is
important not the animal.
So my dear advocates of beef eaters, no doubt , what to eat or
what not to eat is a personal issue for you and me too. But you have no right
to hurt the sentiments of millions, only on the name of the dish which you
relish. So most of the Mughal emperors banned cow slaughtering. The first
farmaan issued by Bahadur shah jafar on the eve of 1857 was to ban the cow
slaughtering. So dear friends think over it and don't make this issue
controversial.
In Uttar
Pradesh cow slaughtering is a punishable offence. And we as a policeman always took it seriously. My friends from
police and administration will be agree with me, that an information about a
cow slaughtering is more sensitive than an information of a murder. Murder has
no visible impact on the society, if it
has a not a cause of personal enmity . But a slaughtered cow can ignite a riot
and surely it will create a serious law and order problem. We often use the
Gangster act or NSA as a preventive measure to curb this crime in UP. In spite of these steps this crime has not
been uprooted yet.
I was posted
at Mathura in 83 as DSP there. There was a place named Kosi kalan on the
Mathura Delhi highway on Hariyana border, a weekly painth or bazaar was being
organized for sales and purchase of cow and bulls. After the declaration of cow
slaughtering illegal in UP, where these cattle goes ? They were bought and
transported to Kolkata. In WB cow slaughtering is not an offence. This is the
major problem. Though Govt and Police often check it, and try to stop it, but
still it is happening. Police has also some hands in gloves with smugglers.
Kosi is simply an example. Many more places are known to me.
I am in the
favour of making cow slaughtering a punishable offence not as a religious angle, but, because it will be a major cause of
igniting communal fire. I always thought the communal harmony is the basis of
development, progress and united India. You can play with someone's sentiments.
But you can not and must not play with fire. Fire has no religion, no caste and
no region. It can burn all of us.
Suppose I
have been invited to a traditional Vaishnav family for dinner. They are not
even eat onions and garlics. If I demand onion as a salad, it may offence the
feelings of my host . I relish non veg dishes. But I never ate any thing except
mutton and chicken . Not even pork. Why ? I have not tried any thing except
those. Just due to the age old thinking that beef must not be consumed. So my
dear I just want to say please learn to honour the sentiments of others. If you
can not honour any one then at least never tease them.
Why Bahadur
shah zafar had banned beef eating in his first firmaan ? Why the upsurge of
1857 has burst on the kaartoos theory of beef and pork’s fat ? The long history
of slaveness had not compelled any one to throw out the nascent Company rule,
but a rumour of kaartoos ignited a rebellian . You free to eat, free to express
, free to talk , free to do anything, but when this liberty is with you then
you must think like a responsible citizen. The unity and integrity of the
country is supreme. The health of the social fabric is supreme. If something
hurt someone so blantetly , then it must be avoided.
That's why I
always condemn the posts which only create a rift between communities on
communal lines. Learn to live with harmony.
-vss .
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