In a Hindu dominated country, appeasing the Hindu community is the only way to grab maximum vote banks. How do politicians go about it? Bring in the holy cows for Hindus believe that the cow is the embodiment of divine virtues like love, compassion, benevolence, tolerance and non-violence.
To gain political mileage state governments started implementing animal preservation acts as early as the 1950s. On October 26, 2005, the Supreme court of India, in a landmark judgement upheld the constitutional validity of anti-cow slaughter laws enacted by different state governments in India.
Today 24 out of 29 states in India have various regulations prohibiting slaughter of cow. Kerala, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim are the states where there is no restrictions on cow slaughter. Why? Because majority of the people in these states eat beef for economic reasons. Politicians understood that prohibition of cow slaughter in these states will definitely back fire.
Here is a great example of how politics play a big role in deciding the food habits of the Indian people.
There is yet another economic angle to cow slaughter. Beef in India costs less than half the price of lamb or chicken. It is the preferred source of first-class protein for the poor, who constitute a majority of India's population. The absence of beef will raise the food bill for the underprivileged.
Having said that law can not be taken by mobs in their own hands pretending to uphold the ban. If there are breaches, let the law take its own course. In a secular country there is no place for intolerance towards the sentiments of other religion.
Moving away from beef, before leaving India, one most important lesson the British taught the Indians and the Indians learned very well is ‘divide and rule’.
Everything that politician does is based on this concept. Politicians thrive on spreading hatred. They teach us to divide and hate for their political gains. Nowadays media also plays a big role in exaggerating trivial matters. Endless debates on petty issues are norms on national TV these days.
Come to think of it, aren’t we paying a big prize for upholding democracy? Can we ever envisage a time when we can all co-exist united rather than divided? Is democracy a hindrance for secularism given the size of the nation consist of various religion and caste? How can we not let the politicians take us for a ride? These are all pertinent questions we must all ask ourselves.
When will we open our eyes to identify religious outfits camouflaged as political parties? When will we stop accepting political agendas forced upon ourselves?
Ignorance is the sole reason people fail to understand the motives of communal politics. It is high time we understand that democracy, secularism and ideologies don’t go hand in hand.
Sadly in India and similarly in several other countries, religious fundamentalism has spread like cancerous cells and we are at a point of no return. Various conflicts in the world are testimonial to this fact.
In a broader sense the truth is secularism is a myth. Don’t believe if any politicians or government state we are secular. They are a bunch of liars.
If today beef is off the menu, what will be off the menu tomorrow? Let us wait and watch.
