India’s western state of Maharashtra, home of the country’s
financial capital Mumbai, has introduced a draconian beef ban, which would
allow for up to five years imprisonment for sale or possession of the meat.
The comprehensive beef ban, backed by the state’s new Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party administration, is one of the toughest attempts yet to prevent beef-eating in India, where many members of the Hindu majority, especially those of the upper castes, revere cows as sacred. Many Indian states have laws that ban or regulate the slaughter of cows, though not all states that ban cow slaughter also ban the sale of beef products, in effect allowing the meat to be consumed if it is brought in from other states.
However, Maharashtra’s law not only bans the slaughter of cows and sale of beef, but the possession of the meat, which is now to be formally considered as contraband. It also imposes the toughest punishment — of up to five years in prison — for violations. The law, passed two decades ago by Maharashtra’s state legislature, was only given the necessary assent of India’s president, Pranab Mukherjee, on 2nd march. Hindu nationalist groups, vocal advocates of the ban, rejoiced at the new restrictions, with Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s chief minister, tweeting: “Our dream on the ban of cow slaughter becomes a reality now”.
But the restrictions would prevent members of India’s Muslim and Christian minorities — and other groups that have no such taboo around eating beef, including some low-caste Hindus — from accessing an important and affordable source of protein.
Narendra Modi, prime minister, has bemoaned what he calls India’s “pink revolution” of rising meat exports, and expressed hopes of bringing a national ban on cow slaughter. India’s consumption of bovine meat — including both beef and buffalo — has fallen over the past decade, as rightwing Hindu groups have campaigned to discourage lower-caste Hindus from eating it.
But exports are surging, and are now estimated at about $5billion a year. Historians say the preoccupation with stopping beef consumption is relatively modern, with many ancient Sanskrit texts documenting that beef-eating was common among Hindus.
The beef ban, which has provoked a social media storm,
comes as a new Princeton University study has put the spotlight on entrenched
malnutrition in India, where about 42 per cent of women are underweight when
they begin their pregnancies, fuelling high rates of infant mortality and
malnutrition among surviving children.
Beef is more popular with the poor in India as it is
typically cheaper than other meats such as chicken or mutton. It costs almost a
third of mutton and chicken. But buffalo meat is largely exported and only
eaten by 25 per cent of beef eaters. India is the second biggest exporter of
beef after Brazil.
Beef, generally seen as the poor man’s meat, costs almost a third of mutton. Mumbai alone consumes nearly 90,000 kg of mutton every day, sold through 900 licensed stalls and an equal number of illegal stalls. Beef traders claim the ban will leave thousands jobless and also push up the cost of other meat. Several people expressed strong reactions on social media, with the hashtag #BeefBan becoming a top trend on twitter. It has become one of the most used terms on the network across the world, appearing more than 22,000 times in less than 24 hours.
Much of the conversation was critical of the decision, and tweets laced with sarcasm appeared in abundance. "Eat what we tell you to eat. Watch what we tell you to watch. Wear what we tell you to wear. Don't complain. We are a democracy. #BeefBan," was a typical example. Some made dark jokes to highlight other social problems facing the country, like the series of high profile rape cases.
"Good to know a cow can now step out after dark and wear what she likes," wrote comedian Neeti Palta. The overwhelming weight of opinion expressed on social media was in opposition to the ban. That may suggest that liberal voices are more dominant online, however, not that the decision is unpopular. Most tweets were published in the urban areas around Mumbai and New Delhi.
Beef, generally seen as the poor man’s meat, costs almost a third of mutton. Mumbai alone consumes nearly 90,000 kg of mutton every day, sold through 900 licensed stalls and an equal number of illegal stalls. Beef traders claim the ban will leave thousands jobless and also push up the cost of other meat. Several people expressed strong reactions on social media, with the hashtag #BeefBan becoming a top trend on twitter. It has become one of the most used terms on the network across the world, appearing more than 22,000 times in less than 24 hours.
Much of the conversation was critical of the decision, and tweets laced with sarcasm appeared in abundance. "Eat what we tell you to eat. Watch what we tell you to watch. Wear what we tell you to wear. Don't complain. We are a democracy. #BeefBan," was a typical example. Some made dark jokes to highlight other social problems facing the country, like the series of high profile rape cases.
"Good to know a cow can now step out after dark and wear what she likes," wrote comedian Neeti Palta. The overwhelming weight of opinion expressed on social media was in opposition to the ban. That may suggest that liberal voices are more dominant online, however, not that the decision is unpopular. Most tweets were published in the urban areas around Mumbai and New Delhi.
Elite eaters of beef can always defer their consumption of
steak to trips abroad, but the poor will continue to eat beef and work in trades
involving cow slaughter simply for their own survival. The only difference now
is that the provision in the Act for prosecuting simple possession of beef will
hugely increase their harassment, all perfectly legal and sanctioned by the
government. The Maharashtra government has now simply decided to ignore all
reasonable considerations and pass the policy. Perhaps since being reasonable
was never its point.
Diya Das
Diya Das
Msc.Media || PG:1
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