Many books have been written over the years about the politics around the ‘holy cow’. The periods of the late Mughal empire and British rule have been discussed in those books. However, violence in the name of the cow has attracted few writers. The book Who will bell the cow? by Shruti Ganapatye, a journalist from Maharashtra, is an audacious contribution to the recent history of violence over cow slaughter in various states of India.
Given the current climate of threat of violence over eating habits, it is no surprise that renowned publishers have allegedly refused to publish this work. So, the author finally decided to publish it herself.
Who Will Bell The Cow?: Beef Ban: Decoding its cultural, social, and economical aspects in India by Shruti Ganapatye (Notion Press, August 2022)
Though some well-known cases of violence on allegations of cow slaughter have been discussed, the book is not a documentation of all the cases of violence relating to illegal slaughtering of cows or their transportation.
The author has attributed the origin of non-violence in the Indian psyche to Jainism, in which the 23rd Tirthankara Parshwanath made Ahimsa an acceptable theme among the common people. Jain preachings were also against ‘falsehood, theft and greed’.
Later, the Buddha also preached non-violence, even though meat consumption was not completely discouraged. Even Bhikkhus were not barred from eating meat if it was served to them. However, the overall theme of Jainism and Buddhism was towards non-violence.
The book points out that larger acceptability of non-violence posed a challenge to Yajnas, which involved sacrifices and ‘bloody rituals’. A process of churning, conflicts, strife, and even violence followed among the followers of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. The author mentions that there were intellectual debates about the principles of non-violence. She points out that several attempts were made to show the futility of non-violence by Hindu priests. Finally, however, vegetarianism became increasingly acceptable by the ‘upper’ castes.
A contemporary theme of the book is about the criminal cases filed in various states on the allegations of cow slaughter, beef trading, and hate crimes, resulting from these allegations. Since the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not maintain separate data on these crimes, the author diligently submitted 90 applications under the Right to Information Act (RTI) in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. An entire chapter is devoted to the difficulties encountered in submitting the RTI applications and obtaining the desired information.
The book points out that government officers in Jharkhand were more diligent than those of other states in responding to the queries submitted. An important question asked in the RTI applications was the number of cases in which meat samples were sent to forensic laboratories for verification. The author also sought information about the schemes launched for the welfare of cattle and cows and funds allocated and utilised in the last ten years. This chapter of the book must be read for knowing more about about the result of these RTI applications.
The book quotes a 2018 report of the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), which documented cases of ‘sexual violence, humiliation, stripping, caste panchayat punishments, extortions, and killings. The case of a 70-year-old farmer, Har Singh Lodhi, is particularly tragic as he was ordered atonement for the death of his calf near which a bottle of rat poison was found. He was asked to stand on one leg for three hours which resulted in his death.
An interesting chapter in the book is about the development of movement against cow slaughter during the British colonial rule. The author finds that it became an important tool to oppose the British and to “revive Hindu Dharma”. The contribution of Arya Samaj to cow protection is also highlighted in this regard.
Gau Rakshini Sabhas set up in the 1880s in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh also played a key role in the movement. Cases of communal violence in various states of north India caused tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The British, however, maintained a neutral stand. Hindi newspapers and publications also played an important role in popularising the movement for cow protection.
The book discusses the impact of enactment of strict laws in various states. The export of buffalo meat was also impacted, and it came down from 14.75 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 to 10.85 lakh tonnes in 2020-21. In this period, the export earnings also reduced from $4.78 billion to $3.71 billion.
Leather exports have also come down from $6.49 billion in 2014 to $3.68 billion in 2020. Leather industry is employment-intensive and a large number of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslims find employment in cleaning and tanning of leather and making of footwear and leather goods.
The book has an interesting chapter on the trends in the cattle population in various states between two animal census years of 2012 and 2019. The problem of stray cattle is also briefly discussed.
The author has also discussed the higher ‘value’ of vegetarianism in certain sections of India’s public discourse.
It is important to note that in complete disregard of people’s eating habits, some state governments do not permit sale of meat for extended periods.
This book can serve as a useful resource for policymakers, civil servants, and all those who follow the discourse on this important subject.
The author is former Union agriculture secretary.
