A judicial officer is trained to look into all aspects of a case before him rationally and decide in accordance with the lawbooks on the table. Certainly, everyone may have some personal views and inclinations, but it is genuinely regarded that those will not derail his pen while deciding upon a matter especially involving the fundamental rights of an accused and also the broad interests of the people.
However, in the recent past, we have come across several “judgments” which seem falling short of meeting this criterion. We endure to examine, respectfully, some instances but before that let’s see the crux of the issue – banning cow slaughter – and experts’ opinions regarding its futility. However, we explicitly endorse that the genuine sentiments of the people should be fully respected as have been in the long history of undivided Hindustan, from Baber to Bahadur Shah Zafar. We support restrictions, but not the hurrah for political hype and irrationality brought in through new laws in the last decade.
THE DECLINE IN COW NUMBERS
An eminent environmentalist, Padam Shree, Sunita Narain, the Director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has recently explored that the cow population has sharply declined in several states after stringent laws were implemented for a total ban on cows and its progeny slaughter of all ages. Ban has hurt the economic interests of small farmers. She maintained that a blanket ban on cow slaughter was like “demonetising the farmer’s assets”.
A research study by CSE finds that the decline in cow population is maximum in the states like Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, MP, and Maharashtra where stringent laws have been implemented against the slaughter of cows and progeny of all ages and also their transportation in the name of cattle protection. Besides the drastic laws, illegal activities of local “hooligans in disguise of cow-protectors” as RSS chief Bhagwat Ji had described them, are also a big factor in destroying the trade and farmers’ economy based upon animal husbandry. It may be noted that as many as 44 people have been killed in the name of cattle protection between 2016 and 2019 as Human Rights Watch reported. In such cases, looted animals were not restored to the owners.
COW BASED ECONOMY
Average life span of Indian cows stretches up to 15-20 years. The productive period is 7- 8 years. Thus, each year around 3 million cows stop producing calves and milk. As a routine, since time immemorial redundant animals were sold out in the open market and replaced with younger ones by adding some money. The old animals were routed to provide a cost-effective protein-rich diet to the poor and skin for the leather industry. The ill-thought laws, enacted for political reasons and activities of‘gaurakshak’ have eaten up the market. Dead animals are dumped and their skin is destroyed. Since fodder cost is skyrocketing, even much talked ‘reverence of cow’ does not inspire to feed useless animals only for their dung and urine. So, they are thrown out. Uncontrolled herds of stray animals have become big destroyers of crops and road blockers. State-funded shelter houses also present a painful picture.
As Business Insider (18 April 2023) reported, “There are more than 5 million stray cattle roaming the streets causing chaos. There are frequent reports of cattle attacking people, causing accidents, and spreading disease.”
Sagari Ramdas, veterinary scientist and a member of the Food Sovereignty Alliance in Hyderabad, noted: “With new laws, all you have done is illegitimated a robust trade of animals” and that, “cow slaughter is a part of sustainable milk production.” She pointed out that the number of small and medium farmers, who produced up to 90 percent of milk production, is decreasing. Blaming politically motivated laws, devoid of legitimacy, she said, “Creation of such laws ultimately hurt India’s milk production.” As a result, rates of milk have increased from `46 p.l. in 2014 to `66 in 2023.
Does this situation in a welfare state, where the poverty rate is still above 80 percent, need more stringent laws or intervention to stop further hardships? Present policies in this regard do not address key issues including the protection and popularity of most lovey animal. People have been deprived of preciously healthy cow milk.
Politicians may be inclined to fly on the wings of whims, ignoring the economic and health issues of the masses. We are a multicultural nation; choice of cuisine is one of the people’s fundamental rights. It will be disastrous if our intellectuals, especially the legal fraternity, do not step out to contain the blatant majoritarianism. Let us see how some of our respected intellectuals look at the issue.
ALLAHABAD HC: SOME OBSERVATIONS
The latest is the judgment of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. Hon. Justice Shamim Ahmed called upon the Central Government to declare the cow as a “protected national animal”. We welcome his suggestion, but the problem is that in parts of the country, the Hindus also consume cow meat. Central Ministers have rightly assured them of unrestricted availability of beef.
Justice Shamim Ahmad further said, “India, being a secular country, it’s important to respect all religions including Hinduism’s belief that the cow should be protected.” The collective conscience of Indian Muslims has always been clear in respecting the sentiments of Hindu brothers regarding cow and their festivals. The minorities never created a chaos at the times of Hindu festivals. However, history is full of organised mob violence in disguise of religious festivals. Last year at Ram Navami, Delhi was targeted, and this year Bihar. However, criminals are found in every community. If someone kills a protected animal, it is his personal matter.
Referring to the Puranas, Hon. Judge suggested, “Anyone who kills cows or allows others to kill them is deemed to rot in hell.” With due respect, in the long history, these words have never been translated into reality. And today we have our own system of law-making. We believe most Hindu brothers and sisters will not like to return to the era of the Puranas.
In his order on February 24, 2023, Justice Shamim Ahmad extensively elaborated on the reverence of the Cow in (some) Hindu faith. I quote, “The court referred to the importance of cows in rites of healing purification, penance of the ‘panchagavya’, the five products of milk, curd, butter, urine, and dung. Creator Brahma gave life to priests and cows at the same time so that the priests could recite religious scriptures and cows could afford ‘ghee’ as an offering in the rituals.”
He pointed out, “The cow is associated with various deities, notably Lord (whose steed is Nandi, a bull) Lord Indra (closely associated with Kamadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow), Lord Krishna (a cowherd in his youth), and goddesses in general (because of the maternal attributes of many of them). The cow is the most sacred of all the animals of Hinduism. It is known as Kamadhenu, or the divine cow, and the giver of all desires.”
He said, “The cows, according to Hinduism, emerged from the ocean of milk during Samudramanthan, the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons.”
“Her legs symbolise the four Vedas; her source of milk is four Purushartha (or objectives, i.e. or righteousness, artha or material wealth, kama or desire and moksha or salvation); her horns symbolise the gods, her face the sun and moon, and her shoulders agni or the god of fire. She has also been described in other forms: Nanda, Sunanda, Surabhi, Susheela, and Sumana,” the court said.
Our humble suggestion is that all these details are fine for knowledge seekers, but while making judgments in the court only lawbooks should sit on the pedestal of guide to avoid disarrays.
MAKE COW LEGAL ENTITY: RAJASTHAN JUDGE
Earlier on May 31, 2017, a judge of the Rajasthan High Court pronounced his last judgment demanding National Animal status for the cow, and also making cow a “legal entity” for its “better conservation and breeding.”
The single-judge bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma, in his 139-page judgment, directed the state government to take up all essential steps to get the cow declared as National Animal after according it the “legal entity” status. The Judge also appointed the State Chief Secretary and Advocate General of the State as “persons in Loco Parentis” and asked them to get the cow declared National Animal by the Central government.
The Hon. Judge directed the state government to include a provision of life imprisonment under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act, 1995. He wanted India to declare Cow as a National Animal on the lines of Nepal, then a Hindu state. The Judge also granted liberty to any person to approach the court with a plea in a PIL form to declare cow as a National Animal.
THE PEAHEN INSEMINATION
The Hon. Judge was under a strange impression that peahen gets inseminated by sucking the tears of the peacock. Talking to the reporters after passing the order, Justice Sharma said,“Peacock too has his qualities. He is a life-long celibate. He does not indulge in sex with Peahen. The peahen gives birth after it gets impregnated with the tears of the peacock. A peacock or a peahen is then born… Lord Krishna used peacock’s feather for the celibacy of the bird.”
Our observation during the rainy season: peacocks may be seen dancing and also sitting upon peahen like other birds. Here is an image from Google.