Joseph Lewis D’Silva
The beef traders had downed their shutters due to harassment by the police at the instance of ‘cow vigilantes’.
The cow has a special place for the Hindus, possibly revered, because humans depended heavily on it; for tilling the fields; on cow dung as a source of fuel and fertilizer and for dairy products: In infancy a human being depends solely on cow’s milk; and as the child grows up, he uses milk and dairy products. Man consumes cow’s milk and killing an old cow which, according to some, is as good as killing your mother because the cow too is a maternal figure and therefore they are keen in protecting the cow. Cow protectors, seems to have forgotten the sacredness of human life. They give more value to cow than to human being. Seeing such a state of affairs, it makes many to wonder whether society is becoming more and more heartless and intolerant.
Farmers have problems with cows. They use the cow during its productive years and then when it becomes unproductive, the farmers sell it to the butcher finding it unprofitable to feed the old cow for the rest of its life. The one, who buys the cow, slaughters it; and the farmer, from that money obtained, buys new young cattle, to replace the old, unproductive animal. This action completes the cycle of farm production. But the farmer is not allowed to sell the cow for slaughter due to rules at some places; for it is like killing your own mother and it is cruelty to animals. But who cares for problems of the farmer? Economics or maintenance expenses impel the farmer to abandons the old cow? Then, who cares for the old cow? It wanders on roads and eats garbage from roadside bins.
The present problem in the country is not about cow protection but about the violent means chosen to protect the cow; innocent citizens are killed in the name of protecting the ‘holy cow’. Such actions show that human beings have lost the religion of the heart. Religion is to provide peace and unite human beings and not to divide people or kill them for their choice of eating beef.
Freedom of choice is the basis of all democracy. Freedom is to live the way we want; follow any faith of our choice and eat the food we want, provided we do not enter in the domain of others and cause problems to other person. Erosion of our personal freedoms starts when a group tell us how to dress, what to eat and drink, how to pray to our different Gods and whom to marry.
Eating beef is an individual choice. Any person can choose what he/she wants to eat. One particular community cannot enforce its beliefs on others. And no one can restrict the freedom of personal choice. But this personal choice is curbed if one’s life-choice is to be a criminal, as it causes injury to others.
The Court upheld the slaughter of cows as the ban on the slaughter of cows would be conflicting with the idea of secularism. Chief Minister Parrikar has warned of action if any one obstructs beef supply into the State.
I end with this quotation: “May my country awake into that freedom and happiness where the mind is without fear and the head held high in the name of righteousness.”
