What is the real reason for the beef ban in India by the Modi government?

Utkarsh Chaturvedi, B.Tech Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Durgapur (2017)

Answered Thu

• First thing to know is that beef is not banned in India. Banning some food item would have blatantly contrasted the right to freedom of Indian citizens. So, yes, beef is not banned but government has laid down some new rules in Prevention of Cruelty to Animals act. These rules prohibit the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter in open market and are therefore perceived as an indirect ban on beef.
• Constitutional history: During the framing of constitution cow slaughter was one of the heated topics for debate. There were people both for and against it. So, after a lot of brainstorming sessions a middle path of compromise was adopted. Prohibition of cow slaughter was given a place in constitution but not as an enforceable fundamental right but it was included in “Directive Principles of State Policy” which basically lays a guideline for policymaking of states but it can't be challenged in any court. Bottomline is, there is nothing in our constitution which imposes some sort of ban on consumption of beef.
• Then what's the fuss all about? As I mentioned, the new rules impose a ban on sale of cows and buffaloes in open market for slaughter. This rule is in stark contrast to the parent act! The parent act is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals act and it exempts slaughter of animal for food; not only this, it also advises in design of slaughterhouses which reduce physical and mental pain of animals in pre-slaughtet stages.
• Why govt. took this step? Honestly, I can't think of one good or apt reason behind implementation of such a rule which is so loosely written. I mean, if the purpose of rules was to prevent cruelty to animals, why restrict only to cattle? What about chicken? What about pigs? However, I believe this is Central Government's maneuver to re-instill it's image as a pro-hindutva party for the upcoming 2019 elections. The government couldn’t ban cattle slaughter altogether effectively because in that case it would have faced constitutional difficulties as “agriculture” and “the preservation of stock” exclusively fall under legislative competence of State. That's why it chose Prevention of Cruelty to Animals act on which both centre and state can make laws.
• My personal views: I am a Hindu and I am also a non vegetarian but I have never touched , hell I haven't even seen beef in real life. This doesn't imply I will stop some other person from consuming it because I have no right to alter someone else's food choice. It's all part of the food pyramid, someone is going to prey on someone. Now about the rules, the rules are clearly misleading common people. The people are so un-informed about the rule that a writ was filed in Kerala HC challenging validity of the ban on cow slaughter. This is clearly creating a rift a between people. The rule will create abysmal situation for poor farmers as they won't be free to trade cattle freely even if it is not for slaughter. The situation if not controlled wisely and maturely by government could escalate into serious communal riots, trailers of which we are already seeing since 26th May.