By Harini Raghupathy
The Supreme Court recently issued a notice to the Central Government and the governments of six states to respond to a petition which was filed in order to seek a ban on cow vigilante groups. This order came after the Alwar lynching incident where a civilian, Pehlu Khan, was beaten up by alleged cow vigilantes in Rajasthan while transporting the animals on Behror highway in Alwar. Pehlu Khan was later identified by his uncle as a dairy farmer and he had bought the cows for his dairy business. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries.
The situation in Punjab
The attacks carried out by the cow vigilantes, especially in the State of Punjab, have not only affected the meat industry but have had an acute effect on the dairy industry as well. The dairy industrys ultimate aim is to increase the production of milk by importing or exporting cows to other states to improve their milk yields. Cattle trade carried on by these farmers has been affected due to the increased attacks by the cow vigilante groups. In 2012, the Government of Punjab established the Gau Seva Commission which became the patron of these vigilantes. The Punjab government had also introduced a procedure in 2014 which requires the traders to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the district collector for every consignment of cows imported or exported which makes it even more difficult to trade in cattle.
The recent incident in Alwar and other places have highlighted the nature of the cow vigilante groups who have started to attack the consignments carried by traders for the dairy industry. These cow vigilantes could stop any consignment, take down the cows, trash traders and then extort money. Milk accounts for almost 24 percent of agricultural GDP in India and therefore an attack on these traders will affect the overall dairy industry.
Which side are the politicians on?
This issue has progressed from the focus of protecting the cows to selectively targeting people based on their affiliation to a particular religion. The Government of Rajasthan, in a brief to the Union Home Ministry, stated that it has formed a special police team to arrest all the suspects in the Alwar incident. It further stated that three people have been arrested with respect to this incident. A comment made by Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria supporting the cow vigilantes after the incident has made things more difficult for the Rajasthan government to take a stand while responding to the Supreme Courts notice.
On August 6th last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a warning to people to beware of fake cow vigilante groups who were trying to create social conflict. He also stated that states should take stern actions against these groups.
The notice issued to the Centre and the six states on a plea seeking a ban on cow vigilante groups is scheduled to be heard on 3rd May. One of the main issues which should be addressed during the hearing is the regulation of these cow vigilante groups who have stepped beyond the law by attacking cow traders who are associated with the dairy industry, thereby posing problems to the health of the Indian agricultural economy as a whole.
Featured image source: India Today