Dadri Lynching, Cow Slaughter and the Idea of Monolithic India

Newsclick interviewed Human Rights Activist Gautam Navlakha on lynching of Akhlaq over alleged consumption of beef in Dadri near Delhi. Gautam also discussed about the idea of beef ban, cow slaughter and its legality.  He believes that the lynching by mob over a mere suspicion is nothing but an inhumane incident which is linked with the larger ideological aim of pushing agenda of Hindutva. He emphasized on the fact that a small call by a temple priest led to mobilization of more than 1000 people shows that it was a pre-planned incident.  He also explained that it is result of multiple activities of RSS and its ally organizations which have been trying to vitiate society. Commenting on the legal sanctity, Gautam quoted from Article 48 of the Directives of the State Policy and explained about the provision of cow slaughter. Explaining the history of cow slaughter, Gautam explained that it has more to do with economic means of farmers and not religious angle as being propagated by BJP and its leadership.

Rough Transcript:

Pranjal: Hello and welcome to Newsclick. Few days back in Dadri, a man named Akhlaq was killed just because people had doubt that he was possessing and eating beef. To discuss on the issue we have with us Gautam Navlakha, an eminent human rights activists. Hello Gautam.

Gautam Navlakha: Hello Pranjal.

Pranjal: Just leaving aside first of all the entire issue of beef ban, the history of beef ban, let's throw some light on whatever happened in Dadri. Don't you think it is one of the rare incidents and it shows trends in the current government which is constantly attacking the fundamental rights of the citizen?

Gautam: Well, if you can enter somebody's house ostensibly to search for or because of suspicion that beef was being served or is present inside the house and then to drag out a person and and to kill or to injure grievously another, obviously is a sign of times that we are living in. I do believe that this lynching and the assassinations that have taken place have one thing in common. Both are intended to terrorize the democratic progressive minded minorities from anyway asserting themselves.

Pranjal: Also if we look at when we talk about creating hegemony. There is this entire propaganda of RSS and it's allies that to push the entire ideology of upper caste Brahmin culture. Don't you find this angle also attached to it ?

Gautam: Sure it is. I mean the whole campaign, the cow slaughter ban related campaign that has been favorite whipping horse of RSS and BJP for ages, they obviously are making use of the campaign to create further divisions and exploit cleavages that already exists very definitely and it also imposing the choice of a small section on majority of the Indian people. It is the strange case of how the food politics are being driven in this country by an ideological project which is trying to hegemonize the entire discourse in this country.

Pranjal: When we look at the political discourse of the country, BJP is claiming and it has a valid point in that that the beef ban which was imposed if we go to it's history, it was also there when Congress was in power.

Gautam: There is no doubt that post 1950 when we got ourselves got a constitution, it's Congress which was in power in most of the states and where one after another in different dates, they did introduce cow slaughter bills. The interesting thing is that it itself ran counter to the very nature of debate and the division that took place in the constituent assembly over the issue of cow slaughter ban because if you recall the differences between those who wanted cow slaughter to be made part of a fundamental right, that is the ban to be imposed and be made part of fundamental rights. The others who countered the question that policy and wanted a more scientific and modern approach to animal husbandry came to an understanding and that is why it became part of the directive principle of state policy. Now, if you look. If you just allow me a minute. If you look at the formulation in article 48 of the directive principle of state policy, let me just read out because that clearly shows how not only Congress but even more, the RSS and BJP have actually hijacked the constitution. Now, article 48 says, I quote, “the State shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” Now the point is there are two contradictions. A scientific, modern animal husbandry requires culling. Culling is also required if there are fear of disease for instance. Culling is also advocated to get rid of those milch cattle who have stopped giving milk or have become old. The point that I am trying to make is if we go by the spirit and the language of article 48, there are two things that stand out. It does not talk about the blanket ban on slaughter of any kind because scientific and modern animal husbandry requires culling and you can not get away from that. The second interesting thing is no where does it ban eating and possession of beef and this is an issue which relates to Dadri where even under the UP state act which was passed and enacted in 1955 possession and eating of beef was not a taboo. So for people to enter inside the houses to see, to check they were lawless force which entered in fact, to strike terror in Akhlaq's family and by getting rid of him, by killing him, by lynching him they have sent a message that they were spreading over the social media that this is what will happen to cattle smugglers and cattle slaughterers.

Pranjal: Gautam when you talk about this different groups which are acting on the ground. So what role tare hey playing on the ground because if we look suddenly, Sangeet Som steps and calls in a Mahapanchayat and suddenly people assembles and what's the roles that has been played by the UP administration itself in either trying to avoid the incident, preventing the incident or it's role ahead.

Gautam: Just note one thing that it's very interesting that I mean to respond to your first question the fact that at a call from a temple hundreds of people could gather so fast against a neighbor who lived amongst them for decades shows obviously, premeditation and preparation. Now obviously, this preparatory work has been done by the small groups that have sprouted all of a sudden. They seem to have enough funds, they seem to have resources, they seem to have some organizational backing because their proliferation itself suggest that and there has been obviously carrying out their vicious campaign for some time for it to result in the kind of lynching that took place. As far as the UP police is concerned, it is alarming that whereas they were not able to prevent that from taking place is by cracking down or by looking into their antecedents and activities of these groups which were busy rousing the people to take law into their own hands etc. The Director General of the Police recently after the lynching in an attempt to divert attention from the lynching spoke of that the UP police is very concerned of vitiated atmosphere due to high incidence of cattle slaughter and cattle smuggling in the state and that they are going to crack down on it hard so that such incidence do not occur in future. Now the point is tht this is the way of exonerating the cold blooded murderers of Akhlaq from any blame by shifting focus on cattle smuggling and cattle slaughter which is going on which is a strange thing because in the case of Akhlaq and I thing it needs to be emphasized even if beef was present in their house and they have partaken, the point is they were not doing anything illegal. So what right does anybody has to enter any body's house to look into their kitchen to see whether something objectionable or prohibited is being served.

Pranjal: Gautam, when you talked about this organizations recently a report came which says around ten plus organizations of such kind or such nature are acting on the ground in Dadri itself and when you trace, when you quote these laws there is also clause called fit to slaughter. So can you just throw some light on it?

Gautam: You see, what is interesting is that if you look at the definition of milch cattle differs. So in Maharashtra, they changed the act recently by enlarging the definition of what constitutes cow or cattle which can not be slaughtered. So from cow and calves, they have now included the buffaloes, bulls and everything else. So it differs a from state to state. But even within the states, where slaughter of buffaloes is permitted, the people who purchase cattle for slaughter or transports cattle from one place to another for whatever purposes, require a license. Now in the case of cattle being taken for slaughter, they require the fit for slaughter certificate which allows them to move unhindered on the national highways from one place to another. Unfortunately, despite this protection and despite the fact that most of the vehicles, the cases, the incidence of so called alleged cattle smuggling and movement of cattle for illegal purposes etc is concerned, invariably in the overwhelming majority of cases, they have licenses. They had the said permit but still it does not permit hoodlums to come and beat them up or take them or detain them to hand them over to police and police to come and arrest them, it is only after long drawn investigation probably bribes etc that these people are released and they are allowed to move with their cattle and their transport. This has become increasingly a problem. So by changing the law, whatever may have been the original act improving it by expanding the definition making stringent the jail term for instance in Haryana you can get ten years. I mean you don't even get ten years for rape under India Penal Code but for cow slaughter, you can get upto ten years imprisonment. So the absurdity of law for instance, it's very, it may sound amusing to us also at times that in Punjab for instance a desi cow, an indigenous cow can not be slaughtered. But a foreign cow can be. So it obviously gives a different meaning to holy cow in a state like Punjab whereas in other states, they make no distinction between foreign and native breeds of cattle. But the differences, the fact that some states, some slaughters are allowed, in other cases, no slaughters are allowed. The various provisions under law which operate within the state boundaries create a huge problem for those and for the millions that engage in cattle trade in one way or the another and there are millions who are attached with this trade and who get their livelihood for one or the other kind of activity which is connected to animal husbandry.

Pranjal: Gautam, this would be my last question. If you look at this entire issue and comments being made by the BJP top leadership yesterday Sakshi Maharaj said that neither will allow killing and whoever kills will kill them also. What nature of government is exposed by this entire series of comments being made by this top leadership of BJP while Prime Minister is silent on this issues.

Gautam: I think, silence speaks for itself. Mr. Narendra Modi's silence speaks for itself because it means that it supports whatever the hoodlums of the RSS, Sangh Parivar and their other cohorts are doing, saying and actually carrying out in reality. Obviously, it enjoys its support. That said, it does raise very serious concerns for us because this open declaration that we will kill from Sanatan Santha declaring that all anti-nationals would be killed and according to them they have a very narrow understanding of who are 'Patriots' to those who are saying anybody is for cow slaughter can be killed. It just shows the level of impunity that they believe and feel confident that they enjoy today because the government is at the power at the centre and the forces, both the police and administration is definitely following their command and therefore, the combination of the corruption or the supine nature of the institutions succumbing to the pressure of the RSS to carry out it's diktat and in the society, the RSS goons and Sangh Parivar hoodlums speak openly against everybody that threatening to kill them to silence them to do worst thing possible to them. It just shows you what kind of country that they are trying to turn us into.

Pranja: Thank you for watching Newsclick.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for Newsclick are typed from a recording of the program. Newsclick cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.