Not Wholly Cow, Mostly Bulls Are Slaughtered For Meat in India

The Unkindest Cut

• Beating of Dalits in Gujarat’s Una district for skinning dead cows may cost the BJP dearly in UP.
  
• Beef is becoming a symbol of Dalit versus upper caste conflict that may take communal proportions.
  
• Cows account for only 12 percent of all bovines in India while female buffaloes account for 66 percent of milch cattle.
  
• Farmers will suffer great economic loss if ban is imposed on slaughter and sale of meat products.
  
• Livestock census data clearly shows that millions of bulls have actually been culled.
  
• Legislating against beef consumption will add many unproductive cattle demanding land that is not available.
  

The recent thrashing of poor Dalit boys at Una in Gujarat for skinning dead cows has been justified as a matter of religious passion. The video that went viral has, however, unleashed a storm that may alienate all Dalits from the BJP and affect the forthcoming state elections in UP and elsewhere.

There is nothing remotely spiritual in the things people eat but beef has become a symbol of Hindu versus Muslim identity. It is now becoming a symbol of Dalit versus upper caste conflict with the potential to ignite communal fury.

Religious sentiments had earlier triggered the meat ban imposed during a recent Jain festival though the Bombay High Court passed an interim order lifting the ban by a municipal corporation. The Jains then went to the Supreme Court which bluntly told them that “a meat ban cannot be forced down citizens’ throats...be tolerant to diversity.”

Hindu bigots need to however understand that there is much more to beef than just religious sentiment.

Many Hindus, especially the RSS, BJP and other opponents of cow slaughter would be shocked to know that cows account for only 12 percent of all bovines in India. Female buffaloes account for 66 percent of India’s milch cattle that produce over 75 percent of the milk.

The 19th Livestock Census of India, 2012 shows that the number of cows has increased by 7.16 percent to 216 million since 2007.

It is the males of the species that are threatened. Their numbers declined by 18.6 percent to 84 million in the same period. As male bovines today account for just 30 percent of the cattle population, it clearly shows that it is the bulls and not cows that are being butchered.

Economic Asset

Cattle are a major economic asset to almost every rural family and the meat industry, including bovines, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry, put money into the pockets of nearly every rural household. Some 40 percent of the value of livestock comes from meat. Farmers will suffer great economic loss if India’s legislators ban or restrict the slaughter and sale of meat products.

Beef costs a third of mutton, is also the poor man’s protein and is consumed by some 200 million Dalits and other tribal communities. Anyone familiar with rural India knows that while there are many Muslims in the meat business, the majority are Hindu.

Male Bovines Worthless

The livestock census shows that two-thirds of India’s cattle are female. Male bovines are no longer valuable as draft or transport animals. The gender imbalance is increasing rapidly and a recent report by the Bhopal-based Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering shows that the share of draught animals for farm power declined from 44 percent in 1971-72 to a shocking 4 percent in 2012-13 as tractors, electric, diesel pumps and motor vehicles had replaced them.

Male animals (or birds) are mostly used for meat as the females are more valuable as breeders and for milk or eggs. If males are not being used for ploughing or transport, they are only useful for their meat or hide.

The census data clearly shows that millions of male animals have actually been culled. Male buffaloes declined 17.8 percent to 16 million while females increased 7.99 percent to 92 million. There are, therefore, nearly six female buffaloes to every male.

Killed for Meat

The females are valuable and the males are worthless but they still need food and fodder that costs over Rs 100 a day. They are, therefore, killed for meat where it is allowed but in other states, they are driven away to be devoured by dogs or wild animals. Meat from such stray cattle is a very cheap food for the poor.

India also has a serious problem with millions of old and unproductive cattle that are callously driven away until they die of hunger or illness. They raid farms and face the wrath of farmers who mercilessly beat and even kill them.

India’s 299 million cattle need roughly 30 million hectares for grazing as well as an equal amount of additional land for fodder requirements. This is a huge chunk of India’s 190 million hectares of cropped land. If states legislate against beef consumption, it will add many more unproductive cattle demanding land that is not available.

Beef in Scriptures

There is no Hindu scripture opposed to the eating of meat or even beef. In fact, Indra, the tawny bearded supreme Vedic god, was specifically offered the best sides of beef. The Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, the Shastras and other ancient texts all endorse eating meat, and beef was even specified for daan, or offering, reserved for Brahmins.

Cow protection became a religious statement when the first movement to protect the cow was started by the Sikh Kuka (Namdhari) sect in 1870. In 1882, Dayanand Saraswati founded the Gorakshini Sabha that challenged beef eating, provoking communal riots in the 1880s and 1890s. These led to more communal clashes in which many were killed in Azamgarh in 1893, Ayodhya in 1912 and Shahabad in 1917.

Hindu Vs Muslim

Beef eating quickly moved from being a matter of diet to a defining characteristic of Hindu versus Muslim identity. Hindu chauvinism, however, also makes the beef ban a symbol of Brahmin tyranny over Dalits.

The sale of meat including beef is an important element in the livelihoods of some 100 million mostly poor families and a ban on meat or beef will make animal husbandry unprofitable. What about the millions of stray cattle and economically useless bulls? Government gaushalas can handle thousands but not millions. Many millions of India’s poor will suffer great hardship.

There is a strong religious sentiment but politicians as well as lawmakers, officials, and intellectuals need to consider this complex subject before rushing into hasty legislation that could have a strong political backlash.