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Hrithik sent notice for ‘hurting Christian sentments’ with his ‘Pope’ tweet

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Pope Hrithik Roshan

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan has been sent a legal notice by former Vice-Chairman of Maharashtra Minority Commission Abraham Mathai accusing him of “hurting sentiments” of Christian community by making a reference to “Pope” in a tweet directed at actress Kangana Ranaut.

Mathai’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee said the notice has been sent to the 42-year-old actor under the provision of Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code asking the actor to apologise in seven days failing which a criminal complaint will be filed.

The “hurtful” remarks were made on Twitter after the ‘Bang Bang’ star’s alleged ex-lover Kangana apparently referred to him as her silly ‘ex’.

“Hrithik Roshan has hurt the religious sentiments, feelings and beliefs of Christians (Roman Catholics) all over the world which includes my client as well. My client wants a written public apology from Hrithik Roshan within 7 days,” Siddiquee said.

Hrithik, on January 28, had tweeted, “There r more chances of me having had an affair with d Pope dan any of d (I m sure wonderful) women d media hs ben naming. Thanks but no thanks (sic).”

The notice also said that by making such a statement on a public platform Hrithik has not only willfully challenged the chastity of the respected Pope but has also shown him in poor light.

“Thus malafidely, mischievously and intentionally outraged the religious feelings and insulted the religious beliefs of Romans Catholics all over the world who consider the Pope to be absolutely chaste as their spiritual and religious leader,” the notice read.

The notice also reads that by indulging in such a criminal act Roshan has rendered himself guilty and liable to be tried under the provision of Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Siddiquee in the notice has asked the actor to apologise in seven days failing which he will proceed ahead with the matter and obtain the required government sanction, under of Section 196 of Criminal Procedure Code and accordingly file a criminal complaint against Roshan.

Neither the actor nor his representative was available for comment.

(PTI)

Karnataka: Highest sex ratio among Christians; Muslims overtake Hindus in literacy

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crowd

Bengaluru: Christians continued to record the highest sex ratio with the figure increasing from 1,030 in the 2001 Census to 1,049 in the 2011 Census. Although the child sex ratio was also high among Christians in the State, the growth was very marginal and it rose from 961 in 2001 census to 962 in 2011.

 

Economist Sangeeta Kattimani, who compiled these data from the two Census reports and the Religion Data of the Census 2011 released now, said that the lowest sex ratio of 739 was reported among Buddhists.

In fact, the sex ratio among Buddhists had seen a steep fall from 907 in the 2001 Census to 739 in the 2011 Census. The child sex ratio among Buddhists decreased from 953 in 2001 to 949 in 2011.

Prof. Kattimani said that the sex ratio of other major religious groups, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains, showed a marginal improvement when compared to the 2001 and 2011 census and same was the case under the child sex ratio head. While the sex ratio of Hindus rose from 966 in 2001 to 972 in 2011, the sex ratio of Muslims rose from 957 in 2001 to 969 in 2011.

There was a marked improvement in the sex ratio of Sikhs — from 739 in 2001 to 803 in 2011 census. The sex ratio of Jains rose from 926 in 2001 to 951 in 2011.

The child sex ratio of Hindus saw a marginal increase from 945 in 2001 to 947 in 2011. Among Muslims, it was 945 in 2001 and 947 in 2011.

The child sex ratio of Sikhs saw an increase from 882 in 2001 to 913 in 2011. Similarly, the child sex ratio of Jains rose from 882 in 2001 to 913 in 2011. Prof. Kattimani said that the latest figures released by the Registrar General of Census provided some interesting data of literacy levels of different religious groups. While the literacy rate of Christians and Jains, who always placed education as a priority in their life, was high, the literacy level of Muslims was higher than Hindus in the State.

As much as 90.80 per cent of Christians were literate and it was 88.32 per cent among Jains in the State.

Surprisingly, a higher number of Muslims were literate when compared to Hindus in the State. The literacy percentage of Hindus was 74.36 per cent as per the 2011 census figures while it was 78.89 per cent among Muslims in the State.

Prof. Kattimani said that the literacy rate of Buddhists saw a record increase from 53.16 per cent in 2001 census to 76.11 per cent.

(Agencies)

Jeb Bush: Only Christians should be allowed refugee status in response to Paris attack

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Jeb Bush

by David Edwards Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said over the weekend that the U.S. should respond to the terrorist attacks in Paris by carefully screening out Syrian refugees who are not Christians.

“As it relates to the refugees, I think we need to do thorough screen,” Bush told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. “And take a limited number. But ultimately, the best way to deal with the refugee crisis is to create safe zones inside of Syria so that people don’t risk their lives, and you don’t have what will be a national security challenge for both our country and for Europe of screening.”

But there was one group which should be allowed to take refuge in the U.S., the former Florida governor argued.

“There are a lot of Christians in Syria that have no place now,” he explained. “They’ll be either executed or imprisoned, either by Assad or by ISIS. And I think we should have — we should focus our efforts as it relates to the Christians that are being slaughtered.”

Tapper wondered how screeners would know which refugees were Christians.

“We do that all the time,” Bush insisted. “I think we need to be — obviously — very, very cautious. This also calls to mind the need to protect our borders, our southern border particularly.”

“This is a threat against Western civilization, and we need to lead. The United States has pulled back and when we pull back, voids are filled. And they’re filled now by Islamic terrorism that threatens our country.”

Watch the video below from CNN’s State of the Union, broadcast Nov. 15, 2015.

Mumbai: Church demands ban on play for hurting religious sentiments

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agnes-of-god

Mumbai: Catholic Church in India has demanded ban on the play ‘Agnes of God’, an adaptation of American playwright John Pielmeier’s drama about a nun giving birth to a dead child, alleging it is a “wrongful portrayal” of priests and nuns committed to a life of celibacy and hurts the sentiments of the Christians.

According to the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the play “is the wrongful portrayal of the character of lakhs of clergy, who are committed to a life of celibacy”.

“We have written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and also other Chief Ministers to ban the play as it hurts religious sentiments,” Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) general secretary Joseph Dias told PTI here today.

He, however, said the CSF has no plan to obstruct the upcoming performance of the play in Mumbai.

“There is no question of halting that performance as it is to be staged before an invited audience at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA, though it was originally planned at Sophia hall,” Dias said.

“The play has been made by a group whose earlier work was ‘Vagina Monologues’. They are not Christians and they did not involve or consult the Church. The play questions the sacrifice of nuns. Now, they will sell the tickets for hundreds of rupees,” Dias said.

The CBCI, the body of Catholic bishops in the country, has written to Union Home Ministry seeking a countrywide ban on the play holding that it was “misrepresentation of the religious belief of the Christian community”.

“The reason why the Catholic Church is against such a play is that it is the wrongful portrayal of the character of lakhs of our clergy, who are committed to a life of celibacy,” the CBCI letter said.

Director of the play, Kaizaad Kotwal, has approached police to pursue his plea seeking protection for himself and the lead cast including thespian actor Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal.

The play is an adaptation of a 1982 Broadway production by Pielmeier, reportedly based on a true incident in the US, narrating the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the child was the result of a virgin conception.

(PTI)

Clashes force 5,000 to flee after beheading in CAR

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Fresh violence in central town of Bambari comes ahead of planned presidential elections next month.

Over the past five months, thousands have been returning to CAR as the situation was seen to be improving [Getty]

Over the past five months, thousands have been returning to CAR as the situation was seen to be improving [Getty]

by Azad Essa, Al Jazeera

Around 5,000 people have fled from their homes in Bambari following clashes between rival militias over the past few days, demonstrating how fragile the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains ahead of next month’s presidential election, the UN refugee agency has said.

The latest flare-up in Bambari erupted after a 19-year-old Muslim was beheaded by fighters on August 20, according to the UNHCR.

In a town hit hard by violence, the new set of clashes around Bambari prompted the escape of almost 5,000 people in recent days, seeking shelter at the UN’s nearby base.

“We cannot say the country is at peace – because the events in Bambari show how fragile the situation remains,” Dalia al-Achi, spokesperson for the UNHCR, told Al Jazeera on Friday.

“They are living in a [former] cotton factory [at the UN base] where there is no sanitation, lights or any infrastructure. It is not fit for living,” she said.

On Friday, Diane Corner, deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), said in a tweet that 5,000 people had been displaced and that  the protection of civilians remained the mission’s top priority.

With just over a month left before presidential elections are held in the country, experts are not convinced the country would be able to host credible polls.

More than one million people have been displaced since Muslim-led Seleka rebels took the capital, Bangui, in March 2013.

Following a spate of abuses by the Seleka, vigilante groups known as anti-Balaka (anti-machete), made up of animist and Christian fighters, emerged to fight off the new leadership.

They also targeted the country’s Muslim minority, seen as sympathetic to the Seleka.

The country has been run by a transitional government since January 2014, after the Seleka were forced out of the capital.

Over the past five months, thousands have been returning to CAR as the situation in the country was seen to be improving, but the recent violence is likely to undo a lot of the efforts being put into rebuilding the nation.

“More than half the districts of the Central African Republic continue to be controlled by the Seleka coalition and its allies, who have not allowed a return of the national administration to the areas they control,” Peter Bouckaert, emergency director at Human Rights Watch, said.

Bouckaert told Al Jazeera that the bloodshed may have reduced over the last twelve months, but attributed the drop in violence to the fact that most Muslims had been “forced to flee [and] not because the war is over”.

Bouckaert said that despite the obvious weaknesses of hosting presidential polls under the current conditions, the EU and France continue to push for the elections.

“The danger is that they see a quick and flawed election as an excuse to once again abandon the Central African Republic, with a claim that the country will then have made a ‘democratic transition’,” Bouckaert said.

“A very large percentage of the population, particularly Muslims living in refugee camps in Chad and Cameroon, but also many rural people, have not even been registered to vote yet, and preparation for a national vote has been minimal,” he said.

The UN says more than half the country’s population are still in need of aid, while 1.5 million people were affected by food insecurity.

In early August, the UN said that only 31 percent of the humanitarian appeal for the CAR had been secured. Aurelien Agbenonci, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in CAR, told Al Jazeera at the time that if more support was not forthcoming, the UN “won’t be able to continue humanitarian activities till the end of the year”.

Home Minister addresses Ed Milan gathering at Archbishop’s house

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Archbishop

Bengaluru: Home Minister KJ George addressed an Eid Milan gathering of various Muslim leaders and delegates from various Christian denominations across the city.

“Meetings like this foster peace and goodwill where there is discord. I am happy to be present for these gatherings organised by the Archbishop. May we have many more of such gathering of people from all religious background to promote an atmosphere of peace.” KJ Goerge said.

MLA NA Harris was also present.

Archbishop told the gathering “It is certainly a matter of great joy to host this fellowship with our Muslim brethren. All religions of the world preach and promote harmony. Religion guides us on the part of morality. The Catholic Church documents hold the Muslims and people of all religions in high regard, acknowledging the ‘spirit of prayer and sacrifice’ found in these religions”.

Muslims being ‘erased’ from Central African Republic

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Amnesty International says Muslims living in rural areas especially targeted as militias undertake “ethnic cleansing”.

Central African Republic

by Azad Essa, Al Jazeera

Militias have taken advantage of the political vacuum in Central African Republic (CAR), engaging in ethnic cleansing of Muslims in a bid to erase the community from the country, human rights group Amnesty International has said.

Discussing Friday’s report, entitled “Erased identity: Muslims in ethnically cleansed areas of the Central African Republic,” Joanne Mariner, a senior crisis response adviser at the UK-based organisation, told Al Jazeera that Muslims in the western half of the country were being repressed and forced to abandon their religion.

More than 30,000 Muslims are living in seven enclaves, guarded by UN troops, across the country, but for those living outside, especially in rural areas, they are being targeted with impunity, the report found.

“They not allowed to express themselves as Muslims; if they are outside the enclaves, they cannot pray, dress in any way that identifies them as Muslim,” Mariner said.

“Their survival depends on a daily routine of negotiation with anti-Balaka fighters.”

Mariner said that many had been forced convert to Christianity or face persecution from the community

‘Failed state’

More than one million people have been displaced since Muslim-led Seleka rebels took control of Bangui, the capital, in March 2013.

Following a spate of abuses by the Seleka rebels, vigilante groups known as anti-Balaka (anti-machete) emerged to fight off the new leadership.

But the anti-Balaka, made up of animist and Christian fighters, also targeted the country’s Muslim minority, seen as sympathetic to the Seleka.

Amnesty’s report, based on a series of interviews with residents across CAR, says militias “unleashed a violent wave of ethnic cleansing aimed at forcing Muslims to leave the country”.

“The continued insecurity and threat from the anti-Balaka comes from there being an absence of a state,” Mariner said.

Though violence in CAR has tapered off since late 2014, the country remains largely insecure.

The collapse of the state apparatus and the fragility of the transitional government have left parts of the country to the mercy of militia groups in the hinterlands.

Concerns remain that despite the perceived calm, the root causes of the crisis have yet to be addressed.

Amnesty’s report comes just days after the International Rescue Committee said CAR “needs a new start, or it will become the case study of a failed state”.

Destruction of mosques

In April, a US envoy said that almost all of the 436 mosques in CAR have been destroyed in the violence. Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, called the devastation “kind of crazy, chilling”.

Amnesty said in Friday’s report that none of the mosques outside Bangui, and the town of Carnot, have been repaired or rebuilt.

One of the “clearest signs of the intensity of sectarian animus was the destruction of the country’s mosques”, the organisation said.

More than 6,000 people have been killed since the crisis began in March 2013.

“The key challenge is a lack of security. The government understands they have a long way to go [but] they need to be able to assert control over these far flung areas,” Mariner said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said this week that more than 1,000 people were still looking for their loved ones, a year after after being separated from them during the wave of violence.

“In this part of the country, very few families have been spared the pain and uncertainty of being separated from loved ones,” Scott Doucet, head of the ICRC sub-delegation for the west of the country, said.

The UN says that that 2.7 million people, more than half the population, are still in need of aid, while 1.5 million people were affected by food insecurity.

The global body’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says humanitarian needs continue to exceed resources available.

Meanwhile Doctors without Borders (MSF) has previously described the country to be in a state of a protracted chronic health emergency.

CAR has been led by a transitional government since January 2014. The country is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on October 18.

Muslim students forced to drink ‘Nilavembu’ during Ramadan in Trichy school

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Nilavembu

Chennai: A communal tension prevailed at Holy Redeemer Higher Secondary School in Trichy in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday after the teachers forced the Muslim students observing the Ramadan fast to drink nilavembu extract.

Nilavembu extract is provided to school children in Trichy as it will improve their immunity and protect them from diseases like dengue. It is an initiative of the Trichy City Corporation.

On Tuesday the management and teachers of Holy Redeemer reportedly asked the Muslim students to break their fast and consume Nilavembu in the school. When the Muslim students refused to drink, the teachers allegedly warned them and forced to drink the extract.

Following the incident, around 100 Muslim families assembled on the school campus and raised slogans at the management. The school is situated on the premises of a church and run by a Christian organization.

Soon some members of the Christian community reached the spot and shouted slogans against Muslims. As tension prevailed, police personnel were deployed in the area.

The issue was solved at a peace meeting attended by deputy commissioner of police Saroj Kumar Thakur, district Jamaat Organisation secretary Mohammed Sharif and school correspondent Fr Amalraj S, among others.

“We have given them assurance that the extract would not be administered to Muslim children during the fast period,” Fr Amalraj said.

FIR against Sadhvi Deva Thakur for sterilisation remarks

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Sadhvi Deva Thakur

Srinagar: An FIR has been registered against a Hindu Mahasabha leader for her controversial remarks that Muslims and Christians must undergo sterilisation to restrict their growing population.

The FIR was lodged against vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha Sadhvi Deva Thakur at Sadder police station yesterday on the directions of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Srinagar V S Bhau.

The CJM had directed Station House Officer of the police station to register a case against the accused under relevant provisions on an application by former Secretary of Jamiat-e- Ahlihadeeth A R Bhat, seeking action against the Hindu leader.

An FIR has been lodged against Sadhvi for “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”, a police official said. He said she has been booked under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language) and 295-A (outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the RPC.

Sadhvi had on April 12 said “the population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, the Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can’t increase their numbers.”

She had also exhorted Hindus to have more children and increase their population so as to have an effect on the world. In another controversial remark, she had said idols of Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in mosques and churches, while coming out strongly in support of installing a statue of “patriot” Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, in Haryana.

(PTI)

Cow slaughter ban for scientific animal husbandry or for cultural nationalist state?

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REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

by Irfan Engineer

In the previous articles we saw that the campaign by the Hindu nationalist organizations for cow protection is merely instrumental to achieve their political objective, establish cultural hegemony of the upper caste and declare the hierarchical and feudal culture privileging the upper caste as the national culture. The amendments passed by the Maharashtra Assembly in 1995 to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976, and which received Presidential assent in 2015 (hereafter referred to as “the 2015 Act”), too are not to protect the cow and its progeny despite the stated objectives couched language of scientific organization of agriculture and animal husbandry. The political objective of the 2015 Act is instrumental – to impose the hegemony of upper caste culture and empower extremist, anarchic and fringe Hindu nationalist groups to intimidate the marginalized sections, in particular, the Muslims on one hand, and to construct a hegemonic and authoritarian culture monitoring state.

While the 1976 Animal preservation Act, as amended in 1988 prohibited only cow (including male and female calves) slaughter, with Section 4 providing, “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or any usage or custom to the contrary, no person shall slaughter cause to be slaughtered or offer for slaughter any cow, in any place in the State of Maharashtra” and provided for punishment which may extend to six months with or without fine upto Rs.1,000/-. The other provisions of the 1976 Act provided for regulation of slaughter of scheduled animal by appointing competent authority.

The 2015 Act transforms a democratic constitutional state into an authoritarian cultural state with immense powers and a machinery to peep into the kitchens, refrigerator and dining tables of the citizens of the country. To include bulls and bullocks along with the cow in the animals that cannot be slaughtered is only a side objective. What has been missed is that the 2015 Act is as draconian as say the UAPA or TADA or POTA and the recent GujCOCA. The 2015 Act will encourage the vigilante actions of the fringe and mainstream Hindu nationalist organizations in stopping vehicles transporting cattle (not necessarily for slaughter), wherein either the owner/deliverer/seller of the cattle or receiver/buyer of the consignment of the cattle or the driver or the owner of the vehicle is a Muslim. The vigilante group, mostly consisting of 4-6 men, then pull out the driver if he is a Muslim, demand the documents, tear them into pieces, loot the cattle (even if not cow or progeny), beat up the Muslim driver, call the police, get a false case registered and the vehicle confiscated and finally get the media to cover that Muslims were taking cow to slaughter house. This writer was told about such cases in Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra by the victims of the vigilante action. The vigilante action increases around Eid-uz-Zuha (bakri Eid). That is how media regularly “reports” which feeds into the stereo-typical relation between Muslims and cow slaughter. The 2015 Act will encourage this vigilantism.

The state and the holy cow:

The state relies on Article 48 of the Constitution of India in support of the 2015 Act. Article 48 is in Part IV of Constitution which is on Directive Principles of State Policy and non-justiciable. Art. 48 states – “The State shall endeavour 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.” The state submitted to the Bombay High Court that it brought in the 2015 Act to protect the cow and its progeny due to their many benefits like milk, dung and urine in making pest repellents and medicinal products. (Thomas, 2015) However, despite the claim of the state, there are no credible studies and research to back its claim. As far as use of bullock as draught animal is concerned, and milk and dung are cited as useful product, then, on that ground slaughter of most mammals should be banned, including buffaloes, goats, horses, camels, etc. Reliance is placed on ancient Vedic texts. Even the Report of the National Commission on Cattle heavily quotes from Vedic texts and Smrities to “prove” that cow is a useful animal (Justice Lodha, 2015)! It is very difficult, if not impossible, to justify ban cow slaughter without bringing in religious traditions followed by the upper-caste elite.

If the only objective of the 2015 Act is to preserve the cattle wealth of Maharashtra for its milk, dung and urine products, and utility of bullocks as a draught animal, why penalize even possession of meat of cow and progeny imported from outside the state (Sec. 5D)? Surely importing meat from outside Maharashtra does not deplete the cattle wealth or the milk, dung and urine within Maharashtra! On the other hand, why the export of cow and its progeny outside Maharashtra should be permitted for all other purposes except for slaughter (sec. 5A)? Whether the cow and its progeny are exported for slaughter or for any other purpose, Maharashtra would lose its cattle wealth along with its milk, dung and urine.

The objective of the 2015 Act goes beyond preservation of cow, its progeny and the milk, dung and urine. The real objective of the 2015 Act is to become an instrument of oppression in the hands of police and the executive objective. Consider some of provisions of the Act, e.g., sections 5A, 5B, and 5C of the 2015 Act which outlaws transportation of cow and progeny for purpose of slaughter, trading cow and progeny for the purpose of slaughter and being in possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock. After outlawing the aforesaid activities, the 2015 Act authorizes any police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector, or any person authorized in this behalf by the State Government to enter, stop and search or authorize any person to enter, stop and search any vehicle used or even intended to be used for the export of cow and progeny; seize or authorize seizure of cow and progeny in respect of which it is suspected that they are in contravention of Sec. 5A, 5B or 5C; and in order to effect search and seizure operations, can even break open any premises as per Sec. 100 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The vigilante groups functioning illegally but with impunity could now be legally authorized by a compliant police officer. As the police officer can effect seizure or authorize seizure of even those cows and progeny which were intended to be sold or purchased or transported for slaughter. The allegation of “intention” can be freely made but is difficult to defend.

The quantum of punishment for contravention of the provisions has also been increased 10 times – from six months to five years, with a minimum punishment of six months and fine has been increased by ten times too – from one thousand to ten thousand with minimum fine to be rupees one thousand. The maximum punishment in the law before amendment would now be the minimum punishment. If you are in possession of small quantity of narcotic or psychotropic drugs, the chances are that you may be send to a rehabilitation centre and let off. However, if you are in possession of flesh of cow or progeny, chances are that you may be sentenced to a jail term upto one year! To be in possession of flesh of cow and progeny is no less serious offence than being in possession of contraband drugs, and perhaps more serious! The Hindu Nationalist vigilante groups are less concerned about Hindus getting addicted to drugs and concerned more with citizens of Maharashtra being in possession of flesh of cow and progeny. Their flesh would now be considered contraband substance! The offence is non-bailable.

The most draconian provision of the Act is that the burden of proving that the slaughter, transport, export outside the State, sale, purchase or possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock was not in contravention of the provisions of the 2015Act, would be on the accused! In Indian criminal jurisprudence, the accused is always presumed to be innocent till proved guilty. The exception to this rule is only in very serious offences and under special laws or exceptional circumstances, e.g. in UAPA or in counter-terrorism legislations. Even in cases of murder or defending oneself against the charge of sedition, there would be presumption of innocence and it would be for the prosecution to prove the guilt. How would an accused from very poor background and who is accused of slaughtering, transporting, exporting out of state or selling or purchasing or possessing flesh of cow and progeny prove his/her innocence? The state or vigilantes so authorized can break open your house, enter your kitchen, dining table (or floor in most cases) peep inside your refrigerator and seize “contraband” substance – flesh/meat and put you behind bars and for the prime of the accused life s/he would be fighting from within the prison walls to prove her/his innocence! The draconian legislation is a powerful tool in the hands of vigilante groups and state to target any individual, group or community.

As soon as the 2015 Act came into force, Hindu nationalist vigilante groups became even more active. The vigilante groups having little respect for rule of law and the Constitution of India, immediately tested the law by launching complaints targeting Muslims in Malegaon, a Muslim majority town in North Maharashtra. Police acted upon the complaint and arrested the accused. Malegaon police told Tabassum Barnagarwala (2015) (Cows Say Cheese) “After the ban came into force, Hindu groups were after us to investigate Muslim households… Also, people may try to settle their personal battles by registering false complaints. A Hindu can come and say that a Muslim is keeping cows for slaughter. What do we do in such a case?” Malegaon police directed the Muslims of the town who kept cows as their pets to register their animals with a photograph of the owner and all the cows. The police started maintaining an additional register titled – Gaay, Bail, Bachhara (cow, bull and calf) Register. The police in Malegaon are busy carrying out a census of Muslims possessing cows and monitoring trade and movement. Hindus owning cows are not required to register as the presumption is the only Muslim sell cows and progeny for slaughter – Hindus do not!

Police in Maharashtra despite their extremely limited numbers and challenging task of fighting anti-dalit violence, terrorism, drug proliferation, land mafia, increasing sexual assaults on women, domestic violence, communal violence, and other organized crimes, will be busy securing the ministers, Hindu nationalist instigators and the cows. The victims of the 2015 Act, we are given to understand, would be primarily Muslims. The victims of the 2015 Act is foremost our criminal jurisprudence, democracy, and our Constitutional values. The 2015 Act in the hands of police and vigilante groups can become instrument of oppression of not only Muslims, but also dalits and other marginalized sections of society. Dalits will not only be affected as they will lose their cheap source of proteins or suffer economically as they are involved in manufacturing of leather goods. Police or vigilante groups may enter any house having meat of lamb or any other animal or in a shop of meat vendor, seize the flesh and produce the person before court. Then it would be on the accused to prove her/his innocence. Let us watch whether the police use the 2015 Act to renegotiate their hafta!

Secular movement has also opposed the 2015 Act on the terrain of defending the rights of minorities, particularly Muslims. The 2015 Act is more than that. The state ruled by followers of Hindutva ideology are today prescribing and monitoring the food we eat. What next? Prescribing and monitoring clothes we wear? Films we see? Performing and fine arts we are allowed to watch? Occupation we are allowed to be in? Areas we can inhabit and reside in? Muslims are being targeted initially so that opposition comes primarily from Muslims and not from larger society. Every citizen of India who has a stake in democracy should see herself as a potential victim and stand up to resist.

Barnagarwala, T. (2015, April 19). Cows Say Cheese. Indian Express , pp. 12-13.

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