Panicked mutton-lovers of Maharashtra need not fear: there is no ban on goat meat in the works. At least, not yet.
Mumbaikars woke up on Tuesday to what many might consider tragic news: newspapers reported that the Maharashtra government might consider a ban on goat meat. This follows the ban on beef that the state implemented a month ago.
The state’s Advocate General, Sunil Manohar, mentioned the possibility in the Bombay High Court while responding to petitions which challenged the beef ban. Manohar argued that the beef ban had been put in place for two reasons: to prevent animal cruelty and to preserve them for agrarian use.
Legal jumla
The court then asked the state, then why not goats? Taking that line of reasoning, weren’t goats deserving of being protected from slaughter or useful to the agrarian economy? In response, the Advocate General said that while Maharashtra has started with cows, it might consider banning other meats too, thus setting of panic bells in taste buds across the state.
This statement, however, turned out to simply be rhetorical flourish or, to use an increasingly popular term, a jumla. The Advocate General has already cleared the air by clarifying that banning goat meat or any other sort of food is currently not on the state’s agenda.
Even as mutton lovers might heave a sigh of relief at this close shave, this incident does serve to highlight just how hypocritical the banning of beef is. The Maharashtra government’s purported reason for the beef ban was to stop animal cruelty. As the Bombay High Court asked, though, how then did the cow, of all the animals that are consumed as part of the human diet, get this special treatment? Indeed, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party was moved by concern for animal welfare to ban cow and bull slaughter, buffalo meat exports have actually increased under the Modi government.
The buffalo, an unsung hero
The beef ban doesn’t make too much sense in terms of the agrarian economy either. Contrary to popular belief, the cow is not the main milch animal in India. That would be the humble buffalo. Fifty five per cent of milk produced in the country is actually buffalo milk. Cows produce only approximately 40% of India's total milk. In Haryana, which passed a beef ban law similar to Maharashtra’s four weeks back, an overwhelming 80% of the state’s milk comes from the buffalo – an unsung hero if there ever was one.
Our milk companies might sell us milk with the imagery of (usually European) cows, but the milk that your doodhwala delivers in the morning is more buffalo than cow.
Of course, the real reason for the beef ban is something the government really can’t use in court: appeasing religious sentiment. It is thus tying itself in knots, trying to force fit any argument that it hopes would stick.
The cow is an animal considered holy by a great many number of Hindus. It might not be India’s main milch animal or the only one deserving of our compassion but, as this episode shows, it is the only one that brings in the votes.
Mumbaikars woke up on Tuesday to what many might consider tragic news: newspapers reported that the Maharashtra government might consider a ban on goat meat. This follows the ban on beef that the state implemented a month ago.
The state’s Advocate General, Sunil Manohar, mentioned the possibility in the Bombay High Court while responding to petitions which challenged the beef ban. Manohar argued that the beef ban had been put in place for two reasons: to prevent animal cruelty and to preserve them for agrarian use.
Legal jumla
The court then asked the state, then why not goats? Taking that line of reasoning, weren’t goats deserving of being protected from slaughter or useful to the agrarian economy? In response, the Advocate General said that while Maharashtra has started with cows, it might consider banning other meats too, thus setting of panic bells in taste buds across the state.
This statement, however, turned out to simply be rhetorical flourish or, to use an increasingly popular term, a jumla. The Advocate General has already cleared the air by clarifying that banning goat meat or any other sort of food is currently not on the state’s agenda.
Even as mutton lovers might heave a sigh of relief at this close shave, this incident does serve to highlight just how hypocritical the banning of beef is. The Maharashtra government’s purported reason for the beef ban was to stop animal cruelty. As the Bombay High Court asked, though, how then did the cow, of all the animals that are consumed as part of the human diet, get this special treatment? Indeed, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party was moved by concern for animal welfare to ban cow and bull slaughter, buffalo meat exports have actually increased under the Modi government.
The buffalo, an unsung hero
The beef ban doesn’t make too much sense in terms of the agrarian economy either. Contrary to popular belief, the cow is not the main milch animal in India. That would be the humble buffalo. Fifty five per cent of milk produced in the country is actually buffalo milk. Cows produce only approximately 40% of India's total milk. In Haryana, which passed a beef ban law similar to Maharashtra’s four weeks back, an overwhelming 80% of the state’s milk comes from the buffalo – an unsung hero if there ever was one.
Our milk companies might sell us milk with the imagery of (usually European) cows, but the milk that your doodhwala delivers in the morning is more buffalo than cow.
Of course, the real reason for the beef ban is something the government really can’t use in court: appeasing religious sentiment. It is thus tying itself in knots, trying to force fit any argument that it hopes would stick.
The cow is an animal considered holy by a great many number of Hindus. It might not be India’s main milch animal or the only one deserving of our compassion but, as this episode shows, it is the only one that brings in the votes.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!