Stop Violence from Gau Rakshaks;
Ensure Security in Cattle Trade

The boycott of cattle trade launched by Maharashtra’s traders in protest against the rising incidents of violence from self styled cow protectors is a matter of grave concern, as it affects the livelihood of tens of thousands of families, most of them from the Qureshi community in the state, who are traditionally involved in the trade.

The All India Jamiyathul Quresh (AIJQ), the organisation of cattle traders, had announced their decision to stop trading in cattle from July 21 in Maharashtra, where there were a series of violent incidents when cattle traders were stopped and beaten up by the “gau rakshaks”, damaged their vehicles and stolen their money.

The gau rakshaks are acting as an extra judicial authority, as they stop vehicles carrying castle, ask for production of papers of official permission for transportation of animals, and even when such papers are produced, they are known to harass traders even using physical violence on them. There have been several such incidents in recent past and a large number of complaints have been filed with Maharashtra police, though no action has been taken on any of them.

The activities of the self styled gau rakshaks have been a recurring problem for the cattle traders in most parts of north and western India, and a number of innocent people have been violently attacked in places like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other states. There were many incidents of violence and murder on false allegations of killing of cows or keeping of beef, including the gruesome lynching Muhammed Akhlaq, an iron smith in Dadri in Utttar Pradesh in September 2015. Despite the fact that most of these victims were totally innocent, there has been no attempt to stop the violence nor any of the culprits were brought to justice. The result was the astronomical rise in such incidents, spreading to other parts of the country also.

Maharashtra is such an example. Ever since the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the state amended the 1979 Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, some ten years back, the possession, sale and consumption of beef has been banned in the state. The amendment banned the slaughter of cows and its progeny, bulls and bullocks. The slaughter of bullocks had been earlier allowed with permission from civic authorities, which was also disallowed in 2015 amendment. However, the 2015 Act allowed slaughter of buffaloes on certain conditions.

However, even the legally allowed trade is being stopped by vigilante groups, who are regularly stopping vehicles, seizing animals and other properties and assaulting traders and their employees. It is this situation of abject lawlessness that has forced the Maharashtra traders to call for a boycott of cattle trade in the state. This is going to have a major impact on the economy of the state, as well as repercussions to the farming community who need to sell their worn out cattle to buy younger ones. The government should take strict action to ensure security for the traders and bring the criminal vigilante groups to justice to put an end to their nefarious activities.

P Abdul Majeed Faizy
National General secretary
Social Democratic Party of India