Turning cow into another vote bank

The way things are going, cow slaughter ban and beef are being seen by the BJP as its next equivalent of Ayodhya. Till the last day of the BJP’s campaign in Bihar, the party tried to milk the issue electorally. The poll results will show how much of an impact it has had in what was a highly polarised poll. The party’s last advertisement was about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s irreverent attitude to the cow, which was banned by the Election Commission but by then, the campaign was over. 

Earlier, RJD leader Lalu Prasad’s remarks about “Hindus eating beef” had created a stir within his own community but they closed ranks behind him once Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the term “shaitan” against their leader.

Former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, the moderate, sober face of the BJP in Bihar, tipped to be the chief minister if the NDA wins, went to the extent of saying that “this election is between those who eat beef and those who are against cow slaughter”.

From the sounds emanating from the BJP circles, Bihar is not going to put an end to the “cow” controversy. The party plans to up the ante on an issue which it sees to be potentially as emotive as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The issue had successfully polarised the Hindus in its favour and enhanced its tally from two Lok Sabha seats in 1984, under the moderate leadership of A B Vajpayee, to 120 in 1991 and 161 in the 1996 elections, with the late 80s and early 90s having spawned the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, yielding the saffron party rich dividends electorally.

The BJP top brass obviously feels that “development” is not enough of a vote catching theme and wants to lace that recipe with a more heady brew. The party has brought “cow slaughter” to the centre stage again in recent months, with the issue suddenly popping up in state after state.

Even a state like Jammu & Kashmir, which has had a cow slaughter ban law for over 60 years and where 95 per cent of the people, including the Valley Muslims, do not eat beef, suddenly saw a BJP legislator rough up an independent MLA because he had served beef. The attempt by the BJP to “impose” its views has agitated a large number of Muslims in the Valley on an issue which had been a non-issue. Things have for the time being quietened down because the government went to the Supreme Court after two sets of conflicting rulings by the High Court.

Ambivalent stand

The M L Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana has enacted a tough law to penalise those caught slaughtering cows. Maharashtra, too, has followed suit, first banning beef and then banning meat for 8 days during a Jain festival. When it created an uproar, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to clarify that the ban would not apply to bulls and buffaloes.

The lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri on the suspicion of storing beef might have died down had there been a strong and immediate condemnation by the BJP.  But while some Union ministers condemned the incident, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, who visited Dadri, was ambivalent. The prime minister maintained a studied silence for over two weeks.

The demand for a ban on cow slaughter, and the enactment of a national law on it, is not new. The debate over it had raged in the Constituent Assembly with some members seeking to include it in the chapter on Fundamental Rights but it was Ambedkar who suggested that it be enshrined in the Directive Principle of State Policy, which enjoins on the Indian state “to take steps for prohibiting the slaughter of cows and other milch and draught cattle,” and was the basis of state governments enacting laws banning cow slaughter. These laws exist in 24 states.

 For the RSS, veneration of the cow has been a core issue, and a way to Hinduise society. Way back in 1966, when Indira Gandhi had just taken over as the prime minister, it was one of the early challenges that her government faced–the RSS and its front organisations–and Hindu sants led a march of thousands to Parliament demanding a ban on cow slaughter.

Several people were killed and injured, the then Congress president K Kamaraj’s house was burnt and curfew was imposed in Delhi for two days. Then home minister G L Nanda had to resign, but Indira Gandhi did not accept the RSS demand. Though the violence triggered widespread criticism, the Jan Sangh tried to flag the issue in the 1967 elections.
 It resurfaced in 1979 during the Janata Party rule, of which the Jan Sangh was a part, when Gandhian and bhoodan champion Vinobha Bhave went on a hunger fast to make a pitch for a ban on cow slaughter. Then prime minister Morarji Desai defused the situation by giving Vinobha Bhave assurances.

 Bihar BJP leaders have said they will enact a new law on cow slaughter ban if the NDA comes to power there. With important state elections due in 2016 and 2017—Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, UP and Gujarat-- cow protection is being used once again as a symbol of Hindu identity and unity.

(The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator)