The beef ban brouhaha

In the Constituent Assembly debates, held in the backdrop of a bloody partition, cow protection emerged as a bone of contention. A large section of the Congress leadership, including the chairman Dr Rajendra Prasad, supported a statutory provision to ban bovine slaughter.

The framers of the Constitution negotiated a resolution to this knotty problem by introducing an article in directive principles. It was left to the provinces to enact state-specific laws compatible with the demographics and dietary habits of the populace. The broader framework for cow protection was based on the economic importance of the animal in an agrarian society and not religious beliefs.

Muslim leadership supported the move. Syed Mohammad Saadullah, the former Premier of Assam and a member of the Constitution drafting committee, voted in its favour. Z H Lari from Uttar Pradesh even suggested that the law be made part of the Fundamental Rights.

Since the adoption of the Constitution 75 years ago, various state governments have enacted laws to ban cow slaughter under Article 246 (which delineates the division of power to legislate between states and the centre).

Since the adoption of the Constitution, some states have imposed a blanket ban. Uttar Pradesh enacted the Cow Protection Act in 1955. Tamil Nadu appended rules and regulations to carry out the slaughter of bulls, bullocks, and buffaloes after obtaining permission from government authorities. So did West Bengal in 1950. Only about half a dozen states and union territories (Kerala and some northeastern states) did not pass legislation.

The status, political and statutory, persisted for almost five decades since Independence. But in the last 25 years, some states, especially the ones ruled by the BJP have sought to amend the cow protection laws to either make the provisions stricture or to widen the ambit of their respective laws from just bovine protection to beef eating and its transportation.

While the 1964 Karnataka law allowed bulls, bullocks, and buffaloes aged over 12 years or if they were unfit for breeding or did not yield milk, the 2021 bill passed by the BJP government introduced stringent provisions imposing a blanket ban on the slaughter of cattle.

The 1955 Uttar Pradesh law prohibited cow slaughter, sale of beef, or transport of beef. The Yogi government amended the law in 2020, making cow slaughter punishable with imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs five lakh. Madhya Pradesh also amended its law against cow slaughter in 2012. As per the statute, the burden of proof of not killing a cow and its progeny lies with the accused.

In 2015, a bill passed by the legislative assembly of Maharashtra in 1995 got the presidential assent. It banned the slaughter of bulls as well as bullocks, which, based on a fit-for-slaughter certificate, was previously allowed. Ahead of the recent state assembly polls, the Eknath Shinde-headed Maya Yuti government declared ‘desi gai’ (Indigenous cows) as “Rajya Mata - GauMata”.

In its first term, the Modi government in 2017 notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules to regulate livestock trade and cattle transport.

The rules banned trading in cattle, including buffaloes, for slaughter at animal markets. When challenged before the Supreme Court, they were withdrawn.

In Assam, the Cattle Preservation Act of 1950, banned cow slaughter except on issuance of a fit-for-slaughter certificate. In 2021, the BJP government introduced the Assam Cattle Prevention Act to restrict the sale and consumption of beef within a five-kilometre radius of temples, and satras (Vaishnavite monasteries).

After the ruling BJP’s recent victory in the bypolls in Samaguri, a minority-dominated seat held by Congress since 2001, the Himanta Biswa Sharma government has moved to expand the ambit of the 2021 Act to ban beef consumption in all public places including hotels, restaurants, and religious events, thereby setting the tone for the next state assembly polls slated for 2026.

(With inputs from Bharath Joshi, Mrityunjay Bose, Sanjay Pandey, Zulfikar Majid, Arjun Raghunath, Satish Jha and SNV Sudhir)