Cow
in Hindu Dharma earns a special status and is synonymous to divinity. It is not
looked down on as an animal but as the truest incarnation of mother – a mother
who is venerated for her infinite love and protective nature to her own offspring.
According to Hindu mythology, Gavu means cow while
shala denotes shed or home and all gods (Devata Devi) dwell in a cow. Even the holy cow Kaamdhenu turned up
following churning of cosmic ocean.
If one has to realize the basis of this divinity, he must go through profundity
of Vedas. In Book VI of Rig Veda, Hymn XXVIII
attributed to Rishi Bhardwaja, glorifies the virtue of the cow whereas in
Atharva Veda (Book X, Hymn 10), cow is designated as Vishnu; she is also
mentioned here as “all that the Sun surveys.” Kautilya in Arthshastra (Chapter
XXIX) is also found to laud the divine character of cow.
But all these noble nature come to a halt in
contemporary India where cow has become the greatest casualty. Islamists do not miss a single opportunity to insult
Hindus and in this context, slaughtering of cows is the first and best option
to them. Gone are the days when Hindu perspective used to dominate the Indian political
scene. Cashing in on pathetic nonchalance of Hindus, importance of minority votes,
to be precise Muslim votes, has gained unimaginable significance. As a result,
both slaughter and smuggling of cows have surged but the administration, under
the aegis of “secular” political parties, remains silent altogether. And this surreptitious
maneuver incites Islamists to open slaughter houses of cows far and wide
vitiating the environment.
Can this be stopped? This single question haunts
a sane Hindu mind repeatedly when myriad instances of flouting court orders to
prohibit open slaughtering of cows especially on the day of Bakri Id are
readily available. On November 2, 2011, by the decision bench headed by Chief Justice of
Kolkata, Mr J. N. Patel and Mr. Ashim Kumar Roy (J), the Cow Slaughter on Bakri
Id and trading of Cattle for sacrifice at Cattle markets was banned by the
Hon’ble Calcutta High Court. The historic judgment stated in clear terms “the
all Officials of the State and local bodies have no power to facilitate holding
of markets for trading of cattle for sacrifice and also the movement of cattle
for the said purpose on the occasion of Id-uz-Zoha festival to be celebrated on
7th, November, 2011.” But by now the order has fallen through. Slaughtering and
smuggling of cows is no more a covert but an overt affair and almost on a daily
basis, such reports are found from different parts of Bengal. It is a steady
affair leading to communal disturbances at different areas.
Violation
of court judgments does not urge administration to take up apposite measures and
venerate the Role of Judiciary in an independent country like India (ever ready
to laud itself as the largest democracy in the globe). In this situation, are
incidents like riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh too unexpected? It resulted
from the harassment of a Hindu girl and murders of Hindu boys for protesting.
Perhaps,
Hindus have learnt at last that trust on Role of Democracy and Judiciary in
India is nothing save for stupidity. As democracy defines the canon that the
numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the
whole group, Hindus are also realizing the need of exerting force. If Hindus
become both militant and dominant, it’s the failure of Indian democracy only.
Surely,
there is the need of more combativeness to stop slaughtering and smuggling of
cows. Indian legal system has failed miserably by now to check this escalating
menace.
