By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
“Mullah Mulayam’s government has allowed people who kill cows to prosper. In Gujarat, we don’t have any water, but we have milk. Here, you’re blessed. You have so much water. But all your cows are being killed; all your animals are ending up at the butchers.” – Amit Shah in Muzaffarnagar on April 3, 2014.
Mewat, Haryana: It’s not easy to miss, huge red gates draws your attention and the board “Veer Bhagat Singh Gaushala” makes you stop in your tracks. This is one of the 250 gaushalas providing shelters to over 1.8 lakh cows in Haryana, according to Government of Haryana’s website. Gaushalas are given money under various schemes to the tune of crores of rupees.
Beyond the big fortress like gate is a big complex of cow sheds and some residential quarters. A man in his fifties greet us, he is the manager of this Gaushala. He gives us a tour of the gaushala, “most of the cows have gone out for grazing,” he informs us. We find a few cows there, some sick or crippled, some too old or too young to go out. All indications there suggest that people of this gaushala take good care of the cows.
Manager sahib says that there are about three hundred cows in this gaushala. I ask him the reason for this gaushala to be named after revolutionary Bhagat Singh. “Most of the cows here have been rescued from being slaughtered by Muslims. This is work of bravery just like what Bhagat Singh did,” he proudly tells us. I probed further, “what is the bravery in this?” “I can kill humans to protect gau-mata (mother cows),” he declares and suddenly the fountain of hate burst open in this abode of love where animals were being taken care of.
I ask him if he has tried talking to Muslims who he claims are butchering cows. “Muslims are in desperate conditions; they have eighteen kids and are poor. They don’t listen to us.” I laughed at his “eighteen kids” comment and asked if he knows of any family with that many kids. He ignored me and continued with his argument that talking to Muslims is a waste of time.
Cow Protection as a movement started in 1870s and has been held responsible for a number of violent incidents. As late as in 2008 in Malegaon, a cattle trader Nasir Khan was killed by members of Gau Raksha Samiti (Cow Protection committee). Spread of gaushalas and establishment of various cow protection organizations have become an important tool for preaching of hate against Muslims. This has resulted in harassment of Muslim butchers and a simmering Hindu-Muslim tension at the ground level.
This love-cows-hate-Muslims group is not ready to be a vote bank for BJP. A message in Godhan magazine’s March 2014 issue asks the readers to vote without consideration of caste and religion but only to that candidate who makes cow-protection centers in your area.
Montly Godhan which is being published for the last 57 years and is focused on cow protection in its editorial of March 2014 blasts Congress for its anti-cow policies. It states that it is the age of the crisis where both Ganga and cows are under threat. “Principles of Hindutva are being challenged from everywhere. There is no alternative we can see who is committed to their protection. Therefore in this difficult situation it is our holy duty to at least not vote those who are responsible for this condition.”
This vote is not completely in BJP’s kitty and that is one reason that Amit Shah artfully combined Muslim-hate and cow-love to ask for votes for BJP. It remains to be seen if this movement that predates Hindutva is convinced of BJP’s cow love.
Link:
http://pashudhanharyana.gov.in/html/gaushala.htm