By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: An anxiety has started to develop amongst the Muslim community in Maharashtra as it will be the first year that they would observe Eid-ul-Adha, an important sacrificial festival, after the imposition and enactment of beef ban law in March this year.
Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act came into place on March 4, 2015 after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, which had been pending since 1995 during the previous Sena-BJP rule. The bill brings in harsher clauses towards a complete ban on calf and bull slaughter.
Eid-ul-Adha will be celebrated in India on September 25 and as a religious obligation every well to do Muslim has to sacrifice goat or bull. As per religious norms only one person can sacrifice small animal like goat whereas seven people can collectively sacrifice a big animal like bull or calf.
Sacrificing bulls are considered more economical as it is affordable for people compared with the costly goats, also because seven people can share in sacrifice of one bull.
But the ruling state government is in a mood of strictly adhering to the recently enacted law of banning of slaughter of bulls and cows and hence it has issued a strict circular on September 3 to the entire districts police department directing to be vigilant and to make sure no bulls and cows are slaughtered.
It also advices police to setup special chaukis to stop smuggling of animals whose slaughter is considered as illegal as per new law. It has gone to advice police machinery to install CCTV cameras so that the new beef ban law is strictly observed across the state during upcoming Eid.
However, Muslim bodies are trying their luck for relaxation of the new law for three days during Eid by sending memorandum to Chief Minister and also by petitioning high court.
AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan from Byculla has handed over a memorandum on behalf of state Muslims to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday requesting for three days relaxation of the new beef ban law and to allow sacrificing bulls and calves during Eid.
Talking with media Pathan said, “If CM wish he can issue circular for relaxation (of been ban law) during Eid and it is up to him whether to consider our request or not. We expect that CM should respect sentiments of Muslim community”.
The Times of India reports that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is planning to move the Bombay High Court to issue a directive to the state government to relax the ban for three days during Bakri Eid.
IUML city president Parvez Lakdawala had told at the end of last month that if “slaughter houses and meat shops are ordered to be closed on Mahavir Jayanti to respect the sentiments of the Jains, the government can similarly issue a notification to allow slaughter of out of (agricultural) use bulls and bullocks during Bakri Eid.”