By Rafat Nayeem Quadri,
Ahmedabad: Members of Muslim Qureshi community (by profession referred as butchers) have reportedly taken a pledge not to slaughter cows anymore. The unanimous decision was announced in a community wedding function in presence of Jamnagar district police chief Subhash Trivedi.
According to an estimate, the city of Jamnagar has about 200 houses of butcher community, while the district has 150 more houses that belong to butchers.
Leaders of the community on Wednesday evening gathered at the mazar of Pir Godarsha Wali and took the pledge for not butchering cows from now onward. Butchers of Bhanwad, Khambhalia, Kalavad, Lalpur talukas of Jamnagar district supported this decision.
As per the announcement made by Jamnagar Kasai Jamaat, the community members will prevent cow slaughtering. If any person is caught slaughtering cow, he would be boycotted by community members and will be handed over to police.
District police chief Subhash Trivedi welcomed the decision of Qureshi community and garlanded the leaders of the jamaat. He gifted silver pen to one Afzal Kadar Sherji, son of Kasai who passed Chartered Accountant (CA) exam.
A bill seeking seven-year jail term for cow slaughter or even transporting the animal for that purpose, was passed unopposed in Gujarat Assembly on 27th September 2011 with opposition Congress extending support to it.
The Gujarat government’s amended stringent anti-cow slaughter law came into force from 24th October 2011, a day before Diwali festivities began in Gujarat.
The state government has claimed that vested interests and animal traffickers have been trying to sabotage the state’s stringent anti-cow slaughter law by resorting to false propaganda about its possible misuse by various agencies.
In Ahmedabad, several butchers found themselves being harassed and controlled by the establishment at the wrong end while many also admitted to have indulged into importing beef. Famous case of the daylight murder of RTI activist Nadem Siayed from Juhapura, who was also a key witness in Naroda Patia riot case was also attributed by the police to be the handiwork of the butchers who considered him to be a police informer.
The Eid-al-Zuha in Ahmedabad was quite dull last year with the new law in place. Many Muslim families chose to send money to their relatives living elsewhere for the sacrifice of the animal. Prices of goats skyrocketed and the poor among the community couldn’t eat meat.
Many elite and well settled Muslims in Gujarat condemn the idea of slaughtering of cows since it is respected by Hindus and has a sentimental faith and value attached to it. A fast rise in the price of chicken and in its demand has been seen in the state since last four months.