Goat                                                    2,73,000                                    4,56,000
Existence of large numbers of unlicensed and licensed slaughter houses

81. The Hindustan Times of 9.4.1996 under the heading “Warning bells on cattle depletion” reports that nearly 70 per cent of the total livestock slaughtered in the country caters to the demands of the Middle East alone. The article is extracted below:

“A recent report by the Union Ministry of Environment (MOF) claims that the massive illegal slaughtering of animals has posed a serious threat to their existence and there has been an alarming decrease of animal - human population ratio. According to the data, besides 32,000 illegal slaughter houses, there are 3600 licensed abattoirs in the country.

A senior official in the Ministry of Environment told the Hindustan Times that in 1991-92 the country had exported meat worth Rs.165 crores. The figure rose to Rs.285 crores in 1993-94 and by the turn of the century it is expected to cross Rs.1,000 crores. The money earned will be at the cost of the dwindling number of livestock, he pointed out.

The report states that the cattle human ratio came down from 430 animals per thousand human population in 1951 to 278 in 1981 and if the trend continues it could reach the alarming level of 20 per 1000 by year 2011. The report adds that the buffalo count which was 120 per thousand human population in 1951 came down to 100 in 1981 and will further decrease to 20 by 2011.

Criticizing the Government policy, a senior official in the Ministry of Environment said ‘The Government was planning to kill more animals under the misconception that cattle population in the country was increasing’.

The official further stated that the Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai in its recent analysis mentioned that “indiscriminate slaughter of animals to meet the internal and export demand for meat all these have contributed to the low growth rate of animals”.
Blind Eye to unlawful cow slaughter on Bakr-Id Day in West Bengal, Assam and Orissa

82. Everybody knows that there is no mandate in the Quran or Hadees for ‘Kurbani’ of Cows on Bakar-Id. The Supreme Court in Mohammad Hanif Qureshi Vs. State of Bihar in 1958 (Supra) had held that the Muslims had no religious right to kill cows on Bakar-Id day. In spite of the verdict of the Apex Court, the Government of West Bengal had been providing exemption under Section 12 of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act 1955 for the Muslims to sacrifice (kill) the cows on Bakar-Id.

83. Shri Kedar Nath Bramachari and others filed a Writ Petition in 1971 against the State of West Bengal and others in the Calcutta High Court, seeking a withdrawal of the exemption from the provisions of the West Bengal legislation on cow slaughter, under which cows were being sacrificed on the occasion of Bakr- Id. The Petition was allowed on 20.8.82 and the High Court held that the exemption to slaughter the cows on Bakar-Id could not be given. The State of West Bengal and others filed appeal in the Supreme Court against the judgement of the Calcutta High Court. The Supreme Court, by its judgement dated 16.11.94, dismissed the appeal and upheld the order of the High Court. But the Government of West Bengal turned a deaf ear and defied the order of the Apex Court in order to appease the Muslims voters. Justice Guman Mal Lodha, M.P. then raised a question in the Parliament asking why, while B.J.P. Government in U.P. could be dismissed for not complying with the order of the Supreme Court in Ayodhya matter, why was the Government of West Bengal not being dismissed for an identical default in West Bengal? The Communist MPs assured the Parliament that the order of the Apex Court would be complied with. The assurance proved to be an eyewash and no action has been taken by the Central Government against the Government of West Bengal in spite of contravention of laws and defying the order of the Apex Court. (Source: “Our Cattle Preservation Laws and the Role of the Government” – Paramanand Mittal)

84. For clearing and steering clear through this situation of being on the horns of a dilemma, we feel persuaded to remind the Government about what words of praise, renowned world scholars have to say about our ancient rich heritage of cow worship, doctrine of Ahimsa and compassion for all animals. It was perhaps due to this rich heritage that, Smt. Indira Gandhi, got Art. 51(g) enacted as a fundamental duty of Indian Citizens, by amending the Constitution in 1976. This was also what led J.P. and Morarji Bhai to join Vinoba Bhave in the crusade to put a total Ban on Slaughter of Cows. J.P’s letter to Jyoti Basu is annexed and marked in Annexure-12 in speech of G.M. Lodha in Loksabha.

85. One of the first Englishmen to visit India, Mr. Ralph Fitch astonished the world by his discovery that the Indians worship cow and used cow dung to paint the wall of their houses. He told the world that the Indians eat root, rice and milk. They will give meal to the ants.

86. According to Mr. Deryck O. Lordrick, a research scholar of California University, no where in the world except in India does man and animal come together in such a rich diversified agricultural environment.. This Reseach Scholar mentioned that Goshalas, which are homes for aged or infirm cattle, and pinjrapoles (animal refuges or shelters) are the expressions of the Indian religious concept of Ahimsa or non-violence to the living creatures, which have baffled European observers since the time of Marco Polo. He highlighted the Jain Teaching of “Ahimsa Paramo Dharma – Ahimsa is the greatest of religions.” in the preface of his book entiteled “Sacred Cows. Sacred Places”.

87. It is interesting that this English Scholar from California University came to India for research and a comprehensive study on Goshalas and Pinjrapoles. His investigations continued in India where, as part of a doctorate study programme, he spent the period from January 1974 to September, 1975 conducting field research, supported by a Research Fellowship awarded by the American Institute of Indian Studies and got affiliated with Banaras Hindu University and Ahmedabad University. He was associated with Dr. A.B. Mukerji of the University of Punjab at Chandigarh and Dr. Harjivan Suthar of Gujarat University at Ahmedabad. He found that the cow is worshipped at various festivals and the bulls of Shiva are suffered to roam in the streets unmolested.

88. Use of “Panchagavya”, in which this Commission is now finding a radical change due to cow urine and cow dung revolution, and which is being promoted in a programme launched in 1998 by the Animal Welfare Board of India, under the Chairmanship of Justice Guman Mal Lodha, gets recognition in this research of Mr. Lodrick.

89. In the words of Mr. Deryck O. Lodrick, “Cow’s milk is used in temple ritual, while to Panchagavya the five products of the cow (milk, curd, ghee, urine and dung) are ascribed certain magical and medicinal properties. Cow dung is used in the home for the ritual purification of the heart. Most high-caste Hindus will not countenance even the slaughtering of cows, let alone the eating of beef.” According to him, as a result, the cow has been a traditional focus of communal discord between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists ever since the arrival of Islam in India.

90. He also states that “More recently the cow protection movement in India and the legislating of anti-slaughter laws in various states have brought the issue out of the realm of folk culture and religion and into the modern political arena, with demands from traditionalists for a total ban on slaughter throughout the country. In April, 1979, for instance, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, a much respected Social reformer, the Champion of Bhoodaan movement and spiritual heir to Mahatma Gandhi, went on a hunger strike to pressure the Central Government into imposing a nationwide ban on cow slaughter in India. At first Prime Minister Morarji Desai claimed to be helpless, arguing that anti-slaughter legislation lay within the realm of the States powers and not that of the Delhi Government, but such was the popular outcry to support of the Acharya that Desai was forced to intervene. Only after Bhave was assured by the Prime Minister that the Central Government would push for a national ban on the slaughter of cattle with all possible speed did he break his five day fast.”

91. His finding is that “cattle play a much wider role in the life of India, the repercussions of which are far-reaching. To many Hindus, the cow is not just an animal to be exploited economically but is viewed with a reverence and respect normally reserved for the senior members of one’s own family, or even for the lesser gods of the Hindu pantheon. Indeed the extent to which reverence for the cow in particular and cattle in general is carried can be seen in Hindu religion and mythology. The bull in the form of Nandi, for example, is the sacred vehicle of Shiva, the Destroyer of the Hindu Trinity, and is found at the entrance to all Shiva Temples throughout the land. The bull is also linked with other Hindu Gods, such as Dyaus, Agni, Rudra and Indra, Krishna is represented as the ‘cowherd” god, and many of the tales and legends of his life pursue this motif, linking him to the cow and pastoral settings. The cow, itself a symbol of fertility, figures prominently in Hindu myth and legend, appearing as Surabhi, the mother of all cows, as Kamdhenu, the cow that grants all desires, or as the home of all the gods save one, Lakshmi, who finding no space remaining in the body of the cow is forced to take up her abode in its dung. The existence of goloka, the place of the cows, which ranks above the heavens of mere gods and mortals, the primeval ocean of milk which is churned by gods and demons, the frequent allusions to the cow in the sacred literature-all attest to the prominent position of the cow in the religious life of India.”

92. Lordrick concludes that: “religious associations with cattle go back several thousand years, and Eduard Hahn suggests that these very associations provided the initial stimulus for the domestication of cattle by man. As early as 8500 B.P. the Southern Turkey that provides one of the first instances of cattle depicted in a specifically religious context. Bull cults may well have diffused throughout the eastern Mediterranean lands”.

93. The researcher finds great similarity in cow worship by Egyptians and Indians when he discovers that: “various sky and storm gods in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Levant as a bull, often as consort to a Mother Goddess, has its counterpart in the association of the bull with Dyaus, Rudra, and Indra in Vedic India.

94. According to Mr. Deryck O. Lodrick, “the cow emerges as the symbol of a female deity. In pre-Dyanastic Egypt, the Mother Goddess, regarded by some as one of the most important deities of the time, is identified with the cow on Nagada remains, one of her standards being cow horns mounted on sticks originally worshipped in the form of a cow as a fertility symbol, came to be linked with the Sky-Goddess not assuming the body of the celestial cow. In this dual capacity of sky-goddess and cow goddess, she exercised her maternal functions from the Gerzean phase of the Predynastic epoch to the beginning of the Roman period in due course becoming identified with all the local goddesses and the heavens in their entirety at once the mother and wife of Re and Horus, the ‘mistress of the stars’, the lady of the West and of the underworld, the goddess of love of music and the sacred dance”. (Egyptians worshipping Cow Goddess as depicted in the Sculpture of Egypt is annexed in Annexure I (6).

95. We also find reverence for the Cow as mother Goddess in his following findings.

“Cattle or herds of cattle or the products of the cow are the standard iteams mentioned in descriptions of wealth. Cattle constituted the great booty in war. No other animal was so much appreciated for its economic value”.

96. Referring to the Vedic period, the author says about the importance of cow as follows:

“Of equal, if not of greater, importance is the emergence during the Vedic period of the cow as the Supreme Symbol of femininity in all its aspects of fecundity, maternity and life-giving sustenance. The cow is Earth; the cow is the mother of the gods; cows are rain clouds; cow are the cosmic waters from which the universe is created. So pervasive is the pastoral symbolism in the Vedas, so widespread the figurative use of the word cow, that eventually it comes to be taken literally”

97. A unique discovery of this researcher is that “Jains” first innovated “Pinjrapoles” or homes for old and infirm cows, in the beginning of Eighth Century. Mr.Deryck O. Lordrick’s finding is that the Pinjrapoles have been existing before Buddha. He says that “Thus although available evidence places the first Pinjrapoles in the reign of the Buddhist, Ashoka, the institutions could well have existed among the Jains at an earlier time. The persistent Jain, and apparent lack of Buddhist, involvement with the institution in modern India, the central position of Ahimsa in Jain philosophy and its appearance in Jainism as early as the beginning of the eighth century B.C. would all tend to support this point of view”.

98. According to Mr. Deryck O. Lordrick, “the Arthasastra did impose certain restrictions on the injury and slaughter of some cattle. Cattle such as a calf, a bull or a millch cow shall not be slaughtered. He who slaughters or tortures them to death shall be fined 50 anas. Owners of trespassing cattle could be fined and the guilty animals driven off, but they were not to be hurt or killed. But most important of all is the discussion in the Arthasastra of the duties of the Superintendent of cows (Godyaksa) for these include the supervision of useless and abandoned herds (bhagnotsrshtakam). When those who rear a hundred heads made up of equal numbers each of afflicted cattle, crippled cattle, cattle that cannot be milked by anyone but the accustomed person, cattle that are not easily milked, and cattle that kill their own calves, give in return (to the owner) a share in dairy produce, it is termed useless and abandoned herd. Further cowherds were directed to apply remedies to calves and to aged and diseased cows”.

99. Just as the sanctity and inviolability of the cow were used as a Hindu symbol to combat the spread of Invaders and as a rallying cry for Maratha resistance against Moghul power, so the concepts of Ahimsa and of the sacred cow were identified with the struggle against Western influence in India. One reason advanced for the emergence of Goshalas and pinjrapoles at this time was the imperial Government’s lack of interest in the protection and preservation of the cow.

100. Mr. Deryck O. Lordrick of California University concludes as under:

“As in Moghul India, the cow and attitudes toward the cow became associated with conflicting cultures, so much so that the traditional Hindu respect and reverence for the cow became a cause celebre in the nationalist movement. Just as Khadi and the Gandhi cap identified the wearer as a sympathizer with the nationalist cause, so veneration of the cow became the sine qua non for those who supported independence from the British. Gomata, Mother Cow became the emblem of “Indianness” and it is not surprising to find today that the symbol of the Congress Party, the successor to the Indian National Congress, is the cow and sucking calf.”


Plight of the Cow in modern India

101. As a symbol of the then Congress Ruling Party, the pair of bullocks ploughing in the field represented the general acceptance, even though it may have been under the influence of Pseudo-Secularism, that 85% of the Indian population employed in agriculture, cultivated their fields by use of bullocks. The tractor and chemical fertilizer invasion to which the Indian economists and national leaders surrendered, in the name of the Green Revolution, wiped off and gave a death blow to the cows and bullocks, making them ‘uneconomic’ from ‘economic’ and ‘useless’ from ‘useful’.

102. After more than 50 years of Independence or Swaraj, the beloved cow and its progeny, which is being slaughtered under the license of 3500 legal and 34000 illegal slaughter houses and abattoirs could not be saved from the clutches of the blood-thirsty butchers and leather mafia. The tales of woe and tragedy, of flowing of rivers of the blood of the cow, is too heart- rending, Society-rocking, Nation-shocking, Nerve-breaking, Constitution and Law racking and cracking. The sacred land where ‘Gomata’ used to be worshipped as the real mother and also as ‘Bharat Mata’ by patriots and worshippers, Gods, saints, like Sri Rama, Krishna, Siva, Mahavira, Guru Nanak, Buddha, Asoka, Vinoba Bhave, Sankaracharya, Hardev Sahay, Shivaji and others, has become most unsacred and sinful by this.
103. Around one hundred worshipers of the cow laid down their lives in 1966, during the agitation seeking for total ban on cow slaughter in Parliament Street, Delhi, when they were shot down for raising slogans like “Gomata ki Jai” They were all aching for rebirth to achieve their objects. But, so far, neither have they got rebirth nor achieved the total ban on cow slaughter, with the result that about 2 crores of cows, bulls, bullocks and cow-calves continue to be slaughtered in India every year.

104. The National Commission on Cattle has been constituted by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, who adorns the highest office in the land, with the support of 100 crores of Indian souls. His strong will, burning desire and firm determination is to wipe of every blot of blood of the cow and its progeny and every tear from the eyes of the Holy Cow, who faces the kinife of the butchers on her neck, instead of getting pats from Lord Krishna, Rama, Mahavira, Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave and restore the piousness of the sacred waters of Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi, Kaveri and Brahmaputra and not to pollute them with cows’ blood any more.

105. The Commission recollects the following historical and memorable pledge of the Vajpayee Government, as reflected in the speech of His Excellency, the President of India, Shri Shankardayal Sharma, made in the Central Hall of Parliament on 25.5.1996, while addressing both Houses of Parliament:

“Our Government would take suitable steps to prohibit slaughter of cow and its progeny and for their preservation”.

106. The Constituent Assembly debates, which resulted in the enactment of Article 48 as a Directive Principle was further supplemented later by inclusion of Article 51 (g) in the Fundamental Duties which reads thus: “It shall be the fundamental duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the Natural Environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have Compassion for all living creatures”. The amendment was done in 1976 and Article 48A was added by amendment in the year1977.

107. In the debate in the Lok Sabha, mentioned earlier, in which, despite a consensus for passing a Central Law banning the slaughter of cow and its progeny, the proposal was vetoed by the then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru, the then Attorney General was made to inform the Parliament that a Central Law could not be made, as Agriculture and Animal Husbandry were State Subjects. Other attempts to get the legislation through were also thwarted. In particular, one may mention the instance when, within a period of one year from Vinobaji’s 5-day hunger strike, a Resolution was passed on a Private Member’s Bill on 12th April, 1979, which was limited to the scope of Article 48, which meant that the issue of total ban on slaughter of the cow and its progeny was not included in it.
108. In 1990, a Private Member’s Bill was introduced by Justice G.M. Lodha of B.J.P. as Bill No.82/90 - Annexure I (7), which was followed by Resolution dated 24th April, 1990, copy at Annex I (8), put up by Justice Lodha, which was debated from 4th May, 1990 onwards.

109. On 17th August 1990, the Resolution of Justice Guman Mal Lodha, strongly supported by party President, Shri L.K. Advani, as well as by the Congress Members, was passed by voting by electronic machine, with 37 persons supporting it and 35 against. At that time, the voting took place although Shri Nitish Kumar, the then Agriculture Minister, while appreciating the sentiments behind the Resolution, requested that it be withdrawn. However, Shri Advani, who was the Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, insisted that voting must take place and the Resolution must be adopted.

110. However, after the Resolution was passed, Shri V.P. Singh’s Government, which was not prepared to face defeat on the floor of the House, insisted on a physical count, on the pretext that the margin was very small. Mr. Vasanth Sathe, wholeheartedly supported the BJP Resolution officially on behalf of the Congress. But due to the maneuvering of change of opinion in the slips given for head count by Shri Shivraj Patil, the Resolution was rejected due to the change of opinion of some of the Janata Party leaders. A press clipping of the news item in the Times of India dated 17th August 1990 is annexed asAnnex I (9).

111. It is interesting to note that those Members, who supported the slaughter prohibition earlier, changed their opinion later, when it came to voting by slip voting. The lists of the results of the final slip voting are annexed as Annexure I (10). It can be seen that Shri Bage Gobardhan (Orissa), Shri Yuvaraj (Bihar), Shri Het Ram (Haryana), Prof. S.P. Yadav (U.P). Shri Mandhata Singh (U.P.), Shri A.N.Sngh Deo (Orissa), Shri Ramendra Kumar Ravi Yadav (Bihar), Shri Ram Sharan (Orissa), Shri Bhabani Shanker Hota, Shri Ravi Narajan Pani (Orissa), Shri Bangali Singh (U.P.), Shri Sarvar Hussain (U.P.), Shri Ram Naresh Singh (Bihar) and Shri Hira Bhai (Rajasthan) - all belonging to the Janata Dal - who had earlier supported the Resolution, changed their voting by slip to save the Government of V.P. Singh. The land-mark and historical speech of Justice Guman Mal Lodha is enclosed herewith and marked as Annex I (11).

112. Soon after, Shri Sunderlal Patwa, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, got a legislation passed in the State for total ban on cow slaughter and he was honoured for it. A similar attempt was made by the Gujarat Chief Minister, Chimanbhai Patel, after the murder of an activist Geetaben Shah in 1993. Shri Patel got a resolution passed and issued an ordinance banning cow slaughter. Administrative orders were also issued, banning the slaughter of all animals during the 10-day Jain festival of Paryushan. The Gujarat Government also launched a State-wide drive against illegal slaughter houses. All these actions were opposed by the butchers,, who were the killers of animal activists like Geetaben Shah.

113. The U.P.Government made a similar attempt in 1992. However, the proposed legislation is still pending before the President for his approval. Press clipping of the news-item in this connection is marked as Annex I (12).

114. As mentioned earlier, the martyrdom of Gitaben at Ahmedabad resulted in Chimanbhai Government passing legislation for a complete ban on 3rd October, 1993. (Paper clipping is annexed herewith as Annex I (13).
115. The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995 banning slaughter of cow and its progeny was also passed by the Assembly on 10th Aug. 1995. Press news appeared in Hindustan Times dated 11th Aug. 1995 is enclosed herewith and marked as Annex I (14).
116. The Supreme Court passed its Judgement on 16th Nov. 1994 by which the killing of cows as sacrifice during the festival Bakri Id was banned by a Bench comprising of Justice Mr. Kuldip Singh, Mr. Justice B.L. Hansaria and Justice Mr. Justice S.BV. Majumdar. (A copy of the press clipping is enclosed herewith and marked as Annex I (15).
117. The Delhi Government has already enforced a total ban on slaughter of Cow and its progeny by passing the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Bill, 1994 (Press Clipping is enclosed herewith and marked as Annex I (16).
Views of opponents of ban on cow slaughter
118. The Leftist press in Calcutta, influenced by the CPM party, however, opposed the move, for a ban on cow slaughter, as is evident from the article from the Telegraph, Calcutta dated 14th Aug. 1994 atAnnex I (17) . Similarly, the Urdu Press in a Convention / Seminar opposed it as mentioned in the Pioneer, New Delhi dated 3rd May, 1994, as per the clipping enclosed herewith and marked as Annex I (18) .
119. The CPM Member of Parliament, Mr. Saifuddin Choudhury, who is dead against the ban on slaughtering of cowm has written an Article “Why This preferential treatment for cows?”, which is enclosed as Annex I (19).
120. The Leftist party of CPM at Calcutta even took exception to the passing of the Ordinance of the Chimanbhai Government in Gujarat for protection of cow and its progeny and Mr. Arvind Kala of Calcutta wrote under the caption “Vegetarian fundamentalists put the lives of cattle over those of humans” and the same was highlighted in Telegraph of Calcutta dated 10th Oct. 1993. He termed it as “Vegetarian Madness” also - Annex I (20).
121. It would be thus seen that, although Members of Parliament, Mr. Krishan Lal Sharma, Dr. Balram Jakhar, Shri Aravind Netam, Shri Vishnu Kant Shastri and Dr. Riplar Das Gupta drew attention to the Directive Principles and argued for banning slaughter of cow and its progeny in the Unstarred Question No.364, answered on 28.4.1995, and a similar question (No.1121) put by Shri Parashuram Gangwar, Chandresh Patel Kordia and various others, the Leftist and fundamentalist Muslims dominated the Press continuously and opposed the ban and did not make any reconciliation in this respect.

Constitutional hurdles and impediments for a total ban on cow slaughter122. As mentioned earlier, in 1977, Dr. Ramjeet Singh got a Resolution passed in the Lok Sabha for banning cow slaughter in terms of Article 48. However, the Bill introduced by Seth Govind Das in this regard could not be passed, due to Panditji’s VETO.
123. In view of the above, in 1996, Justice Guman Mal Lodha, M.P., again insisted on the introduction of a Resolution and a Bill for having a complete ban on slaughter of the cow and its progeny. At the beginning of the Session, President, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma in his speech on 25th May, 1996 declared the Government’s intention to prohibit the slaughter of cow and its progeny, but later on, even the vote of thanks on the President’s speech to both Houses of Parliament could not be passed. A copy of the verbatim proceedings at the debate on the President’s speech is annexed at Annex I (21).
124. We are, therefore, now confronted with a situation where constitutional hurdles and impediments have been created by a series of court judgements, including the Supreme Court judgement in the case of Mohd. Hanif Qureshi Vs. State of Bihar, the latest being the case of Hashumatullah Vs. State of M.P. and others (Civil Appeal No.8250 of 1996). In the judgements in the cases of Mohd. Hanif Quresh and others Vs. State of Bihar (AIR 1959 SCR 629), Abdul Hakim and others Vs. State of Bihar (AIR 1961 SC 448) and Mohd. Faruk Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and others (1970 (1) SCR 1456), the Supreme Court has held as under:
“A total ban was not permissible if, under economic conditions, keeping useless bull or bullock be a burden on the society and therefore not in the public interest.”
125. To over come the above Judgements, the Animal Welfare Board of India submitted a Memorandum to the Constitution Review Commission headed by Justice Venkatachalliah, recommending amendment of the Fundamental Rights Chapter, to include a total prohibition on the slaughter of cow and its progeny, but this was in vain. The Commission simply ignored this representation and gave no opinion. The Chairman of the Constitution Review Commission, in a personal meeting with NCC Acting Chairman, appreciated the idea and even accepted that “Cow dung and Urine” utilization which he has seen in Haryana Ladwa Goshala has proved that cow is never useless. A copy of the Memorandum presented by the Chairman, Animal Welfare Board of India, Jusitce Guman Mal Lodha, who is also Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman of the National Commission on Cattle is at Annex I (22).
126. The fact that the Constitution Review Commission did not bother to express any opinion on the Memorandum, submitted by the Chairman, AWBI, may be because they were concerned more about the Government, democratic functioning and the Constitutional implications of the no-confidence moves against parties in power in the Centre, because of the earlier defeat, by one vote, of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government and the later failure of the Opposition to form an alternative Government.
127. It is obvious that cattle do not have any lobbies. The cow is a speechless, harmless, and dumb animal, which is not even recognized as having a soul in the early Biblical belief and also others, who are sacrificing it on Bakri Id. The greedy Hindus, who are in the leather business or in the cow-smuggling business, prefer money-cow to Mother-cow, and they are the worst enemies of “Mother Cow”.
128. The sacred and pious cow has, therefore, become a victim. In spite of the fact that, out of the 100 crore strong human population of India, at least 80-90 crores, treat it as “mother cow”, pious cow, holy cow; they have not yet mustered up enough courage to unite and raise the issues of banning of slaughter and eating of cow flesh, beef, which is prevalent in the State of Kerala, and in Eastern States, including West Bengal, to a limited extent.
129. The National Commission on Cattle has, therefore, surveyed and taken the opinion of people throughout the country, by having an extensive and intensive tour of importance places in all the States . At least 2 to 3 important towns and cities in each State, and some villages have been visited, so that the Members could inter-act with people and obtain first-hand information on the public views, Govt. records and opinion. It is heartening to note that, by and large, almost all have pleaded for a total ban on slaughter of cow and its progeny. The isolated voices of hardly 2 to 4 persons were heard in support of mercy killing of cow, suffering from illness or starvation. Of course, the Kerala and North Eastern microscopic minority refuses to fall in the mainstream of the Country and have raised their voices in dissent.

130. The scenario regarding the perception of people of this country, over the problem of cattle as of now in the 21st century, also required in-depth study. The Commission has done it both by sending questionnaires and obtaining their replies and holding hearings of public, as well as conducting meetings with Government Officers related with the subject.

Region-based perceptions on the cow question

131. Broadly speaking, the North and Western States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Western Bihar, Maharashtra can be treated as the famous historical “cow belt”. Our public hearings and also interactions in meetings with Government Officers in these States and their replies to our questionnaires, as well as the legislations enacted, reveal that all these States have strong public opinion, supporting a total ban on slaughter of cow and its progeny, as a whole, with no exceptions. It is significant that even the laws of some of these States have been enacted time and again for the same but the total ban has been declared ultravires, right from 1958 Mohammed Qureshi’s case till the last one of Hashmathullah’s case for the period 1958-1996. In M.P., U.P., Bihar and other States the ban has been held valid only on cow slaughter. However, the laws of Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir are still remaining intact imposing a total prohibition of slaughter of cow and its progeny. In States, like M.P. and U.P., efforts have been made, at least twice or thrice, by the legislators, mostly unanimously, to impose a total ban.

132. The Eastern States of Bengal, Orissa, areas of Bihar and Jharkhand adjoining Bengal and Orissa, Assam and the North Eastern States like Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, etc., have got different perceptions, both of the Government and the people. So far as the people are concerned, even in Bihar and Orisssa, Jharkhand and West Bengal, the majority community at all places have got strong sentiments and feeling of cow as the mother and not permitting it for slaughter. However, the scenario in North Eastern States is different, which is dominated by Christians and other communities.

133. The slaughter of cows on the occasion of Bakrid in West Bengal is described in detail in the chapter on Implementation of Laws by the Sub-Committee, convened by Shri K.C. Mehta. The report, along with a separate report by Shri Jaroli and other consultant, gives a graphic description of the Bakrid massacres. This perception has to be kept in view. While considering the question of Central Laws or Constitutional amendments would help to compel these State Governments but the problems arising from majority massive mandate will have to be assessed in terms of country’s unity and sentiments and the vast majority of people, who are opposed by a handful of misguided microscopic minority of fundamentalists.

134. During the hearing at Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, a shocking incident was noticed by the Commission. It was discovered that cow beef was being supplied daily to the Government-run Zoo for the past many years together by professional butchers, for which tenders were floated by the Zoo officials. The Commision’s visit to the spot resulted in the arrest of the butchers and other involved, who were caught red0handed. It would appear that the laws in Orissa are on paper only. The defence put forth by the Collector at the Public hearing at Cuttack, held immediately after the above incident, when it was stated that they had to ignore such incidents for the reason that it would otherwise create a “social problem”, was another eye opener.

135. Similarly, in Jharkhand, in a public hearing, a retired Superintendent of Police said that the police officials could not take action for cow protection because they feared that the cow slaughter Mafia would kill their families and the Government would not be able to help and protect them. Even an appeal was made to the Chief Minister, who tried to avoid this issue on the ground that confrontation is not advisable and the Police and Government and other agencies may not be enthusiastic for cow protection as there is coalition.

136. If we turn to the Southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, we find that the public sentiments and feelings of around 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the people, support cow slaughter prohibition. The Governments of these States are not enthusiastic, mainly because of what they call as “social problems”, which is really the problem of appeasing minorities fundamentalists by permitting them to violate the laws in respect of cattle prohibition.

137. The Public hearings at these places reveal that the people do not share their views with the Government. In public hearings almost 100 per cent people were in favour of total prohibition of cow slaughter. But the Government officers and the political leaders expressed their helplessness to enforce the laws made by them, on the innovated ground of ‘social problem’.

138. The State of Kerala of course is different from other States. Here, there is no law, whatsoever, prohibiting the slaughter of any cattle and even cows and calves are openly slaughtered on mass-scale. The State of Kerala can be termed as the ‘Cow Slaughter State’, where the main business in the market is slaughter of cattle and sale of beef. It is for this reason that other States get rid of their cattle by allowing them to be smuggled to Kerala.

139. If we look at the total scenario of the country, therefore, we find that, whereas almost 85% to 95% of the majority community and 60 to 70% of the minority communities, support the cow protection laws, an insignificant microscopic minority of the population is against it. Even in the segment, of people who are against a total ban, most of them oppose it due to commercial reasons of smuggling of cow and for its leather and beef. Yet another reason is that many people belonging to the minority community are misguided by fundamentalists, who have made it a prestige issue more to tease the majority rather than having the genuine need of eating beef.

140. Sizable numbers of Hindus in Kerala also join their Muslim and Christian brothers and have started eating beef. Our public hearing on 24.6.2002 at Kochi revealed that a vast majority of people are beef-eaters and many earn their livelihood mainly from the “Beef” production and cattle-slaughter trade and smuggling of cattle. That this should happen in the birth place of Adi Shankarachaya is most unfortunate and only proves that nothing is static and permanent and that perceptions change with times and circumstances.

141. There was general apathy to the Commission in Kerala and only 30 to 40 persons attended the public hearing at Thiruvananthapuram. When those who were in support of total prohibition of cow slaughter were asked to raise their hands, it was found that only one person wanted partial prohibition, and all the remaining persons were against enactment of any law whatsoever. What was surprising was that 40% of the audience were ladies, who were against any law and apparently wanted “Kerala” to be “Free port Zone” Paradise for slaughter of the cow and its progeny, and a picnic spot for “Beef” eaters. The Commission learnt to its surprise that most of the people present, were actually employees of the Animal Husbandry Department of Kerala on duty in the Commission’s public hearing in the Capital of the State and the members of the general public were mostly absent.
142. A study of the demographic profile of Kerala shows that its human population of around 32.35 million constitutes 3.25% of the total population of India, Indian population of 1002.1m. Its cattle population is 33,66,000 i.e. 1.72% of Indian Cattle population of 19,58,30,000.
143. Amongst the human population of Kerala, approximately 52% are Hindus, 28% are Christians and 20% are Muslims. It is estimated that a sizeable percentage of the Hindu population and almost all persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes of the population, are beef-eaters, mainly due to poverty. Almost all Christians and Muslims are thought to be “Beef-eaters”. Many of them indulge in smuggling and sale of cattle for slaughter. The State is a virtual slaughter house and the State appears to feel privileged to be known as the “Butcher State of India.” Kerala gets support only in Nagaland, Mizoram and other small North Eastern States, inhabited mostly by Christians.

144. On 4th December, 1969, the then Agriculture State Minister, in reply to a Question in Parliament, put by Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, present Prime Minister and then M.P., Surajbhan, Yagyadutt Sharma and Jaganata Rao Joshi (all J.S. MPs), replied that Kerala, Nagaland, Goa, Laksh Dweep and Daman have not prohibited cow slaughter but the Government of India has advised them to do so.

145. Even in Kerala, there are Panchayat Slaughter House Rules, which permit the slaughter only if it is certified that the animal is more than 10 years of age and is unfit for work or breeding. However, the Commission found that, in actual practice, the above rule is non-functional in Kerala.
Trends in cattle population growth 
146. The figures of livestock population of India growth patterns thereof, for the period 1951 to 1992, as given in Tables 30 and 31 respectively of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999, published by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India are enclosed as Annexure I (23). It may be noted from Table 31 that the average annual growth rate of cattle has been consistently amongst the lowest, when compared to growth rates of other species of livestock, except for the period 1956-61, when it was not quite so low. During 1987-1992, the annual growth rate of cattle was 0.48%, whereas that of buffaloes was 2.09% in the same period.

147. The comparative figures of cattle population and their distribution in 1987 and 1992 are given in Table 32 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics - placed at Annexure I (24) - from which it can be seen that, while there has been an average annual growth of 5.92% in cross-bred cattle in the period 1987 to 1992, the number of indigenous cattle has grown only by 0.12% during the same period. The total cattle population in 1992 has been shown as 20,45,84,000, as against a population of 19,96,95,000, which reflects an average annual growth rate of only 0.48 per cent during the period 1987-1992.

148. The Sex-wise and State-wise distribution, in 1987 and 1992, of cross-bred and indigenous cattle, as shown in Tables 35 and 36 respectively of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999 are placed atAnnexure I (25) and Annexure I (26) respectively. The State-wise distribution of population of Work Animals, as given in Table No.41 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999 is placed at Annexure I (27).

149. The official results of the 1997 Livestock Census are still not available. However, a comparative statement showing the provisional figures of State-wise distribution of cattle population in 1992 and 1997 is placed at Annexure I (28). It would be seen that the cattle population, which numbered 20,45,84,000 in the year 1992 has actually decreased to the figure of 19,58,30,000 cattle in 1997. For the first time, therefore, since 1951, there has been a negative growth in the cattle population of the country, which is indeed a cause for great alarm, and should sound warning bells for our policy-makers and the population at large.

150. On perusal of the provisional figures, provided in Annexure 30, we find that the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala show a negative growth or decrease in the population of cattle during the period 1992-97. This shows that there is large-scale slaughter and smuggling of cattle for slaughter during these years in these stated.

151. Figures of World Livestock Population during the years 1990 to 1997, as given in Table 103 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999, which is marked as Annexure I (29), shows that the number of cattle has gone up from 1284.6 million in 1990 to 1333.6 million in 1997, which signifies an average annual growth rate of 0.54%. On the other hand, the world population of buffaloes has increased from 146.1 million in 1990 to 166.7 million in 1997, which is an annual increase of 2% approximately.

152. Estimates of the total Milk production in the World during the period 1985 to 1997 is shown in Table No.104 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999 is also given in Annexure I (29). From this, it can be seen that, cow milk production in 1997 was 471.8 million tonnes, which constituted 86.3% of the total milk produced in the world, whereas the production of buffalo milk was of the order of 55.9 million tonnes, accounting for 10.2% of the total world milk production.

153. The production of cow milk by major countries of the world 1992-97 is shown in Table No.105 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999 marked as Annexure I (30). It is seen from the table that, in 1997, India produced 7.3 per cent and the U.S.A. produces 15.1 per cent of the total milk production in the world. Of course, India has since overtaken the USA, to become the number one producer of milk in the world.

154. An estimated One crore thirty seven lakh eighty seven thousand cattle, out of over 21 crore cattle, were slaughtered in India in 1998, as shown in Table 29 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 1999, placed at Annexure I (31). Beef & Veal meat production, which was 70 thousand tonnes in 1976, increased to Thirteen lakh seventy eight thousand tons in 1997, in spite of the BAN & prohibition of slaughter of cow and calf in almost all States, except Kerala and North Eastern small states. Table 27 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999, showing the quantities of meat of various animals produced in the country from 1976 to 1997 is annexed herewith and marked as Annexure I (32).

155. The Meat Sector lobby projects that a loss of Rs.21900 crores and Rs.828 crores from meat production and 2232 crores from by-products (hide and skins) respectively, will take place if the slaughter of cattle is stopped. This threat of loss of income is utilized for floating proposals for flooding the country with rural abattoirs, as suggested by the XI Panel on Meat Sector of the Working Group on Animal Husbandry set up by the Planning Commission for Tenth Plan proposals. The recommendations of this Panel have sent red alert signals to all “Swadeshi”, cow lovers and animal activists.

Views of the Chairman

156. The N.C.C. Chairman, Shri Dharampal feels that there is an urgent need to abandon the proposals of the “Meat Sector” Panel for flooding the country with Abattoirs, for setting up “Rural Slaughter Houses” in each village and for abrogating laws of cattle production and buffalo protection, to increase the production and exports of meat including Beef. He has pleaded for total stoppage of export of Meat of all kinds from India and also the import of Meat into India.

157. Though it would, in many places, be a repetition of what I have already mentioned, out of respect for the Chairman, I am reproducing his views on this subject, which are as follows:

“Nineteenth century India, fully dominated and conquered by the British, was, amongst other things, also a major playground for the display of the benefits and virtues of animal slaughter and consumption of animal flesh. Starting from Madras and Calcutta in the late 18th Century AD, propagation of meat eating was taken up by the British, especially the Protestant Christian Missionaries to every nook and corner of India. Even the boy, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (later known as Mahatma Gandhi) did not wholly escape this great European boon. As he tells us in his “A Story of My Experiments with Truth”, he and other boys of his age were day in and day out told of the great physical strength derived from eating animal flesh, and compared to the puny Indian, the meat eating Englishman was a giant, and it was this meat eating which made him capable of dominating and conquering India. However, as Gandhiji tells us, he and very many others of his friends were able to escape the pressures and temptations put before them, because of the long continuing vegetarian parampara and vaishnav up-brining of their ancient communities.

It is not as if Indians are not given to the eating of fish, or of a variety of animal flesh. Excepting the flesh of the cow and its progeny, many Indians do eat animal flesh from time to time. But they do not however make a fetish of it and usually tend to keep such eating to the minimum.

Similarly the eating of buffalo flesh has been much avoided by most people of India till about a century or so before.

The Transfer of Power from Britain to India however (perhaps it looks more honorable in our present day lowly position in the world to emphasize that what we got was really the Swaraj that we wanted) brought up a major propagation of meat eating, this time by committees and officers of the Indian State, and not just by the Christian Missionaries. Scores of committees, since around 1947, have worked on how to provide Indians a more animal protein diet, how to modify the breed of cattle, especially of buffaloes, so that they do not only give milk, but through sophisticated slaughtering devices also provided succulent animal flesh.

Our contributions as a relatively non-violent people thus is, not only to make meat available to some more of our already well-fed middle-classes - the administrators, the managerial classes, the defense services, the politicians and the rest. Rumors of course are in plenty. For instance it is stated by academics in Calcutta that some 22% of the Hindus there are thought to eat cow flesh, and in Kerala this proportion may be somewhat higher.

It is usually said today that you cannot really be sure if there is not a tiny little bit of some cow part in the pills or medicine one is prescribed, for whatever ailment, by the westernized medical men to whom we of the middle classes go so often.

Mentioning that you or your family could not even think of having any tiny bit of the flesh of the cow, even as medicine, is no longer taken as a serious statement. Such statements have now become quite out of place in the India we have made. Even the desire to really find the truth of the situation has become ever more meaningless. The credit for this transformation, or its being propagated through government blue books, can certainly be taken by the Indian State and those who have headed it for some 50 years, and lakhs and lakhs of others, who have served the State in the desired respective professional capacities. These seem to include practically every Indian who matters.

How did we actually arrive at the present state? One may have taken an early beginning in 1950. Soon after the adoption of the Indian Constitution it was left to the 15 or so constituting states to enact their own laws on the welfare of the cow and its progeny and for the banning of their slaughter. Just when the states were in the process of taking decisions on the subject, the Government of India sent a letter dated 20th December 1950 to all State Governments. The letter said-

“Hides from slaughtered cattle are much superior to his from fallen cattle and fetch a higher price. In the absence of slaughter, the best type of hide, which fetches good price in the export market will no longer be available. A total ban on slaughter is thus detrimental to the export trade and work against the tanning industry in the country”

In 1954, the Government of India (Ministry of Food and Agriculture) appointed an “Expert Committee on the Prevention of Slaughter of Cattle in India”, which gave its report in January 1955. In the very middle of the report, the Committee began to say that as we do not have enough fodder we cannot maintain more than 40% of our cattle. According to it, 60% of the rest had to be culled from the Indian Cattle stock, whenever possible.

In 1970s the Government of India appointed the National Commission on Agriculture. Some of its suggestions regarding buffaloes could be looked at:

“The buffalo should be developed not only for enhancement of milk production but also for making it a source of production of quality meat.”

“A deliberate and energetic drive should be made to develop for export trade in buffalo meat”.

“Modernization of slaughter Houses should be undertaken immediately”

“Massive programmes for improving the reproductive and productive efficiency of cattle and buffaloes should be undertaken. Low producing stock should b progressively eliminated so that the limited feed and fodder resources are available for proper feeding of high producing animals”.

A last point, much nearer our time, in July 1995, may be noticed here. This was a statement made before the Supreme Court by the Government of India. The statement was:

“It is obvious that, the Central Government as whole is encouraging scientific and sustainable development of livestock resources and their efficient utilization, which inter-alia includes production of quality meat for export as well as for domestic market. This is being done with a view of increase in the national wealth as well as better return to the farmer.”

Though our agriculture and cattle and animal rearing have been ruined during the past 50 year, in fact the beginning of this ruin started around 1760 and spread to the whole of India during the 19th century, we, as a relatively non-violent people, seem strangely to have started taking pride that they now slaughter around 2,60,00,000 cattle and buffaloes annually. Of these the buffaloes may be around 40-45%. The number of cattle whose flesh is exported through this vast dedicated state effort may be around 30% of the whole.

The following two documents, recent products of the Indian Planning Commission,
1. Report of Sub Group XI – Meat Sector (July 2001)
2. Extract of 10th Five Year Plan Working Group on Slaughter of Animals (Jan- 2002)
may be taken as continuing products of our post 1950 policies. That the policies of ever larger meat production advocated and planned by our rulers and planners, was not merely to cull out such cattle as had become quite feeble during the period India was under British rule, is quite clear. What has been planned and done is to breed more and more buffaloes and other animal stock, for the production of meat for export, as well as for larger internal consumption. But the programme is also to familiarize our people with the planned slaughter of animals, to make them insensitive to the process of killing, and in the end to make them treat such killing as a blessing for all including those slaughtered. Hence, the suggestion of the setting up of tens of thousands of rural abattoirs and numerous similar slaughter places.

Many of the readers may find all this horrifying to read. It is not to increase their pain and sorrow that this material is included here. It is rather because we want to share what has fallen to our lot on the subject of state-designed and planned animal slaughter in India that we are compelled to do so.

As the Planning Commission documents area still to be approved or thrown out largely, our people have an opportunity to be familiar with the reality of the policies of our state and where these arte leading us, and trying to create and widen a major breach between our parampara and the future of our land and people.

Let the State wake up in time”

158. Table No.110 of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 1999, - Annexure I (33) - gives the FAO statistics of milk production and per capita availability of countries of the world. As per this table, the per capita availability of milk in 1997, as per this table, was only 205 grams per day in India, as compared to 8378 grams per day in New Zealand and 2312 grams in Denmark. As far as the per capita availability of milk goes, India stands 13th in the world, despite possessing about 15% of the world population of cattle. Obviously, the yield of milk in India is amongst the lowest in the world, which exhibits the hollowness of our claims of great success of the so-called “White Revolution”.

Conclusion

159. The different scenarios and perceptions have been discussed in the various Chapters in which the five Sub Committees have given their inputs. However, broadly speaking, we want to give a bird’s eye view of the entire perception in India and, if we go by the views and sentiments and feelings of a vast majority of the people of this country, it would be for total prohibition of slaughter of cow, as well as of its progeny.

160. In such a scenario, a political decision will have to be taken by the Government, where we follow the democratic tradition of going by the consensus, without hurting any of the religious feelings or fundamental rights of any one. The Apex Court has made it clear, time and again, judicially, that neither killing of a cow nor beef-eating is a mandatory or obligatory requirement for Islam. This view has been upheld in various judgements from the 1958 Mohammed Qureshi’s case to the 1996 judgement in the Hashmatulla case, so far, the latest one in the series.

161. The People of India, through various agitations, organizational activities, Satyagrahas, Anshans and representations signed by crores of people have repeatedly raise their voice and appealed to the Government to prohibit slaughter of cow and its progeny by a strong Central Law. The Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh made a signature campaign in 1952 all over the country demanding complete ban on slaughter of cow and its progeny. About 2 crore signatures, which were obtained during the campaign, were submitted to Mahamahim Rashtrapati Dr. Rajendra Prasad by Shri Madhav Rao, Sadashiv Rao Govalkar (Shri Guruji) (Sarsangh Chaiak) of R.S.S. Shri Narendra Dubey, belonging to the Sarvodaya Movement of Vinoba Bhave and Prof. Biharilal Tadia have provided a graphic account of all these agitations, which shows that the people are agitating for this continuously for more than a decade. Copies of the articles (in Hindi) of Prof. Biharilal Tadia, M.A., and Shri Narendra Dubey are enclosed and marked as Annexure I (34).

162. The composition of religious communities in our country as per the 1991 Census, shows that 82.4 per cent are Hindus, with 2 per cent Sikhs; 0.8 per cent Buddhists and 0.4 per cent Jains. As the Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists are all culturally akin to Hindus, it can be said that Hindus and like-minded people, constitute nearly 86 per cent of the population, with 11.7 per cent of Muslims and 2.3 per cent Christians.

163. The insignificant microscopic minority of beef eaters amongst Hindus is more or less equal to the insignificant minority amongst the Muslims, Christians, who are non beef eaters. Thus they virtually balance each other. Therefore, the figure of 86 crores of non beef-eaters and about 14 crores beef eaters in the country, makes India “PRO-COW” on the whole.

164. As mentioned above, from the Constituent Assembly Debates to the later statements of National Muslim leaders like Syed Rafi Ahmed Kidwai and others, the majority of Muslims who are in the main-stream do not oppose the prohibition on slaughter of cow and its progeny. The Constituent Assembly debate, in which the 2 Muslim Members Mr. Z.H. Lari and Syed Mohammad Saidulla were willing for cow slaughter prohibition to be kept as a Fundamental Right, is an eye-opener to all, and decisively shows that this issue should not be treated as a Hindu-Muslim issue or a majority versus minority issue.

165. The earlier Parliamentary debates, in which the Prime Minister vetoed the Resolution, which was going to be passed for the second time after the Constituent Assembly Debate, was followed by the third time, when it was passed on Dr. Ranjit Singh’s resolution. This was followed on the 4th occasion, by Shri Justice Guman Mal Lodha’s resolution, which was also passed in 1990 by electronic voting but was subsequently declared as ‘not-passed’, when voting by slips was resorted to. All this by clinching evidence shows that there is a consensus on legislation for prohibition of slaughter of cow and its progeny in INDIA.

166. With this, I would conclude my introductory remarks. Each of the subjects given in the terms of reference of the Commission have been examined in greater detail in separate chapters. These have been prepared on the basis of the data, information and suggestions furnished by the Government and the non-Government organizations, as well as by the members of the general public, either in their replies to the questionnaires or in the memorandum or representations given to the Commission at the public hearings or sent by post. Extensive references have also been made to various articles and books written on the subjects.

167. It is made clear that the Members of the Commission are of the unanimous view that the issues involved are not based on religions. All the communities, whether they are the Hindus, Muslims, Christians, etc., in one way or the other, whether directly or indirectly, are collectively responsible for cow slaughter and smuggling of cattle in this country. The Commission feels that, it is out of greed for money that many upper-class Hindus also indulge in large-scale smuggling of cattle for slaughter and for the leather business. Also, in order to project themselves as progressive, ultra-modern and/or secular many of them indulge in beef-eating. The extreme poverty and customary practices in the coastal areas and amongst some sections of Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled castes or Other Backward Classes, also make them beef-eaters. The Hindus, therefore, cannot escape from their responsibility and shift the blame for cow-slaughter to non-Hindus, amongst whom there are also people who abhor cow slaughter or beef eating.

168. We are proud of the fact that Smt. Gohar Aziz, a Muslim Lady and also a Member of the National Commission on Cattle is a great crusader against cow slaughter in Chennai in Tamil Nadu. On several occasions, she was physically manhandled by the butchers and the supporters when she tried, at grave risk to her own life, to save cows and calves from slaughter. During the tour of NCC, she saved about 16 cows, who were being butchered in spite of prohibitory laws to the contrary being in force. She was the person, who came and took the other Members of the Commission to the place where cows were about to be butchered for providing meat to the Zoo animals in the Bhubaneshwar Zoo. After our DHARNA of 2 hours or so, which was conducted at the risk of life, the Government and Police officials arrested the butcher and, after ensuring the release of 15 cows waiting to be slaughtered, sealed and closed the cow slaughter house. Similarly, there are several other Muslims, such as a couple in Mumbai, Shri Abrar Qureshi and his wife, Smt. Zinnat Abrar Qureshi, who are working tirelessly for the prevention of slaughter of cow and its progeny.

169. The Commission has decided to approach all issues objectively only. The earlier references to the castes, communities or religions of the cow slaughterers in various periods of the history of this country, whether it be the British era or Mughal empire etc., were only given with a view to tracing out the historical background for the record. Our approach would be additionally based on the “Acid tests” of Economic balance and viability also. We have attempted this approach in all our Committee reports, which in turn form the basis for the recommendations made in the various Chapters of this Report.

170. We do hope that the recommendations would be accepted and relied upon both by the executive and Legislative wings of this country, and, above all by the 100 crores of “WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA” for the benefit of 20 crores of speechless and defenseless “Cow and its progeny” in this great Nation of ours.