The politics behind the beef ban in India

 Saturday 28 December 2024

Islamabad (UrduPoint News Today / Pakistan Point News - 28th December, 2024 ) Caleb, who lives in the city of Bongai in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, says beef is his favorite red meat.

But now he is facing a decision by the state government to ban the consumption of beef in public places, including restaurants and events.

In 2021, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam had already banned the sale of beef and its products in these areas, especially in areas where there was a majority of non-beef eaters or near temples.

“The government is depriving me of the freedom to choose what I eat,” says Caleb.

“This is a deliberate attack on my food rights, which is completely unconstitutional,” he says.

While people like Caleb can still buy beef and eat it at home, there are many who cannot afford it.

Why is beef distributed?

Beef is a controversial topic in India because the cow is sacred to the majority Hindu community.

But it is also part of the diet of Muslims, Christians, some indigenous communities and Dalits. Dalits are a historically marginalized group, belonging to the lowest rung of India’s centuries-old caste hierarchy.

Regionally, beef consumption is negligible in northern and central India, while it has cultural significance in states like Kerala and Goa and much of the northeast.

Currently, 20 of India’s 28 states have laws regulating cow slaughter, including bans on the slaughter of cows and the sale of their meat.

The beef ban in India has been a controversial or polarizing issue, involving the intertwining of religion with culture and politics.

The recent ban in Assam in the name of cow protection has sparked debate over the implications of such laws for India’s multicultural identity, freedom of choice, and the economy.

Enforcing religious ideology?

Beyond its cultural status, the beef ban has also been used as a weapon in political contexts, and has led to deadly violence as self-styled ‘gau rakshaks’, or cow protectors, attempt to enforce the bans.

The US State Department’s 2023 report on religious freedom cited examples of attacks against Muslims in India, citing incidents that were triggered by allegations that Muslim men were participating in the beef trade.

However, the Indian government criticized the report as “extremely biased” and said it reflected a “one-sided presentation of issues.” The New Delhi government denies discriminating against minorities and says its policies are intended to benefit all Indians.

Aparna Parekh, an assistant professor of Asian studies at Penn State University, has researched the beef ban in India and the resulting violence.

Parekh told DW that the beef ban in India is rooted in its cultural and historical context, where respect for the cow and abstinence from beef are “central to Hindu identity, especially upper-caste Hindu identity.”

She said that the beef ban therefore reflects the preference of one religious group over others, which often justifies violence against communities perceived to eat beef.

This ban is not entirely new, but has now taken on new forms and in the past few years has become a weapon against minority groups.

Beef politics

This cultural and ideological tension has also influenced the strategy of political parties, especially the BJP.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, Hinduism forms its core tenets.

Yet the BJP has taken a decided stance on beef bans.

While the party has imposed strict restrictions in several states, particularly in north and central India, Goa and some northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura have been more tolerant.

Explaining the BJP’s approach, a journalist from Assam, who asked not to be named, said, “I believe the overall approach of the Sangh Parivar (a family of Hindu nationalist organisations, which includes the BJP) has been to include various groups in the concept of Hindutva.

‘’

He said that efforts to persuade the tribal population, including converts to Christianity, to reconnect with their original Hindu roots in the Northeast have been focused on.

He added, “As part of this strategy, they are cautious in areas like the northeastern states, Goa and Kerala, where Hindu nationalist rhetoric on food or beef bans can alienate the local population.

In these areas, a more deliberate and less confrontational approach is adopted to avoid clashing with the sentiments of the local residents.”

He pointed out that there has been a significant shift towards a hard line in Assam, prioritizing ideological claims over regional sensitivities. However, resistance from within the BJP against the recent beef ban in Assam highlights the nature of polarization on the issue.

In the neighboring Indian state of Meghalaya, BJP MLA Sanboor Shulai expressed his displeasure in an interview with local media, saying, “No one can dictate what people should eat. It is an individual choice. I strongly oppose it.”

The BJP state vice-president in Kerala, Major Ravi, also demanded freedom to eat as per their choice.

‘A symbol of resistance’

Yamini Narayanan of Australia’s Deakin University, who has written a book on the politics of cows, says that during his research he saw that “beef has been used to play a role in the cultural identity of different Indian communities.”

Narayanan pointed out that during his research he spoke to Muslims and Dalits and they said that beef does not have any special importance in their diet.

However, since it has been weaponized against them, it has now also become a symbol of resistance for them.

Narayanan highlighted that the primary motivation for cow slaughter is not beef but dairy, a fact that is often overlooked in political debates.

Nutritional impact of the ban

Apart from the economic impact of the beef ban on traders, it also has a nutritional impact, especially on low-income groups.

Wafa Hakim Orman of the University of Alabama in Huntsville has conducted a detailed study on the nutritional cost of the beef ban in India. He pointed out that iron deficiency anemia is very common in India.

According to the National Family Health Survey conducted between 2019 and 2021, about 57% of women in India aged 15 to 49 were anaemic.

In parts of India where beef consumption is culturally accepted and legally permitted, such as Kerala and Goa, beef products are often cheaper than other meat products.

“Beef is an important source of protein for low-income Muslims, Christians and Dalits,” says Wafa Hakim.

Among these groups, there has been an increase in the rate of severe anaemia among married women aged 15 to 35.

He stressed the need for a comprehensive approach that addresses anaemia as a public health and nutritional issue.

Freedom of choice

Ultimately, perhaps, the solution to the tension over beef lies in India’s multicultural identity.

Santi Wangnau, a Christian woman from Nagaland, has married a Hindu man from Assam. She says she grew up eating beef, while her husband does not.

Wangnau says that despite their dietary differences, she and her husband agree on one thing: “People should be allowed to eat whatever they want.”