Eating beef in India
This world is a very strange place. On one hand, we read stories of amazing feats, inspirational people and progress and development in fields of science and technology that makes us wonder about the capabilities of human beings.
On the other hand, almost daily we read about the depths of cruelty, brutality and bestiality we can sink to. I recently read a news report from India where a man and his son were attacked on the suspicion that their family was consuming beef .
The 50-year-old man was beaten to death, while his 22-year-old son was severely injured by the villagers. The attack was instigated by the local Hindu priest who spread the rumor in the temple and almost 100 armed men broke down and entered the house of the Muslim family.
The police even raided the kitchen of this poor family, confiscated the meat and sent it to labs for forensic reports. It came out that the meat was mutton (sheep meat) and not beef (cow’s meat).
Cows are considered sacred by most Hindus. Feeding a cow is seen by many Hindus as a way to make gods happy and get one’s wishes fulfilled.
I am not sure if there is a nationwide ban on killing cows but things can often get ugly in small towns and villages if people of other religion are caught consuming beef.
You can read more about this story here:
Image Credit » https://pixabay.com/en/cow-calf-cattle-stock-brown-white-425164/ by sandid
Comments
Paulie wrote on October 12, 2015, 3:30 AM
We don't have this problem with beef in Thailand, however since I only have one kidney now, the doctor says I can not eat beef because it would be too hard on my kidney.
CoralLevang wrote on October 12, 2015, 3:53 AM
I find it interesting that if one man is suspected of killing a cow to feed his family, he is murdered. Yet, will the 100 men and the Hindu priest be held accountable for killing a human being? (I have not yet read the source you provided, so this may be answered.
Dawnwriter wrote on October 12, 2015, 4:00 AM
Since cows are sacred, the people agree with the mob lynching. CoralLevang .This quote will give you an idea:
"The legislator's anger, though, was not about the killing. Instead, Sangeet Som was furious that men had been arrested in the attack in the village, just 30 miles from New Delhi. Som, a member of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, called the arrests "atrocities on innocent villagers." As for the family of the dead man, he dismissed them as "those cow killers." Even the Indian PM agrees with this.
CoralLevang wrote on October 12, 2015, 4:32 AM
I can actually understand (though not agree with) the reasoning behind the mob lynching; however, the people were wrong. It was not a cow. It was mutton. So, what they did was lynched/murder this man based on inaccurate information, incited by a "holy man." This would be no different than the lynchings of a black man by the Ku Klux Klan (white supremacists ) here in this country because their Imperial Wizard suggest to the rest of the followers that this black man sexually molested a white woman. Just the suggestion would make the frenzy escalate, regardless of the veracity of the comment.
I see the situations to be very parallel. And it saddens, sickens, and angers me all at the same time.
laksh wrote on October 12, 2015, 7:35 AM
Well in this so-called modern world, we don't know the truth or rather it's hard to differentiate between the truth and cooked-up stories. I'm not denying that something like this can't happen in India, but there is always a suspicion.
Another rumour doing the rounds regarding this incident is that the man who was killed was suspected to have links with a terrorist organisation. Muslims have been in India for more than 1,000 years now, and all the Indians (including Hindus) know that they consume beef. So it's not a surprise if they had beef in their house.
I am damn sure there was something else in this story that we don't know!!
missfortune wrote on October 12, 2015, 8:56 AM
They are also overrun with rats; I have had pet rats in the past and they are extremely clean but by the hundreds or thousands ... its just a breeding ground for communicable diseases.
JohnRoberts wrote on October 12, 2015, 9:23 AM
I suspect the motive was more about this family being Muslim than eating beef. That was just an excuse. It's no different here in American. A gang member murders someone for wearing the "wrong" colors.
1wolfgirl569 wrote on October 12, 2015, 9:54 AM
They need to be punished for the killing but I know they will not. That is why things need investigated first. I is very sad and more so when he did not have any beef. But people here are almost as bad over horses and I could see it happening sadly
Dawnwriter wrote on October 12, 2015, 12:05 PM
laksh You and I know both know, more than other PP members how easy it is to whip up emotions in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc by local leaders or "holy men" against the undesirable minorities in the village or neighbourhood.
1These people can also get women especially widows accused as witches to confiscate their property etc. It is all about greed and power and where law is weak, such crimes thrive. India is not alone but if people like us make excuses for these heinous crimes, we are equally guilty.
The police took the meat from fridge to prove it was mutton or beef and not to check whether it contained top secret documents or weapons of mass destruction and most BJP leaders are calling it a case of cow killers being punished.and not terrorism.
Dawnwriter wrote on October 12, 2015, 12:08 PM
JohnRoberts You are quite right. Most of the time, communal riots and mob lynching are about inciting fear to subjugate minorities, women etc or to get their hands on property by driving away the "undesirables " from the community/village/neighborhood. Things get worse during election times.
1laksh wrote on October 12, 2015, 12:37 PM
Agreed. It does happen many a time. But these kind of incidents are being reported more these days. I am actually starting to wonder if these crimes are really increasing in number or is it just the reporting of such crime that has increased!!
And if it is backed by the government, then we definitely don't need such a nasty stinky government :(
cmoneyspinner wrote on October 12, 2015, 3:55 PM
There should be a nationwide or I dare say worldwide ban on killing people. FOR ANY REASON!
6snowroses.6doves4peace wrote on October 13, 2015, 12:53 PM
This is horrifying, Dawnwriter. It seems that as human beings, we will conjure up any excuse to harm and murder our fellow man. I'm well aware that cows are considered sacred in India, but God does not want His children to go hungry, whether we eat beef or mutton. He forgives, and so should we. How shameful that we have so easily forgotten his teachings of love and peace for all.
cheri wrote on October 13, 2015, 11:57 PM
No worries here in my country when it comes to beef eating