Police removing members of the Revolutionary Students and Youth Front during a protest in Chennai against the ban on the sale of cows for slaughter. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2102301/indias-supreme-court-lifts-ban-selling-cattle-food South Asia
India’s Supreme Court lifts ban on selling cattle for food
A cow at a cow shelter owned by Babulal Jangir, a rustic self-styled leader of cow raiders, and Gau Raksha Dal (Cow Protection Squad) in Taranagar in the desert state of Rajasthan. Photo: AFP
India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily lifted a government ban on selling cattle for slaughter, a reprieve for the country’s multibillion-dollar cattle industry.
Under a nationwide ban imposed in May, cows or buffaloes could not be sold at livestock markets in India except for ploughing or dairy production.
The rules instituted by India’s Hindu nationalist government were aimed at appeasing orthodox Hindus, who regard the cow as sacred, but critics said they encouraged vigilante attacks against cattle traders and imposed excessive regulation on an already struggling livestock industry.
The Supreme Court order said the ban would be lifted until the central government can hear suggestions on changes to the rules, which is expected to take about three months.
Representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, solicitor P.S. Narasimha said authorities “are looking into various suggestions and objections” to the rules and would submit changes next month, the Press Trust of India reported.
Hindus are a large majority among India’s 1.3 billion people, and many do not eat beef. But beef from buffaloes is part of the diet of Muslims, Christians and Hindus from the lowest rung of the ancient caste system, known as Dalits, or “untouchables”.
India's Supreme Court has temporarily lifted a government ban on selling cattle for slaughter. Photo: TNS
Although India’s government argued that the rules would prevent animal cruelty, many critics said they were an attempt to impose a de facto ban on beef by targeting livestock markets, where nearly all cattle for slaughter are sold.
In May, the top court in the southern state of Tamil Nadu temporarily suspended the ban in the state after petitioners argued that the rules violated India’s Constitution and people’s right to choose what they eat. The Supreme Court order extends that stay across the country.
In recent months, India has been gripped by a series of brutal attacks by self-described “cow protectors” against Muslims and other minorities accused of transporting cattle or possessing beef.
Last month, protests were held nationwide after a 16-year-old Muslim boy was attacked and knifed to death on a train outside New Delhi by a mob that called him and his brothers “beefeaters”.