Does attacking Dalits make one a gau rakshak or taking care of cows?

In India, the cow was worshipped by many upper-caste Hindu communities.

The Dalits considered cows to be what Bahujan Samaj leader and noted Dalit theorist Professor Kancha Ilaiah referred to in "cow economy", "where Dalits and others use cattle skin, bones and milk for their livelihood and, if permitted, eat beef for their food".

The Dalits, who have tried to remove the skin from dead cows, which is part of their livelihood and part of the profitable leather trade in which politicians of many hues have been involved, have been attacked by pro-cow vigilantes from Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat.

The Sangh Parivar has long stated its demand against cow slaughter and/or beef eating on constitutional and religious grounds.

But in the Constituent Assembly, the religious argument on cow slaughter was sidelined and a secular argument was incorporated, in what became Article 48 of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which is a non-justiciable right.

In other words, unlike the fundamental rights, it is not legally binding.

According to Article 48, titled ''organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry", with no mention of any bovine: "The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draft cattle."

In other words, the Constitution opposes the slaughter of cows, buffaloes, mithuns, yaks, equally, not on religious or holy grounds, but explicitly "for preserving and improving the breeds".

How many gau rakshaks and other worshippers of the holy cow are providing a scientific and healthy diet for cows and calves? What improvement in breeds has taken place?

Is it not true that huge numbers of emaciated cows wander all over, eating scraps, plastic, uncared for?

An ancient Indian cow breed exported to Latin America, where beef eating is commonplace, is numerically significantly less in India, than the strength of the same in Latin America.

But to be fair, it was the Congress that initiated anti-cow slaughter laws in 25 states.

Also read: Modi can no longer control gau rakshaks

They are proud of it, as senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh boasted about it.

But what about other bovines like the omnipresent buffalo, mithun, yak, etc.

Why this blatant discrimination and misrepresentation by the usually secular Congress about other bovines?

The Sangh Parivar has also been silent about non-cow milch and draft cattle.

They cite both constitutional (despite Article 48) and religious grounds.

In recent times, their elected representatives in assemblies and Parliament have stressed the importance of "Gau Mata", along with "Bharat Mata".

Also read: Why Gandhi opposed legislative ban on cow slaughter

But there are fissures in the Hindutva brigade. Sangh icon Veer Savarkar, on whom the NDA government had a postage stamp issued, publicly supported beef-eating as a cheap source of protein for the poor. This is a matter of record.

Muslims, who are 14.2 per cent of the Indian population of 1.25 billion, as well as Christians and Jews, who make up over 2 per cent of the population, not to speak of the Dalits and beef-eating secularists, are not opposed to beef-eating on religious grounds.

In a secular, multi-religious, multi-cultural country, food habits cannot be determined on the basis of a reading of the dominant religion.

Democracy enshrines minority rights. Moreover, exceptions are obviously not religious.

In BJP-ruled Goa, beef-eating is permitted and widespread, and has been for years.

Yet, Sangh-affiliated gau rakshaks have attacked and killed people.

The PM's lament is too little, too late. The Constitution has been violated, the people misled.