Government proposal to tag cows alarms Indian Muslims

By Zahid Rafiq and Shuriah Niazi

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir/ NEW DELHI, India (AA) - A government proposal to tag millions of cows in the country following reports of attacks by Hindu vigilante groups on some Muslims in northern India has left leaders of the Muslim community worried.

On Monday, the government told the Supreme Court in the capital New Delhi that if a unique identification number is allocated to every cow in India, it could help against the animal’s smuggling and slaughter.

The pitch was made during the Supreme Court’s hearing of a petition to stop the smuggling of cattle for slaughter at beef export units.

In its report to the apex court, the government said: “Each cow and its progeny across India should get a Unique Identification Number for tracking."

According to a recent analysis from WorldsTopExports.com, India comes at number two among top 15 frozen beef exporting countries.

In reports published in the Indian media, the proposed tags on each cow would contain several identification details such as the age, breed, sex, lactation, height, color, horn type, tail switch and special markers to indicate its progeny.

The government also proposed that there should be provision for special care of cattle beyond the age of milking, and highlighted the issue of cow protection and smuggling of cows across the India-Bangladesh border.

The suggestion came days after new videos of vigilante groups attacking a Muslim family in Jammu and Kashmir emerged in which the victims were accused of disrespecting cows, considered as holy in the Hindu religion.

- 'Cows more Indian than Muslims'

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a pro-independence Kashmiri leader and chief cleric of Kashmir, accused the Indian government of providing legitimacy to Hindu vigilante groups' murders and attacks by advocating for such identification tags for cows.

"While the Indian government should be making laws to protect the lives of minorities from the Hindu extremists who are using the cow issue to kill and terrorize Muslims, it is instead making laws that make it clear that cows are more of Indian citizens than the Indian Muslims.

“The so-called secular Indian state is shedding its facade and showing its true Hinduvta [ideology that calls for hegemony of Hindus] face. This move is going to embolden these armed Hindu elements and that is what the Indian government wants," Farooq told Anadolu Agency.

Last week, five members of a family, including women and children, were brutally attacked with iron rods by the so-called cow protection group when they were moving their livestock in Jammu and Kashmir.

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in India in 2014, cows in the country have been brought into the center of politics by the right-wing government.

Scores of so-called cow protection groups have emerged in the country, mostly comprising young Hindu men, who harass and often resort to violence, including torture and murder of Muslims who either trade or consume cows as a food source.

Incidents of such vigilante groups attacking minority Muslim communities have taken place across northern India, including in the capital New Delhi.

Earlier this month, another Muslim man, Pehlu Khan, was killed and his associates seriously wounded while they were transporting cows.

In 2015, a Muslim man, Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched over rumors of having a pound of beef inside his home.

Videos of such attacks have also gone viral.

- Harassment of Muslims

About the government's new proposal, the secretary of coordination committee for Indian Muslims, Masood Ahmed Khan, told Anadolu Agency: “I would prefer not to speak on this topic. Everyone knows that the government just wants to please the majority [Hindu] community and that is why they are doing these things.”

Even senior opposition Congress party leader Digvijaya Singh criticized the government for proposing identification tags for cows. In a series of tweets Tuesday, he questioned the cost for such a project on the public exchequer.

Singh also asked whether Muslim cattle herders would be given protection after the move. India has an estimated 47 million cows.

Some Muslim men like Sadiq Khan, however, said the proposal by Indian government could help the community.

“They can easily track their movement through this system. I hope it will stop harassment of Muslims in the name of cow slaughter because non-Muslims are also involved in smuggling,” Khan said.

Other Muslims in northern Uttar Pradesh state, however, believe the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was only fooling the public by making such suggestions.

A cleric based in the state's Kanpur city, who did not want to be named for fear of repercussions, said: "Our prime minister has failed to deliver on what he had promised [during the election campaign]. He wanted the people to not ask him about any development work in the country. And the best thing for him is to engage people in this cow controversy.

“He is just fooling the majority Hindu community for his votes."