“Beef is my favorite red meat,” says Caleb, who lives in Bongaigaon, India’s northeastern Assam state.
But now he must contend with a state government order banning beef consumption 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 beef products in areas populated mainly by non-beef-eating communities and near temples.
“The government is taking away my freedom to choose what I eat,” Caleb says. “And it’s intentionally attacking my right to food, which is completely unconstitutional.”
While people like Caleb can still buy beef and eat it at home, beef is off the menu for many who cannot consume it at home.
How is beef polarizing?
Beef is controversial in India, as the cow is sacred to the Hindu majority.
But it is also part of the diet of Muslims, Christians, some indigenous communities, and Dalits, groups that have historically been marginalized from the bottom of India’s centuries-old discriminatory caste hierarchy. there is.
Regionally, beef consumption is negligible in northern and central India, but beef consumption is culturally ingrained in the states of Kerala, Goa, and many parts of the northeast.
Currently, 20 of India’s 28 states have enacted various laws regulating cow slaughter, including bans on cow slaughter and sale of meat.
India’s beef ban is a polarizing issue that intersects religion, culture, and politics.
The recent ban in Assam is part of a larger narrative on cow protection, reigniting debate about the impact of such laws on India’s multicultural identity, freedom of choice and economy. There is.
Enforcement of religious ideology?
Beyond their cultural symbolism, beef bans are being used as weapons in political contexts, sparking deadly violence as self-styled cow vigilantes seek to enforce these bans. .
The U.S. State Department’s 2023 Report on Religious Freedom lists examples of attacks against Muslims in India and incidents stemming from allegations that Muslim men participate in cow slaughter and the beef trade. listed.
But the Indian government condemned the report as “highly biased” and said it reflected a “one-sided projection of the issue”. New Delhi also denies discrimination against minorities and says its policies are aimed at benefiting all Indians.
Aparna Parikh, assistant professor of Asian studies at Penn State University, studies India’s modern beef ban and the violence that followed. The ban on beef in India is deeply tied to its cultural and historical context, where respect for cows and avoidance of beef is part of “Hindu identity, more specifically upper-caste Hindu identity.” It’s central,” Parikh told DW.
Beef bans therefore reflect the prioritization of the preferences of one religious group over another and often justify violence against communities perceived to be consuming beef. he said.
“While this ban is not entirely new, it has taken on new forms in recent years, becoming more visible and weaponized against minorities.”
beef politics
These cultural and ideological tensions have also shaped the strategies of political parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, its Hindu roots form a core part of its principles. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken a selective stance on banning beef.
The party has introduced strict bans in some states, especially north and central India, but is more lenient in some northeastern states such as Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura. approach is adopted.
Explaining the Bharatiya Janata Party’s approach, a journalist from Assam, on condition of anonymity, said: “I think the whole approach of the Sangh Parivar[a family of Hindu nationalist organizations of which the Bharatiya Janata Party is also a part]was to work together” to bring diverse groups into the idea of Hindutva. ”
“In the Northeast, the focus is on persuading tribal populations, including converts to Christianity, to reconnect with their ‘original’ Hindu roots,” he noted.
“As part of this strategy, regions such as northeastern states, Goa and Kerala are being cautious as Hindu nationalist rhetoric around food and beef bans could alienate local populations. In these areas, a more calculated and less confrontational approach has been adopted to avoid conflicts with local sentiments,” the journalist said.
He pointed out that there has been a noticeable shift towards a hard line in Assam, which prioritizes ideological claims over regional sensitivities.
However, the latest Assamese beef ban has been met with resistance from within the Bharatiya Janata Party, highlighting the polarization of the issue.
In neighboring Meghalaya state, Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Sambor Shurai said in a conversation with local media, “No one can dictate what people should eat. It’s a personal choice. “I object,” he expressed his dissatisfaction.
In Kerala, state vice president Ravi of the Bharatiya Janata Party appealed for the freedom to eat whatever one wants.
“Symbol of resistance”
Yamini Narayanan of Australia’s Deakin University, who has written a book on the politics of cows, found in her research that “beef has been created to play a role in the cultural identity of various Indian communities.” He said he had discovered it.
Narayanan pointed out that Muslims and Dalits he spoke to during his research said beef did not have special importance in their diet. But “because beef has been used as a weapon against them, it has now taken on this monumental political-symbolic role, so beef has also become a tool of resistance.” .
Narayanan emphasized that dairy products, not beef, are the main cause of cow slaughter, a fact often ignored in political discussions.
Nutritional impact of the ban
In addition to the economic impact on traders, the beef ban also has nutritional implications, especially for low-income groups.
Wafa Hakim Orman of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, conducted extensive research on the nutritional costs of India’s beef ban. She pointed out that iron deficiency anemia is very common in India.
According to the National Family Health Survey conducted between 2019 and 2021, around 57% of women aged 15-49 years in India suffer from anemia.
In regions of India where beef consumption is culturally acceptable and legally permitted, such as in the states of Kerala and Goa, it is often affordable compared to other meat products.
“Beef is an important protein source for low-income Muslims, Christians, and Dalits. The ban has led to higher rates of moderate and severe anemia among married women aged 15 to 35 in these groups,” Orman said. he said.
She called for a holistic approach to addressing anemia as a public health and nutrition problem.
freedom to choose
In the end, the answer to the beef tensions may lie in India’s multicultural identity.
Senthi Wannao, a Christian woman from Nagaland who is married to a Hindu man from Assam, says she grew up eating beef, but her husband did not.
Despite their differences in eating habits, Wannao said she and her husband agree that “people should be able to eat whatever they want.”
Editor: Srinivas Mazumdar
