Once upon a time, in what now appears to be a distant past, the Congress ran a campaign slogan, “Vote for Calf and Cow, Forget all others now.” The Congress then had a Cow with a suckling Calf beside her as its party election symbol. But times have changed and so has the Congress Party. In 2017, members of the Youth Congress have conducted cow slaughter in Kerala in a market as a protest against the BJP’s plan to ban Cow Slaughter. There was a time when there was a certain Hindu character to the Congress Party, albeit nominally, but after yesterday’s events, it will be safe to conclude that there’s hardly anything remotely Hindu left about the current Congress Party and they will not hesitate even for a moment to hurt Hindu religious sentiments if it means a few more minority votes.
The interesting part about the whole debate surrounding a ban on Cow slaughter is the reaction of a specific group of people, always of a particular political inclination, who turn Animal Rights Activist on one day and a staunch supporter of Cow Slaughter the other. Such people invariably seem to have opinions antagonistic to Hindu religious sentiments on all matters. These people who were pontificating to Hindus of the importance of Animal Rights were suddenly waxing eloquence on the virtues of Beef Consumption and Cow Slaughter. Shashi Tharoor is a great example. The same man who was lecturing Hindus on Animal Rights during the Jallikattu debate magically transformed into a supporter of Cow Slaughter when the question of a ban on Cow Slaughter popped up.
The merciless public butchering of a cow decidedly proved that Hindu religious sentiments can be hurt with impunity without any consequence. The act of slaughtering a cow in public was little short of a direct provocation to Hindus.
In our Secular Republic of India, one can walk away scot free with hurting religious sentiments of Hindus while minorities must be protected at all cost using the entire might of the State Machinery lest their fragile feelings are hurt. Could anyone imagine a ‘Draw the revered figure of the peaceful faith’ competition in Secular India without incurring the wrath of the Indian State? However, cows can be merrily slaughtered and the State will take no action whatsoever to console the Hindu sentiments that were hurt in the process.
One will be hard-pressed to find one single instance of the Cow-Slaughter-supporting-Animal-Rights-Brigade on the rampant cow smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border. Animal Rights is just another front for furthering a particular political ideology and since cows are revered by Hindus, all concern for them must be brushed aside as it might lead to a Saffron Surge. It is incredible, really, but in India, even Animal Rights has a prominent Secular tinge to it. The brigade rants on and on about Gaurakshaks and Cow Vigilantism but they do not realize that Vigilantism arises specifically because the State is either unwilling or incapable of implementing its laws or it devises laws that are antithetical to the prevalent moral and ethical code among the majority of the population. Cow Vigilantism cannot be tackled without a harsh crackdown on cow smugglers but such clarity is sorely lacking in these so-called intellectuals.
The Congress should really re-evaluate its conduct in the recent past in the context of its political ambitions.
In a very short period, Kapil Sibal defended the Triple Talaq at the Supreme Court and felt free to drag Shri Rama into his argument, for reasons best known only to him. Mani Shankar Iyer met Hurriyat in Kashmir to discuss the situation in the State and seem to be speaking on their behalf and yesterday, members of Youth Congress took to Cow Slaughter to protest against the BJP. If Congress is under the impression that such tactics will translate into a revival for them in the Indian Political scenario, I am afraid they might be sorely disappointed. If Congress really believes they will not suffer any consequence in elections for its unceremoniously hurting Hindu sentiments, then the need of the hour is not strategic brainstorming, it’s psychological help.
Sonia Gandhi’s Congress has always been anti-Hindu, with its implementation of the 93rd amendment and the Endowment Act and an attempt to bring about the Communal Violence Bill, but the bigotry has always been subtle and not easily observable to the general eye. But in recent times, their anti-Hindu bigotry is quite out in the open for all to see. Rahul Gandhi even went to JNU to support the ‘Bharat ke Tukde’ gang. Mani Shankar Iyer, in what could only be interpreted as his seeking help from Pakistan to remove Modi from the PM seat, told Pakistani Media, ‘Modi ko hataiye, hamein laaiye.’ If the Congress continues to tread down this path, it won’t be too long they’re resigned to the annals of History. For us, Hindus, perhaps it will be a good thing.