Gau Gyan Foundation (GGF) volunteers unearthed yet another instance of societal indifference and administrative inertia. More than 1500 cows, bulls and calves have been hoarded in just two localities – in Vatteypally near Asad Owaisi residence (Falaknuma PS limits) and Shastripuram (Mailardevpally PS limits). The animals are kept without food and water, calves separated from mothers, standing in open streets, getting drenched in rain, terror in their eyes…counting the days before they meet the butcher’s knife.
GGF implored the police and state authorities to rescue and rehabilitate the poor souls, they stood in the rain for more than 24 hours waiting for the police to seize the animals and made hundreds of calls, but the police did nothing. The animals are at the brink of being slaughtered.
Honourable Supreme Court held vide its judgement passed in the matter titled ‘The State of Bengal, etc, Appellants v. Ashutosh Lahiri and the others, Respondents’, being Civil Appeals Nos. 6790 of 1983 with 6791 to 6794, that slaughtering of healthy cows on Bakrid day is not essential or required for religious purposes of Muslims and hence cannot be exempted under state law or Article 25.
Prevention against Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 makes it illegal to abandon animals on streets not meant to shelter them. It amounts to cruelty and makes it liable to send the animal to shelter. Further, no animal can be slaughtered except in licensed slaughterhouses or without a certificate stating it is not fit for breeding and/or agriculture as per the Slaughterhouse Rules 2000. Telangana State Prohibition of Cow Slaughter and Animal Preservation Act 1977 (Sections 3, 5, 6, 10, 11) makes it illegal to slaughter a cow and its progeny.
These 1500 do not have any certificates for slaughter and there is no legal slaughterhouse in the vicinity for authorized slaughter. And yet if left to the mercy of the state, they will be slaughtered, and their blood and waste pollute the drains and streets of Hyderabad, creating havoc on the health and hygiene of residents.
Festivals are not above the domain of law, any celebration has to be within the boundaries prescribed by the law of the land. Funnily though, if one digs deeper into the racket of mass cow slaughter in the shadow of a festival, it is easy to understand that the activity has nothing to do with religion or a festival. It is a full-fledged racquet of smuggling and slaughter that generates billions of dollars of black money which is being pumped to break our nation – through terrorism, arms smuggling, fake currency trade, narcotics smuggling, you name it. The people who are carrying out these criminal activities are not religious people or innocent civilians, these are seasoned criminals and murderers, some even terrorists, who do not shy away from attacking and even killing anyone who comes in their way – civilians, police or military and paramilitary soldiers.
It is under this background that one must look at the 1500 mute lives, whose terrified eyes and weathered bodies are imploring us all to save them. It is the duty of the police to protect and establish rule of law, it is the duty of every human being to raise their voice against injustice. The animals can’t speak, but we can. Why so quiet then?