The disenfrancised and the oppressed are regularly stereotyped. They are buried under layers of oppression and unspoken pain. And their lives are riddled with fear and vulnerabilities.
In India, cow, the god of some politically empowered Hindu sects, are eaten by India's minorities including the Muslims and Christians along with certain other Hindus. So the protection of cow has precedency over the well being of the minorities. And the rise of Hindu extremism in the form of cow vigilantism has made it difficult to eat beef without getting lynched.
In some parts of the country, the govt has imposed a ban on the production of beef and enforcement is carried out by politically connected religious fanatics who could go the extreme extent of killing the consumer.
In 2017, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called upon the Indian govt to prosecute ‘cow vigilantes,’ arguing that Muslims are often targets of attacks, along with members of the Hindu lowest caste.
The latest case of cow vigilantism took place in Madhya Pradesh – the heart of India – wherein Riyaz Khan and Shakeel Maqbool have been lynched by the villagers for allegedly killing a bovine. While Riyaz has succumbed to his injuries, Maqbool is in critical condition.
Four men are under arrest in connection with the lynching.
REFERENCES:
Muslim man lynched to death in central India for ‘slaughtering cow’