No need "to kill or get killed' over the issue of cows

No need ‘to kill and get killed’ over the cows There is an outpost of civilization from where the seven mountain ranges of Satpurda of Madhya Pardesh start. Chopda in Khandesh, northern Maharashtra has developed under Seth Pratap an entrepreneur in several fields of business and mechanical engineering and production. His philanthropy knew no bounds. He also laid foundation for Urdu medium school along with Marathi, Gujarati,etc, and also a college, a philosophical society. However Chopda has been witness to communal tension and violence for quite sometimes now. Last year it was in October. Mostly it is on the issue of transport of cow and its progeny or beef from Madhya Pardesh into Maharashtra. BJP ruled state MP had turned a Nelson’s eye on the trade thanks to the kickbacks in the trade is concerned. At times tale tell stories appear like the one of June 13, 2016 evening. A truck carrying 68 cows and progeny was stopped, searched and attacked. The police rushed to stop and bore the brunt of the attack in which 4 cops were reportedly injured and a police van damaged. It is also reported that the driver was a Muslim while the transporters and handlers were not according to earlier report. The cows were not slaughtered but died due to severe heat, suffocation and asphyxiation. The carcasses show that their death had taken place hours earlier as their parts indicate rigor mortis setting in over the mountain ranges than the plains of Maharashtra. Nay, even some of the carcasses had been skinned but much after their death for there is no scar of blood or strain visible. The dead cows are in advance stage of degeneration as the stink from it is making the crowd cover their nose. A similar incident from Malegaon bears on the present incident from Chopda which could prevent communal tension in not just Chopda but also Khandesh. Killers of cows of Malegaon There was a good deal of controversy, contradictions, and bias in the reports regarding the dead cows found on the Malegaon- Manmad road July 10, 2010. There was no sign of any let up in this matter for the reason that the panchayat elections were round the corner. There were those who stood to benefit from the matter taking a worse turn which obviously would mean more tension and communal flare up spilling over the district. Some others who would be adversely affected by such a course of action would like to see a speedy end to the matter and a logical conclusion. Those who wanted to prolong the agitation were keen on bringing the matter to a head where there was every possibility of shops burnt or looted, people attacked and riots breaking out. Malegaon is a town with sizable Muslim population where it is an open secret that cows are regularly slaughtered because of a racket involving not just the police but the political leaders who were so agitated then. There is a huge amount of money exchanging hands. If the spoils are not shared according to what the powerful want there are mysterious deaths. Some years back the Shiv Sena chief Ashok Chowdhary in the town was such a victim. His death followed a party in a posh hotel which butchers, leaders and government officers had attended. In 2009 a butcher returning from scouring the countryside for prospective purchase of sacrificial animals was killed on a road leading to the town around Muslim festival of sacrifice. Like the other incidents this also led to the butchers striking work and confronting the police. The police despite all the abuses hurled at them know how to deal with the matter. They could stop cow slaughter in the whole country let alone a tiny Malegaon. That would require the rule of law taking its course and a stiff regulation of maintaining cows who stop giving milk and farmers like the middlemen abiding by the laws of the land whereby selling and buying cows for slaughter is de facto a crime. The police know how many trucks carrying cattle enter Malegaon and what the condition of transport of animals is. The district SP of Nasik under which Malgeaon comes Milind Bharambe said that according to the veterinarians the cause of death is suffocation (gudmaroon) (Dinkar July 23, 2010) Routine of carrying cows for slaughter in Malegaon is a ‘set’ business involving middlemen, check post cops, octroi in charge officials, circle police, police officers of high ranks as well as local leaders. Those who do it regularly are always steady, stealthy and have to hurry through for they have to undertake future delivery soon after rest, as far as the transporters and their attendants are concerned. It is unimaginable if they would hazard such a risk of dumping killed cows on the periphery of the town known as the flash point for communal riots. They would not hazard even a thought unless they are bought over with astronomical amount of money and safe passage. They would also need protection and assurance that their regular work would be safe for them. They have also to think that their households would suffer if their regular income is stopped and they figure in such a shady transaction. There is a sanguinary theory put forth by Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna that the evil deed was purposely perpetrated on the Aashadi Ekadashi marking Panderpur pilgrimage. Dharm dhayani vish ghaloon tasech ordu naye madhun mukeya bandhoon teyanchi talwari, koyatani nirdhun kattal keleyachi santapjanak ghatna malegaonwat ghadli. “In Malegaon a terrible incident causing great anger (to people) took place in which fanatics poisoned the cows and lest they cry loudly gagged the mouth and attacked them with swords and machetes.”(Saamna, July 22, 2010). This would be true and Saamna need not persuade anyone to believe if the facts match. This bloody action would be unthinkable for the regular handles of illegal imports of cows for certain reasons. They would throw down the cows on a deserted road rather than the stretch of road between Malegaon and Kaulana where there are people and vehicles round the clock. Moreover there are many factories and motels there which have large clientele of drivers, mechanics, passengers, cleaners. The area is dotted with farm houses and police check posts. The hospital Navjeevan has families of patients moving around round the clock. The network of small paths and roads leading to hamlets of Nagaon, Warane, Sonaj, Nandgaon also militates against Saamna theory. Advocate Shishir Shivaji Hiray said in a local paper at that time: pan ha hatiya distat teodaa sopya nahit (“It is not as simple secret slaughter as it appears”). Jatiya dange petwinya cha uddesh aahe. (“The purpose is to cause communal riots”). He added that there is a hidden purpose of a deeper conspiracy to cause communal riots all over the country by this specific incident in Malegaon. Gau hatiya karneyancha khara hetuha desh adhikadhik asthir vahawa, kamjor vahawa aahe. (“The real purpose of the conspirators who killed the cows is to more and more destabilize India, make it weaker and weaker.” According to Hiray it is the duty of the Hindus and Muslims to realize the danger facing the country. Then he puts his finger on the crux of the matter of the incident: Malegaon don don bomb sphot houn dekhil jo danga ghadla nahim to danga ghadvinyachya kutil hetu ya prakarat aahe. . ya hindu bandhwana samjoon ghene garjeche aahe. (“What even the two bomb blast incidents [of 2006 and 2008]in Malegaon could not produce is the secret purpose of the conspiracy to kill the cows: causing communal riots. The need of the hour for the Hindus is to understand this.”)[Dinkar July 23, 2010] Putting the two incident together sanity should prevail and it is all the more necessary since between 2010 and 2016 much has changed India. Dadri killing shows somebody’s eating mutton could be interpreted differently to derive advantage for polls. More fireeaters have come to the fore like Sakshi Maharaj who remarked "We won't remain silent if somebody tries to kill our mother [cow]. We are ready to kill and get killed." [DNA October 6, 2015] Or, now the villagers of Bishada moving court to seek FIR against Mohammad Akhlaq’s family. [DNA June 9, 2016]