In UP’s political minefield, a cow to milk
Resurgence of cow politics in the state has meant increase in low-key conflicts as well as heightened polarisation in political spheres
On August 3, 2016, policemen of the Provincial Armed Constabulary stationed at Meerut had a strange task at hand: to dig 27 ditches.
Thousands of kanwarias — Hindu devotees who carry water from the Ganges to their native villages — were passing by and the authorities were alarmed that dozens of carcasses of dead cow had surfaced en route in Muzaffarnagar.
The PAC personnel were rushed to Muzaffarnagar and the carcasses hastily buried. Senior officials heaved a sigh of relief. “Had any kanwaria seen that sight, we would have ended up digging many more ditches to bury humans,” one official told HT. “Dead cows were a sure shot recipe for a riot,” he added.
In a state where three-quarters of residents hold cows to be sacred, the animal has provided the single biggest fodder for low-intensity communal flare-ups in Uttar Pradesh. Yet, the police still has to get to the people stoking the flare-ups.
Of the 11,000-odd incidents reported since 2012, more than 19 percent were sparked by disputes over the transportation and slaughter of cows or beef.
The most notorious incident was in Bisada of Noida last year, where Muhammad Ikhlaq was lynched to death by a mob on suspicion of possessing beef.
The incidents cumulatively take a heavy toll on the communities, driving a deep wedge between them and sowing distrust that takes years to heal. Yet, many find cow a justifiable reason to fight over.
“Cow is sacred in my religion and that must be respected. Nothing else is acceptable,” insisted Kawar Pal Singh, a landlord from Shamli in the state’s western region.
Badri Narayan, professor at JNU and an expert on Uttar Pradesh politics, said cow politics was back in vogue in the state. “It always had the potential for mobilization for Hindutva forces,” he explained.
Some 50 years ago, in 1966, various cow protection groups had coalesced to form the Sarvadaliya Goraksha Maha Abhiyan to push for a total ban on cow slaughter in the country. Most of the activists hailed from Uttar Pradesh.
According to Narayan, cow politics has a deep emotional connect in western UP. “Until recently western UP had a rich tradition of ballad singers called Ragini, who were influenced by Arya Samajis. The hero in many of their stories is a man who died defending the cow against wild animals or invaders. This has left a deep impression in the collective conscience of the people in this region,” he said.
HT analysis of police records bear out Narayan’s argument: the 26 districts of western UP accounted for 71 per cent of violent incidents centering on the cow. The animal also remains an emotive issue with Yadavs, who comprise a crucial vote bank in the state. Six Yadav dominated districts of Mainpuri, Kannauj, Mathura, Kanpur Dehat, Etawah and Firozabad accounted for 155 cow-related incidents since 2012. Earlier, there were only 19 such incidents in two years.
Asmer Beg, a political scientist, says that the rising passion for cows has not spared the Yadavs. “Cow has emerged as a major rallying force for Hindu consolidation and even appeals to Yadavs,” he said. Yogi Adityanath, known to be a rabble-rousing BJP MP, said the incidents had more to do with general lawlessness in the state. “Yadavs and Dalits are forced to act since the state government is soft on Muslims, he explained.
In UP’s charged political atmosphere ahead of next year’s assembly elections, the issue of cow slaughter has assumed added significance. This year alone, the state police have booked 16 people for cow slaughter under the National Security Act.