AMID VIOLENCE, SANGH TO RETHINK ITS STRATEGY ON ‘COW PROTECTION’

Escalating violence by so-called gau rakshaks (cow protectors) that have resulted in fatalities has compelled the RSS to rethink its strategy to save the bovine and push for law to ban its slaughter. The Sangh wants its cow protection programme to be yoked to “cultural, health and scientific reasons” and not defined by violence. Senior functionaries of the Sangh told Hindustan Times that though it wants a pan India prohibition on cow slaughter, it does not want “fringe elements to hijack the issue of gau raksha”. Deliberations are under way to delink cow protection from excesses. It was in this context that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made an emphatic bid to separate cow protection from violence at an event in the Capital on Sunday. Bhagwat said that violence by cow protectors “defames” the efforts of cow protection. “Nothing should be done while protecting cows that hurts the belief of some people. Nothing should be done that is violent... The work of cow conservation should be carried out while obeying laws and the Constitution.” Sangh’s political opponents accuse it of adopting sledgehammer strategy to enforce a ban. It is also accused of opting for a less aggressive stance on the issue of beef consumption in Kerala and some of the North Eastern states where its protégé, the BJP has political ambitions. More importantly, the Sangh’s opposition to bovine slaughter and consumption is perceived as its “anti-minority” standpoint, given that most people engaged in the trade are Muslims. Efforts are under way to swathe the programme in the garb of a social movement.