Meat sellers have a beef

NEW DELHI: Meat sellers walked off the job in one of India’s biggest states, charging that a crackdown on abattoirs – sparked by Hindu concerns that sacred cows were being slaughtered clandestinely – had gone too far.

The incident occurred yesterday, and officially, the crackdown in Uttar Pradesh is against illegal abattoirs.

But the effort has exposed religious differences as many of the meat sellers are from the minority Muslim community, while the state is run by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP was returned to power in a landslide earlier this month, partially due to an election manifesto that promised action after several of its leaders alleged that some abattoirs were clandestinely slaughtering cows.

Hindus regard the cow as a holy animal. Its slaughter and consumption is banned in most Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh. The meat sellers said they were going on strike indefinitely.

Hindu hard liner Yogi Adity anath, who took office as chief minister following the BJP’s landslide win in state polls this month, has repeatedly said the action was being taken only against illegal abattoirs.

But state meat sellers complain they are being raided and that even licensed abattoirs have been targeted.

“We decided to intensify our action from today, and all shops will remain closed. Fish sellers, too, have joined us,” said Mubeen Qureshi from the meat sellers’ association.

State Minister Siddharth Nath Singh warned officials against being overly zealous in the abattoir inspections, saying only abattoirs operating without permits should be closed.

“Police and officials should not be overexcited, and should behave sensibly, or else we will take action against them… Vigilantism by police is unacceptable to us.”

Since the BJP came to power after national polls in 2014, there have been several incidents of fringe Hindu groups targeting Muslims for alleged cattle slaughter and beef consumption.

Muslims are the largest minority in India. They make up 18% of the population in Uttar Pradesh, which has 200 million inhabitants. – dpa