Cattle traders fear ruin, vigilante attacks
Manila: A sweeping ban on trading cattle for slaughter, imposed by India’s Hindu nationalist government, is being seen by the nation’s meat and leather industries as an attempt to destroy businesses conservative Hindus do not agree with.
Other critics argue the ban is an attempt to control what people eat, and accuse the government of using prevention of cruelty as a justification for imposing Hindu values. “They [the Government] want to destroy people engaged in the leather industry,” said Seth Satpal Mall, a hide trader in Punjab’s industrial hub, Jalandhar.
“They just want to kill us.”
The snap government decree, issued last week, requires documentation proving any cattle sold are for “agricultural purposes” only, effectively outlawing trade for slaughter.
Mr Satpal is uneasy because it means his livelihood, along millions of others and $14 billion in meat and leather exports, is suddenly on the line. It might seem odd in a predominantly Hindu nation, but India is one of the world’s largest beef exporters.
Abdul Faheem Qureshi who is the president of the Muslim Committee that represents the cause of meat sellers, said: “These rules are targeting one particular community,” said Mr Qureshi, referring to the predominantly Muslim-operated slaughterhouses and tanning industries.