Situation such as this when the low tolerance of the Hindutva brigade towards other religious groups is making things very difficult certain politicians playing up religious sentiments is definitely akin to driving in the last nail in the coffin of the land of ‘unity in diversity’. The issue of beef ban is throwing up more ruckuses and other complicated issues today. The great Indian nation—the birth place of Ahimsa—is not anymore the great body to digest this plethora of issues.Sadhus and Sadhvis are silent now on beef issue but one Naqvi has asked beef eaters to go to Pakistan to satiate their taste bud. Union minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s comment will go down in the history of ailing India. This comment has attracted heavy flak. To appease the angry beef eating community BJP president Amit Shah has come up with a softer stand—ruling out a country-wide ban on beef saying, “It is for the states to take a decision on it keeping in mind the sentiments of the people”.
Now, banning partly or fully, it does not make much difference and sense in a democracy. What does it mean (in the largest democracy of the world) when someone’s food habit or culture or religion is banned in some parts of your country? Such policy or idea is bound to give serious incorrigible ramification.
In such time when certain states ban beef eating one will find distinct beef eating and non-beef eating demarcation lines in India map. In this clash of familiarities and hostilities beef eating community will start shifting their bases and businesses to non-beef-ban states and vice versa. The very ‘unity in diversity’ will no longer be the label of this great country. Antagonism will grow and this will be the ground work for the balkanization of India, all for the beef ban.
