Beef ban hurts

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hanks to the agenda of the saffron forces, social fabric of India is being greatly damaged and this damaging process began not too long ago. Observers have foreseen this situation and much was speculated about it then. But for the swiftness of execution of the ground works by those at the helm a sense of nervousness prevails among the minority communities.The so called Ghar Wapsi activities, the Good Governance Day controversy, the anti-conversion law demands and vandalizing of institutions belonging to certain faith by saffron outfits have already hurt the sentiments of various sections of the Indian society. Amid this situation certain state governments ruled by BJP found themselves convenient and feel enjoyable to joint in playing with the sentiments of those sections of the society that are bruised by the activities of the saffron forces. Maharashtra government took the lead in banning beef. Penalties for violating the ban on beef are very severe. Attracted by the Maharashtra government’s move, the BJP government in Haryana has come up with its plan too but with stricter penalties for the violators of the beef ban. A report in a newspaper said that ‘if the Haryana government has its way, there will be a complete ban on sale and storage of beef in the state with provision for stringent action under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with punishment for murder.’ Reacting to this development Trinamool Congress MP (Rajya Sabha) Derek O Brien has said that ‘the punishment for eating the meat (beef) has become more than that for sexual harassment.’ Ignoring all the attacks and criticism Haryana Education minister Rambilas Sharma has termed his government’s decision as ‘a dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ that cows need to be protected and provisions should be made for their better care. He said that Narendra Modi really is hurt with the fact that despite cows being sacred in ‘our religion’ and society, India is one of the largest exporters of beef. But for the Christians and the Muslims such justification from the government has put them to a more uncomfortable position. Today the world largest democracy is loaded with bans which lynch the rights of the people.