Many Hindus consider the cow to be a holy animal, and slaughter is
forbidden in most parts of Hindu-majority India. Since May 2015, a
violent vigilante campaign against beef consumption has led to the
killing of at least 10 Muslims, including a 12-year-old boy, in seven
separate incidents of mob violence. In July 2016, in Gujarat, vigilantes
stripped four Dalit men, tied them to a car, and beat them with sticks
and belts over suspicions of cow slaughter. In a number of cases, the
attackers have also robbed their victims of cash and cellphones, and
damaged their property.
“Self-appointed ‘cow protectors’ driven by irresponsible populism
are killing people and terrorizing minority communities,” said Meenakshi Ganguly,
South Asia director. “The government should condemn this violence and
take prompt action against those responsible for these attacks or face
allegations of complicity.”
The government should condemn this violence and take prompt action
against those responsible for these attacks or face allegations of
complicity.
Meenakshi Ganguly
South Asia Director
Since the BJP came to power in May 2014, extremist Hindu groups
supporting Modi and his party have led vigilante mob attacks across the
country to enforce “nationalism.” Senior BJP leaders, including elected
officials and leaders of various groups who claim to promote Hindu
rights, have instigated hate crimes. Self-appointed cow protectors are
increasingly conducting raids and attacks, claiming the police don’t
take adequate action against those slaughtering cows. There have been
numerous incidents in which they have allegedly assaulted, harassed,
threatened, and extorted money from Muslims and Dalits. Dalits,
so-called “untouchables,” are equally vulnerable as they traditionally
carry out jobs to dispose of cattle carcasses and skin them for
commercial purposes.
Among the largest cow protection networks is the Bharatiya Gau Raksha Dal
(“India Cow Protection Group”), an umbrella organization registered in
2012. Its leader, Pawan Pandit, told Human Rights Watch that the network
is affiliated with about 50 groups across the country and that their
10,000 volunteers have a presence in nearly every state. “Now the entire
India is a cow protection group because people are angered by such
cruelty to animals,” Pandit said, adding that even the BJP government
was not strong enough on cow protection. He denied allegations of
violence by his members, saying those were spontaneous acts by local
residents angered by the ill-treatment and slaughter of cows.
“The mild admonitions from BJP leaders when Muslims and Dalits are
lynched over cows sends a message that the BJP supports this violence,”
Ganguly said. “Instead of a government that took office on the promise
of universal development, it now appears to be one unwilling to protect
those most vulnerable.”
Recent ‘Cow Protection’ Cases and Concerns Government Silence and Denial
On April 1, 2017, a mob in the northwestern state of Rajasthan
brutally assaulted a 55-year-old dairy farmer, Pehlu Khan, and four
others with sticks and belts. Khan died two days later from his
injuries. Three of the six accused have been arrested. The state’s
BJP-led government did not condemn the killing, and its minister for
parliamentary affairs denied that the attack occurred. Rajasthan’s home
minister sought to defend the so-called cow protectors by blaming the
victims: “People know cow trafficking is illegal, but they do it. Gau bhakts [Cow worshippers] try to stop them. There’s nothing wrong with that but it’s a crime to take the law in their hands.”
Instead of filing a complaint against the attackers, the police
first registered a complaint against Khan and the other victims under
the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of
Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995, for exporting cattle and
showing cruelty to the animals, which carries a maximum penalty of five
years in prison. The police waited two hours before filing a complaint
against the unidentified mob. Khan’s son alleged that the police filed
the case against the family even though they had receipts showing that
they purchased the cattle legitimately in Rajasthan. Mohammed Yusuf, the
brother of one of those injured in the attack, told Human Rights Watch
that the attackers also stole 35,000 rupees (US$540) his brother was
carrying, his cellphone, and three cows worth 75,000 rupees (US$1,150).
He no longer wants to be part of the dairy business. “We have decided
that we are not going to have anything more to do with cattle,” he said.
“If we can’t keep milk cows, if we now need permission to drink milk,
why should we keep cows?”
On April 23, several former civil service officers wrote
to the state’s chief minister demanding that all the accused members of
the mob be immediately arrested, saying that failure to take prompt
action would be a “mockery of good governance, causing minorities to
lose faith in the government’s ability to protect their rights.” Two
days later, the chief minister finally broke her silence and said, “such
activities won’t be tolerated in Rajasthan.” States Prompting Cow Protections
Even as BJP leaders failed to condemn attacks on Muslims and other
minorities, they have announced new policies for cow welfare and made
strong statements about the need to protect cows. Their policies and
statements have facilitated abuses by cow protection groups in BJP-ruled
states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
In March 2017, the Gujarat government made slaughtering a cow
punishable by life in prison. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP chief minister
said, “We will hang those who kill cows.” In 2016, the Haryana
government decided to give licenses to some cow protection groups to
help the police keep a check on alleged cow smuggling. Group members are
often seen patrolling the streets, especially highways, at night,
stopping vehicles, checking them for cattle, intimidating drivers, and
reacting with violence if they find cows. These vigilantes have also
physically assaulted legitimate cattle transporters even when they are
transporting other animals, such as buffaloes.
There have been reports in the media of cow protectors allegedly assaulting Muslim men and women in trains and railway stations in Madhya Pradesh, stripping and beating Dalit men in Gujarat, force feeding cow dung and urine to two men in Haryana, raiding a Muslim hotel in Jaipur, aiding police in checking roadside food stalls and restaurants for beef in Haryana ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid, and an alleged gang rape and murder in Haryana of people the attackers claimed were eating beef at home.
The Haryana government has set up a 24-hour helpline
for citizens to report cow slaughter and smuggling and appointed police
task forces to respond to the complaints. Rajasthan’s government has
had a dedicated department for ensuring the welfare of cows since 2013.
In April 2017, the state government imposed additional taxes for
“conservation and propagation of cow and its progeny.”
Soon after the BJP appointed Adityanath, a Hindu cleric, as chief
minister of India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh in March, he cracked
down on slaughterhouses and meat shops, mostly run by Muslims. He
contended that he was shutting down illegal establishments, but the
businesses said they were forced to close without notice or due process.
Cow protectors and members of an extremist Hindu group, Hindu Yuva
Vahini, founded by Adityanath in 2002, aided the police in some of these
operations.
Several members of the group, including Adityanath, face criminal
charges for inciting violence, attempt to murder, rioting, carrying
deadly weapons, and promoting enmity between two religious groups. The
group has used violence, threats, and intimidation to shut down meat
businesses, news reports
say. But the state’s deputy chief minister and BJP state party
president told Reuters that members of Adityanath’s organization were
acting as responsible citizens and rejected allegations that they were
acting “as a parallel administration.”
The authorities have largely ignored the young men roaming streets
and beating up Muslims and Dalits in the name of protecting cows, and
have targeted instead the peaceful critics of such actions. At least
seven people – including a poet, a filmmaker, and a student – have been
booked on criminal charges for criticizing Adityanath on social media.
The charges range from hurting the religious sentiments of a community
to promoting enmity between groups.
On April 22, members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
groups affiliated with the BJP, attacked two police stations in Uttar
Pradesh to protest the arrest of their colleagues for allegedly beating
up and robbing a Muslim man. The police said that the men, from Bajrang
Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, threw stones at the police stations, beat
up a policeman, set fire to his motorcycle, and took his service
revolver. A senior police officer told the media that men from Hindu Yuva Vahini were also part of the mob that attacked the stations. Inadequate Response to Killings over Cows
Prior to Pehlu Khan’s murder on April 1, at least nine other people
were fatally beaten or lynched by Hindu mobs over suspicions that they
were trading or killing cows for beef. Rajasthan, May 2015
Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi, 60, who ran a meat shop in Birloka village in
Nagaur district, was beaten brutally by a mob with sticks and iron rods
on May 30, 2015. He died the following day. The mob also vandalized his
home and shop. Two years after the incident, the police have filed
murder charges against three accused in the attack, while six are yet to
be arrested. The case is pending in court. Uttar Pradesh, August 2015
A mob beat to death three men suspected of being cattle thieves –
Anaf, Arif, and Nazim – in the Kaimrala village of Dadri town on August
2, 2015. The mob also set their truck on fire after they found two
buffaloes in it. A farmer who witnessed the incident told Frontline
magazine that the police arrived after the men were already dead. He
said, “When a cow is killed, passions get ignited and these things can
happen.”
The police filed a case against the dead men for theft, trespass,
and attempted murder, alleging that they opened fire first. The
superintendent of police did not respond to questions from Human Rights
Watch about whether there was any case against the villagers for killing
the men. Uttar Pradesh, September 2015
On September 28, 2015, a mob in Bishara village in Dadri town beat
to death Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, with bricks and critically injured his
22-year-old son. The attack came after an announcement at a nearby Hindu
temple that Akhlaq had slaughtered a calf. The police arrested six
people but also seized the meat from Akhlaq’s home and sent it for a
forensic exam to determine whether it was beef. The villagers protested
the arrests by damaging vehicles, including a police van, and setting a
motorcycle on fire.
The Uttar Pradesh government, then led by the Samajwadi party,
announced compensation of 10 lakh rupees (US$15,500) to Akhlaq’s family
and the chief minister ordered district officials and police to provide
full protection to his family. However, a senior BJP leader and minister
in the central government called Akhlaq’s killing an “accident.”
Another BJP legislator from the state, Sangeet Som, already facing
charges for allegedly inciting communal riots, visited Dadri following
Akhlaq’s killing to show solidarity with the accused, one of whom is the
son of a local BJP leader. Som did not condemn Akhlaq’s murder and
instead criticized the state government for not taking legal action
against Akhlaq’s family. In Haryana, the neighboring state, the chief
minister, from BJP, called Akhlaq’s killing a “simple misunderstanding”
and said, “Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will
have to give up eating beef.”
In December 2015, the Uttar Pradesh police filed charges against 18
people. Nearly a score of hearings have been held since then, but there
has been little progress in the case. Meanwhile, Akhlaq’s family
relocated to Delhi because of concerns for their safety. Jammu and Kashmir, October 2015
On October 9, 2015, a right-wing Hindu mob in Udhampur district of
Jammu and Kashmir allegedly threw gasoline bombs at a truck driven by
Zahid Bhat, an 18-year-old trucker, because they suspected him – wrongly
– of transporting beef. He died of his injuries at a hospital 10 days
later. Two others traveling with him were also injured. Bhat was found
to be transporting coal in his truck.
His death led to violent clashes between protesters and security
forces in a south Kashmir village where he had lived. The state’s chief
minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the People’s Democratic Party,
condemned the killing and announced compensation but the family refused to accept any money, saying they wanted justice.
Five people were arrested for murder, rioting, conspiracy, and use of explosives. Himachal Pradesh, October 2015
A Hindu mob at Sarahan, a village near Simla, allegedly beat to
death Noman, 22, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, on October 14, 2015, over
suspicions that he was smuggling cows. The mob also beat up four other
occupants of the truck. Police immediately arrested the four occupants,
booking them under laws banning cow slaughter and preventing cruelty to
animals.
Later, police also registered a case of murder and said they would
investigate whether members of Hindu militant group Bajrang Dal were
behind the attack. Jharkhand, March 2016
A Muslim cattle trader, Mohammed Mazlum Ansari, 35, and a 12-year-old boy, Mohammed Imteyaz Khan, were found hanging
from a tree in Jharkhand on March 18, 2016. Their hands were tied
behind their backs and their bodies bore signs of mistreatment. The
police arrested eight men, including a couple linked to a local cow
protection group. The case is still pending in court.
Ansari’s brother, who runs a small shop in the village, told Human
Rights Watch he had already spent 200,000 rupees (US$3,100) on the case
and was determined to see it to the end but was not hopeful. “I don’t
think we will receive justice,” he said. “The government is theirs. They
are rich, they are powerful, the police is also theirs.”
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