Muslim’s initiative to stop cow slaughter

Anil Narendra

Our Sadhu Samaj (Saints) has often been agitating for banning cow slaughter, but when our Muslim brothers resolve to ban cow slaughter, we feel good and we should be thankful to them. It happened in Saharanpur. Agitated over ever increasing incidents of cow slaughter, villagers of Banhera village of Deoband, recently called a Mahpanchayat (Greater Village Council) and it decided to take action against cow slaughterers and they have even started the implementing the decision. Villagers under the leadership of the Sarpanach (village headman), Rao Afzal caught two cow smugglers, who were taking cows for slaughtering in the village itself. These persons were badly thrashed and handed them over to the Police. During the interrogation, they told their names as Johny son of Bau and Gulab son of Haria, both residents of Kapuri Govindpur. They told that these cows were purchased from Mayapur village and were brought to this Banhera village for selling and they had even struck a deal for the sale of the cows with a villager, but the villager, fearing the Panchayat’s decision regarding slaughter of cows, informed the villagers and they were caught. The villager headman, Rao Afzal, Rao Aashu Rana, Rao Shafqat, Rao Mannana, Rao Aslam, Rao Nek Mohammad, Dr. Farman Ali, Kulbir, Dayanand, Surendra Pradhan and Rao Ghulam Jahan etc., told that the person, whom the two smugglers were trying to sell the cows, intimated the villagers about this deal as he was afraid of the Panchatat fine and afterwards these two persons were caught. To completely ban the ever increasing incidents of cow slaughter, the Mahapanchayat of 20 villages had recently decided unanimously to thrash the person caught in the act of cow slaughter and collect a fine of ten thousand rupees from such a person. The Mahapanchayat also appealed to the Muslims not to sell their cows. Meanwhile, after village Banhera, Muslims of Ghatampur of the area have also held Panchayat and opened a front against the cow slaughterers and decided to outcaste such persons and help Police in apprehending cow smugglers. The Panchayat held at the madarsa (school) of the village under the chairmanship of Sarpanch Ayub Hassan, decided that along with stopping cow slaughter, the Muslims of the area would also inform immediately to the Police, if they cone across any cow smuggler. It was also decided in the Panchyat that if any body is found helping cow slaughterers, he or she would be socially boycott. While we appreciate the efforts of Muslims to stop cow slaughter, we also think it necessary to ask ourselves as to what we are doing to provide sufficient food to the cows wandering in the streets? Isn’t it our duty to contribute to the protection of cows, which we consider as mothers?