COW CORNER
by Abdul Gani in GuwahatiI
N 2015, BJP leader and
Union minister Kiren
Rijiju had famously rebu
ked a party colleague for
suggesting that those who
eat beef should go to Pakistan.
“I eat beef, I’m from Aruna
chal Pradesh...can somebody
stop me?” Rijiju had said in
res ponse to Mukhtar Abb
as Naqvi’s comments. Four
years later, India’s Northeast
is running short of beef. Not
because of the ruling BJP’s
clampdown on cow slaughter,
like in the rest of the country,
but due to rampant smuggling
of cattle to Bangladesh.
Beef is a staple —kosher as well
despite the raging debate over
it—in the Northeast, especially
in the Christian-majority Meg-
halaya, Mizoram and Naga land.
In Arunachal Pradesh too, beef
is consumed by almost all the
tribal communities, besides the
large Muslim population in
Assam. An estimated 70 per
cent of the beef comes from
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and
Gujarat to the Northeast. The rest is
sourced loc ally. The eight NE states
need more than 1.5 lakh kg of beef a day.
Beef has not yet assumed religious
connotations in the region, though
Assam and Tripura—two Hindu-majo-
rity states—have seen attacks by right-
wing groups on suspected cattle traders
and beef-sellers. Even Manipur chief
minister N. Biren Singh of the BJP has
said his government had no intention of
banning beef in the state, where the
majority community, Meiteis, are dev-
out Vaishnavite Hindus.
Traders say despite the demand in the
region, illegal trade to Bangladesh is on
the rise as the smugglers earn a better
price—almost double—in
the neighbouring coun-
try. “It’s getting very diffi-
cult. We are getting
infirm, ill, and old cattle
from suppliers in Bihar
and UP. The young and
healthy livestock is get-
ting smu ggled into Ban-
gladesh via Assam,” says
Arun Lyngdoh, president“This is happening because of
the lack of awareness among
the people and the traders. The
government too has failed to
create awareness. As a result,
the illegal syndicate is running
a multi-crore-rupee business
and those doing legal trade are
in the red. The consumers are
victims of this nexus. They are
not getting no meat. The gov-
ernment is losing revenue,”
Saikia says.
“We support the government’s
initiative to stop illegal trans-
portation...But at the same time
we demand that legal business
shouldn’t be stopped,” he
pleads. The association has
sought legalisation of cattle
trade with Bangladesh to ens-
ure revenue in taxes and levies
to the government exchequer.
Last month, Assam Police arr-
ested the alleged lynchpin of
the racket, Mohammed Shar-
faraz, in Gopalganj district of
Bihar. Director general of pol ice
Kuladhar Saikia says all the
districts have been put on alert
and special teams have been
formed to combat smuggling of cattle to
Bangladesh. Guwahati commissioner of
police, Dee pak Kumar, says Sharfaraz
used to be the main man behind this
racket. “Police are working to nab the
other culprits who have been running
the smuggling syndicate,” Kumar says.
The Sangh Parivar too says the gov-
ernment must take strict action to end
the cattle smuggling across the border
as it is a question of faith. “I think the
smuggling has reduced a lot after the
BJP government came to power. I
would like appeal to the government to
bring a complete closure on this. The
public vigilance is also important here.
No illegal activity should be allowed,”
says the RSS’s Samparka Pramukh,
Ranjeev Kumar Sharma
On the issue of beef consumption,
Sharma says that as the Hindus worship
the cow, it’s against their principle to eat
the animal’s meat. “In Assam we perform
Goru Bihu (dedicated to cattle). Hence,
there is no question of killing a cow. We
oppose cow slaughter. And everyone
must respect it. But at the same time, we
are against lynching and attacking some-
one who eats beef,” he asserts. Oof the All India Livestock Traders and
Transporters Association. Assam shares
a 262-km border with Bangladesh, a
considerable portion of which is riverine
and porous.
A major reason for the recent crisis,
traders say, is the Assam government’s
failure to streamline the legal cattle
business. “We want the illegal smug-
gling of cattle through the Indo-
Bangladesh border to be curbed but at
the same time, the Assam government
should take steps to ensure that legal
transportation of cattle is not ham-
pered,” says Lyngdoh.
Recently, the Assam government put
a temporary ban on cattle transporta-
tion from UP and Bihar as a step towards
curbing smuggling to
Bangla desh. The move
has aggravated the reg-
ion’s beef shortage.
Munna Saikia, the
general secretary of the
traders’ association, says
that the cattle smuggling
syndicate even lures the
local cattle traders to
boost their business.A Menu Too
Bland For NE
Cattle smuggling to Bangladesh
leads to beef shortage in regionBeef is a staple
diet in several
parts of NE,
especially in
states with
a Christian
majority22 July 2019 OUTLOOK 19