The BJP governments’ holy cow policy has given rise to the phenomenon of large herds of unproductive cattle abandoned by their owners creating social, economic and environmental crises across northern India.
RAJU, A 23-YEAR-OLD DALIT YOUTH OF Malhendi village in Shamli district of western Uttar Pradesh, is a living symbol of what the metamorphosis of the benign cow into a menace of multidimensional proportions can do to a humble farmer. Raju, who was released from jail a couple of days before Deepavali, would be able to tell you how the cow, more specifically the stray and abandoned one, has become an agrarian hazard, a law and order threat, a political provocateur, a victimiser nonpareil, all rolled into one. Raju’s life since the last week of September is a dynamic testimony of this. He spent two weeks in jail on account of these assorted roles that the cow has acquired. Raju has just one plea: save me from the cow and the political-administrative machinery of the government which has converted this docile animal into one capable of perilous forays affecting everyday life, especially in rural northern India. Raju lays stress repeatedly on the role of the political-administrative machinery in aggravating the situations. He is certain that it is the politico-administrative machinery’s moves and manoeuvres that have converted this docile domestic animal into a menace, as perceived by people across the cow belt—Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
This story is from the November 10, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the November 10, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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