Meat ban: When religion influences administration in Mumbai

The writ of vegetarians appears to run large in Mumbai. The four-day ban by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that prohibits the slaughter of animals and sale of meat in city markets during the Jain festival of Paryushan Parva has stoked that fear further. The civic body’s undue dietary restriction, in the guise of protecting a minority community’s sentiment, has other implications as well. Since the Deonair abattoir and other large and small, legal and illegal slaughterhouses will remain shut on September 10, 13, 17 and 18, along with shops selling mutton and chicken, thousands of people associated with the business will lose a substantial amount of their earnings. The only silver lining is that fish and eggs have been kept outside the ban’s ambit.

The BJP-dominated Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has taken it to an extreme with an eight-day prohibition during this fasting period of the Jains. It was a pre-poll promise and the BJP couldn’t wriggle out of it. Already, the civic body is facing stiff resistance from those whose livelihoods would be affected by this arbitrary diktat. Strangely, the Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling alliance with the BJP in BMC, has urged the MBMC to enforce only a two-day restriction, citing the usual practice followed in the rest of the state. However, the party didn’t bother to explain why it should not practice what it preaches to other civic bodies. 

The principle of religious tolerance has been invoked liberally by both the Sena and the BJP to add credence to the clampdown. That the Jains are a minority and that their sentiments ought to be respected is being emphasised to secure a larger acceptance for this unpalatable decision. But will the saffron combine demonstrate the same level of compassion when it comes to other religious communities for whom meat-eating is an integral part of their cultures, food habits and religious beliefs? In spite of the tumult following the beef ban, the state government had stood its ground, citing majoritarian sentiment as the deciding factor in protecting the cow.

The fallout has been a sharp spike in the prices of mutton and chicken, which the state government didn’t care to regulate. The cheapest source of nutrition for Dalits and Muslims has been taken away from them, without the offer of an affordable, alternative solution. 

Now with Bakri Eid a fortnight away, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will approach the Bombay High Court seeking a three-day reprieve from the ban on bull and bullocks slaughter. The IUML wants the court to relax the rule for three days (September 24-27) as it is beyond the means of most Muslims to sacrifice a goat. The IUML cannot be faulted for the same reason that the BJP-Sena cannot be criticised. Sacrificing animals is a religious duty for Muslims during Bakri Eid, and they should be allowed to practice their faith. It is only because of the community’s financial constraints that the League is contemplating seeking the high court’s intervention in such a sensitive matter. Meanwhile, the saffron combine’s bête noire, the Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslameen, has demanded that temporary slaughterhouses be set up during their religious festival. It doesn’t take much for a religious issue to turn violent, especially in India, where fault lines between the two communities run much deeper than they appear. 

The BJP-Sena should focus only on governance and steer clear of matters that are religious in nature. The slaughter and selling of meat do not directly impact the Jain community. But the government’s ban has already rocked the fragile boat of communal harmony.