Sangh Parivar unit moots all-India beef ban

While the Maharashtra government's ban on the slaughter of bulls has led to controversy, the Sangh Parivar is mooting a nationwide law to proscribe cow slaughter.

Speaking to dna during his visit to Mumbai, senior Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) functionary Indresh Kumar, who is the chief Margadarshak (guide) of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) — the Sangh Parivar's only niche organisation for Muslims — rubbished reservations among stakeholders about the beef ban.

But Kumar, who is among those from the Sangh Parivar's ideological fountainhead tasked with its outreach among Muslims, criticised as "inhuman" the denial of a job by a diamond export firm to Mumbai-based Zeeshan Khan for him being a Muslim.

The MRM was established in 2002 at the behest of then-RSS chief KS Sudarshan, and was initially called 'Rashtravadi Muslim Andolan-Ek Nayi Raah'. It was renamed as MRM in 2005.

On Tuesday, Kumar claimed Islam was against the consumption of cow meat and had praised the milk of cows for its medicinal and health-giving benefits. "So, eating cow meat or selling it is equivalent to eating disease," said Kumar.

"We are hence telling Muslims to call on the Centre to pass a law against cow slaughter so that everybody is saved from this sin," he said. At the same time, the MRM has begun a signature campaign calling on the state government to give loans and aid for an alternative livelihood to those stakeholders affected by the bull slaughter ban after a survey to assess their needs.

Recently, Maharashtra joined a clutch of states including Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat that ban consumption of beef by proscribing killing of cows, bullocks and calves. Not all states have such laws. Some states including Kerala and the North-Eastern ones allow slaughter of all kinds of cattle. There is no national law against cow slaughter.