જઈ શું તો ક્યાં જઈશું…ધરા ગુજઁરીને ખોળેથી.

Cow-slaughter the Gujarat way!
By Batuk Vora

Much is being said by Hindutva votaries of cow-protection on the need to ban cow slaughter all over the country and to strictly implement this ban, especially in Gujarat.

Reports on how activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal forcibly prevent cow-class animal-carrying trucks in the state from allegedly running to slaughterhouses have been doing the rounds. Sangh Parivar?s mouthpieces delightfully publish these stories. Sometimes they appear in mainstream media too.

But what really is the state government doing?

The public is little aware of the fact that the Keshubhai government has indulged in its own kind of fodder-scam or non-violent slaughter of cows, little different from what Laloo Prasad Yadav has been accused of doing in Bihar.

Certain queries need to be answered first. Is this Bharatiya Janata Party government reserving 20-25 per cent of cultivable land for growing fodder, as has been the accepted norm all over the world?

Has it taken any action to increase 5 per cent of the total cultivable land for cattle?

Every 100 livestock need at least 40 acres of land, say animal husbandry experts. Gujarat has an estimated 65 lakh cow-class animals and 45 lakh buffalo-class.

Do we have enough grassland for them?

As much as 20 per cent of the world?s total number of livestock exist in India. But does this goveminent, headed by Keshubhai Patel ? a farmer?s son and also a staunch cow-worshipper ? take enough care to protect even the existing gauchar land in every village? The answer is a clear and firm no.

An indicator of the government?s sincerity in this direction is a government resolution issued by the revenue department in connivance with the finance and industries department in January this year.

Under the resolution (Jaman/3999/29/ch), the government resolved to sell gauchar land in any village to interested industrial entrepreneurs at the market price plus 30 per cent more price.

IT orders deposition of this 30 per cent with related taluka panchay at for the purpose of “developing another Gauchar land somewhere if the concerned village panchayat wants!”

How can the panchayat be expected to find another wasteland and then develop it into a grazing area?

“Panchayats were not able to reserve even 10 per cent from the existing gauchar lands for developing the grassland, which is a must for every village if the tremendous potential and dire need for grassland development is to be achieved. About 90 per cent of animals in this case have been fed by the by products of agriculture produce and gauchars have in fact become liabilities instead of an asset,” said renowned animal husbandry and grassland expert prof Ratibhai Pandya.Does this mean that it was justified to abolish traditional gauchar lands? In fact, the government resolution seems to be a step in the wrong direction. Ratibhai himself argued that ” the need of the hour is to plant the best varieties of grass seeds and not dissolve these gauchars. We should not forget that Lord Krishna had migrated to Saurashtra as it provided ample grass to his cattle, but today, most of it has been finished off by goats and sheep.

Even milk is sold to Saurashtra and Kutch by Mehsana and Anand! The famous Das penda shop at Bhavnagar gets its milk from Chikhodra. On the other hand, truckloads of grass of Bhal region is sold away to Gujarat. This means, Saurashtra farmers are selling their fertility to Kheda!” he lamented.

Rabaris, farmers and cow-worshippers from all over the state are opposed to the government move. The Rabari community recently held a conference against the GR and decided to prevent its implementation.

Will the opponents of cow-slaughter wake up and protect gauchars? Those who are interested in building an industrial plant can always do so in wastelands lying directly under the control of collectors.