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| Indian State Passes Beef Ban Championed by Right-Wing Hindus | Indian State Passes Beef Ban Championed by Right-Wing Hindus |
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| MUMBAI, India — The western state of Maharashtra this week became the first Indian state to ban the possession and sale of beef, imposing fines and up to five years in prison for violations. | |
| The ban, which was passed on Monday, came as an amendment to a 1972 law prohibiting the slaughter of cows, which has been expanded to ban the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and calves. The slaughter of water buffaloes will still be allowed under the new law, subject to permission from the authorities. The populous western state includes Mumbai, the Indian financial capital. | The ban, which was passed on Monday, came as an amendment to a 1972 law prohibiting the slaughter of cows, which has been expanded to ban the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and calves. The slaughter of water buffaloes will still be allowed under the new law, subject to permission from the authorities. The populous western state includes Mumbai, the Indian financial capital. |
| The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, championed by right-wing Hindu organizations, was first passed in 1995 but languished for two decades under a governing coalition between the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won a clear majority in state elections last October, after Narendra Modi, the party’s leader, took office as prime minister in May. | The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, championed by right-wing Hindu organizations, was first passed in 1995 but languished for two decades under a governing coalition between the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won a clear majority in state elections last October, after Narendra Modi, the party’s leader, took office as prime minister in May. |
| The law, which allows a fine of 10,000 rupees, about $162, took effect Monday night after approval from President Pranab Mukherjee. Maharashtra’s chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, gave the president credit and expressed his thanks over Twitter. | The law, which allows a fine of 10,000 rupees, about $162, took effect Monday night after approval from President Pranab Mukherjee. Maharashtra’s chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, gave the president credit and expressed his thanks over Twitter. |
| “Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now,” he wrote. | “Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now,” he wrote. |
| The move was far less popular with those who run the city’s restaurants, and some retailers warned that it would eliminate jobs and send the price of other meats spiraling upward. | The move was far less popular with those who run the city’s restaurants, and some retailers warned that it would eliminate jobs and send the price of other meats spiraling upward. |
| “This is extremely sad to hear,” said Glyston Gracias, brand chef at Smoke House Deli in Mumbai, told The Indian Express, a daily newspaper. “I will have to go to another country.” | “This is extremely sad to hear,” said Glyston Gracias, brand chef at Smoke House Deli in Mumbai, told The Indian Express, a daily newspaper. “I will have to go to another country.” |
| “A lot of our foreign clientele, such as Japanese and Europeans, will miss beef on the menu,” he said. “I will find it difficult to do international cuisine.” | “A lot of our foreign clientele, such as Japanese and Europeans, will miss beef on the menu,” he said. “I will find it difficult to do international cuisine.” |
| The protection of cows is a volatile subject in India, where the animal is revered by the majority-Hindu population. Nearly all of India’s states already have legal provisions restricting or banning cow slaughter. The B.J.P.’s election manifesto included promises to work toward “the protection and promotion of cow and its progeny.” | The protection of cows is a volatile subject in India, where the animal is revered by the majority-Hindu population. Nearly all of India’s states already have legal provisions restricting or banning cow slaughter. The B.J.P.’s election manifesto included promises to work toward “the protection and promotion of cow and its progeny.” |
| As the country’s beef trade is largely controlled by Muslim traders, a religious minority in the country, the issue has become a point of contention between the two religious groups, and it is particularly politicized during elections. | As the country’s beef trade is largely controlled by Muslim traders, a religious minority in the country, the issue has become a point of contention between the two religious groups, and it is particularly politicized during elections. |
| Last month, beef traders in Maharashtra complained that they were being harassed by right-wing Hindu groups that were attacking vehicles transporting cattle to abattoirs, seizing the animals by force and beating the drivers. In February, beef traders across the state went on strike for over a week until the chief minister, Mr. Fadnavis, assured them protection. | Last month, beef traders in Maharashtra complained that they were being harassed by right-wing Hindu groups that were attacking vehicles transporting cattle to abattoirs, seizing the animals by force and beating the drivers. In February, beef traders across the state went on strike for over a week until the chief minister, Mr. Fadnavis, assured them protection. |
| India is a top exporter of meat from buffaloes, which are more common and less revered in India than cows. India’s exports of beef, including buffalo meat, have been rising steadily. Ahead of the state elections, Satpal Malik, a vice president of the farmers’ wing of the B.J.P., said that, if elected, the party would “crack down on beef exports” and “review the subsidy the government gives for beef or buffalo meat exports,” according to a report by Reuters. |