ALWAR: Sahima Khan and his wife Hajra have lived in Lalawandi (Badi) for more than three decades, but never have they felt so insecure as in the last two years.
Khan’s family, also comprising his three sons, their wives and children, lives in a village about five km from the spot where Rakbar was allegedly lynched by a group gau rakshaks. For four days after Rakbar’s killing, Khan along with his friend went to Lalawandi (Choti) daily and watched all the commotion that the presence of media and police created. And the whole circus has left him even more disillusioned. “Yes, a lot of media persons and police officers and even the state home minister visited the place, but what is the point now?” he asks.
Khan’s family owns three buffalos and one cow. Given the present situation, they fear the cow could become a liability instead of a source of livelihood.“I am worried about my family. There is no hope of justice from the present government. This incident (Rakbar’s killing) is not the first for us. The community is being targeted without any reason and living in Mewat is difficult now,” said Khan.
According to his son Aalam, cow protection has just become an excuse for extortion and creating communal tension in the area. “Many times, these men who call themselves gau rakshaks snatch the cattle which we have legitimately bought. They themselves keep the cows in such bad condition that by no stretch of imagination can it be called protection. On a daily basis, such notorious elements deliberately leave their cattle in our fields to destroy our crops. When we try to protect our farms, they frame us as beef eaters,” says Aalam.
If Pehlu Khan’s lynching shook the Meo community, Rakbar’s killing is driving them to abandon the cow. Although a buffalo cost anywhere above Rs 40,000 and gives the same amount of milk as a cow of desi breed, it is preferable now. “Cow is more profitable for us. The Meos have always preferred cows. But life is more important,” said Khan.