
Two incidents of maiming, stealing and butchering cows in Karnataka have emerged as a threat to communal harmony even as cow vigilantism continues to be major menace in different parts of the country.
The recent tragic incidents, which occurred on consecutive Sundays of January, involved slashing cows’ udders in Bengaluru’s Cottonpet area, and stealing and butchering a pregnant cow in Salkod gram panchayat of Honnavar taluk in Uttara Kannada district.
Such incidents, which provide fodder for those trying to disrupt communal peace, invariably get entangled with politics. Soon after the second incident, Kumta-Honnavar’s BJP MLA Dinakar Shetty visited Salkod and lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara for the repeated attacks on cows.
Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, R Ashoka, alleged the incident was made possible by the Congress’s “appeasement-driven governance” in Karnataka, and blamed the government for cows being repeatedly targeted to taunt the majority community.
It needs to be noted that neither violent, extra-judicial cow vigilantism - which has already cost several innocent lives - nor the harming of cows help with communal harmony. Such actions, which can trigger explosive communal conflicts, are not allowed under Indian law.
Ultimately, as such conflicts linger, they impede with the smooth running of the economy and people’s welfare. So, such acts need to be recognised as anti-national, not merely anti-social - because they can disrupt the nation’s unity and people’s well being across state boundaries.
Political statements over such incidents usually do more to incite emotions rather than play a pacifying role. Saner sense needs to prevail - not just among members of the ruling and opposition parties, but among the general public, too - for the larger good of society.
On its part, the Congress-ruled government needs to adopt a mature approach towards this goal, which would also help in shedding the opposition-cast blemish of “appeasement politics” on the party. The opposition needs to come together with the ruling disposition to halt cow vigilantism and cattle-targeting. After all, both sides should work towards sustaining harmony rather than tearing apart the social fabric.