(This is a reprint from NewsBred).
First there is a picture. Then there is a narrative.
The picture
this morning captions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gifted 200
cows to
The narrative is revolting. The Quint publishes a report with the tweet which insinuates "lynching" for a cow smuggler--in this case Modi! (sic). The horrid website which was left red-faced on its reporting on Kulbushan Jadav finds it "just-for-laughs." It finds it ironical that Modi is gifting cows to a country which is beef-eating. I tell you what the irony is: it turns out that those who referee against "trolls" and "fake news" are its marquee players.
Meanwhile
another news, within hours of "gift of cows", gets no narrative. Waseem
Rizvi, head of UP Shia Waqf Board, asks Muslims to give up eating beef.
Rizvi says "cow-meat" is forbidden (haram) in Islam. You won't find this news
in your Indian Express or The Hindu; Times of India or Hindustan Times. Nor in
putrid news websites. For it would mean challenging the "Shias" of this
country. Lest you don't know,
May I request
you to google "Are Cows Sacred to Hindus" and "beef-eating in Islam"? You
would find dozens of articles which would debunk the former and uphold the
latter. As a Hindu, I know that on "pitra-paksh" (praying ancestors) feeding
cow is mandatory. As a student, I know cow-fat on cartridges sparked the 1857
Indian War of Independence that shook
Yet, Hindus are tarred hypocrites. Don't we see uncared cows on our streets? Don't we make billions out of beef exports? Aren't we snatching away the livelihood of thousands? Isn't it an intrusion on "eating-habits" of minority?
Who are we to tell them that uncared cows are strictly an urban phenomenon; or that beef export is mostly of buffalo-meat; or that illegal slaughterhouse can cause an epidemic and shouldn't be seen as a job for criminals; or that eating-habits can be mended.
It might be true that Muslims are fed on beef from an early age. It might also be true that this practice is an anathema to Hindus. But what's undisputed is that "eating-habits" can be mended for the larger good. Even if you don't do it, a public proclamation on the lines of Shia Board chief could promote amity, reduce polarization.
There are vivid,
live examples of exemplary Hindu conduct in this regard. I am yet to come
across any Hindu organization which encourages "sketching" of Prophet in the
name of "freedom of expression." In spite of intense attacks on Hindus' faith,
belief and festivals by motivated NGOs, media and occasionally even by
judiciary, Hindus have never stepped out of line. Not one instance, and we are
talking of 1000 million Hindus in
Unlike
So Muslims can live without polygamy but they can't without beef. What logic is this? Especially when beef-eating is not mandatory in Quran (I am not even quoting Rizvi who says cow-meat is "haraam" in Islam). Just imagine the outpouring of goodwill if Muslims went public with the intention of forsaking beef. It would bridge the divide like nothing else in this country.
But that would keep rotten media and their website choirs out of business. They report "beef-fest" with glee; semen-filled balloons in Holi, however fake, is never apologized for; and as in the present Modi gesture in Rwanda, a call for his lynching is made in the name of "just-laughs." Shias, meanwhile, are no muslims in their eyes.