“Beef is my favorite red meat,” says Caleb, who lives in the town of Bongaigaon in Indiain the state of Assam, in the northeast of the country.
But he now faces his state government’s mandate banning the consumption of beef in public places, including restaurants and events.
In 2021, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam had already banned the sale of beef and beef products in areas predominantly inhabited by non-beef consuming communities or near temples.
“The government is taking away my freedom to choose what I eat,” Caleb says. “And this is deliberately infringing on my food rights, which is not constitutional at all.”
While people like Caleb can still purchase beef and eat it at home, for many who cannot consume it at home, beef is off the menu.
How does beef polarize?
In India, beef is a controversial subject because cows are sacred to the Hindu majority.
Yet at the same time, it is part of the diet of Muslims, Christians, some indigenous communities, and Dalits, a historically marginalized group from the lowest tier of India’s centuries-old discriminatory caste hierarchy.
Regionally, beef consumption is negligible in northern and central India, while it is culturally embedded in states like Kerala and Goa, as well as much of the northeastern region.
Currently, 20 of India’s 28 states have various laws regulating the slaughter of cows, including banning the slaughter or sale of cow meat.
Beef bans in India are a polarizing issue – at the intersection of religion, culture and politics.
The recent ban in Assam, framed as part of a broader discourse on cow protection, has reignited debates on the implications of such laws on India’s multicultural identity, freedom of choice and economy. .
Apply a religious ideology?
Beyond their cultural symbolism, beef bans have been weaponized in political contexts, leading to deadly violence. So-called “cow vigilantes” seek to enforce these bans.
The US State Department’s 2023 Religious Freedom Report cited examples of attacks on Muslims in India, incidents sparked by allegations that Muslim men were involved in cow slaughter or the beef trade.
The Indian government, however, called the report “deeply biased” and said it reflected “a one-sided projection of problems.” New Delhi also denies discrimination against minorities and says its policies aim to benefit all Indians.
Aparna Parikh, assistant professor of Asian studies at Penn State University, has studied India’s contemporary beef ban and the resulting violence. India’s beef ban is deeply linked to its cultural and historical context, where respect for cows and avoidance of beef are “at the heart of Hindu identity, particularly a Hindu identity upper caste,” Parikh told DW.
Bans on beef therefore reflect the prioritization of the preferences of one religious group over others, often justifying violence against communities seen as consuming beef, she said.
“The ban is not entirely new but it has taken on new forms and become much more visible and used as a weapon against minority groups in recent years.”
The politics of beef
These cultural and ideological tensions have also shaped the strategies of political parties, notably the BJP.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, its Hindu roots constitute an essential element of its principles. Yet the BJP has taken a selective stance on the beef bans.
While the party has introduced strict bans in several states, notably in north and central India, it has adopted a more tolerant approach in Goa and some northeastern states, such as Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Explaining the BJP’s approach, a journalist from Assam, who asked not to be named, said: “I believe the BJP’s overall approach Sangh Parivar (a family of Hindu nationalist organizations, of which the BJP is a part) has been to co-opt various groups into the idea of Hindutva. »
“In the northeast, efforts are aimed at persuading tribal people, including Christian converts, to reconnect with their ‘original’ Hindu roots,” he noted.
“As part of this strategy, they are taking a cautious approach in areas like the northeastern states of Goa and Kerala, where Hindu nationalist rhetoric around food or cattle bans could alienate local populations. adopted to avoid hurting local sentiments,” the journalist said.
He pointed out that in Assam, there is a notable shift towards a harder line, prioritizing ideological assertion over regional sensitivities.
However, the resistance even within the BJP against Assam’s latest beef ban highlights the polarizing nature of the issue.
In neighboring Meghalaya, BJP lawmaker Sanbor Shullai expressed his displeasure in a chat with local media saying, “No one can dictate what people should eat. It’s an individual choice. I strongly oppose it. »
In Kerala, BJP vice-president Major Ravi called for freedom to eat whatever one wants.
“Symbol of resistance”
Yamini Narayanan of Deakin University in Australia, author of a book on the subject of bovine politics, said that during her research she found that “beef has come to play a role in identities cultural traditions of different Indian communities.
Narayanan pointed out that Muslims and Dalits she spoke to during her research said beef had no particular importance in their diet. However, it has been “led to take on this monumental political symbolic role now because of the way the beef has been used against them – and so it also becomes a tool of resistance.”
Narayanan pointed out that dairy products, not beef, are the main driver of cow slaughter, a fact often ignored in policy debates.
Nutritional impact of bans
In addition to the economic impact of beef bans on traders, there is also a nutritional impact, particularly on low-income groups.
Wafa Hakim Orman of the University of Alabama in Huntsville has conducted extensive research into the nutritional cost of India’s beef ban. She pointed out that iron deficiency anemia in India is extremely high.
According to the National Family Health Survey conducted between 2019 and 2021, about 57% of Indian women aged 15-49 years suffer from anemia.
In areas of India where beef consumption is culturally accepted and legally permitted, such as Kerala and Goa, it is often more affordable than other meat products.
“For low-income Muslims, Christians and Dalits, beef is an essential source of protein. Bans lead to higher rates of moderate and severe anemia among married women aged 15 to 35 in these groups” , Orman said.
She called for a holistic approach that addresses anemia as a public health and nutrition problem.
Freedom to choose
Ultimately, the solution to resolving tensions over beef may lie in India’s multicultural identity.
Senti Wangnao, a Christian from Nagaland married to a Hindu from Assam, says she grew up eating beef, while her husband does not.
Despite their dietary differences, Wangnao says she and her husband agree on one thing: “People should be allowed to eat whatever they want.” »
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru