The Cow Cannot and Must Not Be Turned Into an âInstrument of Conciliationâ
To say, as a serving police officer has done in a recent op-ed, that the âself-preservation of Muslimsâ hinges on their âdenunciation of cow slaughterâ is akin to issuing an outright threat.
Cows at a garbage dump in Jaipur. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Hindu titled âCow and Conciliationâ, a serving Muslim Indian Police Service officer, Najmul Hoda, says that âa theological denunciation of cow slaughter is an imperative for peace and self-preservation of Muslimsâ.
His argument is wrong. It is also highly objectionable on several counts.
To say that the âself-preservation of Muslimsâ hinges on their “denunciation of cow slaughterâ is akin to issuing an outright threat. It means that unless Muslims shun beef and denounce cow slaughter from a theological perspective in order to propitiate the religious sentiments of Hindus, communal peace