Skip to main content

Villagers' bovine march 'forces' Yogi to hold govt officials responsible for stray cattle

By Sandeep Pandey, Kushagra Kumar*
Ever since Narendra Modi’s ascension to power, a new phenomenon has taken shape in India – cow vigilantism. Number of mob lynching incidents took place some resulting in loss of life for the victims who happened to be mostly Muslims. Dalits too took the beating. On the other hand the aggressors hardly ever got punished. In fact, filing of First Information Report against victim or his relatives, in case of his death, became a common occurrence under the Bhartiya Janata Party rule.
As a result of this cow vigilantism all sale and purchase of cows came to a halt. When the farmer could not afford to feed an old cow, bullock or the male calf they were let go free. These stray cattle became a menace in the villages. They started grazing crops standing in the fields. Earlier, the villagers were similarly tormented by neelgai or antelope. But neelgai would run away upon seeing human beings.
The stray cattle which were earlier domesticated but now abandoned by villagers would not even run away on shooing. This has been a major cause of grief for farmers after Yogi Adityanath government came to power in Uttar Pradesh. How were they expected to pay the revenue for their crops which were eaten up by these cattle, a problem which was the creation of ruling party’s political agenda and government policy.
There is a practice of locking up the defaulters at Tehsil and confiscating their property in the case of inability to pay revenue. The villagers demanded a gaushala or cow shed in every village. However, the government was not able to meet this demand. It announced opening of some gaushalas. Pictures of Yogi Adityanath can be seen in government funded advertisements feeding jaggery to cows. The BJP runs a high profile campaign on cow protection. However, the ground reality is quite different.
About 70 km from Lucknow in Lalamau Mawai village of Hardoi district villagers who were fed up with the freely roaming bovine decided to do something about this problem. They petitioned the district authorities. Somebody from the veterinary office came to tag the cattle after the villagers had gathered 52 animals.
The government official told them to take the cattle to two different cow sheds. He made it clear that government did not have money for transportation of these animals. One cow shed in Dhikunni was only a km away but the other one located in Pawayan Bhagwantapur was located 15 km away.
Thirty five villagers set out from their village on December 27, 2020, with 28 cattle, towards the second cow shed. By the time they reached escorting these cattle it was late. The villagers at Pawayan Bhagwantapur were disturbed at seeing the cattle.
They said they were unable to cope with the cattle brought earlier to their cow shed as there was no arrangement to keep and feed the cattle here on behalf of the government as a result of which cattle were moving about freely adding to their woes.
The Lalamau Mawai villagers were asked to take the cattle back. When the villagers tried to contact the officials, the veterinary officer switched off his mobile phone and the Sub Divisional Magistrate pretended ignorance and asked the villagers to wait till next morning. With the hosts not willing, the guests had no choice but to return to their village with the cattle. On their way back they were encountered by a BJP office bearer Gyanendra Singh, a cow vigilante.
Villagers decided to take the stray cattle to the chief minister’s residence on the Republic day so that they may be taken care of well
Upon witnessing villagers moving with cows he assaulted them along with his colleagues. Even after he was informed that the entire exercise was being conducted with the consent of officials and he was made to talk to the police, the beating continued. The animals ran helter skelter. The battered men straight went to the police station in Atrauli. Among the beaten were five Dalits. The police asked them to come the next day as it was already night.
Sandeep Pandey, a participant in the bovine parade
The villagers from Lalamau Mawai went to the police station on December 28, and were able to see the Station House Officer only in the evening. A complaint was given. Even after seeing the SDM, holding a demonstration at district headquarter on the new year’s day and taking out a procession from the village to police station, the police did not register a FIR for about a month against the assaulters primarily because the main accused is an office bearer of the ruling party.
As stray cattle roam around because of non-functional cow sheds and do not get enough to eat they are emaciated. These weakened animals become a casualty in any accident on roads with vehicles. In cities, in search for food from garbage they often eat plastic bags which might have some left over food contents inside them. These plastic bags get accumulated inside their stomach becoming a cause of their demise.
Hence, the entire purpose of saving these cattle from slaughter is defeated. They anyway die of neglect and the so-called Gau Rakshaks, or cow protectors, do not come forward to take responsibility for these animals. They are merely looking out for opportunities to make hullabaloo if they suspect somebody of having consumed beef or taking cattle for slaughter.
Large scale corruption has been reported in the setting up and management of gaushalas, contracts for which have been awarded to people and organizations close to BJP or RSS.
Finally, the villagers decided to take the stray cattle to the chief minister’s residence on the Republic day so that they may be taken care of well. A general call was given for this. Two marches, one from Miyaganj in Unnao district on January 25 and another from Lalamau Mawai in Hardoi district on January 26, were organized.
The SDM and Circle Officer, respectively of Hasanganj and Sandila, prevented the bovine parade from proceeding after a certain distance. The cattle were sent to gaushala and FIR was registered against the BJP office bearer, including sections under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The District Magistrate of Unnao has now issued a notice that Gram Pradhans and Village Development Officers will henceforth be held accountable for any stray cattle in their Gram Sabha.
---
*Sandeep Pandey is Magsaysay award winning social activist and vice president of Socialist Party (India); Kushagra Kumar is a student in Lucknow

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan   M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.
Post a Comment
»

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.
Post a Comment
»

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”
Post a Comment
»

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai*  The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.
Post a Comment
»

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.
Post a Comment
»

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.
Post a Comment
»

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan*  An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...
2 comments
»

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative   Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).
Post a Comment
»

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative   A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.
Post a Comment
»