Ban on cattle slaughter is a direct attack on right to occupation

An Environment Ministry notification of 23 May banned the sale of cattle for slaughter under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The ministry has allowed cattle trade only among

farmland owners for the purpose of farming. The special section for cattle trade instructs to “take an undertaking that the animals are bought for agriculture purposes and not for

slaughter.” LEGALISING CATTLE BAN There is nothing unprecedented in the BJP-led Central government bringing in such a blanket ban on the slaughter of bovine animals. It has, in fact, finally

found a legal way to materialise a long-pending agenda of Hindu political groups that have been demanding prohibition of cow slaughter along with other bovine animals. However, it was

always done in the name of cow protection. Even during the constituent assembly debates in 1949-50, efforts were made by the proponents of cow protection to not only ban cow slaughter

completely, but also widen the category of protected animals irrespective of their age and usability in agricultural production. Besides, it was demanded that a uniform law should be adopted

in this regard. ALSO READ: New Cattle Sale Rules: Meat Trade to be Hit, Mayday for Farmers ROLE OF STATES After many rounds of debate, provisions related to the preservation of cow were

added to the Directive Principles of State Policy. Rather than imposing a uniform law, the state governments were made responsible for regulating prohibition according to the regional

cultural traditions, occupational requirements and most importantly, the economic viability of such a ban. Constitutionally, therefore, it is not possible for any government to bring a

universal law in this regard without following a comprehensive amendment procedure that requires a two-third majority in both Houses of Parliament. The Indian Cattle Prevention Bill

presented by Seth Govind Das in the Lok Sabha in 1955 is a good example. The Bill – which in effect sought to prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and drought cattle

completely – was rejected by the House because its subject matter was in the exclusive sphere of state legislatures. This Bill was criticised by most Parliamentarians who argued that the

matter of preservation of cattle (including cow and other bovine animals) should be discussed purely on economic grounds and the approach should be constructive. A year later, the Animal

Husbandry wing of the Agriculture and the Animal Husbandry Department arrived at the same conclusion. ALSO READ: What the Constitution Says on the Curious Case of the ‘Holy Cow’ SUPREME

COURT ON BLANKET BAN The first two Five Year Plans also rejected the proposal for total ban on cow slaughter as well as other bovine animals. In fact, referring to the possible added burden

on economy, the Planning Commission argued that the state governments should take a realistic view of the fodder resources available in the country. A Supreme Court judgement in the famous

Hanif Qureshi & Others vs The State of Bihar, 1958 case, which has been a landmark in the adaptation of cow preservation legislations by Indian states, also invalidates a blanket ban on

the slaughter of all bovine animals purely on economic grounds. ALSO READ: ‘Freedom Eroded’: Parties Slam Ban On Cattle Sale For Slaughter > The court argued that a total ban on the 

slaughter of she-buffaloes, > bulls and bullocks (cattle or buffalo) after they ceased to be > capable of yielding milk or of breeding or working as drought > animals could not be 

supported as reasonable in the interest of > general public. CURBING ECONOMIC LIBERTY Even the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which is used as a source to put such a ban on

the sale and purchase of animals, does not enforce any restriction on the slaughter of animals. The purpose of this Act is to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on

animals. It only prescribes general guidelines for careful handling of animals even during the process of slaughtering. In fact, the Act says that “Nothing contained in this Act shall render

it an offence to kill any animal (in general) and in a manner required by the religion of any community.” It is clear that the current notification completely ignores the

legal-constitutional provisions and procedures related to the preservation of cow and other bovine animals that have evolved in the last six decades. It is in direct contravention to the

liberty of states granted by the Constitution to take independent and context-specific decisions. The notification affects the states’ economic liberty, which completely depends on the

resources available and the nature of workforce and employment of their subjects. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s comment that the Centre’s decision amounts to an “intrusion” into

the rights of the states echoes this limitation of the notification. ALSO READ: Ban on Cattle Sale For Slaughter: All Your Questions Answered RIGHT TO CHOOSE AN OCCUPATION In the wake of

current restrictions on meat shops and slaughterhouses in UP, the Centre has attacked the backbone of the meat industry. It is a fact that even after earning huge profits from the domestic

and export market, there is no provision for rearing of animals – specifically for meat production in India. Useless and old animals or those abandoned by farmers have been the main source

of the meat industry. By restricting the scope of “animal markets” only to trading of cattle “bought for agricultural purposes and not for slaughter”, the notification completely restraints

farmers from selling their useless cattle, butchers from slaughtering and traders involved in the supply of animals to slaughterhouses. ALSO READ: Kerala Government to Take Centre to Court

Over Cow Slaughter Rules > The notification, therefore, is a direct attack on the fundamental > right to occupation, granted under the Article 15 of the > Constitution. Groups and 

communities who are involved in meat, > leather and associated businesses for generations as well as of > those who became a part of transporting, slaughtering, skinning, > tanning 

and much more after the 1990s would be the possible victims > of such an unprecedented ban. The skilled labourers and traders, who were first harassed by the restrictions on meat shops in

UP, followed by other states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, without having supplementary opportunities of work and employment, will now be jobless. This notification should,

therefore, be seen in the light of the growing tendency of centralisation, which is much bigger a challenge for the Indian democracy than the simple dietary preferences and religious beliefs

of different communities. _(Nazima Parveen is a PhD scholar at the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, New

Zealand. The views expressed above are the author’s own._ _THE QUINT_ _neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)_ Published: 29 May 2017, 5:59 PM IST