Apart from various politically injected dogmas, one of the key issues acting as a watershed in the Indian demography is beef-eating. This country, perhaps the pearl of the Oriental World, is often ridiculed over its prejudice on this issue, more so in the recent past thanks to the prehistoric propaganda of parties that have much to do with moral policing and little with things that make sense. Thus although nearly 70% of the Indian population thrives on a non-veg diet, three-quarter of this mammoth figure is deprived of the palatable and nutritious dishes like beef steak, picadillo, bandeja paisa, etc. 

   The so-called moral guardians of the nation, garbed in saffron yet often caught in compromising situations or immoral activities demeaning their sadhu or saadhvi status, bark a lot over the issues which majority of the educated Indians shuns with disdain. They on numerous occasions preach on what should be the length of the skirt of the heroine dancing on the silver screen or the duration of a kissing scene in a movie. They prefer blocking Websites with adult contents nationwide to inculcating sex education in school education. It’s awful but it is the only reality. More so because, the party in power with a thumping mandate, owes its bread and butter to these sadhus and sadhvis. It’s like a double-headed monster, where one speaks of breaching the digital gap by creating Digital India while the other leads the nation to an age of primates, voodoo and black magic. When one card fails, the other makes an ugly entry. And politics finds a way into an innocent man’s kitchen, drawing room or even bedroom.

  It is presumed that Indian history has been antagonistic to beef-eating. As least the advocates of shunning beef-eating say so. Now let’s explore the realm of truth.’Gau’ as the cow was referred to, was the most important possession during the Rig Vedic era. Most of the terms associated with Rig Vedic age have a connection with the cow. And if the society was cow-centric, how could the food habit of individuals shy away? The most revered Brahmin guests were served with beef meat and they were termed as ‘Goghna’. Isn’t this a fascinating piece of history? Indra has been described as a connoisseur of bull meat whereas Agni was referred to having a special affinity for cow meat. In the Mahabharata there is a mention of a king named Rantideva who achieved great fame by distributing food grains and cow meat to the Brahmins. The Manusmriti, the strictest of the scriptures was lenient towards beef-eating. The Taittiriya Brahman or Yajnavalkya Smriti of even the later Vedic age advocated beef-eating for health and virility. Even Chanakya’s Artha Shastra categorically mentions that those draft cattle, not fit for milching or plowing should be savored as meat. Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the illustrious founder of Arya Samaj was of the opinion that beef-eating even among the Brahmins was common in ancient India.

 Ignorance is often bliss. But when it tends to divide a nation, it is definitely a curse. And those fanatics, who harvest the benefits of common man’s ignorance and use it for propagating venomous propaganda, must be banished. India has been prey to such warmongers. Whether to eat beef or not, that can never be a dictum. One may even have a disliking for even mutton or venison. But if someone uses religion, or Indian history or rather misleads people by falsifying, it is rather a sin. I am a Hindu and I love beef and it is neither a matter of pride nor is something to be ashamed of. It is my personal choice and when an entire part of my country’s constitution talks about fundamental rights ( Part III of the Indian Constitution), it is definitely intolerance when the ugly card of religion or a false base of history is played to prohibit me from relishing my plater. So, before you use the anti-social network, sorry social network to share or like or comment on any selfish propaganda of the fanatics, it is better you turn the pages of documented works on history or the pages of your GK book. And if you can’t, at least be tolerant towards those who prefer cow meat to cow dung.

This article is based on Historical documents and does not intend to hurt any religious sentiments