Those guilty of cow slaughter in Gujarat will now be sentenced to life in jail, under an amendment bill to the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, that was passed recently in the state’s assembly. This is also a non-bailable offense. Not just that, there are also penalties for those involved in the transportation, storage and sale of beef, to the tune of ten years imprisonment and will also involve the permanent forfeiture of vehicles. These are very harsh penalties, even if you keep in mind that Gujarat, along with many other states, has a predominant Hindu population. The reasoning is that cows do not only have a religious significance but also an economic significance in the country. This comes from the Minister for Home, in the prime minister’s home state.
Banning the consumption and sale of beef is not keeping in line with the country’s claim of being a secular one. But even if that were to happen, life imprisonment and other penalties make this a very harsh decision, one that really has no grounding in logic.
