Indian Supreme Court halts government ban on cow slaughter

The Supreme Court of India has ruled against the cow slaughter ban initiated by the Government of India, which is ruled by Hindu Nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The ban was initiated in May this year and since then several people who are Muslim in their faith have been beaten or killed for allegedly slaughtering cows or carrying beef. The controversial ban has created quite a furor in the world’s largest democracy, which is widely considered as a secular country.

According to Hindu religion, the cow is a sacred animal. While it has not created problems before to the minorities (Muslims and Christians), the new government has sparked religious tensions with taking a hard line stance against Muslims. The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a three-month stay on the government, preventing it from enacting the ban for that period.

The opponents of the ban have not only warned of the economic devastations to thousands of Muslim families who earn their livelihood from cattle trades, it also undermines the Indian constitution, which allows complete religious freedom. However, the Supreme Court’s decision is unlikely to make much of a difference as it would not prevent Hindu cow vigilantes from attacking Muslims who might try and continue the trade. Nevertheless, it does come as a relief.

The government has said that it would make revisions to the law by end August and would present it to the court for review.