RELIGION OF ANIMALS. BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND POLITICS OF STAKE HOLDERS IN INDIA

1. RELIGION OF ANIMALS.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY
AND POLITICS OF STAKE
HOLDERS IN INDIA

2. Who are actually behind beef
slaughter ban?
• Is it the smugglers operating in Bangladesh
border?
• Is it meat exporters of India ?
• Is it religious fans ?
• Is it corrupted politicians?

3. Modus of smuggling to Bangladesh

4. Smuggling to Bangladesh
• India has a porous border of 2100 KMs with
Bangladesh of which 500 Kms are divided by rivers.
• 25000 cows are smuggled to Bangladesh every day.
• Cattle are brought by truck from states across eastern
India such as Bihar , Orissa and Jharkhand.
• Sometimes country crafts are used to ferry them to the
other side of the river. In some cases the smugglers
merely float the cattle in the water with courier who
swims across with them. Their counterpart on the
other side will pull the animals out of the water.
IF BEEF SLAUGHTER IS BANNED IN INDIA, SMUGGLERS
OF BOTH COUNTRIES WILL GET MORE ANIMALS FOR
LESSER COST

5. Meat Exporting Politics
• India is the fifth largest meat producer in the world and second
biggest exporter.
• India exports to 65 countries. Indian exports rose 24% in 2014. It
is a 5 billion dollar industry now.
• As per the available data India exported 6.3 million tones of meat
in the year
• For modernizing slaughter houses and export trade, Govt. of India
have reduced duties for beef export. Government also brought
down import duties for machineries used for slaughtering
• Government offers a grant of Rs15 crore to set up new abattoirs
IF BEEF SLAUGHTER IS BANED IN INDIA GOVERNEMNT OF INDIA
WILL GET MORE REVENUE FROM EXPORTS

6. Who are the major meat exporters of India?
• Al Kabeer Exports Pvt. Ltd (Owners: Mr. Satish and
Mr. Atul Sabharwal, Chembur, Mumbai )
• Arabian Exports Pvt. Ltd ( Owner: Mr. Sunil Kapoor,
Mumbai)
• M.K.R. Frozen Food Exports Pvt. Ltd (Owner: Madan
Abott, New Delhi)
• P.M.L. Industries Pvt. Ltd ( A.S Bindra, Chandigarh)
IF BEEF SLAUGHTER IS BANNED IN INDIA
EXPORTERS WILL GET MORE ANIMALS AT LESSER
PRICE

7. Political Influence of Meat Exporters
An M.L.A from Uttar Pradesh
was in the forefront of the
frenzied anti-beef protests.
He is one of the directors of a
meat processing unit .
Al Dua had a net profit of
Rs. 28.8 Crore on operating
income of Rs. 724.3 Crore in
2012-13

8. Counter effect of beef ban
• Muslim expatriates working in foreign countries
are shifting from Indian beef considering
difficulties in verifying whether the meat is halal
in spite of it’s Arabic name..
• Saudi Arabia lifted 15-year-old French beef ban
(Saudi Arabia took 160,000 tonnes of foreign beef
and veal last year. India being one of the biggest
meat exporter to Saudi Arabia, the lifting of ban
of French beef and doubts on halal authenticity
of Indian meat will affect the Indian export
earnings.)

9. Gangsters taking advantage of beef ban
• Chennai:- Five-member masked gang waylaid
a lorry at Maraimalai Nagar and escaped with
5,000 and a mobile from the lorry driver on
Monday night. Police have launched a hunt for
them. The gang blocked the truck and
stormed into the lorry cabin near Samiyar
Gate in Maraimalai Nagar at 11pm. While
three of them got into the cabin, the other
two were maintaining surveillance outside the
truck

10. Non vegetarians among Indian Brahmins
• Brahmins in the East (Assam, Bengal, Orissa) who
are mostly Shaivites are non-vegetarians.
• Bengali Brahmins love fish. Saraswat Brahmins who
live in costal areas of Karnataka eat fish.
• Maithil Brahmins from North Bihar are known for
their love for fish.
• Konkani Brahmins consume non veg food.
• Brahmins from Uttarakhand state do consume
meat. In many parts of state, goats are sacrificed in
temples as offerings to God. The meat is then
cooked and shared among the devotees as Prasad

11. Religious restrictions on Food

12. Forbidden drinks and foods in Islam
In the Qur'an (2:173, 5:3, 5:90-91, 6:145, 16:115), the
following foods and drinks are strictly prohibited by God
• Flesh of an already-dead animal
• Blood
• Flesh of swine (pork)
• Intoxicating drinks
• Meat of an animal that has been sacrificed to idols
• Meat of an animal that died from strangulation or blunt force
• Meat from which wild animals have already eaten
• Predatory animals that prey with fangs or tusks, such as the
lion, lynx, leopard, wolf, bear, cats, hyenas and gerbils and
domesticated donkeys, simians (apes and monkeys etc) birds
with talons like falcon, hawk, kite and crow.

13. Interpretation of Quran
• The herbivorous animals like the cow, goat and sheep
have a flat set of teeth suited for herbivorous diet.
• The carnivorous animals like the lion or tiger, they all
have a pointed set of teeth suited for a carnivorous
diet.
• God has permitted humans to eat both vegetable and
meat based diet (Humans have flat teeth as well as
pointed teeth. It is suitable for both herbivorous and
carnivorous foods.)
• The digestive system of herbivorous animals can digest
only vegetables. The digestive system of carnivorous
animals can digest only meat. But the digestive system
of humans can digest both vegetarian and non-
vegetarian food.

14. What Christians can eat
• In the New Testament, God changed the rules. Now Christians
can eat anything they want as long as they have prayed and
asked God to sanctify the food .
• Everything that lives and moves about will be food for
you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you
everything’ (Genesis 9:3).
• (St. Peter went to a rooftop to pray and became hungry. He
fell into a dream. The sky opened, and a sheet, filled with all
kinds of animals, was lowered in front of him. A voice said,
"Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But St. Peter, thinking it was a test,
protested, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten
anything that is common or unclean." This happened three
times. St. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it.)

15. What Christians can and cannot eat as per old testament?
Permitted foods
• Cud-chewing animals with split hooves( These specifically include the
cattle, sheep, goat, deer and gazelle families )
• Salt water and freshwater fish with fins and scales
• Birds such as chickens, turkeys and pheasants
Prohibited foods ( unclean animals)
• Meat of animals such as camels, rabbits and pigs
• “Creeping things" such as moles, mice and lizards
• Four-footed animals with paws (cats, dogs, bears, lions, tigers, etc)
• Birds and other flying creatures
• Insects, with the exception of locusts, crickets and grasshoppers
• Shellfish
Seventh-day Adventists and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christians
follows the old testament and consider pork as a prohibited one.

16. The Hindu-CNN-IBN Survey
• Survey revealed that only 69% of Indians are non-
vegetarians. Families in which all members eat vegetarian
food is only 21%.
• Women are more vegetarians than men and so are those
above the age of 55
• As many as 45 % of Brahmins are non-vegetarians
• 92% of Christians are also non-vegetarians
• Jains, who constitute 0.37 % of India's population are strict
vegetarians. Apart from not eating meat, fish and eggs, Jains
do not eat onions and garlic. Root vegetables like potatoes are
also taboo because smaller insects are killed in their harvest
and the vegetable itself will have millions of bacteria.
• Vegetarian families in coastal States:-
Kerala (2%), Tamil Nadu (8%), Andhra Pradesh (4%), Orissa
(8%), West Bengal (3%).

17. Dress code and hair style of Kerala people in the last century
Brahmins:-Vegetarians
Thiyyas:- Non vegetarians. Cattle meat used
Christians:- Non
vegetarians. All types of
meat used
Muslims:- Non
vegetarians.
Halal meat used
Nairs. Partly vegetarians.
Cattle meat not used
In the last century Hindu ladies except Brahmins were allowed to cover their breast.
Each community had their own attire and hair style. Men usually had their ears bored
and wore earrings. It was easy to distinguish whether some one violated the food code

18. Changes in Dress code and food code of Kerala
• Animal food was not objectionable to Hindus in
the 19th century. Beef was barred for the Nairs
and other upper castes. Alcoholic drinks as a rule
were prohibited to upper caste Hindus. The
scenario is vanished now. Beef and alcohol are
consumed by a small chunk of upper caste
community also.
• Now in Kerala 98% are non-vegetarians.
• Low income communities prefer beef because of
the lower price.
• Scheduled tribe people like ‘Nayadi’ in Kerala eat
rodents and similar creatures for survival

19. Status of cows in India
• All cows are respected in Hinduism as the earthly
embodiment of the Kamadhenu
• Cow is revered as ‘Gomata’ and godly position is held.
• The Mahabharata records that Kamadhenu-Surabhi
rose from the churning of the cosmic ocean by the
gods and demons to acquire Amrita (elixir of life). She
was ordered by the creator-god Brahma to give milk,
and supply it and ghee ("clarified butter") for ritual fire-
sacrifices.

20. Cow meat and bull meat as medicine and
rejuvenator
• In therapeutic section of Charak Samhita (pages 86-87) the
flesh of cow is prescribed as a medicine for various diseases. It
is emphatically advised as a cure for irregular fever,
consumption, and emaciation. The fat of the cow is
recommended for debility and rheumatism.
• He who wishes a son should be born to him who would be
a reputed scholar, frequenting the assemblies and speaking
delightful words, would study all Vedas and attain a full
term of life, should have rice cooked with meat of a
vigorous bull or more advance in years, and he and his wife
should eat it with clarified butter. Then they would be able
to produce such a son. (Chapter VI –iv-18: The
Brihadaranyka Upanishad translated by Swami
Madhavananda and published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta)

21. Differing opinion on cow meat in Hindu religion
• Apastamb Grihsutram (1/3/10) says, “The cow should be slaughtered on
the arrival of a guest, on the occasion of ‘Shraddha’ of ancestors and on
the occasion of a marriage.”
• A scholar of scriptures Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane says, “Bajsancyi Samhita
sanctifies beef-eating because of its purity”. (Dharmashastra Vichar
Marathi, page 180)
• Swami Vivekanand said: “You will be surprised to know that according to
ancient Hindu rites and rituals, a man cannot be a good Hindu who does
not eat beef”. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand, vol.3, p. 536).
• Mukandilal writes in his book ‘Cow Slaughter – Horns of a Dilemma’, page
18: “In ancient India, cow-slaughter was considered auspicious on the
occasions of some ceremonies. Bride and groom used to sit on the hide of
a red ox in front of the ‘Vedi’ (alter).”
CONTRA VIEWS:- Most of the Vedic texts in the last 1000 years are seen
adulterated. Purana and Bhaagvat (not Bhagvad Geeta) is perhaps the
most adulterated, which is beyond repair. Also, scholars are not sure that
these people have really made such comments or not.

22. Athirathram Yaga
Videos available in
https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=UnbqnM
hbB44
The two Vedic Scholars primarily responsible for the
performance were Brahmasree Muttathukattu
Mammunnu Itti Ravi (undisputed master of the
Jaiminiya Samaveda) and Brahmasree Cherumukku
Vaidikan Vallabhan Somayajipad (occupies a central
position in the ritual realm of the Rigveda and
Yajurveda).

23. Dr. Fritz Staal of California University, who specialized
in the study of Vedic ritual and mantras took initiative
to bring the glory of the ritual

24. Kerala’s Experience
• In 1974 an Athirathram yaga was conducted at Panjaal near Thrissur.
It has been claimed as the world's oldest surviving ritual . The
practice of this ritual was generally discontinued among Brahmins by
the late Vedic period, during the rise of Jainism and Buddhism.
Nevertheless it continued among a few Nambudiri Brahmins who
were proficient in the Sanskrit Language and the Vedas.
• It involves Homam (offering to Agni) of certain parts of a sacrificial
animal, usually fibrous fatty part of a cow or a lamb called as “Vapa”,
and “Haviss”, organs like heart, tongue etc. After the homan the
agnihothri has to eat the animal and remains
• Due to overwhelming opposition by animal protection groups and
teasing by leftist groups an effigy was used to symbolize the goat
sacrifice. In modern times, animal sacrifice is avoided.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that animals were sacrificed earlier
for rituals like yaga.

25. Animal sacrifices
Animals sacrificed at Gadimai
temple, Katmandu Male buffalo bali for Durga Puja

26. KNOWLEDGE GAP AMONG RELIGIONS
.

27. Quranic knowledge of Muslims
• Majority have minimal knowledge in Salat ( ritual prayer) but often
does not know the meaning.
• Minority have in-depth knowledge in Arabic language and Quranic
verses
• Miniscule have in depth knowledge in Quranic texts as well as other
religious texts
• Vast majority depends on faith speeches and discourses for
attaining religious knowledge
• Few looks WhatsApp and other internet based applications for
knowledge transfer.
• Cinema, Radio, TV, Newspaper have no influence on knowledge
acquisition.
• Imams and Mullas hold no influence over community.
• Weekly gathering for Friday prayers form a community feeling
based on religion

28. Biblical knowledge of Christians
• Priests who study religious texts impart the knowledge in
Sunday classes and other religious discourses.
• Majority rely on vernacular translation and priest’s
interpretation of bible.
• Majority attends religious discourses and mass services.
Weekly gathering on Sundays, processions , Coir and
music play important role in community based feeling.
• Aramic language, the spoken language of Jesus Christ or
Latin or Greek , the official languages of church are not
known to majority
• Priests hold good influence over community.
• WhatsApp and other internet based applications are
widely used for knowledge transfer

29. Vedic knowledge of Hindus
• Majority have no knowledge of Sanskrit and Vedic texts
• Few rely on vernacular translation and interpretation
• Cinemas, TV & Internet animations give mythical aspects
rather than knowledge of Vedic books.
• Majority perform Puja but very few attends religious
discourses.
• Miniscule have in depth knowledge in Sanskrit and Vedic
texts.
• In-depth knowledge of other religious texts is poor
• Sanyasins and temple poojaris hold no influence over
community.

30. Why less religious Knowledge among Hindus ?
• Religious education moulds the thought of the individual in religious
line. Such things are not compulsory to the Hindus. This leads to
knowledge gap
• Some groups started Geetha classes for children on Sundays . But the
attendance is poor as the parents thinks that the classes are more or
less politically motivated rather than religious .
• The Vedas are written in Classical Sanskrit, a complex form of Vedic. The
style is very ancient that even people who are top authorities on
Hinduism have trouble in understanding it.
• Vedas have a strong priestly bias, as the priestly class had the monopoly
in the edition and transmission of these texts . Even in the webs some
slokas are seen omitted and meanings of some slokas are given in a
distorted way.
• Western scholars have translated certain Sanskrit texts but the
meanings are true to the original is doubtable

31. Buffalo in Hindu mythology
Buffaloes are neither born holy nor have holiness thrust upon them.
In Indian mythology, evil is often
represented by water buffalo, which
also serve as a vehicle of Yama, the
Hindu God death. Yama’s fortress is
filled with buffalo.
In another version the water buffalo
gave birth to demon Mahishasura
and a goddess killed Mahishasura
after waging war for ten thousand
years.

32. Why should shift from beef to Carabeef
(water buffalo meat)?
• Buffalo meat has a number of health benefits. It contains only half the
fat and cholesterol, but also has twice the calcium and protein of beef.
• Buffalo meat has higher oleic acid content than beef (43.80% vs.
37.25%).
• Ash content in buffalo is significantly higher than that of beef.
• Buffalo meat is ideal for the health conscious and people suffering with
a variety of health issues, such as: High cholesterol levels, heart
disease, weight problems and diabetes. It's also great for growing
children with it being higher in protein and calcium.
• Buffalo meat has favorable blood lipid profile, lower carotid
atherosclerotic burden and decreased susceptibility to oxidative stress.
• Buffalo meat has higher levels of iron than all other meat types and
significant levels of zinc

33. Why to shift from cow milk to buffalo milk?
• Cholesterol content of buffalo milk is 0.65 mg/g as compared
to the corresponding value of 3.14 mg/g for cow milk
• Buffalo milk has about 11.42 per cent higher protein than cow
milk.
• Buffalo metabolizes all the carotein into vitamin A, which is
passed on to milk as such.
• Buffalo milk is also superior to cow milk in terms of important
minerals, namely calcium, iron and phosphorus which
are higher by 92 per cent, 37.7 per cent and 118 per cent
respectively than those present in cow milk.
• Buffalo is an Asiatic animal and so not susceptible to many
diseases like cows

34. Interesting facts
• In Haryana 80% milk are derived from buffalo
• In Kerala above 95% milk are derived from
cows or reconstituted sachet milk
• Monthly per capita quantity of consumption of
milk in Haryana is 13.126 liters in rural areas
and 9.585 liters in urban areas and in Kerala is
2.822 liters in rural areas and 3.656 liters in
urban areas.
• The overall prevalence rate of CHD ( Coronary
Heart disease) is high in Kerala.

35. How buffaloes disappeared from Kerala ?
• Kerala State enacted the Livestock Improvement Act of 1961 for
promoting hybrid cattle varieties.
• At that time most of the cows and buffaloes were non-
descriptive low yielding breeds
• Castration of bulls made mandatory under the Act.
• Government didn’t take initiative to bring good male breeders of
Murrah or Jamnapari but brought frozen semen instead
• Artificial insemination was a failure in buffaloes because of the
difficulty to detect behavioral sign of heat by humans.
• Now buffalo population is nearly wiped out from Kerala. What is
left is old buffaloes brought from other states for meat purpose
and male buffalo kids brought from other states for fattening.

36. Why Kerala community prefer ‘people choice foods ?
• Kerala, after independence, is ruled by secular leaders who never insisted
for any particular food to the people.
• Right wing parties had minimal role in Kerala’s politics.
• Unlike in North India, the proportion of Brahmins(1.4%) in Kerala is not
very significant.
• Tamil Aiyar Brahmin population in Kerala reduced drastically as many of
them migrated to north Indian States, Europe and USA for better fortune.
• Kerala Nambudiri Brahmin population also trimmed down because of
their marriage traditions. ( Among Namboodiris only the eldest son was
permitted to marry. The remaining males contracted Sambandhams - an
alliance between a man and a woman- from the other matriarchal castes
such as Nairs. The children resulting from such marriages were not
considered as Nambudiris but considered as Nairs)
As long as these realities exist in Kerala, community will prefer
‘Choice food’ of their own.