Beef ban: It's Maharashtra versus rest of India

Thumbing its nose at the ban on sale and consumption of beef imposed by the Maharashtra government, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) - the Communist Party of India (Marxist) youth wing - has organized a nationwide 'beef festival' which kicked off in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on March 10. The next leg is in Delhi on March 19, and those who walk in get to stuff themselves for free.

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"What one should eat or wear, or what language should one speak -all these are personal choices and they simply cannot be imposed. Our main concern is that this ban should not spread to the rest of the country," said Lok Sabha MP and DYFI president M B Rajesh.

"We are inviting one and all cutting across party lines. BJP MPs too are most welcome to join in. Even vegetarians should come to express solidarity with the issue. There is no religious justification for banning beef. In the Manu Smriti, it is explicitly written that every meat except for camel is edible. Right wing leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar used to eat beef. There is a reference in Dharmashastra too about eating beef," Rajesh said.

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"In a meeting of the A K Sarkar Committee appointed by Jawaharlal Nehru to examine the beef issue, right wing ideologue M S Golwalkar had famously said it was nothing but politics," said advocate Joice George, an independent MP from Kerala.

The beef festival in Thiruvananthapuram on March 10 .

Recently, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien had raised the issue in Rajya Sabha, saying, "The issue should not be looked through religious prisms. A lot of people besides minorities, including Dalits and those in the northeast, eat beef. It is the 'poor man's protein'."

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Gokul Gram for Aarey Colony

The state government will set up a Gokul Gram at Aarey Milk Colony on 200 acres of dairy development department land. Dairy development minister Eknath Khadse said the Gokul Gram will be used to rehabilitate old cows, bulls and bullocks. Khadse, who was replying to questions in assembly on Friday, said the Gokul Gram will be set up with central government aid. With the ban on beef, the government will be faced with the problem of dealing with aged cattle. The Gokul Gram proposal has come in for criticism from the Save Aarey Committee, which has contended that it would be waste of green cover. Speaking to Mirror, Khadse said in Thane and Palghar districts, a Gokul Gram will be set up at Dapcheri where the dairy development department owns land.

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