Indian American Muslim Council slams UP death over beef eating

Even as politicians of all shades are busy taking political mileage from the tragic killing of Mohammad Akhlaq, there are other narratives on Bisada that suggest all is not lost in the once peaceful village near Dadri in Greater Noida.

The mob had descended on the home of Mr Akhlaq – who had been their neighbour for years – following an announcement at a local temple that a calf has been killed nearby. Akhlaq and his son were dragged from their beds and beaten with bricks. “His death is nowhere linked with the investigation of lynching”. Danish is fighting for his life.

The movement propagates an ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness, which asserts that India is a Hindu nation.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not reacting on the Dadri incident in which a man was lynched following rumours that he consumed beef.

Police have arrested seven Hindu youths over the murder and one paramilitary soldier accused of planning the attack. “Please call up the police and ask them to send a force”, Akhlaq told Sisodia over phone. Several of suspects are related to a local BJP party worker.

Despite the slaughter of cows being widely banned, India ranks as the world’s top beef exporter thanks to buffalo meat exports, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture.

Addressing a prayer meeting in Delhi on July 25, 1947, Mahatma Gandhi had said he would advice thousands of those who had written to the nation’s then President Rajendra Prasad demanding a ban on cow slaughter not to waste money, as their postcards, letters and telegrams had no effect. “This government has set a tone that is threatening, mean-spirited and inimical to freedom”, wrote Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a commentator, in the Indian Express newspaper.